Advice on appraising my Mini
 

I have a 2010 Mini Cooper S, purchased new about a year and a half ago. Over the first year and 2 or 3 months I had to bring my vehicle into the dealership because it was dying after hot starts. Every time they either couldn't reproduce the event, or they would attempt a fix that did nothing. I ended up suing through a lemon law lawyer, but during the process of negotiating I brought they vehicle in again after I couldn't get it started on a hot start. At this time Mini had put out a computer fix that effected my model, which specifically fixed an issue with vehicles dying on hot starts. This completely fixed the issue, quick and easy, but the lawsuit went through for the hassle I went through for a year of bringing my vehicle in over and over again. It was a small 3.5k settlement.


Besides that, I have 25k miles on it. No damage, no dents, only scratches on the bumper from city parking as expected. Inside is perfect still.

Work recently slowed down for me and I am looking to sell my vehicle and buy something cheaper, hopefully something cheap enough to be covered by the selling of my Mini. I want to know if I can get an honest appraisal of my vehicle at a Mini dealership, or if the numerous times I brought it in and then the lawsuit will effect that.

what is my best option for getting a trade in appraisal, and if I sell the vehicle myself can I expect the old issues to effect the cost? Sorry I have never sold a vehicle before or bought a used one, so I am not sure how it all works. The several times I brought my vehicle in looks bad if any person looking up my car history can see that information, even though it was all just a small computer error that was fixed. It worries me and I have divulged everything here in hopes of finding the best process for selling my Mini.

Kelly Blue Book, Autotrader, and such will help you determine the resale value better then random people on a forum.

NADA will work, Edmunds, you can also check online sites for cars that are similar to yours and compare pricing. The problem with that is that Mini's can have differing levels of trim between one another that can really affect the price.

Good luck.

As far as the dealer penalizing you for the lawsuit, I'd say it's possible. A friend of mine bought a Subaru WRX wagon the first year they came out in US ('01, I think). He had an aftermarket sunroof installed by or through the very dealer from which he purchased the car. This was done BEFORE delivery. Now these cars never came with a sunroof factory as it was thought that it would disrupt the structural integrity of the chassis. There was a TSB on it at some point. Anyhow, when he tried to trade it in, that very same dealer would not take the car because of the sunroof, or tried to give a very low offer as they would wholesale it out, and not sell it on their lot. He had proof that the sunroof was installed there, prior to delivery. That's some messed up business, right there. I hope your dealer does the right thing, but don't be too surprised if they don't. Best of luck to you.

I have done all the online pricing I can for similar Minis as my model, and thats not the issue. The issue is whether or not I will get a lower offer for my vehicle because of the vehicle history and lawsuit.

If you "trade" it in, basically sell it to a dealer you will get low-balled as they have to make a buck on it too. The worst place I have found to trade a MINI in is a MINI dealer. The have to mark used cars a certain percentage below new cars to justify the lower cost of buying used. This trickles down to the older used cars.

Example:
Your 2010 MCS (no other known info, assumed auto because you said city parking)While a MINI dealer might only give you $15-16k for it even though kbb is at or slightly about $17k. They in-turn will list it for $19-21k depending on the area.

Heck at my dealership right now they have a 2012 non-S with 1724miles on it for $20.8k because the car new might have only had a sticker of $21-24k so why would you buy a used car when for a few more bucks a month to most people you could get a brand new car the way you want from MINI.

See if any dealers in town sell 1 or 2 MINIs a month and they might give you a fair value for it, or try the online avenue as well.