Hi everyone, I really,really, really want a mini cooper!! I've been saving up money for a long time now & I'm ready to start looking.

Do you think $13,500 is a good price for a 2004 6 speed supercharged mini with 50,875 miles?

Please let me know. Thanks.

~Mara

 

Sounds fair if it checks out, no accident history, well kept, etc.

 

its not a bad price, but definitely have a mechanic check it out. there are many things to look for when buying a used mini S. Search around for forum. Things like the clutch, motor mount, front control arm bushing, ect are known to go out early.

 

Well, that price for that mini with that mileage all depends on where you live. If you live in a metropolitan area you are going to pay more. If you are willing to do some research and travel a couple hours outside your area you might do better. I looked for the color and accessories I wanted for a couple months and it paid off. I found mine about 5 hours out at a truck dealership, (it had been traded in) and probably saved $4,000 off of what I would have paid for the same vehicle in this area. The great part about that was, that as soon as I drove it home, it was worth $4,000 more than I paid for it. I did my searching on the internet, and used some of the major used auto search engines, but in the end I found it straight off of a Google search. Do you homework and you may find a better deal.

 

Thanks, I do live in the city, and I'm just starting to look for my mini. I think I might hold off and do some more research like you suggest, I just want to get a general price range.

 

Hey Mara,

I just purchased my first mini used at the beginning of December. You are gonna love it when you get yours. I test drove some new ones at the mini dealership, and some used ones at some local dealerships. The mini dealer doesn't deal, at least not with price. (I have gone by to get a spare key and the dealership was VERY nice and helpful) The local dealers were more flexible with price, but I knew more about the mini from my research than their sales staff. I ended up purchasing through a private party.
Read all you can on this site. You will learn a ton about the model years and different options. What you have to have versus what would be nice. As far as places to look for used cars, the Market here on NAM is good. You can select cars to keep an eye on and see if they are changing prices or selling. Craigslist is an excellent resource. Carmax and autotrader are a couple of sites I have used as well.
If you've been saving, don't rush into the buy now. The right car will come along, and when you get a great deal that will make it even sweeter when driving.
I had wanted a manual trans, but ended up getting an 05 miniS auto that has paddle shifters on the steering wheel. I thought I had to have the manual to make it have enough pep, the car has more than enough pep. I am glad I got the auto trans now!
As far as a good price, if $13,500 is your budget then look at stuff up to $16,000 and see if you can't negotiate a little. Get a carfax, or if you can find out who the dealer is and get the seller to show you a copy of its last check-up receipt. Find out if they have all 3 keys, those puppies are expensive to replace.
Measure twice, cut once...all your research on the front end will pay off big when you make your find.

Trace

 

Thanks everyone, I definitely think I need to do a little more research before I buy. I'm really glad to have joined this forum, there's a lot of mini info on here. =)

 

That is so true! I was looking at one for about $14,500 with 47K miles, but my local dealership called me about a MINI in Texas. I got my 2004 Cooper S for $153,00 and it came with 37K miles

 

In this economy, I recommend offering 2k under "trade-in" value using Edmunds.com... no joke. Valuations by KBB, NADA, etc are all higher.