Racing my r53 in, already have a quote from dealer but I'd like to put the stock brakes back on, is this wrong of me to do? They are still excellent condition and appear the same. I'm sure they wouldn't notice but if I ask I guarantee he will want the better of the two, thoughts?

 

IMHO, just do it.

 

Selling used brakes are kinda iffy vs the labor....
A few years ago, r53 parts went for a good price...
But so many cars are getting parted out....not sure it is worth your time....
Ethically, guess it depends how closely they looked at your car for the "estimate" on trade in....but remember, its just that...not a done deal.

 

Well I can swap my JCW brakes in an hour, the dealer looked at the car and gave me a price I think its a done deal

 

I'd say go for it. Most of the time people will take off any mods before trade in and re-sell them. So, it's not uncommon. Are you getting another Mini?

-Luccia

 

Also I'm sure the price you were quoted for trade in did not include upgraded brakes. I work at a dealership and no matter the mods, if its not OEM, and if it doesn't have a box to click on our program, you don't get any money for it. That has been the case for the 3 dealers I worked for.

Take 'em off and sell them. And don't feel guilty about

 

2009 128i, wanted one for a while now, finally gonna get one.

 

thanks for the assurance, I'm a firm believer in karma so I wanted to get opinions.

 

I could use some JCW brakes for a decent price

 

I think bad karma only happens if there is an issue that wasn't disclosed. Happens usually when sold to a private party but on a dealer trade - don't they get trades with issues all the time and turn around and resell it? That's karma to the max! Not all though.. some are still somewhat honest.

 

Actually, you would be doing the next owner a favor. Who wants to order up service parts then discover that you have mods you didn't know about and the parts don't fit.

 

+1. You aren't getting a dime for your brakes or any other mods. Takes them off.

 

Ethics, car dealers - this thread is a riot. Used cars even more funny.

 

I've never traded a car in, learning the etiquette though.

 

Think about it this way. You walk into car dealer showroom to buy a used Mini off the lot. Test drive, love it and make an offer which is accepted. Dealer tells you they will wash, detail, etc. and you can pick it up tomorrow. You show up, pay & sign and drive away, first thing you notice is that the brakes feel way different to you than test drive. So you drive back to dealer and confront him/her about the brakes. He says oh yeah, the tech who worked on the car wanted those aftermarket brakes on his car so he swapped them for the OEM ones on his car. Are you happy with this? Sound fair or ethical?

I'm always amazed at what people think is ethical, fair or correct.

 

^^^ Agreed

 

good ol' fashioned switcheroo?

 

I agree, that's why I'm asking. He didn't drive it though, merely started it and gave it a look for damage and gave me the average auction value. The oem brakes are good almost new, the jcw are just better. Maybe I'll just keep them on, I don't want to be deceitful, just hate to leave them on when they don't care either way when someone on NAM could be appreciating them.

 

You're not deceiving them on anything; they probably don't know the JCW brakes are there let alone included it in their valuation.

This is not a seller to final buyer situation.

 

Come on now, this isn't a difficult issue. If you got a hard quote for a vehicle in a certain condition, you should provide it in the same condition as when the quote was made. Or discuss the matter - perhaps they won't care. But pulling a switcheroo is straight-out deceitful and there is no way to justify it with a "they won't notice" rationale.

- Mark

 

Interesting to hear the different opinions.

 

I'll reiterate my point again. When bidding a customers car for trade in, dealers do not look at add on parts like a BBK. There is no option with KBB or NADA or if you're at a antiquated dealer, little black book. So the quote a person is given when bidding for trade takes NO consideration of brake condition. The dealer could care less what brakes are on it. Some even prefer stock parts as a lot of people steer clear of modified cars as they think the car will have been beat around.

That is unless the car has a option for the modification. For example, you have a MINI Cooper S with the JCW Tuning Kit. There IS an option for that on NADA. So if you go to the dealer presenting a car with the JCW Kit, get the trade quote and then take parts off and sell them on NAM (or wherever), thats wrong. You were given compensation for that particular kit.

In the OP's post, this is not an option from factory that KBB or NADA consider. The dealer will not pay for them, nor should their quote change if they're removed. Same trade quote either way. With or without the brake upgrade.

Now its different for the dealer selling the car. If they present a car for a price with parts on it, thats what they have to sell.

It's not all black and white, there are many shades of grey in there too. If I were to guess, I'd say about 50 shades?

As a dealer employee I approve this swap. By switching the brakes you're not presenting a car that is less valuable then what they quoted you for. Same quote either way.

 

This makes sense, we sat down he pulled out the laptop looked up my car on what he called black book and chose the price based on my cars condition. Knocked off a couple hundred for my hatch rust and that was the value, I asked if I could remove the wheels but he wanted them. I think I'll just take them off, they will only confuse any future buyers trying to find brake parts anyway because they aren't labeled JCW.

 

They aren't labeled JCW? So they're R56? In that case I'd definitely take them off as a service to the next buyer. As was mentioned earlier, it's no fun not knowing which maintenance parts to buy.

 

correct poor mans jcw.