Or, more likely, trade up when a newer model (i.e. the R56) appears.

 

I'd speculate it's just a matter of timing as has been mentioned...MINI have been around for five years and lots of owners are just getting new MINIs. This has been going on all along...it just seems logical that it'd jump about now. FWIW, the used MINIs I see on the lot from all different model years...I doubt they're problem related, but more I've-just-got-to-get-another-one related. That said, there are also a good number of owners who own multiple MINIs.

 

Check out ebay for the JCW 2006 Mini with damn near all the goodies you can get:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mini-...32787381QQrdZ1

 

Its not a full JCW car ... no suspension

It list everything that comes standard on the car So what?

That is not the price, that is the current bid ... Reserve not met

 

Yea, I know that's the current price but was not aware of the suspension. Isn't the JCW package that's on it another $6300 more plus the other packages?
I wonder what the reserve is? I wrote to the guy asking why he's selling but no word as of yet.
See the sticker price on that baby? Add on about 10% more to cover the tax, reg and stuff.

 

Its probably a combo of timing and a lot of what has been said. I wanted one ever since they first came out. I even test drove them... The smart side of me said wait so I drove my jeep longer... After 10 years of ownership of one car I wrote a big fat check for a nice used MINI. Best thing I have ever done... Oh also waiting was the best thing because kinks have been worked out and now I could buy 20 of them while 6 years ago I could not...

 

I dunno, but I like it because I am in the market. I have been watching ebay and scouring the stealerships and papers. It seems that private prices are reasonable to steal, whereas on Ebay I hardly ever see MINI reserves met and the stealerships (at least around me) have prices that are too high.

~ Derek

 

Yeah, you are not likely to get a deal at the dealership on a used car. When I was looking for my 2003 MCS they had similar cars for almost $24k and I bought it for $18.5k with only 29k miles on it. Later they called me up seeing if I was still in the market and the guy was shocked at how much less it was than what they were trying to sell...

 

I noticed it again today. A dealership in my area has an 2004 EB/W MCS with 35,000 on the clock. The guy at the dealership said it had heated leather, Xenons, so I'm guessing it has cold weather and spors package. But they want $21,000 for it. Similar MCSs I've been browsing have lower prices for similar cars and newer lower mileage cars for the same price. I told the guy I would stop by when I got home from SC, but I am basically going to look at the condition of the car and tell him the price is too high and leave, should be interesting.

~ Derek

 

I see no sticker price on that car.

I see premium package, sport package, LSD and JCW TC and brakes

He's quoting a KKB retail price which means absolutely nothing. ALL hype to make it seem like its worth more than it is.

If you really want to know what that car is worth, go to galves.com, may the $5 and get a report on a 06 MCS. Yes, TC was maybe $6300, Brakes $800? Most of the options are worthless on resale. Go to nada.com and look, Only options worth anything are JCW, Nav, auto, leather, HK ... not the sport suspension, not the LSD, not the JCW brakes.

BTW, JCW cars are not rare, I do not know the exact number but not rare.

 

Does have the suggested retail price in the last pic. Since that car came from MMV, it's likely it sold for $1500-$2500 over sticker.

Now the $23K makes sense. KBB at $33.4K
I'm guessing it doesn't go.


Not if you're Anna Nicole Smith...

 

But it IS possible! I got mine by placing a low-ish bid on an Ebay listed dealer car. Got a 'second chance' offer, ended up negotiating with them and paid $600 less than my original bid. Gotta love a motivated seller! This was at the end of January in VA. I flew out between snow storms...
Similar cars here (CA) were going for $4-5K more.

 

Well, I wrote to him and as it turns out - he is a she and she is having a baby and that's why her Mini is for sale.
Seems they are getting rid of one baby to make room for another. They bought a Prius.
Makes perfect sense to me. Married with children. 30 years from now, bet they go shopping again for a fission (fusion?) powered Mini...
When it comes time for me to get my Mini baby, I'm looking out of CA for my shopping.

 

When I see MINI's on the lots around here (Twin Cities) they always manage to get them into the front row out by the street....

At least they got curb appeal!

 

When people ask me if I like my Mini, I tell them heck ya, great little car, gets good mpg and just plain fun! That said I then tell them it's not for everyone though so go drive one, if it's for you, you'll know it...

 

someone selling a 2006 JCW (factory-installed) MCS Convertible with less than 5,000 miles on it? Sticker when new was over $37,000, and if the planets are in alignment, I'll have it for $29k! Sure beats taking the depreciation myself on a new one.

Maybe it is like the one poster said - you either "get it", or you don't. And, for whatever reason, they didn't understand what they were getting into!?!?!

Or, another possibility - they got more money than God! (or Oprah ) So it was a neat toy, and they got tired of it. Time to move on.

I'm not a good one to criticize - I once got out of a new Audi A4 Cabrio after about 4 months. Just ended up rubbing me the wrong way, I'm sad or embarrassed to say.

 

As someone in the process of purchasing a used MCSC, I'm curious about your statement about "MINI USA's general lack of customer care."

Could you elaborate?

Thanks!

 

You'll like this....the first MINI Cooper I ever saw was a 2002 PS/B Cooper for sale at a Honda pre-owned dealership (not sure how that happened) but the price on the Cooper was $35K!!! Weirder than that, I think they sold it!!! Glad things are a bit more realistic nowadays.

 

There are many posts here addressing MINI's apparent view that we should just live with certain problems; that it is an expected part of MINI ownership. Things such as windshield chipping, power steering fans, rattles, transmission issues, software bugs, etc. I think it is absurd that MINI's answer to a storage box rattle was to lock the boxes and pretend they don't exist. Or the fact that you can't get touch-up paint because, for some unfathomable reason, MINI refuses to put "do not consume" on the label.

 

My question is, Why would buy a used MINI?

My initial plan was to look into a used MINI, then I realized that the used models around here are all being listed for only a couple thousand dollars less than a brand new one!!! (some are being listed for even more than a new one!!) And with MINI's "order it your way" philosophy, It just feels like your getting someone else's design, you're adopting someone else's unwanted child. (I guess when it's put that way, it sounds like a noble deed)

 

That's exactly what I think Louie, used isn't much of a discount at all, and resale on these seem to be really good, some of the highest rated resale values on the market according to several sources.

So, spend the extra %5 and order it to your specs and it'll be all that much cooler for you.

And, for some perspective, look online for ANY type of car and you'll find loads... the sites you're looking at are showing cars from across the entire country.

I pick mine up on monday, am ordering exactly what I want, and couldn't be happier.

 

They days of getting a used mini for only a couple thousand less than a brand new car are over. Sorry to say but our cars are no longer holding their value as they did. Even when they were holding value the fact is they are a depreciating asset.

I bought my 2003 almost a year ago for 18.5 and it sold new for almost $10,000 more. I would call that more than a couple thousand.

 

I have been watching the adds in the "Shopper" mags latley for another reason and while doing so I notice the MINIs that are listed. Most seem to be 2002/3 with between 30,000 and 50,000 miles. The problem I see is that in the past 8 weeks the same cars are listed. There has been an MC at the local Honda dealer thats been out front or accross the street going on 6 months.

 

The reason is tennis elbow.

 

That's your only basis for saying that our cars no longer hold their value, your one time experience? There's too much information that suggests otherwise. There could be many circumstances that led to you getting such a great deal, like how much the dealer had in the car, or if buying from an individual, did they simply want to get out from under it? Perhaps you're just a top notch negotiator!

All cars depreciate, and I don't think anyone is claiming the Mini is an investment. This is not an attack on you, but a sample of one is not enough to make a broad statement like that. Just an opinion.

ucbrother