hi
am having trouble getting people to come out and see my baby so am open to any criticism/advice.

i bought a 2006 S and thought i would sell my yellow baby via carmax but had an unpleasant experience.

17,600 or a REASONABLE offer (principal buyers only) (NOW $16900)
mileage 22,800
warranty expires Sept 30.
one owner (me)

beyond the basic cooper 2003 standard options (CD Player, grey cloth seats, grey interior)

AUTOMATIC CVT
A/C with Climate Control,
Dynamic Stability Control,
Fog Lights,
Heated Seats,
Cruise Control,
Multi-function steering wheel,
Parking Assist,

EXTERIOR:
Liquid Yellow, White Bonnet Stripes, White Roof and White alloys, near perfect. Condition: Excellent inside and out. I love my minis.

has valid thru December 2006 Virginia inspection.

phone is 703-709-1312
bachelder@gmail.com
CARFAX
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/FSBO.cfm?report=CFX000010777703



see how cute she is, she lives in northern virginia

so any advice is WELCOMED
i am part of a married couple, we have 2 suburbans and 2 minis (EXTREMES)
i don't need these many cars for two people!!

thanks in advance
liliana

 

Good luck.
Personally, for a car with warranty almost gone, that cost ? under $20K ? new, I can't see you selling it for more than $13K-$15K ...

 

i can get 14K from 2 local dealers who have called me, which tells me that a private sale should be higher because they are gonna flip it much higher

when i went to nearby carfax my exact model with more miles (in red) was selling for $21K

kelly blue book (kbb) says private seller $17,595 (so i am 5 bucks over but willing to negotiate)
KBB lists dealer selling price $19,745

the NADA BOOK says
trade in price $17,025, (and this is a sale not a trade in)
retail value $19,450

my car is listed on cars.com, if you look at what listing are in my area with a 100 mile radius
it is competitively priced (i am the yellow coupe)
http://www.cars.com/go/search/fs_sea...l&aff=national


and if i search on AUTOMATIC coopers 2003--i am selling am 4th from bottom lowest price for a 250 miles radius (see yellow coupe)
http://www.cars.com/go/search/fs_sea...l&aff=national

if i go too below the average selling price--a buyer is gonna wonder, what is wrong with the car??? and nothing is. i just have too many cars!!

but i THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the response!!! and welcome more--even if you all tell me it is too high at $17,600
liliana

 

Might I suggest this line of thought. I watch the MINI market very closely everyday. I am not a dealer but one who does buy and sell MINIS as a hobby. The market is flooded with MINI Coopers more so than MINI Cooper S's. You are right as to what your MC should list for but I have found that not to be reality. If there are thousands of MC's just like yours available from individuals just like you, why should anyone buy from you? It's going to be because of geographic location. You might search and compare how your MC, color and all, stacks up. If you feel you have a special MINI then point that out. If not, the only thing you have going for you is luck or price. If your price is about the same as the next guy, then all you have is luck. There are three types of luck, good luck, bad luck and no luck at all. I think you will find yourself in that third luck catagory. So, that leaves you with price...it is going to have to be lower.

Now, having said all that, if you are in no hurry to sell you can always price high and expect to go lower if you have to; or, if you need to sell quickly, price it lower by $1000 to $1500 and you will move the car. And you will be lucky for it.

 

hi
THANKS first for the response!!
I see the point you are trying to make, also many of the minis listed are for sale by dealer and i am not sure, what might be an added incentive (financing) or how low they go. my dealer did tell me that winter is not a good time for selling a MINI. i am not really in a rush, but am trying to figure out the market and marketing of a MINI. another thing i have noticed is most minis on the market are manual and mine is an automatic. now if you are like me, i cannot drive a manual--have tried to learn but NO WAY. that is a 1000 option and if a person like myself can only drive an automatic--it does not matter how low the manuals trans. are going for cause i cannot drive them. and most true mini enthusiasts drive manual except for the clutch-challenged like myself--so i am looking at a smaller group of buyers so i may have to lower the price. i might be willing to go down to 16K if nothing happens as the weather warms but for 13-14k i might as well call up the 2 dealerships and save myself the headache. i know fthat or the condition it's in--it is worth way more than that and at 2 dealerships no 03 mini is selling for below 19,500 even with more miles. why should i let a dealership take that much profit off my yellow baby??
thanks thanks thanks to the two of you for your comments
liliana

 

I wish you much good luck with your sale.
My expectation is that a dealership will drop between $1K and $2K from their claimed price; additionally a buyer has the confidence to go back and shout at the dealer if any issue crops up - can't do that with a private sale.

Your data suggests to me that advertising at $17K and hoping to sell at $16K+ is realistic in your area - higher than I expected, but all the better for you!

 

thanks GBMINI!

well spoke with husband over the points made on this thread
(right now am only on the internet (cars.com, carsdirect, craigslist etc--and not in print), so based on feedback
i lowered the price to 16,900 on all the sites
am going to leave it there at that price for Feb and if i get no buyers calling as opposed to dealers etc
will lower it gradually thru spring

so THANKS all, i have never sold a car to the public before

one last question
what is the deal with these, "we will sell your car for you services" that keep bugging me??? have been offered that service from 100 to 500 bucks from at least 4 companies. what is up with that??

THANKS lili

 

My colleague once tried to sell his BMW through such a "we'll do it for you" company ... it took months, got them basically no more than the trade would have done, and they had horrific trouble getting the money!

Not saying they are all like that - but be careful

 

YIKES!!
i just thought paying a fee was a scam--never considered not getting my money
gosh!! thanks for the warning!!! lili

 

I do not think you are doing anything wrong other than being impatient. You got a whole bunch of stuff going for you like one owner, low miles and no damage history (I am assuming). As already pointed out, this is a bad time of year to sell a car. The market for auto minis is smaller than for the manual trans. models, so it well take even more time. Once spring comes, things will liven up. If you price yours so that it is slightly more attractive than your competitiion, why would someone go elsewhere?

I am on the other coast and use Auto Trader's run till in sells ad for a one time fee of $49. The other .com and print cars for sale media pick my Trader ad up and post it at no cost to me. I get a constant stream of responses because of this.

BTW, if you can walk, I could teach you how to drive a stick, guaranteed.

Hang in there and good luck.

 

yes, i am known in my family for being impatient.
will try to chill out, and wait!!!
i am also impatient with learning--not good for learning to drive a clutch as a grown up
thanks for the good advice, i will WAIT
lili