Well, I have an 03 IB/W MCS with pretty much every option including nav with the exception of cold weather. It only has 6000 miles on it as well. Well, my thing is I bought it for 26k and now I don't know if I want all the stuff. On miniusa the car I designed (05) came out to 21,995. I was just wondering if I should order a new one and trade in. By the time it comes in I will have 22 left on the car and it should work out money wise right???

B

 

Uh?


You paid $26K for a MCS and then 6 months later you are questionning your purchase? Careful!

Well, I think that if you want to move "up" to a lower spec MCS, you are much better off selling the car on your own. There are many success stories of people selling thier MINIs for close or even more of what they originally paid for them brand new.


The MINI is still a hot car, so it pays to put the time and effort in selling it yourself. Anyway, it will be at least another 6 or 7 months before we see the 2005 in US shores, so place your '05 order for Sept or Oct delivery and plan to sell the car around July-August or towards the end of the summer.


What exactly is wrong with your car?

 

Nothings wrong with it. No stumble, no trips to the dealer, nada. Just want to auto-x and the sunroof, and other stuff just add weight and cost money.

B

 

>>Nothings wrong with it. No stumble, no trips to the dealer, nada. Just want to auto-x and the sunroof, and other stuff just add weight and cost money.
>>
>>B
I can't blame you then for wanting a lightweight MCS.....I have one myself!

 

Definately sell it yourself, you won't like what you'll get for it as a "Trade-in". Shouldn't have any trouble getting at least $23k, maybe more depending on where you live.

I just sold an '03; the 3 packages, IB/W, 13,000 miles for $22k.

 

Seriously, you want to trade in a fully loaded , perfect MCS for one of unknown quality, and lose money, all because of the weight of the sunroof?

 

>>I just sold an '03; the 3 packages, IB/W, 13,000 miles for $22k.

Was this an MC or MCS? I have an IB/W MC with all 3 pkgs plus autowipe and HID. I paid ~21500. I have about 10K on it now.

I am ready to trade it in, but can't decide if I want an 04 S or an 05 S. Also i am considering an R32 but I think it's outside my range. The 04 S I have speced out will cost about 26K.

What to do, what to do... I am thinking I should wait for the 2005 because I believe that is the year with the new lights and other subtle changes???

Also I tried to design a 2005 MCS on MINIUSA but they only show the 2004s. How do you design a 2005??

 

Where are you located - seems all the IB/W MCS (for sale) are on the east coast.
I'm looking for one loaded similarly to yours, though I wouldn't mind Pkg#3.
The market is just showing signs of softening, just what cheap b@$tards like me are waiting for. I would expect it to, as we get more available inventory. One loaded MCS just went on Ebay for under $20k, but that's the first I've seen. As GT6 said, most (private sales) are going for ~$22K right now. I wouldn't trade in - it's an expensive way to avoid the car selling hassle.
If my '85 CRX would just die, I'd have the excuse to get the MCS now...

 

If you are located in the New England region, sell it on bargainnews.com I sold my 96 Jetta prior to getting my MINI for the exact price I wanted in ONE DAY!!! Only cost 20 bucks to place the ad.

 

>>
>>>>I just sold an '03; the 3 packages, IB/W, 13,000 miles for $22k.
>>
>>Was this an MC or MCS? I have an IB/W MC with all 3 pkgs plus autowipe and HID. I paid ~21500. I have about 10K on it now.
>>
>>I am ready to trade it in, but can't decide if I want an 04 S or an 05 S. Also i am considering an R32 but I think it's outside my range. The 04 S I have speced out will cost about 26K.
>>
>>What to do, what to do... I am thinking I should wait for the 2005 because I believe that is the year with the new lights and other subtle changes???
>>
>>Also I tried to design a 2005 MCS on MINIUSA but they only show the 2004s. How do you design a 2005??
>>


You can't design a 2005 MINI, yet. You have to wait at least until August-September when the '05 production begins and MINIUSA updates its configurator.

 

Have you considered what class you want to race in for autocross. Since you have added an aftermarket intake, you are not eligible for G-stock and will have to move to one of the modified classes. In order to be competitive there, you will need to start doing LOTS of mods to get maximum horsepower and that will cost you a small fortune.

If you just want to have fun attending some autocross events, the weight of the sunroof is truly a very minor factor unless you are a champion driver racing at the highest level of competition. I took second place in my last race, was only 0.4 seconds behind the local champ who has won the past 30+ races, and I ran with my factory roof rack on top. Had I removed the roof rack and not had a sunroof, the champ still would have beaten me since I am a relataively inexperienced novice.

If you have a great MINI with no initial build problems, I'd strongly suggest keeping it. You'll miss the goodies everyday and they really will not slow you down significantly enough on the track to decrease your fun!

Anyway, just my opinion. . . .

 

>>Have you considered what class you want to race in for autocross. Since you have added an aftermarket intake, you are not eligible for G-stock and will have to move to one of the modified classes. In order to be competitive there, you will need to start doing LOTS of mods to get maximum horsepower and that will cost you a small fortune.>>

1) Good Point, about the classes and their respective costs!

>>If you just want to have fun attending some autocross events, the weight of the sunroof is truly a very minor factor unless you are a champion driver racing at the highest level of competition. I took second place in my last race, was only 0.4 seconds behind the local champ who has won the past 30+ races, and I ran with my factory roof rack on top. Had I removed the roof rack and not had a sunroof, the champ still would have beaten me since I am a relataively inexperienced novice.
>>

2) You're probably right about the champ still woulda beat you... Still, AWESOME to "lose" by .4, wow huh? Are you a driving school grad? I love that you took your everyday configuration (roof rack, sunroof) to the racetrack. thanks for that post.

Tatt