I was the grand prize winner of a new base MINI given away by QLOGIC at EMCWorld in Boston. I already drive (and autocross/HPDE) a new EVO MR, so the car goes to my wife as a replacement for her aging Buick LeSabre. We (she) haven't decided yet if we are going to keep it or trade it in on a tow capable SUV. A couple of questions...

1> The MINI hasn't been titled yet, I have the Certificate of Origin. Any one in the car biz know if I can sell to an individual (in NYState) without a title, or can it only go to a dealer in trade?

2> I'm from Rochester, NY, and the nearest MINI dealer is in Buffalo. So can the local BMW dealer (John Holtz) do warranty service on the MINI? If so does anyone have any experience with Holtz?

3> We live in the snow belt - I'm assuming that the MINI does pretty well in the snow as long as it isn't too deep.

4> I've read that the MINIs have great resale value. Anyone have any good stories of minimal value loss after the first year? We might keep it for a while and then decide to sell it.

5> So what's the most/least that anyone has gotten for a base MINI in trade or outright sale? In other words, what should I expect to get if we do sell it or trade it in. Remember that it has yet to be titled, and has about 25 miles on it.


Sorry if these are questions that have already been answered before. I'm new to this board and haven't had a chance to do much research yet. Thanks for any input.

George

 

First congratulations and welcome to NAM... I'll answer what I can... However, you don't own a base MINI but rather a Cooper or MC.

Don't know

[quote]2> I'm from Rochester, NY, and the nearest MINI dealer is in Buffalo. So can the local BMW dealer (John Holtz) do warranty service on the MINI? If so does anyone have any experience with Holtz?[/qoute]

Looks like you're headed to Buffalo for your warranty service. BMW only dealers (those without a MINI dealership as well) will not perform MINI service and do not have MINI techs on staff... Some BMW dealers will work on your car, but you'll pay for the privledge, warranty repair or not.

I would avoid snow deeper than about 4 inches...

It all depends on where and how the MINI is equipt.

Without knowing what options are in the car there's no way for us to give you an accurate guess.

 

WOW CONGRATS

now you just get to pay the income tax on that

OK

1. SEE http://www.maggard.net/New%20York/ny...ate%20sale.htm so the answer is yes. All that means is that the car has never been titled and, therefore, is still new
2. Most likely NO. Not all BMW dealers are MINI dealers.
3. Yes. Most ppl would get a set of wheels and dedicated snow tire
4. and 5. Go to Edmunds.com and plug in the numbers. Or try kbb.com

Best of luck you lucky guy!

 

Keep it and let your wife autocross it. Or sell both and move up...

I don't have all your answers, but:

#2 - no

#3 - yes. I live in 'the other Rochester' and it is a great snow car

#4 - has been true but becoming more like any other car

In any case congratulations on winning the contest!

 

1. Some slimy dealers will say yes, but I dont think you legaly can.
2. Yes, I believe that they will. And if it is new, you have free maintence.
3. It does pretty good. Make sure that you have snow tires though!
4. I'd keep it. There are in HIGH demand, and you can get pretty close to what its worth.
5. I dont really know what the specs are! It could be between 18k and 35k.

And above all

 

Thanks for the quick replies!

It is a no option base MINI (MC). The dealer in Boston threw on a Lo-Jack and Simonize to increase their profit on the original sale of the car to QLOGIC. The as delivered price of the car was just under 20K. The dealer offered me much less than that to walk away with a check instead of the car.

Thanks for the link to the NYS DMV - I hadn't gotten a chance to research it for myself yet. Being able to sell it to an individual should increase it's value should we decide not to keep it.

Bummer to hear that the local BMW isn't authorized to do service under warrantee. I've seen a few MINIs here in Rochester, but not that many. No local service could be part of the reason.

I'd love to have my wife autox it - but so far, she hasn't shown much interest.


George

 

Not true.

1. The car has never been titled, just see the link I referenced . You can sell to whoever you want as a NEW car
2. Most likely NO .... they are NOT a MINI dealer and most likely will not touch the car

 

100 miles seems about the cutoff for regular maint. many of us are willing to drive much further than that for service though. Not sure just how far you are.
3. It's one of the better snow cars out there, but is FWD so it won't put traction down like the EVO. ANd it does make a good plow in the deeper stuff, if you can wait for a plow, no issues just don't get overconfident.

I wish I could post threads with a title like this, you are very lucky congratulations! I hope you come to enjoy the car as much as everyone else here. Welcome to NAM!

 

Congratulations on the win! You may be more lucky than you think and you may not want to give it up after a year.

As far as resale, here is my experience. My first MINI was side-swiped at the driver front wheel and totalled by a HUGE SUV. Their insurance settled with more money that what I paid for it (sans mods). That's after 2 years and 20,000 miles.

 

You won a MINI and your thinking of selling it!? ARE YOU MAD!? Sure, I would sell it too....but it would be for an MCS!

-Cody

 

WOW! Congrats! You have something many people DREAM of having and lust after. Keep it! You'll enjoy it. The MINI is GREAT car that will give MILES of fun.

 

You can easily sell it for full MSRP to a private party, there is a waiting list out there and people who want one fast will jump on it.
How do I know? I bought a new MINI Cooper S Convertible that was brand new and also won in a contest, I live in Canada and the car was in Minneapolis, I didn't pay full MSRP because the car was loaded with extras installed at the dealer and the value of the car was more than a usual MSRP, the guy had bought everything you can add to a MINI thinking it would make it more attractive and easier to sell, I had to fly and drive back 1250 miles but it was all worth it.
The car was tittled because in Minnesota you have to pay the taxes and tittle the car in order to sell it and it was better for me because I had to pay duty and tax to get it through Customs and that's one reason why I didn't want to pay full MSRP, I got it off eBay and it had a reserve but the guy had told me his reserve so it helped me a lot by keeping the price as high as possible scaring people away without hitting the reserve and at the last second, I put a bid above the reserve and got lucky and got it for the reserve but it was tense, I was not the only one wanting that car.
If I were you, I would put it on eBay with a reserve as close as what you feel comfortable with and you might get more than $20k, or you can put a "Buy it now" option for the full MSRP and it might sell within minutes.
Or you can keep it and fall in love with it like we all do, I was suppose to sell mine after a year but now I'm selling my other vehicles and keeping this one, it's the most fun to drive car that I ever owned, including my dream ZR1 with 450 hp, I would never have thought I would find a car that I would like more than my ZR1 but this is real, it has only 1600 miles and I'm buying new aftermarket wheels for the second time already and all the mods are going on the MINI, the ZR1 doesn't get any attention anymore.

 

Congrats! I would love a MR Evo. The MINI will grow on you. Tough decision.

 

wow! congratulations on the win! I have never won a single thing other than a couple bucks off a scratch off lottery card whatever you decide, good luck and atleast enjoy it while you have it, you may end up keeping it!

 

Thanks again for all of the feedback, and the congrats. I am a lucky guy in many ways!

I haven't researched the ebay car sales approach, but I gotta think that they take a healthy percentage.

Also, any thoughts on the decreasing value of the current models with the 07s coming? I thought I read somewhere that the new MINIs will have more power base and switching to turbo for the MCS.

Again, sorry if these topics have been discussed before,

George

 

I was at EMC World, and watched that contest unfold, was kind of hoping to win myself.

At least I got the toy mini for my son..

-Gregg
05 MCS/JCW

 

See http://www.motoringfile.com Lots of stories on the next generation models. Yes turbo but I dont think anymore HP. Unclear as to what effect it may have on gen one models since, of course, it hasnt happened yet.

 

Sorry guy but if Buffalo is the closest MINI dealer guess what that's where your wife's car will have to go for service. Just because it's a BMW product doesn't mean a BMW dealer will work on it--one of the oddball things about these cars. Only MINI dealers service MINIs (at least the warranty and sched mtce work.) However, I have heard that some BMW dealerships that also house MINI franchises can do minor mtce and warranty work, just to lessen the work load on the MINI side.

Well at least if something serious does go wrong MINIUSA will spring for the tow to 'falo. Again, congrats! Jimbo

PS sell it, pay the taxes, and put the rest towards an S.

 

First, it's not that unusual.... Take a GMC to a Chevy dealership for service and the Chevy dealership will turn you away... Same trucks with minor differences, but you won't get a GMC dealership to work on a Chevy and vice versa... Heck I even had a GMC dealership get the parts needed to repair my truck from a Chevy dealership, but Chevy won't touch the car. Its the same with Dodge and Chrysler, Ford and Lincoln or Mercury.

As for your statement about BMW dealerships that house MINI dealerships... Since they house MINI dealerships then they are authorized MINI service centers, that means they can do warranty and maintence work on your MINI, and if they are good customer oriented dealerships, than their BMW writers will assist MINI customers if the MINI writer is busy or otherwise MIA...

 

there is a mini in williamsville on rt 5 towne bmw mini will be able to service the car since you were given the car u may not have to pay the taxes on it as long as you state that it was given or gift you may want to go to thier web page for the dmv or stand in line for hours and get a rude dmv agent
you didnt pay anthing for it why should you have to pay the tax the company paid the tax when they bought it and there is one thing did you buy a ticket in order to win if you did you may have to pay the tax on the price of the ticket and NYS Deparment of taxation SUXXXX hope this helps
here is the sevice site for towne mini https://secure.webmakerx.net/Service...=townemini.com

 

Just wanted to close the loop on this as the sad day when the MINI finally leaves my garage comes tomorrow...

First is to explain why it has taken the better part of three months to get to this point. First there were delivery delays that cost more than a week to get the little MINI to me. This was the fun time where the new car ownership joy hit in full. Friends, family, and co-workers came to see the prize as if they just couldn't believe it. I also offered quite a few short neighborhood test drives. I was amazed going thru the owners manual at how well engineered the MINI really is. Also, the fun factor of the MINI was evident. The company does a great job a making owners feel like they are part of an elite club.

A few weeks passed as we tried in vain to sell the car without a title. Even with inside contacts in the car business, we just couldn't make it happen. And of course to title the car, we had to pay taxes on it. This is on top of the entire original purchase price of the car being treated as taxable income for me. Also, once the car is titled, it officially becomes a "used" car even though it only has 35 miles on it.

Getting the title was a difficult process as this was a situation that the DMV doesn't deal with every day, and getting consensus as to which forms we needed wasn't as easy as it should have been. And of course NYS doesn't do anything quickly, so the process of getting the title took the better part of two months.

Next comes the question of what is a "nearly new" MINI worth. If you believe internet car sales sites like Autotrader, and cars.com, then the MINI is worth more used than it is new. Of course, the value of any car is only what someone will actually pay for it. I got several offers in the 15-16 range, with a couple at 16.5-17. I had a couple of dealers tell me that they could get a new one for 17-17.5.

I suspect that there are a few factors that are now holding the value down.
1> There isn't a MINI dealer in Rochester.
2> End of the 2006 model year, with changes coming for the 2007s
3> Supply has caught up with demand, especially as more micro cars like the Fit have entered the market.

I suppose that I could have put it up on ebay to find the "true market value", but I wasn't interested in paying the $80 for info. I was pretty set on doing a trade-in with the MINI since the value reduces the sales tax on the new vehicle. I would have had to sell it to a private party for $1500 more than the trade-in just to break even. And why would someone pay over sticker to me when they could get a true new one from a dealer for less. And the potential for "issues" when dealing with individuals is always a concern.

So to wrap this up, for a few thousand plus the MINI, my wife will be driving a nearly new 06 Rainier - luxury SUV with tow capbilities - that originally stickered for $35.5.

If you are interested in a good deal on a "nearly new" MINI, talk to John Lanzatella at Doan Buick in Rochester.

Cheers! It was nice being a MINI owner, if even for a short time.

George

 

You traded your MINI for a Buick.

 

Yikes... . No Buick's for me... American Cars

 

so you got what you needed (an SUV with tow), got to have some fun, learned more of the ins and outs of your wonderful state government, and have wonderful stories to tell.

Now go to Jerimiahs and have some wings and beer! Have fun telling the story, and enjoy the memories. Who knows, the bug may have bit, it just may take a little while to turn into full blown Mini fanaticism!

Take care and enjoy....

Matt

 

I agree with Dr Obnxs. You did the right thing, you got the car you wanted all along for a lot less than you would have otherwise paid for it. I, too, won a car but decided to hold on to it. That was 6 years ago and I still have it, a 2000 M Roadster. It's great to win a car isn't it! Much to my wife's dismay I still buy raffle tickets for cars. Why? Because I know that someone really does win those cars but if you don't have a ticket it won't be you.