Why is the market for used Mini's so bad...for sellers?
 

I have an '05 MCS for sale and I can't even give the thing away. It's a great car but just a year ago they were a hot buy. Now it seems as if it's a great day to want a Mini. We just grew our family otherwise we'd be keeping it. Just a quick browse of completed ebay ads show that avg mileage '05's are selling less than $13k (and most don't sell)...you could barely get one for 18k last year this time.

Anyway...am I alone? Am I trying to sell in the wrong places? Ebay, Craigslist, forums?

/vent

You might do better on autotrader.com

or this forum.
Ebay - not so good (IMO)
Craigslist - can be Ok if your area has good volume, but it can take some time.

For one, winter is approaching. In the northern half of the country we have already had days where the temp has dropped below freezing. This is the kind of weather that reminds people how much they love big warm SUV's.

Just be patient. I recently spent months trying to find the right mini at the right price. Trust me, lots of them were selling for way more than I could afford.

As the Price of fuel continues to go up, so will the demand for the mini Go up,
Next summer we will be back to the 4 dollar mark per gallon, then you will see the value increase again

Most cars are down with the economy and now that cash for clunkers is past.
I just got a great deal on a Miata and paid $1,300 for an F150. Both cases the seller just needed to unload the car. A few months ago you could not get a truck for less than the $3,500 min cash for clunkers.

Just a hard time to be a seller of any car, at least here in the southeast.

But the dealers aren't really dealing like they were 6 months-1 year ago...I think it's more true to say...it's a bad time to make a car transaction these days. People can't afford to make less revenue and people can't afford to hold onto assets. I've just confused myself.

Makes me wish I had waited :sad: . I spent 2 months this last spring looking for a Mini and could not find what I wanted (lower mileage, specific options) in my price range for the life of me. They have a pretty high resale value. Ones I found that were close the owners were not willing at all to go down even a few hundred in price (I was trying to pay cash). Ended up having finance part of the cost to get what I wanted and I think now I paid too much. Oh well...hindsight is worthless!

Just listed my '05 on ebay again with a BIN of $13.5k.

I sure hope it sells.

Do people not want an out of warranty Mini?

Thulchatt is spot on. I doesn't matter what you are selling, no one is really buying. The major blow is indeed the economy. People are scared, and those without a bankroll are looking to get money to pay their bills. I just paid 500.00 for a Volvo that has a low book over 3,000. The people I bought it from said the same thing about Volvos...so just hang in there. Someone will come along.

I think the out of warranty is a big part of it. I would not buy an out of warranty mini unless it was a steal and I own an out of warranty mini. I have had no issues but if I were to have had issues they would have been under the warranty. Now I have an older car that I know I have maintained and have kept in great condition.