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Is Buying a Mini a Good Investment? Your Thoughts Please
General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
Is Buying a Mini a Good Investment? Your Thoughts Please
HI,
I have recently come to a realization that despite what a great car a Mini is they are a bad investment as you compare their resale value. As an example a 2008 Loaded PT Cruiser will sell for about the same price as a comparable Mini Cooper S,
In my opinion the Mini is a much better car but seems to me that buyers do not want to invest in the Mini when they are used.. which makes them a poor investment, eg. Pay $35 ro $40,000 on new loaded Mini, 10 years later and 60 to 70,000 miles value, Car is in excellent condition and resale is around $6 to $7500.
Not sure what you think but this is what I think..
When I bought my 2003 Cooper new, it held nearly its full retail price for
a few years by KBB, ads, etc. Of course the value has dropped markedly
since then.
In more recent years, they don't hold their value like they did when they
first came out, especially when the warranty runs out.
If you buy one as a keeper for yourself, it will have good personal value,
but if you're looking for financial or resale value, not so much.
In many ways MINIs are unique. They can be customized like no other car I have ever seen directly from the factory. They have a very wide price range due to that and the trade in value will never be as good on a fully loaded MINI, as on one that is more modest in accessories.
On top of that, their reliability has been spotty at best which never helps in resale.
You buy a MINI because you love the car, not for an investment.
You invest in a well managed portfolio, not a machine that requires cash flow for maintenance. White3 said it very well. If you think you'd have fun with a MINI, by all means but be prepared to take dang good care of it with at least weekly fluid and system checks and a disciplined maintenance schedule. MINIs are NOT drive 'em and forget 'em soccer mom grocery getters. There are some to grab and some to avoid. Any with a W11 engine (Gen 1) that have been well cared for are jewels but avoid the '07 and later models with the N14 prince engine.
Even the best, if abused, won't last long.
The Mini Cooper has earned itself a fairly poor reputation when it comes to reliability and maintenance costs. If a guy wanted to invest in a fun yet costly car to maintain they would buy a Mini Cooper. If a guy wanted to invest in a trouble free dependable car he would buy a Honda Civic.
From: Portland, OR *currently in a temporary email address
Automotive enthusiasm is pretty much the antithesis to "return on investment."
There is no true speculation that goes into car ownership. Basically, it's your role as the consumer to educate yourself before purchase about the pros and cons to each car you're interested in. Once you buy, there's no car that will just "appreciate."
Sure, there are those ***hat "investors" who corner the 911SC porsche market and babble on over frou-frou teatime about how their car will appreciate during their four seasons of ownership, but basically, that's just rich-people being rich and bored and buying vintage cars that have a trend of increasing in value.
No recently-built car will increase in value. Well, maybe a 2017 Shelby GT350R or something that's you know, actually hard to buy from a dealer for sticker price, but not a little MINI Cooper, lmao.
Most cars have to go through a 30+ year cycle before they "appreciate": Cool and expensive new > lame and affordable used > super lame and unsellable because it's just too damn old > sort of cool but still cheap > vintage and expensive
The moment you drive off the lot, you lose at least 10% of a car's "value". But "value" honestly means nothing....I bought a pile of crap R53 9 months ago for $2000, put $2k into it and had a college student's dream car. My girlfriend and I took a 3000mi road trip from S Cali to Bellingham, went to Coachella, camping, etc. That was priceless.
So was consistently pulling on a modified 2016 Ecoboost Mustang on the section of the PCH between Morro Bay and Monterey this summer...you won't get that in a Civic lol.
Cars are depreciating assets, rarely investments. Usually you would buy a used car that is starting to appreciate in the car market and try to ride the wave of appreciation.
A poster here recently bought a new dealer owned GP1 and paid sticker price. The dealer probably could have sold it for more 10 years ago when new, didn't work out so well for the dealer.
I bought my 2006 R52S from a guy that bought it for an investment and basically let it sit for 10 years. The original tires still had the nubs on them. I bought in April 2015 for about 1/3 of the sticker price. It took 3 months and sending him many advertisements for cars before he relented. It had 3,648 original miles.
As an example a 2008 Loaded PT Cruiser will sell for about the same price as a comparable Mini Cooper S
Wow, that's really sad.
Originally Posted by cristo
When I bought my 2003 Cooper new, it held nearly its full retail price for a few years by KBB, ads, etc.
Those were the years when MINI couldn't keep up with demand and resale value was pushed up by low supply. There were waiting lists and dealers were charging up to $2000 markup (the wait for a new R53 reached 6 months at one point). Even though I bought my MINI relatively late (2005), it was still over a 2 month wait for delivery. Under those conditions, resale value is naturally high.
Needless to say, market conditions have changed a lot in the past 12 years. Currently the demand in MINI's market segment is low for both new and used cars.
You should buy a MINI because it is what you want. If you bought a MINI as an investment man where you ever wrong. Buying cars as an investment, a nice Ferrari GTO would be the ticket if you have 30 million or so.
In the past a first gen MINI retained it's value pretty well. The second gen MINI's don't do as well as the first & the third gens seem to be the worst.
Enjoy your MINI & drive it until the wheels fall off, that way you will get the most value from your car.
A car is the worst investment you could make unless you were able to get a nice limited production car for a VERY low price. If you get a MINI its for the love of the car.
You don't buy a MINI as an investment but to drive it for the enjoyment and the inclusion into a owner community that is second to none. Drive it like you stoled it!
Hmmm a PT Cruiser that is a 1940 bread truck on a Dodge Neon frame. Interesting comparison to a Mini.
Bottom line is that yes a Mini is an expensive car, it costs to properly maintain (I can turn a wrench so I may be a little better off than some) and you are not going to send your child to college on what you make selling the car at Barrett Jackson BUT I for one like the smile I get when I drive it.
According to KBB, my 2010 R56s is valued at $8800 (Paid $29,000), my wives 2008 BMW 335i coupe is valued at $12,800 (paid $40,000), and my 2003 Volvo xc90 is valued at $3498 (paid $42,000). Now, I got a MINI modestly loaded at a decent price, the BMW was loaded with accessories, and so was the Volvo. I had to pay full price on the Volvo because it was just released and had a 3-4 month wait. It is now worth what I would pay in SALES TAX on a new MINI!
Was it worth it? I love my MINI even though it has had a few problems. My wife loves her BMW and couldnt care less about todays value, and my Volvo has been as reliable as the worst MINI, and is now worth so little that I might as well drive it until it dies.
None of them were good investments, but the MINI and the BMW both put a smile on our faces every time we see them in the garage.
This has got to be a troll right? Who would ask such a thing on this forum? I have rental properties, stocks, and own a business, those are investments. A Mini , as much fun as it is, and as much as I spend on it tweeting it and so forth is not an investment whatsoever, and I never purchased it with that thought in mind. It's just a toy to be enjoyed, have great memories, make awesome friends.
How 'bout "would'a, could'a, should'a"? Bought a '62 TR from an acquaintance back in '65 and 2 years later traded it for a '63 XKE roadster. Sold it a few years later for a couple thou. Who knew? Low 6 figures now but it wouldn't return that for 50 years. That's a lot of $$$ upkeep time to keep it's value. Very low growth. Now, kick yourself for not buying 100 shares of Microsoft at IPO and keeping that locked away.
This has got to be a troll right? Who would ask such a thing on this forum? I have rental properties, stocks, and own a business, those are investments. A Mini , as much fun as it is, and as much as I spend on it tweeting it and so forth is not an investment whatsoever, and I never purchased it with that thought in mind. It's just a toy to be enjoyed, have great memories, make awesome friends.
Now on the other hand ask me about my 911 :-)
Pretty obvious you bought USED, My point is to pay $40 K for a Mini that will be lucky to sell for $20K in 3 years seems pretty Expensive to buy.
Pretty obvious you bought USED, My point is to pay $40 K for a Mini that will be lucky to sell for $20K in 3 years seems pretty Expensive to buy.
What people have been saying over and over again is this: Cars, unless they are limited production models with a high demand, are rarely good investments. Buy what you like, drive like you stole it then either keep it or get rid of it. No more, no less.
A $40k Mini bought today will sell nowhere near $20k in 3 years. Look how 2015 Countryman S are priced today. You can find them all day for $18k and those prices haven't really tanked yet. Wait til the new model is released and see what happens.
People who are paying $50k & $60k for 2017 JCW convertibles and hoping to somehow make money on their "investment" in a year or 2 are in for a big surprise. A fool and his money are soon parted.
Last edited by Anonymouse; Dec 15, 2016 at 07:28 AM.
While I agree with the others that a car is not a good investment, I wonder if a used Mini can at least be a decent use of money, if you need a car anyway. I want something fun to drive, and in this price range, I'm afraid that other options are a lot less fun.
Bought my back in 2004. Now almost at 267K miles. I had more fun with that car than any other car I have owned. But now with the R58 JCW its tied for second.
Bought my back in 2004. Now almost at 267K miles. I had more fun with that car than any other car I have owned. But now with the R58 JCW its tied for second.
Sweet looks great, I think anyone who owns a Mini has a fun car and lots of grins when out and about. Everyone here is RIGHT to buy what you like that way you get the value long after depreciation is done.
