Market for selling is tuff right now as you said. I bought my 03 r50 with 43,000 on it for 15.5 an they were offering 18.5 for it as well. so maybe price for the year is a little much considering you can buy a brand new one for a little over 21

 

I purchased my '03 MCS last year for $20k with only 8894 mi on it.

$18k sounds a bit much for your car. Someone could purchase a new Honda for that much.

 

I was lucky sold my 08 with 3K miles for almost what i paid for it but here in Florida they have plenty of mini here and most have been sitting on lots :(

 

...Is that you in your signature picture?

 

I have bought and sold a lot of cars and my observation is that KBB appraisals can vary wildly from actual market conditions and tend to be on the high side. My guess is that they use a formula to calculate what the prices "should" be vs. actual market reports. IMHO, if you really want to sell your car it needs to be appraised using Edmunds. Also, Minis seem to sell for more on the West Coast than on the East Coast.

 

I think 14k-15k is a fair asking price.

Market is slow here to, nothing is really moving, except for what buyers "need".

For 18k I would rather lookt an 07 MCS listed on Auto Trader for $17,200 in Richmond VA

 

From what I've seen - VERY optimistic... on every car I've ever checked... agree with edmunds.com suggestion

 

My advice ...rather than starting high and negotiating down, start low and stick to your price. With a low ask price, at least you'll get interest. With a high ask price, even if negotiable, a lot of folks won't bother because maybe they aren't into negotiating, or they might think you won't be negotiable enough, or whatever.

BTW ...I bought my '06 MCS in April '07 with 14 (as in fourteen) miles on it for $24K out the door (it was a leftover, but nicely optioned) ...so $18K for yours seems high.

 

Great advice... will try lowering the price and being firm.

 

I don't know how active craigslist is in your area, but it's used alot out on the west coast.
How much interest (emails) you get will help you determine a fair price. When I post things for sale, if I get zero responses (in the first week), the price is too high. Then I re-post with a lower price or be flexible on offers.

If I get about 5 emails and 2-3 looks, the price is reasonable and I can probably get the price if I want to wait for the right buyer. Or re-post with a slightly lower price.

If you get like 10+ emails in the first couple days, the asking price is probably on the low side and you can be pretty firm on the price when you get offers.

Good luck.

 

minis are great cars but the prices are tanking at the moment....

 

Not a good time to sell if you are in a hurry - but a good value will always be recognized.

 

Yeah, but then you'd be driving a HONDA...

 

If you work at a dealer then ask the sales manager to look up black book for you and go from there. If you really want to get 18,500 for it then take the red ricer paint off your calipers - it screams "I'm a young kid and I didn't baby this car", take off the carbon fiber hood scoop too and the intake. Have your dealership detail it, not just wash it, detail it. You won't get that kind of money from ebay, too much competition and you've got people selling them on there for way less than they're worth, which by the way affects everyone's resale value.

P.S. You're buying an $8000 Audi? If you're strapped for cash that would be one of the last car brands I'd look at. I'd buy a Pinto before I'd buy an Audi, unless it was under warranty, they are sexy!

 

Bad economy, credit is tight, people are running for cover [isn't that what you are doing?], Holidays are coming up and it's a 2003 MINI.

Sorry, but that's the perfect storm of reasons why you are having a hard time selling it.

As to being a 2003, that's a detriment in my book. I did not know squat about MINIs when I started to look for a used MINI back in March 2008. My preliminary research said to try and get a 2005 or later. Many articles and forums said to avoid 2002-2003.

While the early models have their defenders, for newbies like me I read so many warnings that I did not even consider a 2002-2004.

So the question is, does my feeling about an early model MINI reflect what others are thinking?

And I agree what other say, your price is way off. If I saw your advertised price I would assume that at most you might knock $1000 off your asking price. Since I would consider $17K still too high, I would not even bother contacting you, much less looking at the car.

In these hard times people are not getting credit on used cars. Used car financing is harder to obtain than new car financing. There is no way a bank is going to loan even $14k on a 2003 MINI, so I suspect you are going to have a hard time getting a financed buyer.

If you take the car to CarMax be prepared for a shock. I suspect they would offer about $14K at most for the MINI, if that.

I base this on what others have said about MINI sales here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sellers are not selling MINIs, at least not the older ones. Many have had to relist them on Craig's.

To be brutal, like others, I'd be surprised if you could get $13,500 for a 2003 MINI, and that's assuming it's a 2003 car, not a 2003 purchased in 2002.

All of the above also depends on what your area is like, economically. If a depressed area I don't see the MINI selling, even at fire sale prices.

Oh, ditto on buying an Audi. I have had about 10 Audis over time. I would not look to spending $8K to $9K on an Audi as a way to save money.

If I were you I'd bite the bullet and get a Sentra or Corolla. For $8K you can get a nice, clean and dependable 2004 car that will run forever. At $8K an Audi is worn out by the time the price gets that low.

Just sayin.

 

Oh, before the economy tanked and scared everyone, I saw 2005 to 2006 MINIs with low miles going for about $18K to $20K. Those were deals and they sold kind of fast, but not that fast.

So that is why I say your selling price is way too high.

Take a look at the current Craig's List here in the Bay Area. Note the 2003 models going for $14,000 to $15K. Note the 2005 and 2006 prices.

Of course, regions and availability/scarcity make a difference, but with eBay and cars easily being shipped for about $700 to $900, where one gets a car is not as big a factor as it used to be.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/c...min&maxAsk=max

 

I have always felt that cars with vinyl stickers advertising for sale mean they have been for sale for ages...it might be just me but to go to the effort to do that (for most folks, obviously not keen computer users) smacks of a long time for sale.
This is just one guys opinion and probably wrong but thats how I feel when I see a car for sale with that treatment. peter

 

I think your price a little high. If you're going to list it for 15k, drop the reserve. Reserves personally **** me off. Why should I bid if I don't know what the reserve is set at. I would start it at 15k and put a buy it now of 17,400. The Kelly Blue Book on your car is 17,400 private party in excellent condition. This isn't considering any options you may have. It just takes the right person. I wouldn't have bought a mini if I hadn't fallen in love with my color combination (hunter green exterior and two tone beige leather interior).

Oh, and like others have said. Your mods are kind of ricer. For a middle aged adult like me, I don't want to see carbon fiber hood scoops and LED tail lights. My MCS was bone stock when purchased, that way I can do my own mods without worrying that some teenager beat the car to hell.

 

I can't do a "Buy It Now", unfortunately. Appaently you have to have sold quite a few items on ebay to be "qualified" to have a BIN price.

Was considering just putting in the description the price I want!

 

i think you just have to pay an extra price to do a buy it now.

 

As your neighbor located in the "next door city" of Canton who sold a 2005 fully loaded R50 w/CVT in July for $20K (12,500 miles), I recommend the following:

1) Forget Ebay (my highest offer was $15K)
2) TIMING is EVERYTHING: You are selling at a poor time of the year for our winter season area. Sport type cars simply do not sell in Fall/Winter...look at all the lots..they are full of large SUV's and Trucks right now. April/May (Income Tax Refunds) is the best months if you can wait. Little Mini's also make nice graduation gifts at that time of year.
3) List on Autotrader.com, Cars.com, and Craigslist (Note: Cars.com has a nice feature in that it shows how many hits your ad is getting.)
4) Don't be Greedy (List at the LOWEST price you are willing to take and list it as FIRM) You only owe $11,000..) Every month you hold onto a car you don't want costs you money in depreciation and insurance.
5) Edmunds is the best price guide as other have said. KBB is too optimistic.
6) As you know, our area is depressed economically however Jeff's Auto Sales often gets premium prices for their Mini's. Again, I believe seasonal timing is everything in our area.
7) Good Luck.

 

Double enter, sorry.

 

You're right, I think you have to have sold 10 items first. I just looked up 1st Gen Mini Cooper S's within a 100 mile radius of my area and there are 52 on Autotrader. Competition is fierce. They're starting as low as 10,500 with high mileage.

 

I have been on eBay since March 1998 so have a few ideas for you. I have bought and sold a few vehicles on there.

1. Take lots of quality pictures. And post them. Take the pics outside so people can see clearly the condition of the vehicle. Take pics from all angles. You can get an idea of pics to take by looking at the professional sellers' postings on eBay.

Post pics of the tires, bumpers, VIN plate, dash, odometer, engine, etc.

2. Describe the car in great detail. Picture yourself being the buyer. What questions would you have and want answered. Volunteer that info rather than risk that someone won't bother to ask you a question [that takes too long and people don't want to risk that you don't get back to them.] eBay is famous for this. Many people don't send questions to sellers. It takes to long for the messages to route through eBay's message system, so people don't bother.

On that point, you may want to include a line that says "All questions welcomed and I will get back to you ASAP." Of course, check your eBay mail many times during the day and do get back to people. And take the opportunity to post the question and your answer in the auction. That shows that there is interest in your auction and may generate some excitement [because people "fear" that someone else might jump on the deal if they don't.]

If there are pluses that people need to know about, say such in the ad. For example, if it is a non-smoker car, say so. If the seats are in great condition and they have no rips or tears, say so. If the sides have few door dings, mention that. [And mention any flaws that might disappoint. No need to hide them since people expect a 2003 car not to be perfect.]

If your MINI has air conditioning and you can leave it idling for 15 minutes and the MINI does not overheat, mention that. Prospective buyers are always worried about things like this. E.g. when I have looked at cars the first thing I do is turn on the AC and let the car idle while I am looking the car over. It's to see if there are overheating problems. If a car is going to overheat it will do so when the AC is on for a long time.

3. One thing I did was take a video of the car I was selling. I used a digital camera in movie mode. Started up the car, did a walk around and then uploaded the video on to YouTube. I then provided a link to the YouTube video in my eBay ad. That car sold quick so I have to think that video helped.

4. Go to reputable shippers and get sample shipping rates. Post a link in your ad to the shippers so that people can see how easy it is to arrange for shipping. Post sample shipping rates and tell people you will arrange to drop off the car to a shipper. You would be surprised how many people pass on getting a car because they don't know anything about arranging shipping for a car.

5. As to pricing, you can set a reserve, that people hate, but then in ALL CAPS put as the first sentence in the ad "THE RESERVE OF THE MINI IS $15,000." You can then explain to people that the reserve is to make sure you don't get killed on the sales price.

In the alternative, if setting a reserve is expensive, you can set the starting bid at whatever you want for the MINI, say $15,000. Of course, you should set the price at the lowest you will go so that the car will sell for that price, at the minimum. So if you really, really want to sell it, set the opening bid at $14,000 or whatever.

If you do set the price at a low amount, the opening bid, then make the auction for ten days so to attract the maximum interest in it. Sometimes you won't have any bids then the day before the auction ends someone will bid.

Don't be dismayed if there is lack of interest at first. Remember that you are trying to sell a car, just like the old days. Your car is not such a hot item that there will be a ten day bidding war. You might have only two to three people interested in it over a ten day period. But all it takes is one interested person to become a buyer.

6. Ditto on what the other people said, I would not advertise or emphasize any mods. Most eBay buyers are skittish. So any changes from stock tend to scare people off. If you can put you car back to stock, do so [assuming there's any "mods" that imply the car was raced on city streets.

7. Make sure to say that the car comes with as many original items as it has. If you have the owner's manual, paperwork, and even the tire changing equipment, then say so in the ad.

When I have looked for vehicles if the ad says "Comes with the original plastic envelope containing the manuals" I would take that as a plus and indicative that the car was well cared for.

8. Don't say anything about how much power the S has or anything that implies you have raced the MINI at stoplights. In fact I would say something like "Always babied, NEVER raced or abused." You may want to check your pedals and depending on how they look, show a picture of them to indicate you did not abuse the car. [Sidenote: I have always steered clear of cars where the seller put new pads on the clutch and brake pedals. I figure it was to cover up abuse. Same goes for tires. I look for signs of abuse.]

9. Since you are trying to convince someone to buy a car without seeing it [a tall task] you should mention EVERYTHING the MINI might need the next few months after purchase. Tell buyers how many miles are left in the tires, brakes and fluid changes. When was the last full maintenance. How new or old is the battery. Because it's a 2003 you have to calm fears that the car might need $1000 to $2000 in stuff soon after the buyer gets the MINI.

Hope this all helps. Remember, you are trying to get someone from far away to part with their hard earned money, and unfortunate for you, not in the best of times.

Let us know how it goes.

 

I've found that a new set of floormats does wonders for how a car looks in pics. You can detail the heck out of the interior but dingy mats makes the car look used. A new set makes it look, well, not new, but it's a psychological thing.