HI All,

Need some thoughts on whether to trade in my 08 MSC for a 2013 used justa (less than 10K miles). Reason is lack of warranty on the MSC and mostly full warranty on the justa. The 08 has had the carbon buildup issue walnut blasted 2 x already and the car has only 26K....just had it done so the car is fine now in addition to having all the recall work done and they also found a cracked valve cover that dealer said was a major contributor to the carbon problem (of course after telling me it was the gas I use the first time, and the way I drive the 2nd time) Had to get MINI usa involved to get dealer to pay for most of the repairs since the last carbon cleaning was only 10 months ago. I hate the idea of not having an S but what I need is a car that is going to be reliable and not cost thousands of dollars in repairs over the next few years. Any thoughts as I am stuck in trying to decide what to do.

Thanks

 

Sell it and say goodbye to MINI as a brand for a bit. IMO, I'd check to see what else you could get.

 

Trade for an r53 and get an extended warranty.

 

driving a justa once was enough to convince me to never own one.

 

You can't down-grade without major pain and regret: life doesn't work like that.

I can't advocate keeping '08 MCS forever either, my 56K N14 just kicked the bucket and I bought and installed a new engine.

If I were to do it again, I would by an F56 with a proper BMW engine, improved interior, suspension, and handling. It's time to move on to 3rd gen cars, or beyond the brand!

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Saw my first F56 on the road today (have seen them at auto shows and the dealer previously)... Keep waiting for them to start growing on me but as of today they're still ugly as sin.

How about buying the tools and doing the walnut blasting yourself? Since you've got an N14 do you have an oil catch can?

I've owned two non-S Coopers (one R56, one Clubman) and I would definitely consider owning one again. Definitely not as fast but still peppy and tons of fun.

 

HI All,

Well, I may try driving my coworkers non S today to see what I think. I am not really mechanical....I used to do work on my 67 Mustang but that was ages ago and those cars are quite simple. My roommates son is a fabricator so I guess he could help me clean the S....it just makes me so mad that this car with so few miles has had so many problems. I am generally someone who keeps a car for at least 10 years but the MINI does not seem like a 10 year kinda car. There is NOTHING else except a Lotus Elise that I even like, so can not imagine ditching the brand...even though the roommate says I should get something else. Sigh....

Thanks

 

This is the non S I am looking at....I would add the rear spoiler so it "looks" like an S

 

I really love the orange. Not that I am biased or anything . I would upgrade to get the warranty on the newer car.

 

the orange did not hit me as "love" until I saw it with all black...roof, wheels, headlight lens, and this car had lots of tinting done which is illegal in CA but I was looking at cars the other day when the dealer told me I would have to sign a waiver for the tinting....probably 75% of cars I looked at had tinting on the driver and passenger windows so they must not ticket alot for it or people would not have it. If I got that car I would continue with the black out process and try to find a grill in black mesh to fit, black headlight surround, tailight etc.

 

I'd love an Elise some day... If you can afford it, I'd do that! Otherwise...

Looks nice!

You can make an S or JCW grille fit by using S lower grille trim and trimming the corners a bit to match the profile of the non-S bumper. Check my post history, there's a thread in the non-S section that I started after the 2011's came out regarding options for a black grille for a non-S that has a couple of options.

Get an NM Engineering torque arm insert (everyone MINI owner should do this, but on a non-S especially).

Let me know if you get it and swap the spoiler - I might be interested in buying the non-S one off of you.

 

What do you all think I should offer on the car....it is AT, black 16" wheels with runflats, cpo warranty....mostly standard otherwise. They have it listed for 20,500.

 

and what do you guy feel a good offer on the 2013 new S would be....mostly stock again, AT....they offered it to me for 24, 500. But with all the 14's in shouldn't they go lower to get it off the inventory??

 

well considering i paid $23,000 for my '13 in march of last year....yes, you should be able to pay a good bit less than $24,500 for a 2013 now.

 

Depending on how the '14s are being received perhaps a new '13 is a rarer / hotter commodity than it was in March of last year...? CPO also has a longer warranty than a new car, so that's potentially worth something if the current mileage is low enough. Assuming it's low miles and "like new" condition $20,400 is likely several grand off the new price for an essentially new car with a better-than-new warranty.

"Mostly stock" is pretty subjective... What's the MSRP on the S and what was the original MSRP on the CPO non-S (also how many miles)?

 

The non CPS mini has 9027 miles, the S brand new is listed as $26,295 but when asking for a price they say list is $27,295 because they added lojack. They went down to $24,500 at this point so would it be pushing it to ask for lower? They have 24 new 2013 cars on the lot.....

This is on it over stock

• 6-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION -inc: sport steering wheel paddle shifters (REQ: 2XA Steering Wheel) (205)
• 16" X 6.5" BLACK 6-STAR SPOKE ALLOY WHEELS -inc: P195/55R16 tires (2GH)
• SPORT TILT/TELESCOPIC LEATHER STEERING WHEEL W/PADDLE SHIFTERS -inc: cruise/audio controls (REQ: 205 Transmission) (2XA)
• BLACK TOP & MIRROR CAPS (N/A w/A94 or B49 Paint) (383)
• CENTER ARMREST (473)
• WHITE TURN-SIGNAL INDICATORS (785)

On the sale weekend they just had they offered the CPO non S for $19,600 so I was thinking I would offer $19,500. On the S I would need the price down to around 23K but I doubt they would go that low.

 

and from stock on the non S CPO mini
-automatic, 16 inch black wheels, xenon headlights with black housings, center armrest and anthracite headliner

Not sure how to find out what the original MSRP was

 

and yes, the CPO mini gives me warranty until mid year 2019...that alone is making me think the CPO car is the way to go....I get peace of mind in trade for my get up and go S....hmmm...sure am having a hard time with this.

 

F56 (2014+ model year) are extremely hot and well received.
They rarely leave the dealer lots for under MSRP. Basically, they are a hit with everyone other than 2nd gen owners who haven't upgraded yet

1 of my 3 local MINI dealers has 2 R56 GPs sitting on the lot, that they can't ditch at invoice. Same with the R56 JCWs - great steals to be had on old cars, as is usually the case when a completely new model comes out.

Remember - it's the dealer's job to sell the car for as high as they can.
It's YOUR job to negotiate the lowest possible price.

Do YOUR job, and do it well!
1). Search around for other listings.
2). See what other similarly spec-ed 2013 R56s sell for, low-mileage used and new.
3). Check edmunds.com nada.com and other sites for estimates on how much low-mileage MINI's go for: http://www.edmunds.com/mini/cooper/2...e-results.html

That's a pretty bare-bones "S" spec - base 16" wheels and color choices. The only value-add options are automatic (MSRP $1250, invoice $1,150) and center armrest ($250).

Edmunds prices it out for ~$20K.
Nada claims dealer invoice is around $23K, minus kick-backs and incentives from MINI USA. I bet the latter are super-aggressive to push 2nd gen cars off the lot right now, so don't be shy about starting negotiation from $20K mark.
http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2013/...-Cpe-S/Pricing


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well, they took my offer on the non S....so, no more S for me for now anyway. The warranty is more important. Thanks everyone for their thoughts....for the comment on ditching the brand...I couldn't do it. But if this car turn out to be a mess I will have to seriously considered my next car.