Greetings all,

It's about time for my daughter to get into a different vehicle, but not sure if I should bother trying to sell vs trading in with no hassles.

She's driving an '03, with 118K miles, CVT R50. Reason I ask, it's still a great little car. The only issue right now is the dreaded HK amp failure so no radio,

Other than that it's in perfect condition, interior/exterior/tires/balancer replaced before failure.

Have not been to a dealer yet, she wants a small SUV, maybe a Kia or Ford. I assume they'll give next to nothing for the trade in, but it seems like a waste for such a nice little car to go that route.

I know about the CVT death issues, But the big picture to me is that the motor hums right along, is in really nice shape and could maybe be a nice Mini for someone who may want to deal with a tranny swap down the road.

Anyway what do you all think? Thanks.

 

mini to a kia or ford, disgusting.....

i would imagine the amp could be a fairly easy fix and if the CVT hasnt hailed yet im sure your fine... or get a automatic

 

Amp is an expensive fix, I have researched it. 400 for used, 800 for a new one if I remember right.

And I'll always be questioning the CVT, since I'm the guy working on the car for now.

She wants a larger vehicle. What can ya do, it's her own $$ so......

 

Small SUV? How about a Paceman or Countryman? =D

 

MINI to Ford disgusting

you ain't been reading the reviews of and direct competition of MINI to Ford Focus and Fiesta ST models .....

all the reviews I've seen have poo-poo'd MINI as compared to these for a year at least . . . (including JCW and GP)

MINI to SUV might be a bummer to some but frankly my 2014 Focus ST is giving me as many grins as my 02-S did and what I missed while driving my 07-S . . .

BUT don't let test numbers sway you . . .

***********

btw, was at the KIA dealer with dd's SOUL yesterday. Dealer is getting $5000 over sticker for KIAs .... made me cringe, but them's the facts.

 

Wha??? Some special edition model? I havent seen that here in NC

 

I had an absolute blast test driving a Focus ST. The dealer really let me thrash it, it's a phenomenal car to drive. I don't care for the MyTouch or whatever, but everything else is great.

 

I'll be honest, and my daughter, though only 21 feels the same way... wouldn't give another dollar to the local Mini dealership here. 2 years ago the motor started running rough, had problems accelerating engine light on. I pulled codes that referenced transmission issues. Thought the worst, had the service dept. check it out. They reported yes, bad news, needs a trans replacement, nothing else will fix it.

Brought the car home, it sat for a few weeks and I said, WTH I'll do a little tune-up. Replaced plugs, wires and coil. Guess what, that was 15K miles ago, still running fine. They had no explanation for why they wanted to soak us for a $7000 trans replacement.

I cannot justify giving money to a company represented by idiots like that.

On the Ford topic, I've had / have many, and would recommend them anyday.

Finally, still havent gotten an answer to what my original post was for... thoughts on trading or selling. Thinking it over, I believe we will go the easy route and trade, avoid the hassles of dealing with the Craigslist.

As I said, thought I'd maybe help a local Mini enthusiast by selling them a nice little car, rather than letting a dealership trash it on a trade in.

Thanks all.

 

If it passes the "trade in inspection" give it to the dealer imo...
They may just auction it off...or sell it with a 30 day warrenty....
But no moral questions of what to tell a buyer...and no fear of a small claims lawsuit.
You might find a buyer here...but at a low $$...the conversion $$ is about the same as the cars value...maybe more if you don't get the parts cheap from a wreck and diy it....

 

Yea... But look at it

 

Went car shopping on Saturday and wound up with a killer lease deal on a '14 CR-V. Worry free transport for my daughter for the next 3 years and I doubt she'll go over the mileage. Got $3K trade in on her '03. I thought that was very reasonable.

 

first off; i drove the the fiesta and focus ST at the ford ecoboost challenge. I placed second out of hundreds of drivers. The top 25 were all local semi professional race instructors or drivers.

I liked the ST but not as much as my MINI. I could have easily shaved 3 seconds off the ST's pace around that course in my 02 s. Mind you, Its heavily modded with 250 whp, but that isnt the point. for the price however, its hard to beat.

the fiesta ST is more in line with a cooper S.