Mini as an investment, LOL !!

Need to clean my Cheerios off the keyboard now....

 

It's says right here in the Mini Bible! No, lol.

 

If think that while limited dealerships keep retails high at initial purchase, consequently it means low trade in or resale value as people don't know where or how to have them maintained or repaired. While many independent shops can now repair MINI's, generally people like to have a dealer somewhere within a reasonable distance from them. My closest dealer is 2 1/2 hours away but it has prevented my family from owning 4 of them since 2008.

 

A car is an expense, not an investment. An investment is an asset that will become worth more over time or that will produce revenue. Land is an investment. Factory tooling is an investment. A car is a depreciating asset that will never be worth more than you put into it. Thinking of a car as an investment is as silly as thinking of your groceries and gasoline as investments.

Sorry, but this type of wording just gets to me — it frames the purchase decision badly.

Now, that said, I do agree that the total cost of a MINI is usually higher due to greater depreciation than, say, Hondas, Toyotas and Subarus. However, like any paper loss, it only becomes a loss when you actually sell the asset in question. If you drive your cars into the ground it's a non-issue. If you turn them over every few years then it's definitely an issue.

I may be wrong about this, but my sense of the market is that the 2007-2010 R56's widespread and often catastrophic reliability problems have depressed resale values for all MINIs.

 

I agree with this 100%.

 

An astute observation. Well said.

 

The initial wave of support for the secondary market comes from the dealership as they move people into new cars and used buyers into the trades. If new car sales are flat to down that hurts the used market.

 

As an owner of a 2005 R53 for the last ten years and only recently retired it as my daily driver, the thought of buying it as an investment never once crossed my mind, and I think most people who do buy cars as an investment are in the wrong.

Cars will depreciate, and there's nothing we can do to control the market. And let's face it, with the exception of some rare exotics, and other classic cars that will go up in value, the Mini was never going to be the car that would, and the same applies for the vast majority of cars. I do however think that in twenty years time, the R53 will go down as one of those great 2000s classics, but it won't become the next Ferrari 308 that will go for 50-100k US dollars (those used to go for around 30k, but now have shot up in price over the last few years).

I buy cars not as an investment, only because it's the car that suits me, and it's the one I want. I'm also going to take a stand here and say even if you do have a rare exotic classic car, drive the frickin' crap out of it. Who cares? If you care so much because you don't want to depreciate it, or put too many miles on it, then I feel you're missing the point of owning a car in the first place. Cars are made to be driven. Just my 2 cents.

So, no. I don't think the Mini is a good investment, but again, people shouldn't be concerning themselves about that. Buying cars are not like buying a house, and I sometimes get the impression people do think they are.

I drive a Mini because it's one of my dream cars, and I hope to continue to own, and drive it for years to come.

 

GP model has the potential.

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

There are very few cars that have any investment qualities! The car you buy needs to fit your needs. EX: A working woman may want an econo car. A business man may want a luxury car. An enthusiast wants a car that fits his desires. Some want fast, some want flashy and some want a car that drives like it is on rails and can handle all the twisties you can throw at it. These are reasons to invest in a car, not the $.
Mini Cooper is not an investment car!