When I leased the car I was unaware of all the Great mods I could do. Now my concern is will I be able to return the car at the end of the lease? If I buy the car at the end of the lease Will I be paying much more than if I originally just financed it? Thanks

 

Here's the deal, Try to stick to 'bolt-on' mods. That way when it comes time to turn the car in you can take them off, replace original parts and then ebay all the items to make some money. Most dealers will not be adversed to mods you do to the car as long as they do not affect the value of the car. I had a Miata before my MINI and I did all kinds of things with it, from a roll bar to intake and the dealer didn't blink when I turned it in. Of course, he didn't give me any money for all those expensive mods either which is why I say bolt-on so you can sell them before turn in.

 

I have always modded my leased vehicles. You learn to keep all your stock parts, so you can swap back before turn-in. Base your mods on the consideration of the difficulty of returning to stock. One I would worry about would be the pulley... pressing the stock one back on may be a pain. Then again you could likely turn it in with a pulley on it, and no one would really notice, except the happy driver who buys the car afterwards.

 

you will pay significantly more if you buy the vehicle after leasing it. However, at the end of the lease, all lease payments are sunk cost and should not be considered looking forward. So, if you get to the end of the lease and want to keep the car, look at the residual value of the vehicle. If that price is a good price for the vehicle, and you would be buying another vehicle anyway; you will be making a wise choice. whenever leasing the general rule of thumb is that it only pays off for a 3 year time frame. Leasing a new car every 3 years is better than buying a new car every 3 years. Best of luck. One consideration would be to buy the car now for the residual value and then finance it for X number of years. But that solution will require you to run the interest payment numbers for both solutions.

Uber

 

That's exactly why I leased. MINI is currently at the very top of the list for value retention. Since they're not planning on increasing production, it's reasonable to expect the MINI to continue to hold it's value. The residual value written into my lease will probably be a bargain when it comes time to opt out or buy.

 

Mine's a lease (2 yr ... ends this November) and I've modded it. I'll probably finance it at the end of the lease. Often, it is advantageous to sell a car to a private party before the lease is up, especially if you are over miles. I've put on 17k in 14 months and only get 12k per year.

 

Mine's a lease, too... and there's lots of mods. I plan on paying it off at the end of the term, but in the meantime I wanted to keep my payments as low as possible.

 

My dealer said this "you must return the car exactly as you receive it." Minus minimal wear & tear as described in your MINI lease booklet.

When I did the math, it was cheaper to lease and then buy at the end than it was to finance, but only if I had the cash on hand and didn't have to finance the buyout payment. I figured in 4 years I could save up the cash & buy it out.

I signed a contract allowing BMW first right of purchase should I decide to sell the car after I purchased it, so I assume they really want to keep the resale value high. In fact, if I had a buyer willing to pay slightly higher than my buyout, BMW could potentially end up making ME money by paying more for the car to keep the resale value up.

The reason I leased was in case I didn't like the car (as if), and in case they came out with a superior model in a couple years. What I think I have decided, is that I want to custom order one to purchase that has the sports suspension and DSC, as I want to add the JCW kit and feel that it would be better if I had he suspension. Plus I want the blue leather seats!

Unless someone knows whether the dealer can add those on? And if it would be cheaper?

 

Unless Canadian-spec MINI's are different from US-spec ones, all MCS have sport suspension as standard. The "Sport" package is DSC, fogs, and 17" wheels.

 

I originally leased mine but 3 months later when I realized I'd never want to turn my baby in (that and I wanted to mod - bad!) I decided to turn it into a finance. I'm so glad I leased it with BMW leasing. They ELIMINATED the lease and I turned it into a 3 year finance. I thought I'd have to buy out the whole lease and pay all the payments and residual thus paying interest twice. But they eliminated the lease, figured out the finance and subtracted my lease down payment and my previous payments! I made out great - much better than if I waited until the end of the lease to buy it. PLUS they gave me a NEW CAR LOAN rate even though it was now used! I have nothing but great things to say about BMW financing.

 

>>Unless Canadian-spec MINI's are different from US-spec ones, all MCS have sport suspension as standard. The "Sport" package is DSC, fogs, and 17" wheels.

Please excuse my newbie-ishness

I have spent a couple hours researching the site now and found great answers to my questions. I realize now that they all have the same suspensions, and it's just DSC and tires and foglights in the Sport pkg. I definitely don't want any more control on my driving... the ASC has almost killed me twice already! It is good on the snow+ice though.

I can add foglights aftermarket, but can I add the leather seats? (real MINI ones, not aftermarket)

I have a feeling I won't want to give up my baby too

My dealer said I had to wait a year before getting out of my lease without penalty. I will be visiting them in July and maybe buy my baby for her birthday!

I am interested in adding the JCW kit, especially as there are no Mini tuners even remotely near me to add the pulley, etc. Big bucks, but what's a guy to do?

 

Only if you are 100% certain that you will purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease, otherwise it would be akin to giving a diamond ring to a hooker: lots of expense but nothing to show for it in the end. If you return the car, you've got to return it stock. Just think of all the $ you'll spend taking off the stuff you put on, replacing it with the OEM stuff you took off. Then what are you going to do with all that stuff? Sell it on e-bay? And the best mods, the pulley, ECU reflash, you can't do because of the difficulty of reverting to stock. Modding a leased mule just doesn't make good economic sense.

 

>> Then what are you going to do with all that stuff? Sell it on e-bay?

Exactly what I did on my Miata. Paid $450 for a chrome roll bar, sold after 4 years of use on ebay for $325, chrome grill bought for $125... sold for $65, etc. etc. I kept all my stock parts and just spent a Saturday putting everything back on.