Ok, I am looking to buy a new mini since I mistakenly got rid of my last one.

I am looking at an 09 mini S Hardtop.

My main question is in regards to the "Mini Select" financing, it is basically a long lease without a mileage restriction. Heres the deal, I can get an 09 S for around $300 a month for 60 months but at the end of the 60 months there is a balloon payment of around $10 K that I have a couple options with, refinance it, pay it outright, or sale the mini and pay the balloon payment with the proceeds.

do yall think this is a good idea? I am trying to sell my jeep so i can get a mini, but i dont want to screw myself in the same process because it has been mandated by my wife that i keep whichever car i get for several years. (this will be my third car in less than 3 years )

I am thinking it is a good idea initially because for the same payments i have to get something with lots of miles and several years old. (06 Honda Ridgeline with 60k miles.)

again any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

also, one more question... are there any of you on here with young children that ride in your mini with car seats etc? Is it a hassle to get them in and out? i am only asking because there is a probability that a family will be started while i am still in the mini..


thanks very much

 

This is what made me not buy a MINI until I heard about and salivated over the Clubman. However; I have no real-world use of a MINI with children, I was just too worried about it. I don't think the Clubman will be that much better, though the club-door and a little more room doesn't hurt.

 

yeah.. i am just not as big of a fan of the clubman than the hardtop. but i will look into them.

thanks

 

Children = Clubman - just my thought (especially if you wife needs to retrieve them).

 

really? hmm maybe when she gets a car it will be the one that will be used to carry kids most of the time

i have a 2 door jeep wrangler that has 35s on it, i dont think it would be any more of a hassle to get them into or out of that thing.

 

FWIW,

A Jeep Wrangler, due to its propensity to roll-over coupled with questionable body-cage support design, would not be a place for children, IMHO.

 

eh.. if you say so.. but i am selling it, so that i can get a mini s.

 

I got the Mini Select financing. Did a little research around here and found that most used Minis are selling at prices well above the final residual payment, so it shouldn't be a problem to trade it in and make out OK.

I also have three small kids (2, 4 and 5). We have a Mazda CX9 for a family hauler. The Mini is my fun car. Still though, I have no problem putting the two oldest in the back of the MCS. It's easiest and best when they do their own seatbelts though. I got them bum-only booster seats which seems to work nicely.

 

thanks bright. i appreciate the information.. i dont have kids right now, just trying to plan a little ahead. but if worse comes to worse, when/if the kids come, i can either get rid of the mini or get something else.

whatever..

thanks alot.

 

I struggled with this my self... Here is the teared monthly pricing
Mini select payment (lowest)
Leasing payment
Financed payment (highest)

When it comes down to it the Mini select, it is essentially like leasing the car for 3 years, BUT all of the residual risk is on you. What I mean by this is if you lease a car and the buy out at the end of the lease is 10K, but the cars blue book is only 5K, well then you don't buy it. With the Mini select, if that same things happens you are still stuck paying 10K for a car that is only worth 5K. At the same time, you have paid significantly less per month then a lease, so maybe you still come out ahead.

Another point someone is sure to make - if you lease you have limited miles. Well if you had two identical 09 MCSs that were three years old and one had 15K miles on it and the other had 100K, which one is worth less? Again this goes back to my first point the residual risk is shifted to you rather then the manufacture as in a lease.

As noted in your post, if this is truly a 5+ year car for you then you really don't have to worry about the near term resale. In that case we are looking at an ARM type arrangement. Get more car now at less monthly cost, but if you need to refinance your balloon payment you will be lucky to get an APR less then 8%. All the sudden you will may be making a higher monthly payment on an older car

I don't mean to sound negative about the Mini select financing, in the right situation it can work. If you feel comfortable with that risk (especially considering how well these cars hold value) then it isn't a bad option. You should just know that you are taking that risk

One thing to check out, have them run the lease number for you based on how many miles you think you will drive a year and then compare the balloon to the buy out on the lease. Manufacture's have gotten pretty good at estimating buy outs on leases, so that may give you a good idea of what the car will be worth as compared to what your mini select balloon payment would be

 

Good points made by others regarding financing. I would go to a Credit Union & see what kind of terms you qualify for for a car loan & compare that to the MINI-financing/lease options; it would most likely be better than the lease option.

BTW, very glad to hear that your Jeep & future children will not be on the same timeline. One of my best friends died from a broken neck/spine when his Jeep Wrangler rolled over on a freeway exit ramp.

 

thanks guys..
pats fan, i am pretty sure that even if i can go to my credit union the payment for me will still be too high. basically the deal is that i can either get a used car or the new mini s for the same monthly payment.. depending on the length of financing allowed for the used car. i have already been quoted a general payment and ending balloon payment on an almost top of the line mini s. it isnt that bad at the end. of course it all depends on how the car is treated and how many miles i put on it.

but i think i could refinance the car at the end of the term through a credit union for less than the "BMW Financing"....

I am still torn on what i am going to do because this is a pretty long-term decision and i would like it to be the right one. to me the low monthly payments with the select is the way to go. because i am (at least for several years) getting more car for the same amount of money if i go the mini route instead of the used car route.

I will have to look on the lot at the mini place here in birmingham and run the numbers and see. that is what will determine what happens between now and then.

but first i have to sell my freaking jeep!! hopefully that will happen by the end of this week... cross your fingers!!!

 

Best of luck!

 

I'm planning on doing the Mini Select financing as well. I'm planning on keeping the car for a while and the the low payments are nice. Most likely the car will be worth around the same as the balloon payment, so it will be easy to just trade it in at the end. Good luck! Can't wait for mine!!

 

well i think i will go look at a clubman s tomorrow at lunch to see if i like them.. i am so undecided on them right now because i have never seen one properly up close.