Not talking about a car flipping, or an exotic new pastry, but what seems to be a recent spate in the Marketplace (and elsewhere) of people selling new, like 1,000 miles new, MINIs.
My first thought is always .
I guess buying a new car is a bigger deal for me than many people, but I still can't understand going through the whole process and then saying (in the voice of Emily Littela) "Nevermind". The transaction costs alone (tax, title, reg) are huge.

Anyone here done something like that? I'd love to hear a rational explanation.

 

well... maybe they're just ditzy, crazy, scatter-brained or confused??!

...I've given up trying to find the logic in how many people behave. Humans are strange and idiosyncratic animals, my son.

- - m

 

me 2! and then they expect to sell the car at the same price they bought it. The second the car leaves the lot, it goes down in price.


What baffles me aswell is the "I decided this car isn't for me" Was there no test driving?

 

MANY people have more money than common sense!

 

You took the words right out of my mouth....how true that statement is...in many cases...

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"
05' HB/W MCS

 

I also think some people are still buying new MINIs in hope of re-selling them for more than they paid for. That was a pretty common practice when the first cars came out 3 years ago.

I owned a 2004 MCS for 16 months and 17K miles. I sold the car in early February for $700 more than I originally paid for it Honestly, aside from wanting a new '05 MCS with all the performance improvements (Which were worth it to me) I had no real compelling reason to let go of a car that was barely 1 and a half years old. If I had the prospect of losing several thousands on that sale, I would probably have kept it, but the high resale value made it possible and justifiable for me to make the upgrade to a new MCS so soon in the game.

And sure, there are people that apparently don't test drive these cars only to find out that the MINI "Isn't for them" . People have ZERO financial common sense, hence the mounting personal consumer debt and record high bankruptcies in this country as we speak.

 

When the actual perpetrators are not present or available I try to examine the circumstances. If this happens much more with MINIs than other cars then we might consider what it is about MINIs that encourages this. I'll take a guess: unusually high resale value (this alone allows people to change their minds with less risk than in other cars), limited function (what seemed possible in a 15 minute test drive and 30 minute showroom inspection became difficult in daily operation), highly desirable appearance (the MINI is so cool, nifty and relatively affordable that people talk themselves into it when they should have gotten something else). I present those observations for your consideration.

S. Holmes

 

one person's mistake is another person's opportunity. a lot of folks out there can't afford to pay new car prices but still have a craze for MINI that needs to be satiated. I bet there are a lot of people out there wishing there was an even higher turnover rate. BMW is doing a good job at limiting production and keeping demand higher than supply

 

Coming from a guy who hadn't driven one prior to purchase, and is not posting it for sale, I value your comments highly. :smile:

 

People also end up buying much more car than they can actually afford (Read: Lack of money/budgeting skills). Some people HAVE TO HAVE FULLY LOADED CARS In dealerships is not uncommon to encounter buyers with poor credit histories, lousy employment or none at all, "Demanding" nothing less than a fully decked out car.

My rule of thumb is that if you can't comfortably come up with at least a 20% cash downpayment and been able to finance a car in say 30-36 months tops, sorry you can't afford the car, period.

Leasing and long financing deals only help to perpetuate this problem among consumers.

 

^^ Hi Eric:

It was dumb to not test drive prior to buying, but I might not have learned much because I tend to be very respectful of other people's property. Besides I had a sense about the MINI. My previous car was in great shape after 11 years and I am hoping my MINI will provide similar or better service. However it took me several days to realize the MINI's seats can be adjusted vertically (made me decide to read the manual thoroughly). That made a BIG difference. I hope some folks are not flipping their MINIs because they thought they did not fit in them! Happy motoring.

Robin

 

Maybe not the case, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an independent dealer or two trying to make a quick buck.

On a somewhat related, but slightly off-topic note:

When I was a Motoring Advisor, there was little that frustrated me more than a customer who was making the decision to get a MINI rashly or was in a hurry to just "take the car." Sure, a quick sale was nice for my pocket - but I never felt good about it. There are so many interesting features and fascinating quirks that I took almost an hour going over these details with each customer that I possibly could. Of course one can figure out the basics of how to get the car down the road - but I can't tell you how many times I've heard from folks that were in a hurry to go and didn't get this overview - and they usually ask me about relatively simple things that they would have known if only they had taken a little more time.

At least morknmini took some time to read the manual. Good for you! Better late than never!

Anyhow, to make this all somehow relevant, I believe that there is indeed a percentage of people who don't understand what the car really is about and still buy it - then are quickly faced with realities that don't match the fantasy. This doesn't just happen with MINI however - I see people trying to trade out of "mistakes" all day long at our dealerships.