It seems that few want, "just a MINI", and this might not bode well at trade in or sell time. How is the resale holding up on both the MINI and the MINI S?

 

In a few years, the young tuners will be buying used Coopers at good prices - they'll be able to mod the heck out of them with aftermarket turbos or whatever else crops up. The MCS is a probably a better bet for future resale due to it's desirability as the performance model. If I had to trade my Cooper in now, I'd have to part it out to get it back to stock, not a fun idea.

 

Still too early to have reliable data on the used vehicle market. Sales are hot this summer for both models, due in part to Italian Job recognition and positive reviews (seems like every car rag has a "long term" MC or MCS). As the MCS is at a 3k premium over the MC, I'd expect that to last for the near future in the used market. However, when our babies get to the 100k level a MCS will be in need of more equipment repair/renovation and then may even be less expensive than the MC. Only time will tell.

 

>>It seems that few want, "just a MINI", and this might not bode well at trade in or sell time. How is the resale holding up on both the MINI and the MINI S?

I don't think that your basic assumption is necessarily valid. There are still more Coopers sold in the US than S's. True, the MCS is desirable and thus the longer wait...but in the end, the Cooper is just as desirable as the MCS. Perhaps more so. I say this as the owner of an MCS.

My prediction is that the S will have a slight resale advantage, but probably not more than its proportional increase in base price (over the Cooper). The greater complexity of the S, and the fact that there will be relatively few unmodified cars available used (existing modifications will probably DECREASE the resale value) might work somewhat against the S's resale value. Just a guess though.

 

I'm thinking that the MCS sales for about 3,000 more. So resale will be about 3000 more :smile:

To be honest, there are so many add-ons for the MC and MCS (all the way to extra chrome pieces), that pin-pointing a resale price is going to be hard.

 

Some of it depends on how the reliability rating holds up. Ex. Hondas and Toyotas come at a premium used because they are super-reliable cars. But some of it is also based on the desirability of a car. Indeed the MCS is more desirable to the speed freaks, and should be especially desirable in the used market after factory warranties start to expire and people who really want to do some major mods start buying them up. Of course, with 200+ HP turbo kits out for the Cooper, there may be good desire for them with the tunners too.

_________________
[img]albums/album25/ama.gif[/img]VinceAndJessica.com
Alta pulley, Stebro exhaust, Pipercross intake, Progress rear anti-sway bar.

 

It really depends.
My father in law is a car salesman.
He told me an entry level car without all the options will give you the best
return for your money on trade in value.
When you add all the options, the prices quickly adds up.
It will help on the trade in value, but not as much as you think.
I believe it is in the area of 20% return for all the bells and whistles.
However, the demand for more power is what sells.

 

I can tell you based on resale prices I have seen in the UK this summer that the MCS is holding it's value better than the MC but both are doing pretty well compared to other makes of cars.

Everything is based on supply and demand. If you don't want to wait a long time then an in stock cooper or a used one is the best choice. But in some areas the supply of these cars is very low so when that happens the prices tend to be high. Since the wait on the MCS is a bit longer than for the MC the prices can be higher than MSRP in some areas. When the prices are this high then the used and in stock prices can also be higher.

In the US the insurance of an MCS is not really that big a deal but in the UK it is drastically higher for the MCS.

A few years from now I would agree that many upgrades including turbo will be available for the MC and that it will be desireable as a used car that one could upgrade a great deal. Right now it is early so the upgrade choices are limited. There is really nothing lacking as far as the MC is concerned. The chassis is solid and the engine has enough (though not over abundant) HP and torque for it's weight.

As for driving- I have noticed in the UK that drivers are considerably more reserved at driving and that speeds tend to be more reserved. The highway speed limit I drove was 70 and most people do less. Maybe the cost of gas is one reason but when I drive in California it is appauling to me how fast people drive- mostly
above 80 and everybody does it.

 

The MCS will hold its' value better than the MC, though perhaps in slight degrees...

1. There are much more limited numbers in the MCS range.

2. Press & the street-talk will focus largely on the MCS range, as it's the one able to perform against other brands' sport-tuned offerings. See Car & Driver's example click me.

3. The MCS is only offered with Getrag's infamous 6-speed manual tranny, - Stateside, fewer folks drive/prefer a manual transmission, further separating the MC v. MCS camps.

4. Dark Silver! is only available on the MCS. :smile:

Good luck all around, iwannmini.

-s.b.

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MINI: Best horse for the buck!

 

Shuga,

While I agree with most of your argument, there is one blaring error, to wit:

4. Dark Silver! is only available on the MCS. [This one is in jest. Over the past several years, the auto industry's Silver & Black colored offerings have sold & traded better, - this is markedly measurable, though to be ignored in the MINI's considerations. MINIs have transcended these pricing degrees via their vast offerings of color options, stripes & overall personalization of each MINI.]


This is ONLY because IndiBlue has not been on the market long enough to change those silly Silver statistics. I suggest you check your facts before commenting.

 

>>Shuga,
>>
>>While I agree with most of your argument, there is one blaring error, to wit:
>>
>>4. Dark Silver! only available on the MCS. [This one is in jest. Over the past several years, the auto industry's Silver & Black colored offerings have sold & traded better, - this is markedly measurable, though to be ignored in the MINI's considerations. MINIs have transcended these pricing degrees via their vast offerings of color options, stripes & overall personalization of each MINI.]
>>
>>
>>This is ONLY because IndiBlue has not been on the market long enough to change those silly Silver statistics. :smile: (Thank you, thank you very little.)
[No IB holds barred.] :smile:
back to our originally scheduled thread...
-s.b.

 

According to Automotive Leasing Guide (www.alg.com) and NADA the MINI Cooper (Both regular and S models) enjoy the highest residual values in the industry. Here it goes:

After 2 years or 24 months of service you will still get back 64% off original MSRP value.

After 5 years or 60 months of service you can expect to get back 49% off original MSRP.

For example, the MSRP value of our '02 Cooper CVT ("Plain Jane" model) was $18,500. In 1 more year our Cooper will still be worth $11,840 and in 4 years from now its value will be around $9,065.

How many cookie cutter cars (American or Japanese) currently hold this kind of resale values?

Think about it, the average resale value of a car after 5 years is about 35% off MSRP. With the MINI you still get half of what you paid for after the same period of time. In the world of depreciating assets, the MINI does a terrific job.

You'll be surprised to find out that the "Japan, Inc" cars of choice now days (Hondas, Lexus, Nissan, Infiniti) are nowhere to be found in this list. Other cars that share the honor of having the best residual values are the VW Passat GLX V6, the VW Jetta Wagon, The BMW M3, the Acura MDX, the Toyota Pre-runner crew cab, the Porsche 911, the Mercedes Benz S55 among a very few others.

The MINI is running right up there with cars that cost several thousands more.