When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
well. They sold it to someone else first thing this morning.
There is is another one that is exactly what I want, and is a great price, it it’s a bit out of my budget.
It is basically the exact same car, only a 2017 with 18k miles on it for 19,900.
Too bad....I know exactly how you feel! Something similar happened to me in 2015....so, I just bought a new one lol! One way to get exactly what you want but you eat the depreciation! Have you thought of leasing a new one since you will put commuting miles on it anyway?....just a thought,
well. They sold it to someone else first thing this morning.
There is is another one that is exactly what I want, and is a great price, it it’s a bit out of my budget.
It is basically the exact same car, only a 2017 with 18k miles on it for 19,900.
Well, that is not a bad price considering my JCW is the same year, same mileage, all the options except for heated seats which in New Mexico is really not too relevant and the price was $25,000.
If, when, you find exactly what you want, have you thought about maybe getting the extended warranty and keeping the car for much longer?
Okay - updates! I ruled out the great deal on the 2017 because it is just too much money. In addition, there was an accident on the carfax.
So - now it is down to these three:
1) 2015 2 Door Hardtop S, Red w/ black interior, 24k miles, CPO car. Has every option I want. Price is $17,577
2) 2014 2 Door Hardtop S, Dark Blue w/ black interior, 35k miles, Not a CPO car, it's at a Mercedes dealer. Has every option I want except for harmon kardon radio. Price is $15,801
3) 2014 2 Door Hardtop S, Gray w/ black interior, 25k miles, private party sale. Does not have multimedia screen or harmon kardon radio. Price is $13,900
What to do? The first one is exactly what I am looking for, but it is far away, so I will need to add $600 in airfare along with $200 in hotel costs to go and get it. This puts it at the very tippy top of my max budget.
Between 2 and 3, I don't really like that metallic gray color, but it isn't terrible. However, the price is very appealing and the car is super close to me so I could just have my wife drive me out to go pick it up.
Struggling here. I'm a CPA, so I am super conscious about pricing and that red one is really stretching the budget. The gray one would allow me to keep a lot of money held back and put towards the next car if I wanted to. I am worried about the engine bearing issues on the 2014 though.
Think I am going to make a decision on one of these by the end of the day - so any input is really appreciated!
You need to take your CPA hat off and think outside the "money box"!
I vote for #1 all day long.....I'd take a 2015 over a 2014 every time. $3k or $4k won't seem like that much after you have owned the car for a few years. You might even decide to "keep it"! It sounds like you know what options you would prefer to have, like HK sound system. So, just go for #1. You could possibly have it shipped for under $1,000 depending on where it is. A CPO car is a huge plus in piece of mind if nothing else. If your chili red MCS has the black bonnet stripes it will look stellar with the black roof and black interior....that's a lovely color combination! And that amount of money for a 25k mile nearly new MCS isn't bad at all imo.
The hunt is part of the fun, but if you are serious, hesitation will bite you in the you know where!
I would talk with the sales person to go over all of your questions....you can never ask too many questions. if the sales person is honest and you feel good about the red MCS, that will make you feel better having it shipped. Ask for videos of places you have questions about...it's ok to put on your CPA hat for this part!
Looks like I made a deal that was too good to pass up. I have agreed to purchase the gray one. Private party sale, guy has all the service records including paperwork showing the recall on the bearing had been done. Had the original window sticker from when he bought it new along with everything else. Car is immaculate and has 25k miles on it. I'll miss my fancy radio, but it has all the other options that were important to me, including the sunroof and headlights. We agreed on a purchase price of $13,000. That will allow me plenty of money to do any other personalization things I want to do it and I won't feel I am breaking the bank.
Ultimately it was the wife who convinced me this was the right car. She asked me if I would be happier with the red one over this one and I said yes. She said, will you be happier enough to keep it any longer. The honest answer is no. I enjoy getting a different car too much, so the odds that I will keep any car more than 2 years or so is near zero. It's the driving experience I am looking for in this car more than features or options, so that is the important part.
I'm pretty excited. Going to go get it on Saturday. I sold my BMW and that is getting picked up on Weds, so I will be in a rental car for a couple of days, lol!
Here are a couple of photos of the car. Thanks everyone for the assistance. I will keep you posted if something takes a weird turn.
Congratulations! I like the overall look of the thunder gray with black roof & black interior. Those wheels look great as well. I hope it works out for you. I'd be real surprised if you sell it in 2 years though!
Yeah - were there some other options I wanted? You bet. But at $13,000 - it was impossible to say no to. Pretty happy with the purchase.
Congrats! I believe any choice you make is a correct one "for you". I myself had 2 choices a month ago and picked one that made more sense in pretty much every aspect(year, options, mileage, price). Since your car has low miles, hopefully no major accidents, regular oil changes/service was preformed, then you should be fine. Also the 2 year mark you mentioned about keeping cars, I don't think with MINI going with 2 years is enough, unless car starts to have major mechanical issues and you just want to get rid of it. I had 2016 VW GTI Autobahn edition which I leased for 36 months, then returned it and decided to purchase 2016 MINI
Leaving after work to head over to North Carolina. Meeting the guy with the car tomorrow at 9am. Hopefully everything goes smoothly and I have it my garage by tomorrow afternoon!
Congrats on your purchase! You had some great choices along the way and I’m thrilled you made one you are excited about.
For what its worth, I was initially bummed about not having the high end audio in my brand new f55, but those feelings have faded as I remember what its like to just drive and not have my attention divided by multiple screens. It’s not so bad!
Got the car home Saturday afternoon. Installed JB+ tuner Saturday afternoon, lol. Thing is now the definition of "pocket rocket". Good grief it's peppy.
Drove to work this morning. Love the car, however, two comments perhaps someone can shed light on.
1) Not having the larger multimedia screen isn't too bad, I can adjust to that. The regular display works fine. The speakers, however, are terrible. Anyone have any experience with the BAVSOUND speaker upgrade? Is it worth the $300 to upgrade just the speakers or should I go and spend more to add a small subwoofer and amp? I'm 42 and listen mostly to pretty laid back music, don't need much base, just miss the clarity of the HK system from my BMW.
2) There is an incessant rattle coming from somewhere in the passenger side. Anyone have any recommendations on where I can begin looking for this to silence it? Gonna drive me crazy, lol.
3) Other than that - I love the car. Very happy with my decision. Plan to get the windows tinted shortly and probably replace the headlight and taillight surrounds in the near future with the black ones. That's probably all the modification I really need. Darn thing came with three sets of floor mats, haha. The carpeted ones, MINI brand rubber ones, and weather tech ones. Good grief.
1). I have HK sound system in my ‘15 JCW, and std system in our ‘15 Countryman S All4. The std system is much better than I’d expected. The HK has a deeper & mellower sound, but the std system isn’t bad. Try adjusting the bass & treble before messing with other speakers or amps. Btw, my car doesn’t have a screen so I don’t worry about screen related issues....I like it that way! It does everything just fine without paying extra for the visual boost screen or the xl screen.
2). I’d assume you will use your closest MINI dealer for some things right? Maybe give them a try regarding the rattle if you can’t find anything. They might have an easy fix.
3). I use the black std floor mats since my clutch foot seems to drag on the rubber ones. I have both. I think it must be due to the mechanics of the clutch or my foot! Who knows, but I much prefer the std floor mats.
1). I have HK sound system in my ‘15 JCW, and std system in our ‘15 Countryman S All4. The std system is much better than I’d expected. The HK has a deeper & mellower sound, but the std system isn’t bad. Try adjusting the bass & treble before messing with other speakers or amps. Btw, my car doesn’t have a screen so I don’t worry about screen related issues....I like it that way! It does everything just fine without paying extra for the visual boost screen or the xl screen.
2). I’d assume you will use your closest MINI dealer for some things right? Maybe give them a try regarding the rattle if you can’t find anything. They might have an easy fix.
3). I use the black std floor mats since my clutch foot seems to drag on the rubber ones. I have both. I think it must be due to the mechanics of the clutch or my foot! Who knows, but I much prefer the std floor mats.
Thanks for the heads up and I appreciate the response. I agree with your comments about the floor mats - the carpet ones are my favorite by far. Will probably put up at least one, if not both, of the all weather floor mats up for sale.
I agree with you on the screen - I thought I would really miss it coming from a 328i with the idrive screen, but I've already adapted and it really is fine. The speaker quality, for how I enjoy my music though, really needs correcting. I've played with the various treble and base and fade settings, and while it is 'acceptable' I won't be happy in the long run. I have a pretty long commute and really enjoy a quality sound system.
My nearest MINI dealer is about 140 miles away, so no plans to head there until the 30,000 mile mark service. Was hoping some other forum members can shed some light on the rattles and give me a place to start looking to help solve it on my own.
Got the car home Saturday afternoon. Installed JB+ tuner Saturday afternoon, lol. Thing is now the definition of "pocket rocket". Good grief it's peppy.
Drove to work this morning. Love the car, however, two comments perhaps someone can shed light on.
1) Not having the larger multimedia screen isn't too bad, I can adjust to that. The regular display works fine. The speakers, however, are terrible. Anyone have any experience with the BAVSOUND speaker upgrade? Is it worth the $300 to upgrade just the speakers or should I go and spend more to add a small subwoofer and amp? I'm 42 and listen mostly to pretty laid back music, don't need much base, just miss the clarity of the HK system from my BMW.
2) There is an incessant rattle coming from somewhere in the passenger side. Anyone have any recommendations on where I can begin looking for this to silence it? Gonna drive me crazy, lol.
3) Other than that - I love the car. Very happy with my decision. Plan to get the windows tinted shortly and probably replace the headlight and taillight surrounds in the near future with the black ones. That's probably all the modification I really need. Darn thing came with three sets of floor mats, haha. The carpeted ones, MINI brand rubber ones, and weather tech ones. Good grief.
Check seatbelt retracting parts for rattles. Otherwise could be in the door or ? Seems like you solve one rattle and two more pop up.
Bavsounds are good, but they need more power. Even the stock speakers need more power.
Check seatbelt retracting parts for rattles. Otherwise could be in the door or ? Seems like you solve one rattle and two more pop up.
Bavsounds are good, but they need more power. Even the stock speakers need more power.
Thanks and will do!
Spoke to the guy at the place I use for window tint, they are a well respected stereo installer as well. He listened to the stock system for a bit and suggested first just adding a small underseat subwoofer with built in amp. Said since I am not looking for some loud booming stereo that it might be the best recommendation for me. He mentioned that if I decided to add the bavsound speakers later, the previously installed sub/amp combo certainly won't hurt anything.
Got the car home Saturday afternoon. Installed JB+ tuner Saturday afternoon, lol. Thing is now the definition of "pocket rocket". Good grief it's peppy.
Drove to work this morning. Love the car, however, two comments perhaps someone can shed light on.
1) Not having the larger multimedia screen isn't too bad, I can adjust to that. The regular display works fine. The speakers, however, are terrible. Anyone have any experience with the BAVSOUND speaker upgrade? Is it worth the $300 to upgrade just the speakers or should I go and spend more to add a small subwoofer and amp? I'm 42 and listen mostly to pretty laid back music, don't need much base, just miss the clarity of the HK system from my BMW.
2) There is an incessant rattle coming from somewhere in the passenger side. Anyone have any recommendations on where I can begin looking for this to silence it? Gonna drive me crazy, lol.
3) Other than that - I love the car. Very happy with my decision. Plan to get the windows tinted shortly and probably replace the headlight and taillight surrounds in the near future with the black ones. That's probably all the modification I really need. Darn thing came with three sets of floor mats, haha. The carpeted ones, MINI brand rubber ones, and weather tech ones. Good grief.
1. I'm interested in the BAVSOUND upgrade too but I am such a stereo novice that "more power" is only theoretical to me. I am having my windows tinted next monday and they know their stuff so I may ask my shop like you did. Also, in the audio settings on my car there is a speed sensitive setting. Make sure that is turned down. I read it does strange things at higher speeds and it doesnt add much at lower speeds. I had it up on my first drive from the dealer but once I dropped it the sound got better.
2. Yes, check the seat belt. Hopefully, that is it. I freak out every time my son doesn't get it put back the right way because I am just waiting...dreading...the first rattle. The seatbelt makes my heart jump every time.
3. Carpeted are my favs too but they don't seem very sturdy. I don't love all-weather / rubber mats though, so I will wear these out and find some replacements down the line.
Yeah - I will keep you posted and will certainly check the seat belt.
I am looking to probably order the front windshield cowl replacement and the front bumper insert from ECS, since both are heavily faded. Pretty cheap parts, but it looks like I need to pull the entire front bumper to get that piece replaced - so perhaps a bit time consuming. I can't find any instructions on replacing the windshield cowl - let me know if you know of where to look.
The car sat for the past several years, only being driven a couple of miles per month - so I expected some minor cosmetic things that would need to be addressed.
Spoke to the guy at the place I use for window tint, they are a well respected stereo installer as well. He listened to the stock system for a bit and suggested first just adding a small underseat subwoofer with built in amp. Said since I am not looking for some loud booming stereo that it might be the best recommendation for me. He mentioned that if I decided to add the bavsound speakers later, the previously installed sub/amp combo certainly won't hurt anything.
Thoughts?
Sub/amp is not going to address the issues you mentioned. If you don't need bass, why add a sub woofer/amp ? Makes zero sense. Add more power by swapping out the factory amp for something that will deliver the highs and mid ranges you seek. The extra power will surprise you. Sub amp isn't needed unless you love that thumping sound music.
Yeah - I will keep you posted and will certainly check the seat belt.
I am looking to probably order the front windshield cowl replacement and the front bumper insert from ECS, since both are heavily faded. Pretty cheap parts, but it looks like I need to pull the entire front bumper to get that piece replaced - so perhaps a bit time consuming. I can't find any instructions on replacing the windshield cowl - let me know if you know of where to look.
The car sat for the past several years, only being driven a couple of miles per month - so I expected some minor cosmetic things that would need to be addressed.
