Hello all,
I had tried to purchase a Mini earlier this spring and did not have much luck with our local dealership. The problem we had was a ridiculiously low trade in price they gave me on my car. I know I sould just seel it outright and I will try that but if I can get a decient value for it on a trade it is worth it to me to not have to worry about joe shmoe test driving it for fun. Anyways, we live near Pittsburgh PA and do not have a problem travelling if it is worth while. We also have relatives in Birmingham AL and it would be a good excuse to visit them.
So my question is can anyone recommend a dealer that will be worth while to contact in our area?
I am not sure what options we want yet and we may order the one we want...I like the sounds of the new solar red color.

Thanks for the help.

 

Do you have a Carmax around there? You might try them. In fact, when I went to buy my MINI and wanted to get an evalutation of my trade in value they suggested Carmax as an alternative and I hadn't even complained about the value yet. Carmax is sort of a big generic used car buyer/reseller place. I think it's a national chain but I'm not sure.

 

Lauderdale MINI in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Crystal Neagle was my MA and we ordered mine over the phone and email. Very easy to deal with and lots of goodies when you pick up. Had a great experience and would order from them again in a heartbeat.

Good Luck, whatever you choose!

Crystal Neagle
MOTORING ADVISOR
cneagle@holmansales.com
Phone: 954-335-6464
Fax: 954-335-0295


-Sarah
tell her moneypenny sent you!

 

Classic MINI in Mentor Ohio is really close to you. They are a sponsor of this website and are generally known as one of the most friendly dealers around. Give Julie Saxa a call and she will set you up.

However, you are probably best off selling the VW yourself. Dealers, even the best, don't give much on trade ins. . . .

 

Keep in mind that ideally the dealer is more than a place to purchase the car. If all you are looking for is a low price and nice people to deal with, there are any number of dealers that will work with you over the internet, but someday you may need warranty work or have a dificult service problem to sort out. Then your first call should be to your local dealer. Don't sell them short over a disagreement over trade-in value. Any dealer is only interested in your car if they can make money on it. As suggested earlier check with Car Max or look into selling it yourself. If you find that they really are extremely low on their trade-in value, ask them to look at it again. Most dealers will only give you the wholesale value from the "Black Book" which tends to be lower than Kelly Blue Book. Also keep in mind that MINI Dealers do not have big discounts or factory incentives that they can add in to your trade value to inflate the trade-in. The value they quote you for your used car is its actual value.

 

Carmax would be a good idea if we had them around here....

Unless you are trading in a MINI, BMW, or other car make that the dealer might try to retail from their own lot, the MINI dealer is likely to turn around and sell your trade at an auction either to some independent used car dealer or a dealer that sells the same make as your trade. The MINI dealer also has to cover auction fees and prep costs - and obviously wants to limit their losses as much as possible. Since they don't have much room in the new car price to "pack" any losses from selling your trade at an auction and still maintain a reasonable net profit, they try to buy trades as close to what it will cost them to liquidate it as possible. This is usually close to the auction values. So, you might consider going directly to one of these Independent used car lots or a dealer that sells the same make as your trade. They'd likely be willing to give you about what they would expect to pay at an auction - which should be a little more than what the MINI dealer offered you - but obviously not as much as if you were to retail the car yourself. Of course the new car dealer will want to get you looking at one of their new cars - and they will "show" you even more for your trade....

.....But then there is the whole discussion of Actual Value vs. Perceived Value. Looking at what the Big 3 have had to do with their overinflated car prices should explain a lot about how overinflated car values have been - at least as perceived by consumers. The dealers have known about these overinflated new car prices for a long time - and have been able to give out overinflated trade-in values for a long time without hurting their own net proifts. You're not going to find that MINI dealers have the same kind of fat margins with manufacturer-backed rebates - they actually charge a fair price for the car that you get. If they haven't already, the domestics will be forced to "correct" their trade values with the new pricing structures as well - or just accept smaller profit margins. I pitty the poor folks who try to trade in a domestic they bought new any time in the last year or so before these disounts.

Regardless, you're going to get what you pay for with a MINI! As Tony the Tiger (May he RIP) used to say, "THEY"RRRRRRE GRRRRRRRRREAT! It also works in the reverse - which is partly why the MINI's residual value is industry leading.

I hope this very wordy response is somehow helpful.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I do realize that dealerships have to make money and hopefully I did not come off as being upset that they offered me a low dollar amount. I understand that dealers have to make money and I appriciate that.
I checked Carmax and the closest place is in DC.
I just emailed Classic and they got back to me really fast. I will see what they say and go from there. It may be spring until I get one but I will have one, oh yes I will!

 

Another vote for Lauderdale MINI. Crystal Neagle is my MA. I have sent her people many times before, including Moneypenny.

 

what is your car (and how is it equiped & miles & condition) and what are they offering?

 

I second the comment about Classic MINI/Julie Saxa. I purchased my MCSa from Julie and while I was initially concerned about an out-of-state purchase, I would do it again from Julie and Classic.

Thanks to horrible customer service & rotten quality control (or is it horrible quality control and rotten customer service???), VWs have seen the trade-in/residual value go into free-fall. (VW sure knows how to alienate its customers.... After being screwed by the factory on denial of warranty coverage, the only recourse is to sell the car; guess what happens when everyone else that bought a VW comes to the same conclusion????)

You could try selling the car yourself. Or, you could just get out of it and move on. Don't mean to be negative, it is just that I know too many (former) owners of VWs.

 

caminifan, you hit the nail on the head about VW customer support and warranty service.

I knew I was getting a MINI even before I bought my 2001 GTI, but I was very happy to ditch that car and get my MINI as soon as the bumper to bumper warranty was through. After 4 failed window regulators that resulted in my windows falling into the doors, I knew that more little gremlins were waiting to pop up.

Had my VW experience been good, I might have been a future Audi owner. Now I will always be a MINI owner, and am likely to own a BMW or 2 in my day. . . .

 

Ohhh, you have no idea of the bullet that you dodged there (being a future Audi owner).... A business associate bought a 2001 A8. The car has been in the shop for so many different repairs, that the repair cost has exceeded the purchase price of the car. Fortunately the repairs were covered under warranty, but that is small comfort with the impending expiration of the warranty. Guess what they are considering doing????

 

2003 GTI Indigo Blue 1.8t 5 speed heated seats, mirrors and washer nozzles, leather interior, monsoon stereo, retracting sunroof, traction control and abs, probably other options that I am not thinking of. right now 44k on it. I drive 90% hiway miles to and from work. When i went to trade it in there was about 39k on it and I was offered 11k which was 1k below kbb's lowest value. I was offered 15k for it on a Subaru that the dealer was not coming off sticker price (about 21k). If kbb is correct on their invoice pricing then the subaru and mini have about the same markup therefore I think that my trade-in should be close. I am not expecting to get a lot for the car, but I thought their value was way too low.

 

May indeed be similar markup on the retail side - but Subaru dealers get some money back from the manufacturer (Remember Subie is in bed with GM) that MINI does not. (Heck, even BMW kicks back some money to dealers that MINI doesn't.) This means there is more margin than meets the eye. The Subaru dealer can probably afford, just at a guess, another $500 - $750 trade value without flinching. Where the same amount significantly cuts into the profit on the MINI.

MINI of Pittsburgh also has a Subie dealer under the P&W name - chances are that you'd have gotten a number closer to the other Subie dealer's number from P&W's Subaru store. Frankly, it's just the nature of the situation and MINI happens to be the exception right now. ....and, unfortunately, the VW's residual isn't getting any better with time....

Not to beat a dead horse here, but I think it could be worth finding out what an Independent dealer or a VW dealer would give you for it straight up. My $.02. Twice.

 

Awesome experience! I have already bought 2 Mini's from her.

 

You'll be hard-pressed to find a better buying experience than that of Mini of Pgh. Be realistic in your expectations of what your trade-in is worth. Go to Kelly, NADA, and Edmunds and see what the average private party value is. A dealer should offer you close to what the wholesale or trade-in value is. Then decide if the less hassle/less sales tax aspect is worth it to you to trade the car in. My experience has been that if you price your car reasonably, and it has been properly cared for, you won't have any trouble selling it yourself.

Jack T.
04 S LY/W

 

I did not know that Subie was in with GM, that makes sense now.

Our experience at Pgh Mini wasn't bad at all, the girl who we talked to was extremely nice and knowledgable. My only complaint was the lower than expected trade in. Perhaps it is my perception as to the value of my car but I figure it can't hurt to shop around. I would rather buy from the local guys, it makes it nice to get work done and they usually take care of their own first.

Oh well tomorrow is another day and we will see what happens.