I am thinking of trading in my 05 R50 for a new MINI. I love her but she is out of warranty and think a new MINI would be a better choice. I still owe between 15-16k on her. I would like a new MINI in the 20-23k range. Would that give me a nice looking MINI?

How hard is it to get financed for a new MINI. My credit score is not great. If I have a cosigner with fab credit would I be able to get a new MINI?

Do you think I would get a decent trade value on my 05?

Thanks guys!! I hope that I am posting this in the correct place.

 

The way things are right now, I'd be very surprised if you were to get a decent intrest rate...even with a cosigner. As for what they would give you for your trade, HA! We stopped by the Mini dealer just to take a look at a Clubman S and the arrogance they had was unbeleivable. The guy openly said that they would not negotiate at all on our trade or the price of the car. His thinking was, if we didn't buy it, someone else would and losing our business wouldn't hurt their bottom line.

I think I would hang on to it. Especially when the Stealership would maybe give you just enough for your trade to pay it off, and then you have to finance the rest of the new car on a less than stellar intrest rate.

The only thing I can think of is if ther are any 08 Minis still available. Usually the dealers give better interest rates so they can get rid of the cars, for fear of "Lot Rot". I cant imagine there are too many 08s left, but it's worth a look.

 

I think you would have a hard time getting out of your car as a trade-in without being underwater. Without any details an 05 Cooper with 36,000 miles has a trade-in of about $14,000 on NADA.
If you owe $15-16K you will have to pay to get out of your car.

If you sell your car yourself you may do better but probably best case is that you get out for what you owe.

 

Without knowing all the details, it looks like you're upside-down in regards to the amount owed versus book value.
Not a good place to be if you're thinking of getting a new car.
Best advice (if that's what you're looking for) is to pay down the note on the R50, either by doubling up on payments, thus saving on interest, or sell the car in the private sector.
You will always get more money selling outright than trading in. Unless you're trading in on a dog that the dealership wants to move.
And our cars are not dogs!
Best of luck.

 

Your argument holds no water. It is poor financial judgment to get rid of what appears to be a perfectly functioning automobile for a new one on the grounds of "being out of warranty".

Listen up. You are upside down on the car. You have no business even considering getting a new car when you owe so much on it. If anything, try to refinance the balance on the car and keep it for another 3-4 years or until it gets fully paid off. Set some money aside for maintenance and unexpected repairs. Believe it or not, it is cheaper to keep the car you have now, versus getting a new one. The math doesn't add up. By getting a new car, all you are accomplishing is burying yourself deeper and deeper into debt.

The dealer will add up the negative equity from the present MINI and tack it into the price of the new car. That is called financing 110-120% over the price of the new car. Given the current financial climate I doubt very much you'll find a bank willing to extended financing under those risky circumstances.

I may sound like a total jackaSS. But I am one when it comes to the stupid decisions people make with their hard earned money. Americans are in deep doo-doo because of our "got to have it all" mentallity. We are mortgaged to China because we are in debt to everyone. American's have the lowest rate of savings compared to any other developed nation in the world.

Forgo the new car smell, worry yourself about paying down the balance on the current MINI and expect to invest money in maintenance. Keeping this car for a few more years will be a lot cheaper than getting a new one out of the lot with warranty. And that is if you find a bank stupid enough to finance a high risk situation like yours.

 

What you're considering will cost you money in several ways. Higher monthly payment, increased insurance costs, higher registration and tax cost etc. Take into account if your current Mini needs work in the future, you will have the money to fix it. Also consider an extended warrenty.

 

I hope this financial crisis has taught people many lessons. One of them being that there is nothing wrong with keeping a car 7-10 years or until the wheels fall off. Cars now days are designed to last to at least 250K miles with nothing but maintenance. The new car smell is too addictive, but like any addiction, costs money and will eventually eat into your savings, retirement, etc.

Americans in this generation need to get off the compulsive "got to have it all" bandwagon. We need to learn to live within our means and be happy with what we have. There is no need to live on borrowed money at high interest rates. That is a fallacy of all sorts.

 

Speak it like you think it!

 

+1.

The money would be better spent on a decent extended warranty. One can be had for around $1000, depending on how much you plan ahead, and can cover you to 100k. That's how I would spend my money if I were truly worried about the reliability of the car (and you have an 05, not an 02, so I would not worry so much) rather than getting myself into deep water financially.

 

Spend a few bucks and get a new set of rims or some vinyl strips, spiff up your current Mini until you pay it off.

Now is not the time to owe more money.

 

Thank you everyone! I am going to try to double my payments and pay off my car sooner. I am just getting paranoid from reading posts about the CVT tranny. I have a CVT tranny in my cooper and I also have around 46k on her.

I used to always keep cars for a long time and really put on the miles. my first car was a VW and I put 220,000 on it. My second car was a mustang and I put 101,000 on her. My last car had 170,000 on it before I got the MINI.

 

you are upside down on that car.
i am not a fan of extended warrenty's .but.. you would be better off doing that..

i don't think you need new debt.. more so being upside down on the one you have

pay it off.. drive it.

 

I normally am not a big fan of the extended warranties either but I paid $700 for a drivetrain-only warranty for my CVT Cooper.

Another option (and probably a better one) is to check with your auto insurance company for "major breakdown" insurance. They can just add it into your normal premiums and it will cover expensive repairs. A friend of mine has this and when he basically blew his engine, he was out a $500 deductible and that was it.

Just for those who might be a little worried...I went the extended warranty route before I knew you could get breakdown insurance. But I would do either of these before going upside down on the value of the car just because you're kind of worried about it. Have you had any major issues so far?

 

Good decision raven! And a 2005 at ~50K on the odo is by no means an "old car" that you need to start losing sleep over fear of impending breakdown. And besides, looking at your car in the gallery your R50 is beautiful and well-optioned. Enjoy it! (PS. In many ways it's the better car compared to a new one.)

 

I never heard of this "Major breakdown" insurance. Do you remember what companies have it? I have Erie Insurance and I doubt that they have it.

 

Smart move.
Doubling up, or paying over and above the monthly payment on your note will also improve your credit score, thereby improving your chance of a better interest rate, if and when you decide to get a new MINI.

 

Most companies have it. I know Geico has it, among others. But they don't often advertise that they have it - you have to ask for it. Call and ask Erie if they have it - I bet they do.