Hi guys...Obviously new to the group, so a quick shout out HELLO to all of you. Need some assistance from the experts here, as I've been looking for a used Cabrio (guess the word Vert is uncouth ) for almost a month now.

Thing is, these cars seem few and far between...and to boot, a bit more pricey than I originally thought.

Few things to note...This will be a spare vehicle for my wife and I, driven primarily for enjoyment. I've been a bit of a car enthusiast for a while, seeking the more rare versions of a car (such as my Mazdaspeed, former SVT, etc). The JWC is not a necessity, however, my wife will not drive an automatic...and both of us prefer the S.

So, on with the search. I've found two candidates so far, both 2006 with low miles. This first one in Cleveland was a beautiful piece with under 7000 miles. Nicely loaded without the nav. I was the original high bidder for this, at 25515, but did not meet the reserve. In my quest for this car, I sent an email only to get a reply stating he "had more in the Mini than what I offered"



Parting nicely, I asked that if he changes his mind to call me...and continued my search. I came across this beauty (although not my first or second choice in color, but still nice). Same options as above, however...it has a 7 year extended warranty. This puppy has about 9000 miles on her...and is being sold by a private owner.



After sending many emails back and forth, I just sent him an offer of 26K...hoping he'll accept.

So here's the question. Are my offers reasonable? The guy from Cleveland doesn't even offer to negotiate (which is very odd). Also, if I broaden my search...there are others out there, but I would need to have them shipped. Anybody have any experience doing this?

Thanks for any advice. Any help you provide will help me in changing the signature below this post :D

 

Seems in line to me, on the plus side, both cars have bullet wheels rather than s-hevys saving about 5lb unsprung per wheel. Many of us prefer aftermarket nav to built in for flexibility and quality. Just my $.02

 

Thanks for your thoughts...

The owner of the red one declined my 26K and came back with 26.5...I put an offer of 26 on the white one, but I doubt he'll accept.

I found another white S in Ohio...if I can work out a decent deal, I was thinking of putting custom seat in from leatherseats.com. Nice thing about this, is my wife can get suede, which she would rather have anyway.

 

You are getting close. Keep looking and good luck. I am sure you will find a convertible (or ragtop, but not cabrio , sooo VW, not that there's anything wrong with that) you love.

Hey, this is my 800th!

 

Yes, cabrio: http://www.mini.com/com/en/mini_coop...brio/index.jsp

 

Well...looks like I'm real close to getting the red one. He accepted my original offer, we just need to let the paperwork go through. Hopefully, within a couple weeks, we'll be topless.

No changing my signature till the deal is done though