When do YOU know it's time to sell?
 

Hi all.

This is a question for folks like me who own their cars outright
and drive them until it's time to jump ship.

I'd like your advice. I'll try to keep it short.

I bought my 2003 R50 (base Cooper) three years ago. It had been in Miami all its life (no rust) and had low miles for its age. It was 7 years old with only 45k miles on it.

I paid $10k for it.

In the 3 years I've owned it, I've driven it 67k miles (up to 112k mow) and put another $10k into repairs and upkeep.

Yes, then thousand dollars is a lot of money to keep an old Mini on the road (and in basically stock condition).

It's been totally trouble-free for about 6 moths now. Largely b/c I've replace so many of the thigs that wear out (all 4 struts, clutch, radiator/cooling system components, CV boots, lower steering shaft, one wheel bearing)

I really, really, love this car. (maybe I should add another really)

It's arguably at it's peak at the moment. As it should be for all the resources I've put into it. It runs and drives straight, tight, and quiet; it;s never worn tires funny or given me a single issue to have to find a workaround for. It's in really, really good shape. (still no rust!)

I'm thinking I should just drive it and enjoy the fruits of all the time and money I've put into it. But doing that invovles assuming continued risk. I still have 3 wheel bearings that could start grinding ($250 ea), I have yet to have issues with the water pump or power steering system (both known issues)

The other option would be to sell it while it's still in such fine shape. I recently checked the KBB and NADA value and was shocked to see how low they figure its worth. (barely north of $4k)

After all this typing, I'm thinking I should keep it. But what happens if my water pump goes on the way home? Another $1,200+ to keep it running/stock?

:popcorn:


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Your car is beautiful! Amazing shape!

I say keep it. What's the alternative? You would now lose so much money, and have to spend a lot to get something else. Then there's your cheap insurance etc...

Thanks. i think I may just be looking for a little reassurance. It's been quite frustrating at times having to do a lot of expensive work. It's left me rather spooked.

The alternative? Probably more risky. I'd really like an '06 JCW or maybe even a GP (if i could find one that didn't need to stay in a museum).

If not another Gen 1, Mini, then I'd go drive some sedans (I like sedans too) I'd have to look at BMWs and Mercs.

Any of alternative to this car would involve financing.

(boy, i feel better alredy)

It's hard to stay debt free ;)

Mynewt
Beautiful car !! Not very often do I see my wheels on another MINI and then I think again, how happy I am to have kept mine.
Keep your car.:thumbsup:

I'm not super-current on Gen 1 issues, but isn't the power steering now covered under warranty? Or would this one not qualify?

Either way, beautiful MINI!

First of all, it's impossible to answer your question without knowing how many other cars you own and how much free cash you have sitting around earmarked for fun cars.

Consider this:
1). The repairs you list are nothing unusual for the car's age and mileage (suspension, cooling system, clutch).
2). Since it cost you $10K, I assume you've been paying someone else to work on your car. Otherwise, the parts alone would have cost you closer to $1-1.5K.
3). North of 100K miles, the quantity and cost of repairs will increase, not decline. You should prepare for emergency repairs on, or pro-actively replace: water pump; other 3 wheel bearings; spark plugs and coils; more suspension pieces; etc
4). Unless you learn to DIY, your repair costs will likely increase from here on. In other words, it pays to DIY if you intend to keep the car past 100K miles. Otherwise, BOHICA.
5). What you've spent on repairs to date is sunk cost. It should not figure in your decision to keep it or get a new car.

#1-4 may not be what you wanted to hear, but I would honestly never advise a friend to own or buy a 100+K mile car unless he was able to wrench on it. Unless it's a 3rd or 4th car, or if money is no object.

HTH,
a

I would suggest keeping it. You said that the trade-in on your MINI is about $4k. Where would you get a used MINI for that price in that condition?

Beautiful color by the way. What is it called?

I've been thinking about getting out of the R50 for awhile, but even objectively better cars seem to leave me wanting more. I guess I just like to drive it, slow and rough as she is!

When I can afford to buy a second car, I'll get a sedan/GT car maybe. I think I'm stuck with the Cooper for life :lol:

I'd keep it if I were you. Cheap insurance, pretty good on gas, and paid for.

That would be "no other cars" and "no free money sitting around". I'm not sure I'd be driving an 11 year old car if I did.

Suffice to say this is my only car.

I've had all the work done at Greasy's in Worcester and Zblyut's in Amherst, MA. I know how to work on cars, that's exactly why I pay others to do it. I know what I do and do not want to spend my time doing.

Is it a general rule of thumb that paying someone to work on your car is 10-15% parts and 85-90% labor? Or is that hyperbole?
So you're saying I would save money by going out and buying a new car? I don't follow.

Keep it, its paid off and in beautiful shape. If you want another car i would save up for the down payment then buy one, but keep this one. Just my two cents.

It's Velvet Red. It was a one-year color in the states.

I'm glad someone said this. It always pains me when someone says something like "if I sell it now I'll lose money." Once spent, that money is *gone*. You can't lose it.

I would -- if the car is Japanese. We bought my wife's '03 Subaru at 94,000 mi in 2006. We did have to have the front wheel bearings replaced around 150k, and a new catalytic converter at 240k this year. But aside from that, it's been mostly consumables: fluid changes, tire, rotors, pads, gasoline, a battery. As we have passed the 250,000mi mark the front end is wanting new tie rods... Overall we have gotten over 150k mi and 7 years of solid service. The thing is rugged as a stone.

But a BMW-designed vehicle like the MINI? Best learn to spin a wrench. Structurally great, but all the little gadgets that BMW engineers so love are failure-prone and expensive to replace. And they screw up the basics too, from time to time. (Really, BMW, how can you screw up a power steering pump or a coolant tank? That's not exactly bleeding edge technology there.)

OP: good luck, whatever your decision. In your shoes, I'd keep driving it until the next issue, and if a repair would cost more than $1000, abandon ship.

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This sounds like sound advice. Since spending more time in and under this R50, I'm actually more include to resume working on my own car. It looks pretty simple underneath and inside the hood. And this one has little or no rust.

The brakes might need to be done at some point. It still has whatever came on it when I got it. They are only down to about 50% and 40% respectively. (I usually get 80k miles out of a set of brakes which means I only ever do them one while I own a car). i could probably go ahead and do those before it starts to get prohibitively cold here (sometime in Oct).

Oh, right. That's the other thing about wrenching; it's below freezing and often icy and snow-covered for nearly 6 months of the year here.

I think maybe European car people forget that this is the norm with a lot of cars on the road. I know too many people who buy new Toyotas and do nothing to them besides oil changed up north of 150k miles. Some people will put two clutches and three sets of CA bushings in their Minis in that time.

Grass is always greener over the fence.

If you should buy another previously owned car...you could very well incur the costs you are attempting to avoid.

Buying a new car you would immediately pay sales tax and registration which will cost you say $2,000 which is a cost to you.

You could also very well not incur significant repair costs for many more miles on your current Mini.

My typical game plan is to buy a new car when I want the new car. Trade in my precious car based upon want of a new car. My hand is forced to get rid of a vehicle if it has known issues than I will then locate the replacement vehicle.

Sell only if you have a reason. Reason that you want a new car or if you know of an issue which requires a decision of repair/dispose

The brakes will last until spring, easily.

I missed that you're in Mass. Me too, and I usually lay off the maintenance tasks from Nov-Mar. Emergency repairs only when temps drop below 40°. :)

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It's beautiful.

It seems from the maintenance costs that you pay to have everything done to the car rather than wrench on it yourself, so any more repairs are going to keep getting more expensive with that mileage. As you pointed out, it is at its peak now, never a better time to trade it in at your Mini dealer for a newer/new one. If you are averaging $3,300/year in maintenance costs you seem like you can afford the financing on a new one. Pay the mechanic or pay the bank, at least you won't have to worry about reliability with the new one.

Keep it - enjoy it - and cross the next bridge when it comes! Nice color by the way! :thumbsup:

$10k into a car, you are just getting started. I dropped that in a 20 year BMW that I just recently got rid of. Look for that great deal on a car and part ways because at this point you will never get what you put into your car back as far as financially. You will only get smiles and the satisfaction that you have kept a car alive and on the road. I would also suggest learning how to turn a wrench to help save you money in the future.

That thing is gorgeous! Why would you even think of selling it? It sounds like it will be reliable for a while yet- you seem to be very ahead of the maintenance curve. I usually don't fix stuff until it breaks. I haven't put struts, half shafts in etc. because they haven't given me any problems.

Think about this- is there another car that looks this good or gives you that smile when you go out to it? Search for those "I regret I sold my MINI" threads on here (there should be a separate forum, I think) and don't become one of those. We have a few local club members here in Seattle who sold their first and have purchased a series of new ones trying to get that feeling back. Words of caution for you!

Plus, brakes are super easy on these cars. They will make a good place to learn to wrench on your car in the summer time. How-to thread on here plus some simple hand tools (hello Harbor Freight!) and presto- new brakes!

Val

When my previous car was over 20 years old ('82 VW Rabbit S) and the new MINIs had
been on the market for a year or two, I knew it was time to sell the Rabbit.

My 2003 MC is now over 10 years old and still doing great, and there's nothing on the market
compelling enough for me to move on to (including the new MINI models), so it'll be quite a
while before it's time for me to sell this one. The Midlands box makes me a little nervous,
but so far so good and it can be changed to a Getrag if it really comes to that (biting my tongue).

Sounds about right to me... At $60-90 / hour for labor and most mechanics billing hours "by the book" ("the book" usually says things will take longer than they do if you know what you're doing) labor adds up FAST, even on inexpensive parts.

I have all my service records. I'll go back and have a look. I have the impression that parts and labor are generally 50/50 on those invoices, or maybe 60/40 weighted toward labor. But as I said, that's just my sense. If I remember to go back and look, I'll report here.

I'm not sure hoe Greasy's charges for labor, but Luke Zbylut definitely uses the book. But then he's spent a notable amount of time on my car that he chose to keep off the bill, so I figure it all comes out in the wash.

Luke charges $80/hr and Greasy's is $88per BTW/FWIW.