I have a TON of questions!
I have a 05 Mini Cooper automatic premium and sport pkg. It only has 48k miles on it but i just changed jobs and now i have a commute. So i am thinking about trading in my girl for a new one with a shiny warranty. Has anyone else done this and what should i expect. I don't really like the new body style but running around with no warranty makes me nervous. I live in DFW which has 3 different dealerships now. Does anyone have any good (or bad) things to say about any of them? Seems like mini's are cheaper now then when i bought mine. I had to pay over sticker price. Should i expect to still have to do that now?
Has anyone sold an older mini to carmax?

 

If you have a Mini (non-S) with the CVT auto I would look at definitely trading for something else as the CVT can be very troublesome.

 

You could probably get a lot more than the trade in value...

 

We swapped our 04MC for the 07MC. We mainly wanted to get the 6 speed transmission which the old MINIs didn't have (which doesn't apply to you), but we found it was a pleasant upgrade all around, better handling and better economy. I'm glad we did.

We got the sport suspension on the new one, because I'd heard that the R56s had a softer setup as standard

 

Thanks guys for your responses.

What is a CVT auto. I am guessing transmission. How would i know?

I took it to Carmax on Friday night and they offered me 10K for it which is just shy of what i needed to make it worth it. I might try the closest dealership to me and see if they will offer me more, but i pretty much think i will have to start saving my pennies.

 

Yes, the CVT is the automatic transmission you have if you drive a 05 MINI (non-S). There have been many reports of problems and complete failures with this transmssion as miles accumulate and most often the only solution is to replace the entire transmission at very high costs $5K-$8K. Regular fluid changes seem to help but they are still a risk. The CVT was discontinued in '07 and replaced with the same reliable 6 speed Aisin built automatic that the S models have always had. Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the info on the transmission. When i mentioned it to my husband he said that the way the transmission shifts has always bugged him and to find out it might fail or even been failing already made the decision easier.

 

I'd trade it for an '11 in a heartbeat!

 

Update: 05 MC was sold to carmax (who offered me more then the dealer) and i bought a shiny new 11 MCS CR/W on Saturday. I love it! I think i made the right decision thanks all for your input!

 

That was the EXACT upgrade I made -- '05 MC to '11 MCS. You might be interested in my initial observations; and it would be interesting to see if your perspectives are similar or different. See this post:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post3220300

Enjoy the new acquisition!

 

CVT specifically stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. It does not have any specific fixed gear ratios, but can vary infinitely between some maximum and some minimum. In theory, great for efficiency (you can run the engine at its most efficient) and great for performance (you can also run the engine at its max power), but so far most of the actual implementations have left something to be desired.

 

I just did this, but it was '06 to '11. The trade-in value is much higher now due to the shortage of good used cars as people are holding on to them because of the economy. I initially took it to my dealer and then CarMax - CarMax offered me $2000 more and the dealer matched it!

Bought my '06 in 2006 for $18,995 and traded it in for $12,000. Since I've had no car payments for a year and wanted to stay that way, I decided to do a lease as it was ~$10,500 for 3 years/12,000 miles per year pre-pay lease and got ~$1500 back!

So basically, four years of payments on my '06 purchased and one year of no payments. Now three more years of no payments, ~$1500 in pocket and full warranty and maintenance for the entire lease term! Basically using the equity in the car now before it goes south.

I'll purchase my next MINI and see if I can do this again! It's like the same result as owning (not having payments for a few years) but always being under warranty!

 

Gil-galad - So i would say your account was pretty accurate. I went from an automatic to an automatic, and justa to an S, and downgraded on packages. Here are the things i would add.

- new blinker drives my husband nuts, but i dont even notice now. (3 days in) so i think its just a matter of what you are used to.
-ambient lighting makes me soo happy
- Both 05 and 11 sports seats were comfortable. 11 just seems a little more plush and somehow bigger?
-I like the new instrument displays, 05 had the automatic air and now i have the manual it seems less confusing to me. also seems colder 05 was dying in these 100+ temps.
- I went from run flats to run flats. stranded on the side of the road is not my happy place. Im not sure if this is the car or the tires but the ride is much smoother. Also they moved the run flat rest button from under the emergency brake to on the blinker stem. Makes more sense.
- i would say 50% reduction of road noise on 11.
- Boot - so i got a handy little luggage net thingy with the new 11, but overall i liked the 05 boot better. it just seemed nicer. Side panels were molded plastic not cheap carpet bits.
- handling so they handle different i dont know how much is because of the S vs Justa. 05 had a tighter wheel, 11 is looser and more responsive.

All in all the changes made the 11 are very well thought out and just made sense. Except for the boot everything seems plusher and nicer on the 11. Performance is awesome on the 11. I liked the shape of the 05 body more, but the vent on the 11 S distracts me from it so thats helpful.

 

Mini-mine - so my 05 premium pkg and sports pkg automatic with 48k miles got me 10k at carmax. It really made sense to me, my commute to and from work quadrupled. So i could pack on the miles tot he 05 with a possibly shady transmission or i could get a new car for a few K more then i would if i fixed everything that needed maintenance . Prolly would have been wiser to go with another justa but there is not accounting for love lol. Plus the 05 just wouldnt have been worth as much after i add 12K miles on it in a year with my new work situation.

 

Agreed. Those are many of the reasons I upgraded too. Plus it was nothing 'out of pocket' to do it and I might be relocating (possibly without a job) to the Pacific NW early next year. I didn't want to worry about car issues, so used the equity in my car now while it's higher to have a paid-off car for the next three years! I forgot to mention my mileage was 43,749 when I got the trade-in estimate.

 

Mini -Mine we ended up doing a bit of a money shuffle took the cash from carmax and paid off a couple high interest rate credit cards. Then financed the new mini with the 2.9 deal. So we have a car payment now but its were not paying any CC debt. total win imo

 

Yeah, that's definitely a smart move! Sometimes, getting a new car can be a smarter move than keeping the old one. It really just depends on your situation!

 

I just traded my '09 MCS on an '11 MCS. So I know the feeling.

 

I'm committed to the upgrade from 2008 to 2012. Haven't received the new one yet but I have driven 2 '11s. Pro's and cons of each. I like the newer package better but really like the earlier dash layout better. They are different cars but definitely are close siblings!