Hello,

I'm a newbie here on the site. I'm considering purchasing one of two 2005 MCS. Both have the same options and are nearly identical. However, one has 20K miles and 4 previous owners and one has 80K miles and one previous onwer (who says he drove mostly freeway miles). The 20K miles car is 150 miles away and the 80K (1 owner car) is 850 miles away. So far I have not seen either in person but the 80K car is currently priced at $1000 less. I'm just looking for opinions. My main question is how do you think the value of a 1 owner car compares to a car with low mileage but has had 4 owners? I'm almost questioning why the low mileage car wasn't driven and why it went through 4 owners in 4 years.

Any comments?

Thanks,

Robert

 

4 owners in 4 years/20K miles? Wow. Did you check the CARFAX on either? It's not the end-all-be-all to be sure, but if you're looking for clues it's a good place to start.

 

I would ask the seller to put you in touch with the previous owner and try to trace some history back through a few owners. Maybe there is a legit reason why 4 owners in 4 years, maybe not. Only one sure way to find out....ask them!

 

of course, without knowing the condition of either car, it's hard to say which is better.

But all things being otherwise equal, I would pay an extra 1000 for 60k less mileage. But that many owners is strange. I would definitely pull the carfax . Many be it is transfers between leasing co/dealer/auction/dealer ?

 

definetly check carfax and have someone look it over throughly but definetly try with the lower mileage

 

Well I ended up buying the 2005 w/22 K miles. I spent $15K. It seems like cars in the PNW are priced higher than other parts of the country. I thought $15K was a good deal 'cause people here have them listed for $18k and up. It was hard to stay objective (because I'm smitten) but I took my time. All the body panels lined up with no evidence of repaint. The car drove well. The interior looks and smells brand new. Has alta cold air intake and alta shift ***. It may be lowered too I can't tell. Looks like it will need new tires (I'd just assume remove the run-flats anyway). It does have a ding on the lower front bumper. It looks like a lot of the plastic tabs are broken where it would fit into the aluminum piece (the aluminum piece looks fine). So I may have to buy a new bumper skin. (by the way anyone have a "take off" pure silver MCS bumper skin?).

I drove it home from Seattle to Portland smiling all the way. In fact some guy in a Jetta blew buy me at probably 100 mph. I couldn't help but chase him down. I ended up doing 110 (I think this car may be trouble). After I stuck with him for a while I backed off. I'm actually 40 not 18 but I couldn't help it.

-Robert

 

It's a good deal man, enjoy a very fun car!

 

Welcome & seems like you have already discovered one of the "slippery slopes" of MINI-ownership that you need to look out for...

 

Yeah... cars in PNW do seem to be more expensive than elsewhere and MINIs around here hold their value really well.

Good luck finding that bumper replacement... and NICE color choice...

 

Congrats and great color choice!

I paid $15k for my 2002 with 45K miles on it in Oct of 2007 so from my perspective you didnt do too bad at all.

I "bumped" into a snow bank this winter and cracked the front bumper cover and just finally found a cover to replace it. If you go to the market section of NAM you can find a PS cover for sale right now.

 

sounds like a great deal to me

 

Congrats... sounds like a good deal. What comes with it besides those nice Web Spoke wheels and HIDs?

 

Only 40 yrs on the clock? Heck, have you seen those old geezers in the VW GTI and Minis?

 

Dude that's sweet! Congrats. Love those wheels.

 

Congrats on the purchase and with 20k miles you shouldn't have to worry about serious maintance for quite some time. Thought of a name yet?