So I am thinking about selling my 2002 Mini Cooper S with 141,369 miles on it.
I have a short throw shifter, K&N high flow air filter, MSD coils and plugs (replaced 20 miles ago), NGK sparks (replaced 20 miles ago), sony single din Bluetooth radio, Quinn Q62 component speakers front, Kicker KSC69s rear, drivers airbag sensor replaced 132,500 miles, Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 2's in front and Continental extreme contacts in back (previously front's with still lots of tread) High beams replaced, supercharger oil, belt, cabin air filter, power steering fluid, coolant all replaced 20 miles ago. I have all the documents of everything done to the car since being bought. Always hand washed and changed with synthetic oil 0-40. With all this I am wanting to ask $8,000 too much? Also forgot to add, I have a custom cat back exhaust.

 

Might want to ask between $5K and $6K

Here are some comps:

03S $5,400
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/5160878802.html

03S $5900 new super charger and water pump

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/5106821096.html

05S $5K
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/ctd/5147137465.html

04S $5K
http://richmond.craigslist.org/ctd/5171419349.html

 

Keep in mind it's almost 14 years old, and sadly you can't even think of getting your money back on mods. Helps some if you can show maintence history.. KBB probably says it's worth about $3400 at best.. and based on the above listings the $5000 range is probably on the upper end.. A lot of it depends on your area and who your competing against price wise..

 

Yep, don't expect to get a penny for any of those mods. Maintenance history will help but that just helps maintain book value, not increase it. You are selling a 14 year old car. Be realistic.

 

A little unrelated but I sold my 2003 Mazda 6i with 175,000k miles for $1,700. I know a Mazda doesn't compare to a Mini but just so you have an idea. Older cars don't sell for much, I sold mine in literally 11 hours with 20 or so offers in South Florida. Beats the offer I got from the original Mazda dealership we bought it at New of $500.

GLWS!

 

let's play the game in reverse:

I would like to buy a MINI and see a 2002-S with 142,000 miles. How much should I pay?

Checking KBB I see a sell to private party estimate of about $3300

it has a bunch of mods, how much should I go over this for those mods? IMO, I didn't ask for them and can't be sure they are done correctly no they have little value .....

You MIGHT find a buyer that sees them as valuable, but what kind of buyer is looking for a 2002? Probably someone trying to spend minimum but get a MINI? AND if they need to get a loan the mods do not increase the value of the car one cent.

********

put a price on it and try to sell it .....

if you go to a dealer or someplace like CARMAX they are gonna be HARD to budge from the KBB numbers

if you get a private buyer that jumps on your price - congrat's and good for you ......

If after 6 months you have no nibbles .... maybe you need to change your bait.

+++++
if I think my '79 is worth $12,000 and advertise it at that price and sell it in one day ... maybe it was worth more. If after a year I've had no offer CLOSE, it must be worth less.

A used car is WORTH what you sell it for ..... just like your house.

 

KBB and NADA are useless for these cars. In my area there seems to be no shortage of people asking 5-7K for a Cooper S in average condition.

When you get into the sub $4k asking you get a lot of cars that need work

 

Of course, a seller may ask whatever they want for a car. What the car is likely to sell for may bear little relation to an asking price.

KBB and NADA both use actual sales data to estimate values of cars. This is a valid methodology, but may be less useful for cars that are outside the norm.

If the buyer needs financing, the appraised value from sources like KBB and NADA will likely limit the amount that may be financed. Also, when the car has much more than 100,000 miles, some buyers will not consider it. An extensively modified car may also draw from a smaller pool of buyers, which may result in more difficulty selling a car and limit the sales price despite the mods. Also, many buyers will expect a discount for a private party sale.

I recently purchased a 2005 Cooper S Convertible with 46,500 miles in good condition from a dealer for $8,500 with new Pirelli P7 tires. For comparison, my car is a newer car with the upgrades made for 2005, a convertible with about 95,000 fewer miles, sold by a dealer with four new matching tires, all factors that would boost the price over this 2002. Yes, asking $8,000 seems unrealistic for this 2002. I agree with those that suggested $5,000 to $5,500 is probably realistic.

 

See, it's all dependent on the area.

Here, an average Mini Cooper S from 03-05, you can get a good condition, decent mileage one like mine for around $7k-$8k which is what I picked mine up with but I'm having issues up the ***.

On the low-end, high mile, kinda beat and torn up a tad side of things, you're looking at low $5k here.. Depends on the person buying it I guess?

 

It's a lot easier to ask more and move down vs. asking less and wanting to move up.

KBB and NADA are nothing more than glorified Becket/Wizard guides.

 

I agree that as a general rule you should not price a car below the higher of: (1) what you are willing to accept plus a reasonable premium for negotiation; or (2) the fair market price for a car similar to yours in the local market.

If your price happens to be too much above what most people regard as a fair market price, you probably will not have many serious, prospective buyers look at the car. If you start out too high, you may drop the price, but a car, like a house, can grow stale in the market if it sits too long. Some buyers will assume there must be something wrong with the car and may be less inclined to look after it has been listed for a couple months even if the price drops or may be more motivated to give a low ball offer. Also, you are incurring maintenance, insurance and depreciation while the car sits. Of course, if you are happy to keep the car unless you get your price, that is perfectly fine.

For better or worse, most informed buyers will look at NADA, KBB and other references as an indication of the market price. You better have a good explanation ready to justify why your car is worth a premium over the price in these services. A statement that these are nothing more than glorified Becket/Wizard guides may not be persuasive to some buyers.

 

When I sold my Toyota 4WD truck (pre Tacoma era) the KBB and NADA values were not even remotely close to market prices. I laughed in ones guy’s face when he brought up what NADA said the “value” should be. The truck sold in two days for the asking price well above the “book value.”

It’s important to remember that KBB and NADA are “guides” and nothing more. I rank them up their with Wizard and Beckett aka the white trash stock market business journal.

 

Point of reference, bought my 2004 R53 with 60k miles for $3500, but it needs new seat covers and some very minor cosmetic fixes.

 

Meanwhile I picked up my VW Thing in 1996 for $600, put about $2,000 into it over the years and sold it in 2006 with 280,000 miles on it for $6,000Needed some rust repair on the floor, tires were shot, windshield leaked and the motor was tired. I miss it now :-(

 

Sometimes those Blue Book and other guides are right on the money, sometimes way off. I'd take them into consideration, but I find that looking at what real cars are selling for on CL, Ebay, etcetera gives me a more accurate idea of real world prices. I've also noticed that with some kinds of cars, prices can vary quite a bit according to location.

And, I've been looking casually at R53 prices for the last few days, since I'm sort of in the market for one, and I'd have to agree that $8000 is pretty steep for a car that old with that many miles, even if it's really clean and well cared for. I see many MINIs with fewer miles and years going for around that price, here in the San Francisco area.

 

rare/collectables like the thing are an entirely different matter. Id suggest the kbb "buy from a dealer" price is a good reference point. most for sale ads are dealers so thats what you are competing with.

 

The reservation that I have with using CL, Autotrader, etc. for setting real world prices is this provides only the asking price. This may be fine for establishing a competitive starting price, but it would be more helpful to know the actual selling prices in determining what is the likely market value.

One must also consider whether some of these resources may be skewed towards vehicles of a particular condition, sometimes worse than average. Prices for the same year and model may differ by several thousand dollars depending upon the condition, including mileage and options.

 

yukinoinu,

If you were in the market for a MINI would you pay $8,000 for a 14 year old car with 141,000 miles?

 

You should know what MINIs are selling for in your area. $8K is pretty hefty based on what I've been seeing in IL, WI, MO. I just paid $6700 for an '06 with just under 73K miles. No mods, which don't necessarily mean more value. If I had found a modded car, I'd want to know a pro did the mods, or I'd probably pass. I can't be sure the mods were done correctly, or well, even if the car looks or drives well.
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