'03 MCS w/ 27,000 miles.
KBB puts it at $14k when checking it as in 'Good' condition. I'd say excellent, but we all know very few cars are. I've got a cracked windshield. That's about it tho. A dealer will probably try to tell me the paint is screwed or my aftermarket mods lower the price (if they even look - last trade-in didn't even inspect the car and ended up giving me full retail for it haha).

I don't want to get low-balled. I wanna get as much as I can get out of it. This baby's never given me any problems, and I'm not giving it up unless I think I'm driving off the lot in something that can do everything short of flying me to the moon.

I'm looking to trade it in for a 4-door 4x4 V8 Ford F-150 or Toyota Tundra around $18k and less.
edit: Not straight trade. Unless, of course, they did that. Ha. But a trade-in nonetheless. Also, do ya'll think a down payment would still be required? When I traded in my last car for my Mini, I got 6.5k trade-in and made a down of 6.5k.

Anyways, thanks ya'll!

 

How much was it new? or what % depreciation is that? That sounds pretty good for a 6 year old car. I got $18k for Quentin (05 MCS with $18k miles) last year, that was 80% of the new price which was damn good for a 3 year old car (and I could have got more if I'd tried). Even a car which holds it value well (like a MINI) is going to depreciate 50% over 6 years.

 

The age is what's driving the trade-in value down. But $14k is still pretty nice though.

 

It doesn't matter what KBB or the NADA guide price it at. The questions the dealer is asking is a)how much can I sell this car for, and )b how long will this car tie up my money.
I've been trying to sell Emily for some time now, and while I haven't been really aggressive about it, the fact remains that money is freakin' tight, and nobody wants (or can) to part with it.
Good luck. If you can get $14K for your car, and you want that truck, do it.

 

Very true. My dealer went by KBB, but others go by black book. Very rare that they go for NADA as they're priced higher (mostly for government tax purposes).

I am disappointed that you're trading your MINI for a truck. Conversely, I traded a truck for my first MINI.

 

I would say 14,000 is not unheard for a 2003 MCS through private party let alone trade in. If you could actually get 14,000 trade in I would say take it if you are buying another car and need to sell yours.

 

I'm not totally dead-set on trading it in. It's the best car I've ever owned, and for being seven years old, and still running strong, I'm wondering if I'd be gimping myself by getting a truck.

Reasons for getting a truck are:
Snowboarding
Hunting
Camping
Moving

But ya. Very difficult decision. Ha. I don't think insurance would be cheaper tho.

 

An '03 VW GTI VR6 w/27K lists at Condition value Excellent
$10,450
Good
$9,850
Fair
$8,800


It doesn;t seem we are doing that bad...

 

For a 6-7 year old car, I'd say that's pretty good!

There are other ways to deal with your needs than buying a truck. You can get a snowboard/ski rack for the MINI, and for how often someone actually moves, renting a truck for the day is cheap! As far as hunting and camping, it depends on how often you do it and how long you go as well as whether or not you tow things, but you can certainly get a tow hitch on the MINI and small trailer! There are always ways to make it work

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide!

 

sounds about right. i tried selling mine for over a year for 19.5 and the highest i got offered was 14k so i said screw it and decided to pay it off and just keep it : )

 

You should get one of the detachable roof racks, either from MINI (don't know if it fits the R53) or from Yakima or Thule (definitely made for the R53). That should pretty solve those problems fairly efficiently. I think the Yakima and Thule racks all run around $400 or so. I have the same issues (except sub mountain biking and climbing for snowboarding). Although I haven't really had an issue with fitting any or all of my guns in either of my MINI's.

 

Decent price for an '03. The '05-'06 R53s are much more desireable because of the gear ratios.

 

I would keep it and get a second hand beater truck for the activities you listed. You'll regret selling the car especially if gas prices ride up again to last summer's levels.

You can do a lot of things with the MINI. I have a friend with a 2002 MCS and he added a tow hitch to his car and pulls a small boat, has another trailer that duals as "pick-up", etc. He says that he doesn't understand why people buy pickup trucks and put up with clumsy handling and gas mileage.

Right now in the used market it is likely you can get a nice used truck for pennies on the dollar.

And if you insist on letting go of your MINI, you are much better off selling it yourself privately.

 

Not to be a downer, but most dealers will tell you to check edmunds rather than KBB because they feel that KBB estimates too high. Edmunds is often a bit more accurate. I know a few MA's and they say that it's common for people to come in expecting the KBB values they find, but unfortunately they can't give it to them for trade-ins.

It's worth checking it out so you can know what to expect while making your decision

 

$14,000 is a decent trade price, considering how much y've A/M modded it out. I'd take it if U can get it, esp. being in Boise where there are no MINI dealers to compete with! Any less, Id private sale the car.

(Tip on truck: if you choose to go the Tundra route, buy a low mileage 2004 MY or older. 2005 MY on are made in America, and as a result build quality/reliability has suffered major. Older Tundras are all Japanese.)

 

you also need to think that the value has gone down since the gas isnt so high. allthough we all know that the r53's dont get the suggested gas mileage the trade in value can be changed by this fact

 

Most dealers I think would use avg MMR to determine the value of a trade in. That is the current going price at the auction.

Average wholesale MMR for yours is $13,250. You get a good bump from the mileage.

 

All of your reasons can be done with a Mini and a roof rack, with the possible exception of moving. Hell, I've gone camping with everything stuffed into my MGB! How often do you do any of those things, that you want to pay the gas prices a truck will make you pay. Gas WILL go up again, no doubt. As far as moving, that's why the gods created U-Haul.

I'd keep the Mini.

 

Remember that whatever the dealer gives you on trade in has to include the tax saving on that trade in, the money he gives you off the other car, say 14k has to be multiplied by the tax rate, that is tax you don't have to pay on the new car you are purchasing.

I would be surprised if a dealer gave you KBB as a trade, they usually have their own nasty book that never seemed to me to give a fair trade in, i was just told my car that cost me 13.5k pounds (I live in the UK) last april was worth just over 8k pounds last week.

Even in this economy they are still sticking it to us at the dealers.

Best of luck. Peter

 

I was talking to a dealer friend of mine the other day and he said when a guy demands KBB for his trade in , he demands KBB for what he is selling. That usually ends that argument.

 

A Mitsubishi dealer offered $12,000 and not a penny more for my 2005 JCW MCS with 46k. It was pretty tempting I have to say.

 

With the current state of the economy, values on almost every make of car have plummeted (Mini is no exception). I traded in my low mileage 05 (heavily modified) MCS for an 06 M3 last November and they gave me $24K for it (I had at least 10K invested in mods).
FWIW, my M3 sold new in 06 for $63K. I was able to get it for less than $40K with only 17K miles on it and in perfect condition. These are tough times right now. You may be better off waiting a few months to see what happens. Gas prices may (probably will) go up and increase the demand for Mini's once again.

 

uRabbit...

I am a long time lurker...and have been wanting a Mini for quite a while now. I never made the switch because I love my truck and could never imagine not having it, but I'm taking a new position where I work and I will be traveling a lot more soon, so I'll need the MPG more than the truck's capabilities, so I've been considering it more seriously now.

If you were closer, I would propose a possible trade...my truck looks to be of similar value to your Mini and we'd avoid the hit by not trading it in.

I might be willing to drive, but even if we meet half way, it would still be about 800 miles (I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin)...so that might just be a little too crazy to consider.

If for some strange reason, you are travelling east...or might be interested in meeting half way, let me know.

I included some pics...its a 2004 Ford F150 4x4 (FX4 Supercab model) with a Triton v8 (300 HP), lots of features, and has about 41k miles. Its in perfect shape in and out.

--Jerry Johnson
jerry.johnson@tds.net