So the wife and I drive 60 miles to see a 2002 MCS EB/White, Premium, Sport and Leather with 29K for $16K

After the test drive we agreed on a price of $15,250 and shook hands. He needed to SMOG it and have the Bill of Sale completed so we could finish the purchase.

So after we get home, a Dealer calls me and said he just took the Mini in on Trade and now wants $20K for the Mini WTH. My wife was sooo pissed she could even sleep last night.

I called the dealer this morning to check in and he is saying $17K and we can buy it off the lot.

Thoughts and I’m I crazy to spend $17K on a 6 year old car?

 

If I am reading this correctly, the Dealer has already agreed to sell you the car for $15,250 and now wants to sell it to you for $17K?

 

No private seller, didn’t keep his word on the deal and traded the car in to a dealer. I think the dealer gave him more money on the trade in then the open Private market supports.

Granted it’s low miles and was pretty clean. Two rims had curb hash and a few scratches on the rear bumper. It was by no means a perfect car.

 

i know its tough that it happne... i am sure u wil find a better deal..keep looking

 

If the dealer will fix the curb rash and bumper and anything else (oil change, comprehensive inspection) maybe it'll be worth the $17k. Otherwise, keep looking just out of principle, that wasn't very cool (though I can see the appeal of cash in hand vs a handshake from some guy).

 

Gawd, the re-sale value on these cars is skyrocketing.

 

Go find another one. In the future you may want to leave a deposit and get a receipt for the deposit. This makes it a little tougher for the seller to back out later.

It's obvious the seller's "word" doesn't mean much, which is too bad for you. Good luck finding your MINI.

 

Deposits only work for the seller so the buyer can't back out. He could have just mailed me the check back. In CA the owner needs to SMOG a car before a sell and the 636 Bill of Sale needs to be filled out 1st. He had neither nor the title with him.

Yes I don’t get the prices right now. I can order a new Mini for a little over $22K. I guess there is still a supply problem, but the dealers around me have plenty that don’t sell.

 

In my opinion things always happen for a reason. At least most of the time it works out that way for me.

I don't think that car was meant to be. Someone is looking out for you.

Although there are plenty of 2002-2004 MINI owners on here, from everything I have read, the first year cars should be avoided. And I have seen all over the Net complaints from early car owners that people can't sell them because no one wants em. A lot depends on demand and geographic region, I suspect. Seems to me that the nicest early models are not going for less than about $15K.

When I was looking for a MINI I noticed that the older MINIs reflected the above issues and most non-s models were priced extremely low, for example, non-S models for $13,000 or even less. Automatics [CVT] were priced lowest and seemed to be on the market the longest. An S around those years, however, have been going for abround $15k++ that I have seen.

Based on what NAM members told me, I stuck to looking for a 2006 or later model.

As to this deal, yeah, private party sales are very flaky. I have had many a buyer not keep appointments, waste my time with tire kicking, and change their minds after saying they would buy the vehicle, beg me to cancel the ad, then change their mind later.

I have had a few sellers change their minds too. They came up with excuses but I know they probably got a better price from someone later in the weekend.

Although you had a binding and enforceable oral contract there's not much one can do. Who wants to hassle with court and forcing a party to do the deal. That's why buyers and sellers of cars don't bother when the other breaches the agreement.

If it's any consolation for your wife, tell her that the seller probably got raped by the dealer. The national average gross profit on used car sales is $6,000. What this dealer probably did was show the guy a great trade-in price for the MINI, but he killed him on the car he bought. I suspect the dealer worked him on both ends, as they say in the business.

The dealer probably matched the selling price to you on the trade-in [intending to mark it up $2000 to $3000] and killed him by selling him the new car at sticker, plus all the add-on BS [extended service contract, disability insurance, under coating, rust proofing, detailing, and a lousy finance rate.]

So while the guy thinks he got a better deal at the dealer, he probably over paid by $3000 to $5000.

As others said, there are better deals out there. There is a MINI out there with your name on it. There was probably something wrong with that one.

 

Yeah, that's right, there is probably not much you could have done to secure the deal.

But remember, if the seller acted in this manner, should you have trusted all he said about the car? Thank God it fell through and he showed his true colors.

I bet the guy was a lying sack of sheet in regards to the condition of the car, etc.

 

Oh, one other thing, yes, getting a used car is a HASSLE. Lots of driving and lots of dissapointment when you visit to see the cars.

Since you are in the Bay Area don't rule out Craig's List Sacramento listings. A few deals there. Also check Craig's for listings in the Walnut Creek and Concord areas. I saw some nice deals there at the time I was looking.

Also, do an eBay search for the MINI and tell the search results to sort the hits by distance from your zip code. Some deals there too. Most eBay ads state that car is subject to local sale, meaning that you can buy the vehicle outside of eBay.

 

Sounds like my 2003 MCS I bought in the spring for $17,000 is holding its value and still only has 16,000 miles on it. I am already thinking of buying a $1000 beater for the winter and putting this toy away in a safe spot.

 

Judge Judy will be the first to tell you if you don't have it in writing, it's worthless. Live and learn. There's others out there, and you'll find a better one/better deal.

 

That sounds to me like a really, really bad idea, unless you know and trust the seller personally. And it's an even worse to think of doing that where

 

how interesting. so the original seller actually gave your phone # to the dealer? i'd be pretty pissed, too. at least have the guts and courtesy to call you and let you know, instead of passing your # to the dealer. probably a good thing you didn't buy your car from him. these kinds of things happen, but it's annoying nevertheless

 

I would buy a 2009 MC, for almos tthe same price forget the S

 

I'm looking now. I'd pass at 17k on an '02 MCS.
Seems like a lot of dealer cars are overpriced and they're not moving. And some private parties are pricing too high.
My buy points are 14k on an '02. maybe 16k on an '04. maybe 18.5k on an '06. For private party, MCS, +/- based on condition and options.
More than that, I may as well buy new.

Buying thru private party, you can get a better deal, but it's often not re-conditioned and you have to do more leg work, looking at cars, etc.
Private parties can be flakey, both buyers and sellers. Can't do anything about that, so no reason to lose sleep. Good luck.

 

Why do you feel it's a really, really bad idea to give a deposit and get a receipt for such? Transactions like this occur every day. It would have been alot less likely for the buyer to back out if he already had a deposit in hand and the buyer had a receipt for such. In the case here, the seller had nothing from the buyer, so all the seller had to lose was his word. Like I stated earlier, the seller's word obviously didn't mean much to him. If he had cash in hand, and the buyer had a receipt documenting such, the seller would be much less likely to back out.

 

That's fine if you have a way of knowing the seller is trustworthy and honest. Otherwise, a receipt is meaningless if they have no integrity and take off with your money. There are way too many people out to scam. I'll pay a deposit to an established dealer with a known place of business, but not to a private person of whom I have no prior knowledge.

But I actually don't agree with you about the rest. If the seller wanted to back out for a better deal after making a promise to sell, having a deposit won't change much if they just return it. What is the potential buyer going to do if they get their deposit handed back, sue?

 

You are correct. In California one does NOT have to use the official DMV bill of sale. One can have something as simple as a handwritten bill of sale.

When I wanted to make sure I got a car or bind someone I was selling it to, I had a cash deposit [meaning the green stuff] and a bill of sale I made up in a Word file.

I would put the terms of sale on my bill of sale and also state that the balance was due on a certain date.

Obviously, there's other things to do when selling or buying a car, but I won't go into everything here.

Whenever I did the bill of sale, say on a Saturday, no one has ever backed out of the deal.

But a couple of times I sold motorcycles, taking $200 cash NONREFUNDABLE deposits. Twice the separate buyers got home and their wives said they were not getting the bike [R1 superbikes]. So they had to back out of the deals, but I made $600.

So a bill of sale w/ deposit seals the deal, a deposit only still leaves room for people to change their minds.

But for this situation it's a blessing that the deal fell through. I would not trust that seller even if he was swearing on the bible.

 

You are correct. It's a good thing to size up whom you are dealing with. For example, if the seller said "Meet me at the corner gas station to see the car" I would pass on the deal. Also, I would pass if the person lives in a bad section of town.

But if I visit the seller, he appears an honest person and we are doing the deal in front of his house where there's mom and the kids running about the house, I'd probably feel OK giving a deposit.

In situations where I have left a deposit, it's been small enough that if the family guy described above ripped me off, I'd only lose $200 or so.

 

I don't think that is a fair approach. If I am selling a car, and someone calls me to look at it I am not going to give that person the address to my home or anyplace the car is regularly going to be because it is just as likely to be a thief looking to steal the car the night after you show it to him and where he can get it......furthermore thieves dont sell what they steal, too easy to get caught, they strip or ship them. So I would not show anyhesitation just because someone wants to meet someplace to show a car

 

That is still a good deal for this particular MINI if it is a one owner and has clear a CARFAX report....( most dealers provide this service free of charge)
You didnt say, but is this at a MINI dealer now ?

And if the curb rash is not too bad, better not to nickle and dime him in case you have to come back for other mechanical issues under their warranty

Save the rims and tires (probably all season run flats anyways ) and get new set of rims/ summer tires ! Run these in winter or sell them as set

MINI's are hot item now with gas reaching 4 dollars gallon, and according to NADA and Kelly Blue Book, has the lowest depreciation rate of ANY car sold in America today

PS: If you have a relative with a Bar Card ( Lawyer ) I am sure they will tell you, in business deal, a hand shake is a good as a signed bill of sale, You may be able to file a small claims suit against the seller for the difference you have to pay the dealer now.......

 

$17k for a 2002 seems crazy. Heck, no offense, but even $15k and change seems like a rip for the first model year. Everything I read prior to buying my 05 said stay away from the 02 and if your budget allowed, go 05-06. So if you can't swing $19k-22k for an 05/06, that still leaves two years worth in between there to get one with most of the bugs worked out.

Me thinks you got lucky.

 

Valid concern. In fact, I have never sold any of my superbikes out in front of where I park them. No doubt thieves will just come back to rip off.

However, when I am buying or selling a car, I tend not to be concerned as much since I size up the situation beforehand. E.g., if the caller sounds like a moron low life I don't go further. If selling, I don't show the car, if buying, don't go to see it.

All this goes to the tips and tricks of buying and selling a car, that I felt go beyond what the OP was talking about, so that is why I did not get into it.