Hi Everyone!

I am in the midst of purchasing a 2003 Mini Cooper (base model). The car only has 79k miles on it, its in perfect condition, brakes still have 80% life, and brand new run flats, harmon kardon, ipod aux jack etc.

She originally was asking 8500, but I tried talking it down to 8000, she wants to meet at 8250 and doesnt seem to want to move from that price.

Is this a good buy?


Thanks!
Max

 

oh and it has the double sun roof

 

5MT or CVT Auto?

FWIW I just bought an 03 S with every option except Nav for $7999 (HK stereo, cold weather, pano roof, leather).

Mine has a good service history, clean title, nearly new tires and 118K on it. I'd put the body in good condition. It has a couple minor issues but nothing major.

I nearly bought an 02 Base similarly optioned. The owner started in the high 9's but I had him down into the mid 7's. 85K miles, new getrag 5MT tranny put in and good service history.

Check the blue book and NADA guides for your area and go from there. Be wary of the early MY cars with the CVT or Midlands manual tranny. A prepurchase inspection would lbe a good idea.

 

Its an 03 with CVT, I had her bring it to a mechanic and she came back with an all good report.

I checked blue book and with all the options (which really shouldnt matter) the price came around to 8100, but without all the bells and whistles it came to 8k. So Im going to see what I can do.

 

Ouch- it's got the CVT. It's almost impossible to put a value on such a car. It's like having a time bomb in a car that may or may not go off. In reality you should be paying 5-6K for such a car, having the CVT fluid changed right away (dealer or somebody who knows about MINI's so they get the right fluid [it's not ATF] and ask them if they've done it before) and start saving for a new/rebuilt CVT.

Some have failed at 50k, some have over 200k. Failure of these things aren't really the issue but rather the cost- 6k or more as the transmission itself is very expensive.

If the car is otherwise in good shape 8k might be OK but do the CVT fluid changes and be prepared for a failure. Here's where an extended warranty might be a good idea.

Wait for some other responses before making a decision. I don't have all the answers, just some opinions.

Val

 

Valvshon has it correct.
Some CVTs are doing great and their owners are very happy.
However, some CVTs have crashed and must be replaced to the tune of about $8,000.
Without very good info about the car I would stay away from a used CVT. There are just to many cars out there to take a chance.
Just my $.02.