Hello, I was wondering if any of you fellow mini owners have any tips on selling my mini? The car has low miles and is super clean, so I thought it would sell quickly, did the typical things eBay twice, Craigslist and autotrader, mini forums and Facebook groups! Still nothing? Couple tire kickers that's it. Wish I didn't need to sell it but with a new baby I need something bigger! Any help from the masses would be greatly appreciated !!!

 

Showing us your ad would help.
Failing that, my guess is that if there wasn't enough traction... the price would be too high, or there could have been some glaring issues clearly seen (colour combinations, obvious problems etc)

 

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/5477701147.html

Here is the link

 

Sometimes people are wary about what mods and how many mods a vehicle has. Not saying that is why though, but just may be a factor. KBB puts it at 6,600.. Most people use that as a basis, but I'd recommend doing some research on prices for MINI's in your area with similar mileage and condition. Try posting it up on cars.com as well. I bought my first car off there.

 

+1 to what Pelican said

The car & ad look good to me.

Reasons why "I" (personally as a collector and enthusiast) wouldn't buy it...

+2% lighten crank pulley
shark injector software

(both are easily able to remove or replace)

At $9000 USD, that's asking premium money... JCW money (even though arguably it's the same or perhaps better performance)

Converting to CDN and the Ontario market:
That's $12K CDN with 75,000 kms - there are no cars up here that are close to that. highest at the moment is around $9K CDN up here

When selling a car, the general mantra is... no one will pay for your mods.

At that point, we have to think what an R53 with 47K mi with the H/K, Cold Weather package (and a sunroof delete!!! whoohoo!) and all the documentation would go for.

My guess is it will be in the $7-8K range

As mentioned searching the rest of your area. If you're the highest out there, it's likely why its not selling.

Good luck with the sale, she looks fantastic.
FWIW, I get my 3 kids in my cars... once they're out of the rear facing... motor on!

 

Folks see a MINI even with low miles modded like that probably assume the car has been raced/abused and not always the case.

Those Shark Injector units don't do much other than advance timing and remove limiter. Maybe drop that from the ad too.

Sometimes less is more.

GLWTS !

 

All good points!!!

 

Agreed with what's been said above.

Remove the mods, sell them, and make the car as stock/original as possible.

I, personally, am very wary of Alta/m7 anything on a MINI - (let's not go into that wormhole here) but that's just me.

It's a very nice looking car, the low mileage is certainly a big plus - and I don't think your pricing is terribly out of line. Just get rid of some of the mods.

 

You are asking waaaay to much money, I just spent 11k for a 2005 non modded mint mini S in extremely good condition with only 25k miles.

That's why.

 

I find this to be dishonest, if your car has been modded do not take the mods off and pretend the car has always been stock. BS

 

If I bought a used car it would be stock and driven to church on Sundays by an old woman or I wouldn't buy it.

 

I never said anything about "pretending the car has always been stock."

Just remove the parts. Sell them. Part them out.

Most mods have no value to a prospective buyer because mods are highly subjective and depend on a person's preferences.

Nobody wants to buy a car that has parts they have no interest in.

 

I read the CL ad. A couple of impressions:

First of all, the price is on the higher end. Not out of bounds for a car that someone has lovingly taken care of, added tasteful mods. But to a potential buyer who doesn't know you at all, he sees; typos in the ad, trendy black wheels, trendy aftermarket parts under the hood with logos and stickers. The ad generally says to me "young, wanna-be tuner-boy, surprised with new kid - has to sell his hot rod." Old (experienced car buyer) man that I am, I would think the car has been revved too high too often; owner is a street racing-poseur; likely hidden problems in an 11-year old car. And frankly, there are tons of other similar cars out there for $2K less.

I don't know you at all, so don't take this the wrong way. I'm just telling you what an objective prospective buyer might see in your ad. You're stuck with (not very good) pics in the snow, stuck with the upgrades you've made (and their cost) and stuck with the 11 years (or more). Like selling any car, if you could wait it out for the perfect buyer you would probably get your "firm" asking price. The reality is that you'll probably have to let her go for a loss (lower the price and be flexible on it) if you're forced to sell her soon. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

 

First impressions are very important. My first impression, looking at your pictures, without reading the ad, is that it's a parts car. Seriously, hood open, door open, etc. The picture in the snow has a , what looks like to me, big oil spot. I don't think your price is too high, I think your presentation could use a lot of work. No insult intended...just trying to help.

 

Nice car, but with all the mods your looking for a very specific buyer. Return it to stock with the visual parts under the hood and sell the aftermarket parts, you have a lot of good ones. And price isn't too far off, always leave it high on Craigslist, they all lowball. Put it on autotrader.

 

As stated above you are

1) asking too much money - think of the audience of buyers on an 11 year old car..it's going to have a high percentage of people who want their first car..$5-6k. The mini wasn't a low production vehicle so you aren't dealing with collectors - accept that.

2) if kbb is saying $6k you are dealing with people anchored to that number...and there are likely examples of cars in your vicinity going for cheaper.

3) mods, mods, mods - build a "street weapon," "track monster," or "race car" or something that looks that way and it will be assumed it was used that way. Take them off and sell them. You will not recoup retail value for them...and definitely cannot add the value of them to the car to price it out. That's not how it works at all.

4) your ad needs work. Also the baby coming story - I think it hurts your ability to be firm on anything. If I were a buyer and i saw that - I read desperate on a time clock..first question I would ask in a friendly way is "congrats - when us the baby due?? June?? Amazing!" I now know you have 3 months.

Just some pointers from an old man and also a dad.

 

Personally I would keep it for the reason you want to sell it. They get great gas mileage (the main reason I bought one) but I also Googled to see if a car seat would fit, which it does. It's not unreasonable to get a kid in and out, and after a few years once they start to walk they can climb in alone, you'll just need to buckle. It's obvious you care of the car and have maintained it very well. And I'm guessing you don't owe anything on it. So that's a plus.

Unless you are using the kid as an excuse to buy something new, in that case, as someone else states. Don't mention the kid to buyers or the ad. Makes you look desperate. And no lol or cuz and other grammatical short cuts and slang in a sale ad. Makes you look less intelligent and makes me not want to deal with someone. Not saying you aren't smart, I type like that all the time with friends and sometimes online. But there's a time and a place, and a sale ad for a car ain't it.

And I'm gonna go a bit against the grain here, but I don't think your mods will really hurt the sale, but you can not include them in your price for the car. When I started shopping for a mini I was looking for good condition and a goof price for the year. Mods weren't a bad thing but they have to be nice and done right. My car had rims, exhaust, and intake when I bought it. Something that would help would be list the benefits clearly of each mod, like if it's a one piece crank pulley it's not going to fail like the stock two piece will. The strut bar you have has built in strut defenders that prevent the strut towers from mushrooming out with age and cause alignment issues and premature suspension component failure, the Detroit Tuned BPV fixes the "yo yo" effect commonly caused by the factory BPV, I'm sure you get the idea.

 

And get rid of the "firm" idea for the price. Tough luck, it's Craigslist, nothing is firm. Prices on brand new cars at a dealership aren't even firm. It's a used car on Craigslist, not a coffee pot at walmart.

I completely ignore ads with firm next to the price. You won't get asking price, not gonna happen. Not how Craigslist or selling a used car works at all.

 

This is all great info, even if I don't like everything being said its all the truth!!! No body knows by my add that the car was babied for it life, owned by a mechanic and treated like one of the family! They see performance parts and think racer!!! I never thought I'd be selling this car, (still don't want to)!!! but I didn't think I'd be having my first child at 43 either so things change!!! I do have another car that I dayly drive so I'm not in a rush to sell the mini, just thought it would sell quickly cuz of its low miles and it's mint but I guess I didn't see what people on the other side of the computer screen would see!

 

Do you need the money bad? Will a car seat not fit in the daily driver? Sounds like you should prolly keep this one to me

 

I plan on keeping my R53 when I have little ones. Baby seats most definitely fit in the back, I see it all the time.

 

You See it yes - but it is miserable. Getting an infant car seat in and out requires you to tip the car seat backward and then rotate through the opening. When you have a child who is asleep I guarantee you -- you are not going to risk waking that child..for anything. We bought a family car and kept the mini some people don't have that option and if we end up needing another car...the garage only fits 2 cars and the mini will be evicted.

Also most families want one parent in the back to entertain - watch over the little one. You gonna flip with your significant other on who gets to cram in behind the other seat? Infant car seat in the back only allows the seat in front to be far enough to back to accommodate someone who is about 5'4"- maybe 5'5"...so that means in my car it goes behind the passenger seat. My wife doesn't enjoy sitting behind me...needless to say we don't take the mini unless it is without the baby.

 

I know the car seat fits, but it's a PITA!!! lol it basically makes it a one person one baby car though. I'm 6'2 and 280ish so know one is sitting behind me, and with the baby behind the passenger seat know one is sitting shotgun either!!! Forget about the carriage or anything in the boot! Lol

 

Yup - until you are in the thicket of it no one really understands parenthood...easy to theorize and go with "measurements". Real life is very different than theory....we all had theories..

 

Pro tip, fold down the back seat that doesn't have the car seat and put the kid in through the back. Regardless. He states he has another daily driver, so unless he's in dire need of money I fail to see the need to sell.