I hate that my first post to be asking for an advice instead of bragging about my new MINI but I would like to hear what you guys think.

I have a chance to buy 2011 Mini Cooper S (manual) with 59k miles for only $7,500 at the dealer. There is a catch. Autofax reports shows following red flags:

06/17/2014 FISHERS, IN State Agency ACCIDENT, REPORTED
06/17/2014 IN Police Report ACCIDENT REPORTED
06/17/2014 FISHERS, IN State Agency VEHICLE WAS TOWED

Suddenly the car is in UT
07/05/2016 AMERICAN FORK, UT McCrocklin Ford 765.354.2261 HEAT OR AIR CONDITIONING SERVICED MULTIPLE POINT VEHICLE INSPECTION LUBE, OIL AND/OR FILTER CHANGED
07/22/2016 AMERICAN FORK, UT McCrocklin Ford 765.354.2261 MULTIPLE POINT VEHICLE INSPECTION TRANSMISSION SERVICED

02/09/2017 IN 36,286 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE REPOSSESSED
02/17/2017 IN 36,286 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
02/20/2017 IN 36,286 Auto Auction AUCTION ANNOUNCED AS FLEET/LEASE (COLOR REPORTED AS GREY)

10/31/2017 JEFFERSONVILLE, IN Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
11/01/2017 JEFFERSONVILLE, IN 36,500 Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Lien Reported)

The car now has 59k miles so someone drove it for 28,000 miles last year.

Now, the dealer says that the car is running perfectly without any issues and he has all service records. This will be my daily driver and I will be trading in my boring Civic. The good news is I will be getting about $3,000 equity back from my trade-in that I can use towards this Mini for inspection, walnut blasts, alignment, oil change, and possible repairs etc...)

Would you buy this car under these circumstances?

Thanks in advance,

 

Hello, I am sure that you will like the MINI as a daily they are a lot of fun.

I did a quick look up on going rate for a MINI Cooper S 2011 in my area (Orlando FL) and that price is good (not outstanding). My suggestion at first glance would be; you are going to have a slight surplus of capital, I would look for a MINI with a clean record, lower miles, in the 9k$ range to leave you 1k$ for things you might want to make it your MINI. Dont buy someone else problems.

The flip side of the coin would be that maybe it was a really minor accident, but I would not take the chance without a thorough dealer inspect (local MINI Dealer).

 

Thanks for the advice. If I was not getting any money back form the trade I would run from this deal like form the burning building, but for 3k I can do a lot of stuff: alignment, oil change, walnut blast, timing belt change even clutch change. All of that is in the range.

 

With the accident report I wouldn't even consider buying it until you have your own mechanic inspect the car to see what all has been done and what it needs. No way to trust the dealer selling it to do the inspection for you as they are bias in this situation.

 

No. That price is not a screaming bargain for a car that has been in an accident. You need to have the accident report and repair invoices showing what was done and as WMW said a full on indy inspection.

A repossessed car is also a red flag, chances are the owner didn't have the money to do proper maintenance on it during ownership.

Drive away.

 

I think the price is high for a damaged car that you know nothing about. Keep looking for one in good shape, as accident damage on a unitized chassis, may have many hidden issues, that could show their ugly face later on. Repairs done on unitized chassis cars are notoriously poorly done.
This car also has a sorted past. If it were me, which it is not, I would pass!

 

Constant flipping means lemon in my book.

 

If you've got to ask about the history of the car I think you already know the answer to the question. If you've got a good workshop at home it might be a good buy if the price is waaay below market, but if you're going to be taking it to a mechanic for everything who know how fast those bills could add up. You're almost certainly better off to save a few dollars in a saving account and wait a bit long to increase your budget so you can buy a car from someone who loved that car and took good care of it. In the long run you will be happier. Jumping on a deal immediately just to save waiting a few months now isn't worth it when you're going to have the car for 4-5 years or more.

I bought a repo'd S2000 back in 2009, and the car was just fine. Repo'd in 2014- that could be more of an issue. 2008-09 were some tough times and I think there were a lot of repo cars around then.

 

 

Thank you all for all of the advice. Here's the update on this. I went to the dealer determined to say no, but I loved the car on my test drive. Love at first sight as they would say. The car drove really great. So much fun. Since the dealer is one hour away from me, I've asked them if I can buy the car contingent upon inspection from authorized Mini dealer. They agreed so I brought the car to the Mini dealer for inspection. Mini dealer found the following issues:

AC compressor needs replacement
crank pulley needs to be replaced
Tail light needs to be replaced.
Rare brake sensor needs to be replaced

Otherwise, it is in pretty good condition. Clutch, brakes, tires, spark plugs, alignment etc.. All great. It had the clutch replaced not too long ago so that's a huge relief of otherwise $2,500 job.

Used car dealer agreed to repair all of the above on their own cost in their garage. Which means I still get to keep $3,000. I've asked them to give me a final repair statement with parts used. So if the repair job is good, ill buy the car. I know it;s still a risk but It is way below trade-in value, with clutch recently replaced, plus I already have $3,000 that I will use as my Mini Cooper fund going forward for various jobs I'm planning to do right after I get it: walnut blasting, oil change, detailing, air and cabin filter replacement, maybe some dynamat sound deadening etc...

 

"crankshaft needs to be replaced"

Is this a typo?

 

Opps hahah. Yes a typo. I mean to type crank pulley

 

Kelley Blue book private party sale value for a "good condition" 2011 S is about $6300 to $8200. This car seems to be squarely in the middle of that average price range. Have you looked at many other R56s, or is this the first one?

 

I would be incredible nervous of these sketchy cars. This is not the only one on NAM right now. At the end of the day its your money and maybe you like to gamble, I personally think you should look at something else, way to many red flags and sketchy people involved with that MINI.

As an example (and I am sure I will get crap for this) but here goes, these is another MINI offered for sale right now on NAM, it is a beautiful car, BUT it has a rebuilt title. The seller did a bunch of really nice upgrades, and wants exactly what book value is on the car. (if it was not a rebuilt). The reason for the rebuilt title given is it got water in the exhaust. Im sorry insurance company dont TOTAL a 37k$ car cause the exhaust was trashed in water/rain. So as they say Buyer beware.

 

I've looked probably over 100. If you can find 2011 S with 59k miles close to $7,500 I'm all ears. Regardless of what the book value says most are 10k+. Yes most of them with cleaner ownership, but for $7,500 I'm willing to risk it a bit. As long as the dealer fixes what they promised.

 

Wow. Very interesting. I guess if one is going to keep the car for a while and not worry about re-selling it soon, it might be a good opportunity to snag a really nice Mini. I loved the way this Mini drives so I took the chance. There's still time to bail on it though. We'll see.

 

220volt

Congrats then I hope it brings you nothing but joy and happiness, they are really fun. post some pics for us.

 

Thanks. Will post photos if I fully go through with it and after it has been detailed

 

If your not interested in buying my car why are you always chiming in? You haven't even seen my car, or met me. So your assumptions are biased! Same team man, there is nothing "sketchy" about it! why don't you come here and take a look! I really don't know what your point is.. and why your trash talking about me on other threads. Show me a F56 JCW fully loaded with less than 10k miles and 10k of upgrades for less.. This community is a close niched group, which I enjoy and admire, one of the reasons I joined, but if you don't have something nice to say keep your opinions out of my sale thread, You have no interest in my car. I would never do that to someone based on assumptions. yeah u did! you deserve this, and you even knew it was coming!! take down your non evident posts.. and were square.