Keep your chin up! Finding the right car may be a long process, but it will be worth it in the end.

Do you have a MINI dealership within driving distance, or close enough that you could place a phone call to them? Maybe they have some used ones on the lot or know of some private sellers with cars that they may be able to put you on to? Also, you could go around and talk to salesmen at reputable dealerships in your area and ask them to call you if they get in a MINI. I did the same and got a couple of calls back.

It can't hurt.

 

The DASH rattle SUCKS on my car, it is the first thing I am going to address, sounds like it is pretty simple to take it off, I guess sometimes all of the little clips or whatever aren't engauged or clipped in.

 

Yeah, I hated the rims as well. But those kind of things can always be changed later if you find a deal. I'm sure you'll find something perfect if you keep looking. Best of luck!

 

I emailed a bunch in CL and all but 1 are sold now.

So for now the search has ended unless we want the green one if it's still there.
I’ll keep searching in the mean time.

 

If you are waiting to hear back via emails, they will usually be sold by the time you hear back. If you are absolutely ready to buy, you better call and be prepared to go over ASAP and buy on the spot if you like it.

 

rodH is right. MINIs are selling super fast right now due to their mpg's. Most dealerships in the country are selling via custom order only and have no cars on the lot. Several have oversold their allotment and are only allowed to make custom orders for cars that won't be built at the factory for months.

Pick up the phone and call as soon as you see an ad.

 

FYI, the power steering whine will probably be there on all of them. It does not necessarily mean that anything is wrong with the power steering unless it is the same pitch while idling as when turning the wheel. Other than that, that first car does sound like it may have been abused. Good luck!

 

This is true. In fact, at my dealer, they sold two 2006 MINIS for just slightly under what NEW cost because people wanted them RIGHT NOW and didn't want to wait for them to be manufactured. Crazy people! Gas prices are making people do crazy things right now.

 

Good thing gas came down a little then.

Thanks for information on the PS whine. The Green one sold last night.

I've got a new one to look at tonight assuming it's not sold out from under us. No Sport or Premium but low miles and a 2002 Red MCS.

 

Good luck! Low miles is ALWAYS a good thing!

 

Ok came back from looking at a Red MCS.

This one shows 41K on the OD. The car is ok not perfect. The front bumper needs a paint job and two rims have rash. There are a few small dents on the hood that a dent less guy can fix and 2 egging on the door.

The problem is the carfax. Carfax does qualify for the buy back, but shows an accident and odometer mismatch. The current owner explained what happened.

Original owner was running from the cops. Right front suspension is damaged in the process. The Mini is towed to the shop while the owner goes to jail.

Original owner can't pay the bills so the shop owner gets the title. The shop owner is the current owner and repaired the suspension.

When they got the title and repaired it he stated 42K on the odometer on 05/24/2007. When they went to SMOG it the real OD was 40,732 on 06/04/2008. On the test drive it was 41.5K. This is the part the worries my wife. The price is $12K and I'm tempted.

Thoughts.

 

1. I was looking at a salvage title MCS, I got the carfax back and it not only showed it was a salvage title, but an odometer mismatch. My dad happens to be a partner in a few car dealerships (no MINI or BMW). He was telling me that the mismatch carfax odometer thing is a total pain. They had an infiniti come in and when it was serviced the tech wrote something like 3,100 miles (when it was really 31,000 miles) which was LESS than it was last time they had the car in. This sent out a HUGE RED FLAG to carfax. They had to talk to the MAIN GUY at carfax and it was a major major pain in the butt to get it clean. It was a big deal because it was a car that a customer bought from us, was serviced by us and he was trading it in to us when he was buying another infiniti. It was a huge deal and a total pain in the butt. I mention this because sometimes the mismatch is legit, but sometimes it was a simple mistake that 99.9% of the people wouldn't even bother to try and fix or correct.

2. The above being said, our dealers were looking for a MINI for me for several weeks, auctions, trades, small used car lots, etc.....They pretty much couldn't find anything that was a "deal". In other words I could do just as well as they could just going to private sellers and offering a 1,000 less than what they were asking. Our Acura dealership often gets MINI's in, but I didn't want to wait forever to get one in, and have it not be what I wanted, etc.... I have seen a local used car dealer here in SoCal bobzand.com that has like 4-5 on the lot. THEY are asking way way too much. I drove by there a few weeks ago, and then 2 weeks later and the inventory was the EXACT same. They want about $19,000 for 03 and 04 MCS. They are really trying to take advantage of the new demand.

Here is the problem as I see it. Many people are like myself, where they want something that gets decent MPG, but is also fun to drive and MOST IMPORTANTLY is something that a professional could drive and not feel like they are driving a teenagers car. I can get any VW, Honda, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti, Mazda, Hyundai for wholesale minus kickback. MOST of those companies make great small MPG cars, BUT there really isn't anything that gets good MPG and something that I think someone at my age or situation would be really excited to drive (Civic Si, Acura RSX or VW GTI would e be the closest things, but these cars still don't get as good MPG and will NEVER own another VW again).

The MINI really is an interesting niche car and this just increases the demand.

GOOD LUCK, keeping looking and stay on your toes, you will find something.

 

What?!!! Are you telling me in other words that there are TAITORS (traders) amongst us? Say it isn't so..
Who are these pretend MINI owners that are trading their MINI's in at a Acura dealer? It makes me sick to even think about it..

 

LOL, actually Acura makes a great car, some are a little on the boring side, but as far as quality goes, to take a look where Acura are and the direction they are headed compared to BMW. I don't want this to turn into an Acura VS BMW debate, but just feel peace that they probably turned it in for an MDX for more room and not a Chevy Malibu.