Hey Folks!

I am soon going to be a mini owner and I am excited!

I was looking for a used Mini (Chilli Red) with low miles and found one at a dealership near me. After I test drove the car and checked the carfax the dealer told me that the car was in an accident a month ago. I was obviously shocked to see that it was not in the carfax. I asked for the service done on the car and the dealer gave it to me.

Now I am kinda new to this situation and I request you guys to take a look at the work done on the car and advise me if I should purchase the car.

The car specs are 2010 - Mini Cooper - Chilli Red - hatchback- only (19,000miles) additional items are panaroma sun roof and bluetooth.
->The price the dealer was quoting is $17,500.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

Looks like the most substantial member damaged was the front crash tube. That's what it is there for though. I would still be concerned with the alignment of the car after getting in a front end wreck. They may have not caught this when fixing it.

For that price, I would look for something that hasn't been in an accident.

 

Skip it -- not worth the potential future hassle of a car that has already been in a wreck. Modern cars are meant to be crashed ONCE in my mind.. after that you are opening the vehicle to potential alignment issues as Country Boy points out. Also while it doesnt show up on the carfax..any educated buyer with a bit of knowledge of paint and bodywork (or someone who they hire to inspect the vehicle), is going to be able to tell it was in a wreck. .thus decreasing your potential resale value. If you were getting a smoking deal it might be worth it, but otherwise i would pass.

 

I'd skip it. Also, be weary of carfax. It's a great tool but should not be taken as gospel. My last trade-in was in an accident and when I handed it to the dealer to appraise he checked carfax as well and it was clear. Not a ton of damage in that accident but it went through insurance so you'd figure it should be on there.

 

My suggestion would be the same....PASS.

Kudos to the dealer, though, for being upfront with you both about the accident and the repair cost.

 

Having just read the estimate you posted up...I would DEFINITELY avoid.

Whoever had the car before you -- hit hard enough to break:
the front engine mount
radiator support
radiator
air conditioning condenser
both the headlights
impact bar
the grille
tweaked the right fender

Looks to me like they rear-ended someone. This was not a simple fender bender in a mall parking lot. Kind of surprised that car didnt get totalled out ... its close to the 50% mark..and absolutely absurd that its not on Carfax -- just shows you what that is worth.

 

Something to remember in Carfax. If it's in the report, it's likely true. But that doesn't mean it's a representative history of the vehicle.

In other words....if it says it's been in a wreck, it has been in one. If it doesn't say it was in a wreck, that doesn't mean it hasn't been in one.

My MINI had extensive repairs by the previous owner that I found out after the purchase. Those extensive repairs simply showed up on CarFax as "Vehicle Serviced."

 

Pass .... keep looking you will find something you like.

 

I bought a car years ago, an R53 actually, that had a clean carfax and then when I went to trade it, it had a wreck on the carfax. I never even knew. Point being, it can take up to 6 months for carfax to post apparently.

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Like they say....there's always another Mini. I skip it too.

 

Look on the bright side: you get new headlights and radiator. That should be worth something lol.

 

Thanks so much for your opinions! I did decide to skip it. An other mini rolled by the next day ...2009 chill red...hatch with panaroma roof and cold weather package...25K miles. Got it for $16,500 after an hour of bargaining. Drives great!!!

Patience paid off I guess

Thanks again!

 

nevermind.

 

My first reaction (and probably the right thing to do) is run away!

But.....I would negotiate a price in the $13K max plus an extended warranty that would implicitly cover the replaced components (parts and labor).

Other than that....I would still run away and find another MINI.

 

Yeah $17.5 grand for a 2010 wrecked mini is too much, I paid 18.5k for my 2010 with no accident back in march, with 30k miles
Glad to see you got an 09 with low miles instead