when i look up used MINI pricing on autotrader, craigslist, ebay, etc, people are asking $16000-18000 for 2003-2005 MINIs with 30,000+ miles?? edmunds TMV is FAR less, $10-11k range.

so is edmunds wrong, or are these sellers delusional? if MINIs can indeed hold value this well, i'd definitely get a brand new one and sell yrs later without losing much $!!

 

I think it might be a middle of the road thing, because Kelly Blue Book has their values quite high.

 

I just bought mine today after searching locally and ebay sellers for a long time to get the best deal. I ended up with a loaded, great condition 2005 with 38k miles for $15,500. From a private party $15,000 is probably close to the lowest price to be found for a MINI in the conditions I described above.

 

That's quite a broad range you define. Edmunds may show a 2003 with very high mileage at $10-11k, but I don't think even they show private party sale of a 2005 with 30k miles at that low a range -- I would expect that to be more in the 16-17k range that you see some cars selling for.
turboexempt seems to have gotten a great deal, and I would think MINIs like his and as I've described are realistically in that 16-17k range . . .
And keep in mind that sellers often expect they'll have to negotiate down a little from asking price -- so there's always going to be a $1-2k difference when you compare asking prices to what cars are actually selling for.

 

yeah its pretty screwed up, i bought mine for 20k 23k after interest. and was in a pit for money so had my baby forsale for 18k, which would make me LOSE 5k and everyone would lowball me for about 15k and such, it was bs. so luckily. i ended up being able to keep her and not lose a **** ton of moolah. and now i love her more than ever , sooo yeah dont plan on sellin unless you find someone that will actually know the value of a MINI.

 

Edmunds is very, very wrong. They don't take supply and demand into account. KBB isn't all the great either.

The only way to get a good idea of what a Mini is really worth, are sites like CraigsList and eBay. That's what they're actually selling for, not what someone in a cubicle somewhere THINKS they should be selling for.

 

Surfblue says: The Mini is rolling proof that it's about the journey, not the destination. You're either in for the ride or a bystander. Find a NICE one, pay what it takes. That said, I met a man a few weeks back who was driving a super clean Carfax clean record yellow/black 03 S that was nicely equipped, including sunroof, (I don't have a sunroof or care for them, but I know a lot of people love them, so I mention it), standard stereo system, approx 43k miles. He bought it a couple months back off a small local used car lot for around $16.3k. I'm drivin my 07 MCS, understand, and it was $28.8 out the door(see my gallery and click on pics for exact details of my car if you care). I thought he got a very good deal. He said it made his work commute something he now ENJOYED as compared to the pickup he'd been driving, and he had doubled his gas mileage. Join the cult; whatever the year, you're gonna have FUN.

 

Yes, MINIs do hold their value well. You also have to look at what options are on the car. KBB and such can't take into account all the different options that could be ordered with the car. I added almost $10k in options on the order sheet for my '06 MCS. (then about another $7k in mods, but I don't ever plan to get that back).

 

If you find them in the Edmunds range, please let me know. I'll buy all of them at that price!!

 

I know when I ordered mine a couple of year ago the only ones I could find for sale used were only about 4k less than the ones new with the same options. I have heard that now that the 07s are out that the 02-06 have fallen in value but not that much.

 

Last month I used Edmund's as a guide when buying, and I used it to negotiate my '05 MCS (50k mi.) to $14,500 from the seller's asking price of $16,500. When I go to sell, I will use KBB as my guide....

I had my choice of 2 in that range, and the local dealer that wouldn't come close to matching what I could buy those 2 for still has his sitting on the lot.....

I found Edmund's to be VERY accurate, as I was also looking at an '05 G35 and an '04 WRX STi, both of which Edmund's valued lower than any other source, but was far closer to what I could actually buy those cars for, so my experience is that Edmund's was 3 for 3.

 

Save one for me and ship it to Rock Hill, SC, if you don't mind! I'm in the market for a MINI (or a Mini) for my son...

 

You see this type of variance with other cars, too. Edmunds, KBB, etc., don't really taken into account the actual market value. In many case, what these books "say" the car is worth, versus what someone is actually willing to pay for it are two different things.

 

I just picked up a 2004 MC with 34K miles for about $14,500 (talked down from $16,000). Very few options: CD player, heated seats, pleather, ABS.

There was an '05 with 35K miles in town with the works, for about $16,500, but mine was a lot better taken care of, so I opted for that one instead.

 

No problem and I'll let you have it for below KBB!!!!

 

For what it's worth,
Here in Massachusetts, the NADA guide is considered the bible for car dealers. The Kelly Blue Book is used by the insurance companies. Generally speaking, KBB is on the high side.
I took the average of the two in estimating the value of my '02 MCS, and then compared it to the prices on Craig's List and the prices being paid in this area, and found it to be on the money.
I thought my baby, with only 30,000 miles, would go quickly at $17,000 (it comes with a ful set of mounted snow-tires).
So far, no serious bites.
Anybody wanna buy a sweet car?....

 

(Another for what it's worth....)

".... In the Edmunds study of 2004 model year vehicles, which would be ripe for trade-in or lease rollover right about now and are therefore very good indicators, the top passenger car in the study was the $440,000 Porsche Carrera GT supercar, at a used car trade-in value of 71.8 percent, followed by the much more affordable 2004 Mini Cooper at 69 percent. The Toyota Prius hybrid, oddly enough, came in third with 67.7 percent."

http://autos.aol.com/article/truck/_...16165309990001

By any measure, a loss in value of only 31% after 4 years is pretty incredible.

 

Of 4 MINIs that I have owned, I have sold 2. The first one I sold at 110% above MSRP after 1 and a half years of use and 18K miles. That was a private sale 3 years ago. 3 weeks ago I sold my '02 MC CVT (To a fellow NAM member) and I got back 60% of the original MSRP retail price after nearly 6 YEARS of use and 44K miles! So yes, from my own experience, MINIs have and continue to hold very strong residuals.

 

^ Alright! My car has less than 18k miles -- anyone want to offer me 110% of MSRP?

 

110% ABOVE MSRP.....

 

^ Sweet, I'll drive it up to Winston-Salem tomorrow

 

Yep. It was a bone stock '04 MCS. Bought it brand new in Late '03 (It was custom ordered) for $21,500. Sold it 17 months later and 18K miles on a private sale (Thanks Cars.com!) for $23K. The person that bought it from me offered me 50% cash on the spot and didn't even want to test drive it. The day I signed over the title, they gave me the other half. The ad in cars.com lasted only 6 days. It was absolutely incredible. Never sold an used car and made money on it. Last I know is that these folks still own the car. Then again this was 3 years ago... A totally different financial outlook then (They heydays of the housing boom) and used MINI's were still commanding top dollar in the used car market. I very much doubt I will ever repeat a feat like that.

 

I don't believe that the 02-06 will fall because of the new MINIs, it is a different car and some prefer the Supercharged one over the Tubrocharged.
I'm in the market for another MINI for my daughter and it is tough to find one in the price range I'm looking for.

When I bought mine I was looking for used but since they don't really lose much value I bought new instead for only a couple thousand more.

 

After 1.5yrs of ownership (and the PO had owned it for about 1yr) my '06 R53 w/ 35K mi comes up at 23K on KBB, and 20K on Edmunds/NADA.

I bought it CPO for about that w/8K mi.
Here in N.NJ I could probably sell it for 20K pretty easily, esp. w/ the 6yr 100K warr. that CPO brings...

 

One of the best aspects of MINI ownership is the strong residuals. It makes owning these cars much cheaper than comparable vehicles in their immediate market segment.