I've been browsing for a slightly used mini and there seem to be a decent amount of them for sale around the 30-36,000 mile mark. Is it common practice to get rid of your mini before the 36k warranty expires? The minis with even lower mileage make me wonder if the previous owner got rid of it because it was a lemon, why would anyone get rid of a car with only 12,000 miles? I drove both a base model and an s today, the base seemed a bit slow when accelerating to get on the highway. I'm wanting a mini but leery of their reliability and not sure if I'm comfortable getting one that is beyond the warranty period. At the same time I'm trying to stick to a budget ($17k or less).

 

The MINI warranty is for 4 yrs or 50K miles.

 

We sold on the first three MINIs while they were still under warranty. Tristan's the only one we've let the warranty expire on. We got newer MINIs, and didn't have much trouble with the older ones.

A little worry about being out of warranty was a factor in selling.

 

Maybe i'm thinking of the no cost maintenance for 3 years or 36,000 miles. The car salesman said 3 years 36,000 and then 4 years or 50,000 miles so I wasn't sure what each was for.

 

I always sell my daily drivers before the warranty is up, because it gives the buyer a little peace of mind and the price is significantly higher.

 

Go to any car dealer and you can find used cars with under 30k mi. Some people decide they don't like it, cannot afford it (repo), on 2-3yr lease and didnt do a lot of miles each year, etc. these are the cars dealers crave. Higher mileage tend to go to other lots or auction. I don't think Mini has a higher incidence than other cars.

My wife got a new Jetta in April and there were several VWs on the lot with low mileage.

 

I'm always cruising Cars.com & Auto Trader. There a lot of MINIs for sale with low miles & lots more just about to run out of warranty or just past. That says something to me.

 

I bought my '08 Clubman S with 32,750 miles when it was three years old. It was a lease return that was turnned back in. MINI's have a three year lease so you can find a lot of them that are three years old with 30,000+ miles back on the lots. Mine was still under warranty and all the recalls were performed. We love our MINI and are not overly worried about it - there are a lot of happy owners out there that you don't read about.

 

I just did a search on Cars.com for used Hondas within 30 miles of my home and 415 showed up with 30,000mi or less on that site alone. Those cars must be total junk as people try to get rid of them before their 36mo/36K warranty expires.

And 525 Toyotas with the same parameters. Another marque known for reliability issues.

 

Free oil changes, wiperblades, etc are 3yrs,36,000 miles!!!!......

 

The OP's question was about MINIs. I don't look for appliances. I enjoy looking for fun cars like MINIs. And yes those you mention are total junk & very boring cars.

 

Yes, but I also don't look at Cars.com as an indicator as to a car's reliability based on how many are for sale with under 30K miles. I took it you did when you said:

My point was. All kinds of cars are available with low mileage, and it means one thing - that for some reason, the original owners got rid of them for any number of reasons.

 

No.
Factory warranty is 4 years/50K miles.

The primary reasons for so many 3-year used cars on the market is that most of them are coming off the leases (36-months being the most common lease term).

Before the lease term expires, the owner has am option to buy the car out the pre-agreed upon residual price. If if the person has no intention of keeping the car, it would be silly not to try to sell it for $100 more than the lease buy-out price

On the other side of the transaction, the dealers' lots quickly fill-up with lease return cars that need to find new owners.

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P.S.: If you are shopping for a 3+ year old MCS, make sure the car had had the timing chain job done. Else - walk away or knock off $2K from the sale price to get the timing tensioner+chain replaced before you take possession.

 

I bought mine with 14k miles on it. I talked to the original owners and it just didn't fit their life anymore and they needed something a little bit bigger.

 

I'm thinking that they come on the market with low miles because they're lease cars - three years at 12,000 miles is 36,000 miles, probably most people make sure they don't exceed their limits because it's so expensive to do so.

 

According to the U.S. DOT, the average American drives 13,746 miles per year, which leaves a bunch of cars under that number. In addition, there are a many of us who have more than one car, which brings the miles per car down even further.

 

my 2 cents - lease returns

 

I've personally traded in two with less than 30k and there was nothing wrong with either one of them. Traded in the first (a hatch) for the second (a Clubman), traded in the second because I missed having a truck around for "homeowner stuff" and thought it was a good time to do so. With the new models coming out in March current gen will likely take a hit in value... Get more for my trade-in now, pay less to replace it with another one later (so far I haven't seen much that appeals to me with the next gen).

So basically what I'm saying is: between people with their own reasons and the aforementioned lease returns, don't read too much into the availability of low-mileage used cars.

 

Yes that can help account for a large number of low mileage MINIs. Trouble with a lease return car of any make is that they don't usually get treated very well. Just a longer term rental car.

 

Do you have a source to back that up? I know several people that lease, including my parents, that treat a leased car very well because they have to live with it for 3 years, but that is anecdotal on my part. Wondering if you had a link that backed up that leased cars were treated like rentals.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that the leasing companies are getting very picky about the condition of returned cars, and they're adding charges for repairing door dings, scuffed wheels and other stuff they say falls outside the definition of "normal" wear and tear. I heard yesterday about a guy that who was charged for carpet cleaning!