Hello all and thank you in advance for your help. Tomorrow I'm meeting with my local Mini dealer to discus which Mini I want to order. Now obviously I'm going to take that build and shop it around but I'm curious what you guys think. What options/packages do you think would bring me the best resale value when its time to trade/sell the mini. Right now I'm looking at the MCS and the JCS. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

one general guideline is to add the "desirable" interior options, for example moonroof, heated leather (or leather/cloth) seats, auto climate control, upgraded hi-fi, navigation, etc. when I traded in my 2005 S I had the first four, and each were worth an extra $500 in both NADA and KBB calculations, and I think having nav was worth an extra $800-1,000.

Also, keeping yr MINI as close to original will help hold its value, for then dealers can re-sell them as MINI Next certified pre-owned. If you get one and do some (non-JCW) mods, make sure and hold on to the factory parts that were removed so's they can be reinstalled--even the run-flat tires if down the road U opt (as most of us do) for non-RFs. Extensive aftermarket modding will decrease the car's value.

Since factory JCWs (not JCS) only started production this year, it's a sure bet that when they are listed in NADA and KBB down the road they will command an additional calculation for worth.

Oh and keeping yr mileage under 10-12K/year helps huge BTW Welcome to NAM, and good luck.

 

Oops, I misposted. Sorry.

 

Why dont you just get the options you like. You have to live with the car. Resale on any Mini is going to be good regardless of options.

 

I posed a similar question to my dealer before I bought. He had access to figures on resale of 2006 and previous models. Mine was a 2008 (eventually a 2009) MCS MkII, but the numbers still had value, and could be tracked based to option packages, or in some cases- individual options. The dealerships you visit should have access to this data, too. I generally keep my cars until they start to develop major $$$ repair requirements (about 160k+ miles), but it was still an interesting question.

General:
For particular trim, neither standard Cooper or MCS seemed to affect value, though standard Coopers retain a slightly higher percentage of their original value. Convertibles lose a higher percentage of value than non-convertibles.

Interior:
Leather and Leatherette were more desirable over cloth in all cases. Moonroof was a modest plus. Nav package was negative to the sale price by almost 65%. You may get some additional added value for things like the Nav or Ipod adapter, but generally, these are not sought-after items, and either will not return fair value, or may hurt prospect for resale.

Exterior:
No one color of paint or presence/absence of stripes info was available. The dealer advised against any really radical custom paint jobs, including roof designs (checkered, puerto rican flag, etc.). Chrome or black detailing had little effect on resale, as did rally lights, or xenon headlamps. Spoiler (aero) kits were desirable.

Engine/Transmission:
Limited Slip Differential strongly boosted resale value. The word was that many MCSs find second lives as hobby racing cars, and this was an expensive mod to do to a used car; since I was getting an automatic, this was moot. 3rd party intercoolers and alterations to intake could boost price, but are not advised if too much modification is performed, the worry being voiding warantees, I suppose.

Good luck with your purchase. Let us know what you order!

 

MF you make some good points, but please explain what exactly is an MCS MkII??

 

I believe MF is referring just to the generation. The first generation of Mini's was 2002 - 2006 model years, and 2007+ is generation 2.

 

silly me

 

No options will really "add" to resale value, they will only all lose money in the end. Some will just lose more than others. If you want to retain the most value, get very few options (or none, though I know that's tough to do).

 

You mentioned the LSD for the racers buying used. The LSD is also a great option to have in any area where you will have to drive in the wet, snow or ice.

The cloth interior is desirable among the racers because it will hold the driver in place better than either the leather or leatherette. It is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, and it is less slippery all year round.

The racers will be looking for a car without a sun roof, especially one as large as the MINIs. The sun roof adds over 60 lbs to the top of the car, certainly not where you would want to add weight. Plus, cutting a large hole in the roof is never a good thing in terms of chassis stiffness.

For the 2007 and newer cars adding the Sports Suspension, JCW performance package, and the JCW suspension and brakes would also add value for the racer or HPDE track rat.

In the long run, you should be buying whatever makes you happy. The MINI will maintain well above average resale value regardless what is in it. But you will have to enjoy it while you own it.

Anything aftermarket is a waste of money as it has no resale value.

Good luck. Buy what you like/love! Drive it like you stole it!

 

Word. I just wanted to make clear that I was being shown resale figures for cars with different designs (dimensions, engine types, footspace, etc.).

 

In my opinion, it's more difficult to sell a MINI with an automatic transmission.
Folks who buy this type of car want to shift.

 

There's no data to support that conclusion. We bought a MCSa, so I asked this very question. More manual transmissions are sold for both MC and MCS, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will translate to secondary markets. In fact, that may mean that with less automatics, they become more valuable; you need to have more knowledge/practice/patience to drive a stick, whereas some people just want to put the car in 'D' and push that go button.

 

Disagree. have U tried to sell a MINI auto? What is the basis for yr opinion?

In sport mode and with the paddles, I can shift gears as fast, if not faster, with my MCSa JCW than someone with a comparable manual car.

 

Dunno about the MINI, but on the Porsche I just sold Tiptronic transmissions are the resale kiss of death. There aren't too many of them sold to begin with, relatively speaking, and they are MUCH harder to sell in the secondary market. Priced right, my manual transmission Cayman S sold after just two weeks on the market.

 

Again, disagree. With 4 years experience in appraising trade-ins at the Chevy/Chrysler/Caddy stealership I used to work at, creature comforts like moonroofs, leather, upgraded stereo, heated seats, even cruise etc. always brought more $$ in on a trade. Look at an NADA book: there are columns that list the retail and wholesale prices for options like these, in addition to mileage considerations.

The MINI is no different. Back in July I gained almost $2.5K extra on my 05 trade just by having the H-K, cruise, leather, moonroof, and fairly low mileage (less than 10K/year.)

 

that's interesting, did the Porsche Tiptronic have a track record of crappy and undependable performance?

sounds like the first gen MINI with that CVT thing--the resale kiss O death. Gawd that was a horrible tranny.

 

No, just not many Porsche buyers wanted automatic, either new or resale. They have just come out with their version of a dual clutch manumatic transmission named PDK on the '09 Carreras and Caymans so the jury is still out on how that will sell. The slushbox Tip is now in the history bin.

 

good review on the 2009 911 and the 7-spd PDK

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...nsmission.html

It's only a matter of time before something like this gets adopted by MINI

 

Having those options is not adding to resale value. You are still losing money compared to what was paid for the options. If you gained $2.5k on the trade because of the options but shelled out $4000 for them when you bought the car, you didn't gain anything. These sort of examples are more glaring when you look at more expensive cars with large option lists. Take for instance the current 2008 model M3 - a stripped model would run about $55-58k new and a fully loaded model about $70k new. According to recent sales, the spread between the two on resales is far smaller than the extra $15k in options would bring - the loaded model might sell for $55k while the stripped sells for $50k, but those options still lost $10k. Does that make sense?

 

A car is a depreciating asset. The more you spend, the more you lose.
That said, I LOVE toys on cars. I'm a fully loaded car lover, and enjoy every option. I love my sunroof, heated seats, auto wipers, Nav, front and rear fogs, etc. every time I get in the car. IMO you should buy based on what YOU like, and not what other people might like.
*That* said, IMO desireable and most cost effective options are cruise and leatherette. Heated seats used to be a bargain at $300, but now I think they're part of a package. After that, are you really going to get $500 more for Xenons? $800 for a sunroof, $1000+ for leather?
Thus in the end it's more of how much you're willing to pay for the extras, knowing that you WILL pay for the extras.

If you're REALLY concerned about relative resale value, buy a 1-2 year old car. They generally will have taken the biggest depreciation hit. And buy from a private party, or a dealer on the last cold, snowy day of a month. After that, it depends how often you like to trade in cars.

 

Uh, yeah, a car and its options are depreciating assests y've made clear. But Im talking resale value at time of trade, as related to options that make that car more resale desirable. Creature comforts will always command more $$, yeah maybe not much more, but a low mileage used car with leather moonroof and premium oem sound system is going to be a much easier (re)sale, at a premium, than a car (with identical mileage) without these features. After all, used car sales are any dealership's primary profit generator. Go appraise and sell new and used cars for few years, come back, and tell me otherwise.

 

very true. If you want to get the highest percentage of the original price you paid then get the most basic MINI you can.

couldn't disagree more. there are many more MINIs being sold now with auto transmissions than with stick shift. my local dealer barely brings in stick shift models because they take much longer than the automatics to sell.

 

Comes down to whether the OP is looking for options that make the car easier to sell (hey, the more the better), or if he's looking for relative value in the purchase. The ability to quickly sell the car can also carry intrinsic value.

 

Echoing MotorMouth's comments, the biggest profit to manufacturers and dealers is in the options, i.e. the markup on the cost to manufacture is greater. Thus the value is in the basic car itself.

The real question is whether buyers of used cars are willing to pay "fluffy" prices for fluff (options). Obviously the buyers of new cars which are loaded with options are willing to.