Hey,

Just looking for some advice on a used Countryman. So for the past few months I've been following the Countryman market for my girlfriend. Our local MINI/BMW dealer has a really nice 2012, but their prices are insane. They've had the car since September and only just dropped it 2k and it's still priced 1-2k above comparable CPOd cars. We went to Mini to try to talk about the car and possibly a Paceman for me and the guy couldn't have been less interested. He actually said 'well the only thing we can take off is the car wash so that's like $80.' Meanwhile a few miles down the road we are in talks for an S ALL4(the CPO is just an S) for nearly $5k less! Sure, it's not CPOd and the dealer isn't that great, but it still has 2 years and 40k of factory warranty and carfax shows it was always Mini serviced.

What would you guys do here? Is CPO that important to deal with such an arrogant, useless dealer? I know it's all part of the negotiation process, but the guy didn't even act like he was interested in a two car deal. I mean he quoted me nearly $500/month to lease a Paceman which sounded insane considering the prices advertised on Mini's website. There are other CPO cars locally that are priced better, but not in the color she wants. My thinking is lets go for the cheaper one and she has two years to buy the extended warranty through mini if she chooses.

 

You can take over my lease for $353/month...https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-takeover.html

 

Try cargurus.com. It's a site that lists all of the cars available within a specific distance from your home. They include dealer and private listings. When I bought my 2012 Countryman last year, I used that site, and it led me to my car, which I bought at a local MINI dealer. Mine was a "brass hat" car, which is one that was driven by a MINI executive for a while. It was not CPO. A CPO car gives you a longer warranty, but you could always get one yourself. For me, it was about finding the right car at the right price, so the fact that it was not CPO didn't bother me.

 

Have you looked into a local Auto Broker? They can find you what you want at the terms you want!

 

Nice CM! Unfortunately the mileage restrictions of leases don't work out that well for us.

Yeah, I've been using all the car search sites. I have a google doc set up with all the ones in our price range, how long they've been on the market, etc.

Unfortunately by us a lot of the auto brokers are former finance managers from dealerships that I wouldn't trust any further than I could throw them. I can handle locating and negotiating, I'm just growing frustrated with how lazy and disinterest these salesmen are. I'm chasing them to sell us a car because it's the color and options she wants while guys selling ones she's not that interested in are working hard staying in touch everyday to earn my business.

 

Unfortunately with how much she drives, leasing probably won't work...great looking CM though!

Yeah I've tried all of them. I have a spreadsheet listing all the ones in a reasonable price range.

Most of the auto brokers I know of are pretty shifty. I can handle locating and negotiating, but it's hard when your calls and emails for the cars she's seriously interested in go unreturned. The most disappointing thing is that I'd love to give the business to the guys who have cars that aren't exactly what she wants because they are trying very hard to make a deal happen everyday.