I'm doing research on used 2002-03 Cooper S's and the used car prices listed on Cars.com Autotrader, KBB etc.. seem to swing wildly. I see NADA and KBB prices nearing 18k+ for a used one with 50-75k miles but then you look at Cars.com and Autotrader and see most for sale at the 13-15k range.

If you go trade one in I'm guessing that a dealer would probably only give you 10-12k for one, is that right? So that would put the dealer trying to get 2-5k profit off one?

I'm asking because I would like to know how low I should start haggling for nice shape ones that dealers have listed for about 15k average.

If you have bought an 02-03 S within the last 12months used please share how many miles and what you got it for.

 

...in your price range, it would seem.

I just purchased a one-owner 04 MCS in February for $15,000, private party. It turned 28,000 miles on the way home from the seller's place. I have the window sticker at home but I think it has #1, #2 and #3. As far as I can tell, it only seems to be missing the HK audio and navigation.

Good luck with the purchase. I would recommend going PP if you can. For the same money, I looked at several 03's, 40K-ish miles, at dealers. The car I purchased just popped on on craigslist, locally, at just the right time and price. I had been watching the market for these for several months so I knew this car was priced to sell.

I had stopped a local, permium used car dealer to let them know I'd be interested if they got any in stock. They offered to bring one back from the auction but said $15K would, at best, buy me a 50,000 mile 03. I said thanks but no thanks.

I just missed a one-owner 06 Checkmate with *everything* Dinan makes, installed by the dealer, all records and receipts for $20,000. It had 30K miles and a good amount of warranty left. That was a deal. He had ordered a 335 that had just come in and needed to move the car quick. Unfortunately, somebody else came up with the money before I did; I had to sell the wife on it and exercise some options. Deals are out there if you're patient.

 

Wow you sure got a deal on that one $15k and it only had 28k on it! I would like to do PP also but I really want a Blue/White roof one and all that seems to come up is Silver/Grey ones (the most popular color). Not that Silver is bad but it is my second choice. I've got about 45days before I've got to turn my current lease in so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for deals like yours!

 

Look all over - the price does fluctuate wildly. You'll probably get the best deal form a private seller - used lots or dealerships mark them up quite a bit.

I got what I think is an awesome deal on my 2005 MCS cabrio - I paid a bit more than some other private sellers were asking, but the car only had 5,000 miles on it and was basically new, and my pay,ents went down over $150/month from what I was paying to lease my 2006 MCS cabrio. All in all, I'm extremely happy about that. If you want all the gory details, see my article in the NAM Alliance e-zine - just follow the Alliance link at the top of almost every forum.

 

You might wanna try a private seller I bought my MCS used 2006 with 9k miles for $18,500

 

Prices have begun to come down in the last 6 months to a year. In September of 2006 I bought a 2003 MCS with 29k miles and a year left on the warranty for $18,500. It had every option less than navigation system. It was a fair deal at the time but in my opinion not a great deal.

I would imagine $14k to 15k for a 2003 with 50,000 miles?

 

You'll spend far less buying from an individual and taking it to a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection. As you've found out, dealers generally mark up the used cars quite a bit.

 

I've seen a few cars in different states PP for quite a bit less. My only concern is having to ship it (+$750-1,000) and having to go with some mechanics "professional opinion" instead of being able to test drive and inspect the car myself. I have looked up inspectors online...has anybody used Carchex? Any Good?

My biggest stumbling block seems to be that I'm in MI and all you have up here is Detroit metal for sale

 

Hell - I flew to California form Ohio then drove the car back - cost about the same in gas and everything as I would have paid to ship it, but I got an adventure and an article out of the deal, met the seller and inspected the car ahead of time. Worth every penny and every minute.

 

I purchased an 02 MCS from a dealer about 2 years ago. It had 32K miles on it when I purchased it for $18K.

This car is loaded - all the packages, security system, 6 CD system, driving lights, clear coat protection on the bonnet, new Dunlop SP6000 tires, etc.

Chili Red w/white top ... I'm lovin' it!

 

04 MCS, super clean with a bunch of bolt ons in Sept for $17,000, private party - 22K on the od.

 

I got mine in January for $12,500. 66K and very clean. And yeah the trade in value is only around $10,000

 

I bought a 2002 MCS last March, and paid $17,500 for it and it had 36,000 miles. It was from a Carmax in northern Virginia. It has the sports package, DSC, and sunroof, all of which I was set on having.

For me, $17k was right around my price range, and I actually prefer '02-'03 models to the '04-'05 ones. And it was $10,000 cheaper than my first MINI ('03 MCS purchased in '03... which got totaled a few months after I bought it). It was originally priced higher, but Carmax lowered the price because it didn't show well - there were faded/chipped spots in the door armrests, white splotches on the doors that didn't come out with a simple cleaning, and the shift **** was very yellowed. I managed to clean her up with some elbow grease and a few replacement parts, and now she looks great!

Should also be noted that it's completely out of warranty, so I'll be spending a few hundred soon on the Inspection II. I went to dealerships, and they have that cool Mini Care warranty thing, but it simply wasn't worth it to me as I don't expect the Mini to fall apart anytime soon

 

alot of it has to do with where you are as well. In Raleigh, which is a decently large city, you have to drive an hour and half to get to a Mini dealer, so used ones in Raleigh cost more.

I got mine a couple months ago, 03 with everything but nav, 21k for $17.5

 

Go to Ebay or Autotrader.com and set your search distance for NATIONWIDE.
You'll find that the same type car sells for different prices in different parts of the country.
I have bought several cars in the past by going online and looking for the best deal, then flying out and driving it back home.
If you find what your looking for but can't fly out to get it, let me know and I'll go get it for you.
You buy, I fly...

 

Cool, Thanks for the offer Cabrio! I'll buy the tickets and the Beers. I also visited that YouTube link in your sig....MINI's on the dragon looks like so much fun ;maybe just maybe; I'll get mine in time to go. You guys seem to have a great community...I'm just being patient and waiting for my MINI to find me so I can join.

 

I bought an '03 MCS JCW last April with aero package painted to match, and pretty much all the toys including leather heated seats, zenons, full JCW package etc. I paid $18.5 and the car had 43K on it.

 

I bought my '04 S a year and a week ago from Budget Car Sales from an off lease that I originally saw in Auto Trader without a price listed.

She had 24K and looked like the day it rolled out of the factory. As you can see in my sig, it had all of the goodies I wanted. they were asking 28K which was KBB at the time and I paid 22 for her.

If you can swing a deal on an '04 or later, they had a few fixes done that may be a help in the long run. The cars built from about 07/04 would be great if you could find one fopr the right price. Good Luck

Jim

 

The Dragon is a Must Do for an MINI driver, so even if you don't have your MINI and you live close enough you should come out for a look.
I went to my first Dragon in a rented PT Cooper (I mean MINI Cruzer, err PT Cruiser) and I knew then that I would have to go home, sell my Jeep and buy a MINI and so I did.


As for the flying out, I fly for free with the company I work for so you can just buy the JD.

 

I bought an '03 MCS a few months ago and paid in the 14-15K range with 55,000 miles. Wow! EBR53 got a great deal on his 04 with low mileage and all of the packages! I think the price/quality factors depends on your geographics and what the demand in the area is. The west coast seems to have a greater demand because you can drive it year round and not worry about snow and rust. My 03 is great but the 04 is a better year because of the supercharger and other minor but nice upgrades.

 

I bought an 02 MCS in great condition around Thanksgiving with 19K miles and paid $16,000.

 

After months of looking, I bought mine February 22nd from a local used car dealer. I was looking for private party, but I found this one on the internet and thought it was worth a look - '03 MCS, #1, #2, #3, leather heated seats, etc. with 67K miles - internet price 13995.00. I definately wanted Indi Blue which, as you say, is not so easy to find. Long story short, even though the miles were high it was in beautiful condition. I got them down to 13K even and got the heck out of there before they changed their minds...

 

Are California dealer-stealers still getting outrageous markups now like they were in 2005?

 

Take a closer look at the 2005-2006. Not only better build quality (last 2 years of R50 and R53 hardtop production) but the Cooper S models have revised, shorter gear ratios, more power/torque, JCW supercharger with coated splines, exhaust burble, revised ECU programming and a host of improvements that make these cars worth a closer look.

I had a 2004 MCS and much prefer the 2005 MCS I have now with all the "mid life" improvements MINI made to the cars at the time.

 

I have read about all of the tweaks that the 05-06 ones got but I'm limited to about 15k so that puts me square in the 02-03 used price range.

Do the improvements really justify paying 5k more for?