I am currently contemplating making the move from my 100% reliable '04 MCS to a '05 MCS hardtop. Like some of the new features in the '05 plus the added power, shortened gear ratios and better acceleration.

Am I crazy? Anyone else done it?

 

Notice how the 02 is not up for trade

 

i thought about it sorta semi-seriously for a while. only thing is i have a '03 with 15k miles at the time. but what makes it so hard to actually do it is...i'd hafta take a big loss with all my goodies i have on already. sure a lot could be turned back to stock, but the jcw kit is a bit harder to do. plus, in a way, i already did trade in once...when i sold my '03 cvt mc with 7k miles to purchase a '03 jcw mcs.

 

First off, I LOVE my '04 MCS. This car has been absolutely troublefree in 13 months of ownership. However, this weekend I started to look more closely at the possibility to move up to a '05 MCS and Based on my preliminary research, I might be able to pull this off much better than I even taught possible initially.

I checked the Black Book trade in values (Updated as of 11/1/2004) and my MCS has lost virtually no $$$ in the year since I got it. The high resale value of the car pared with the positive equity I currently have built into it (Around $8,500+) and only owe $12,700 to the bank) makes the whole deal a very palatable idea.

Why do I want a '05 MCS? I am mostly interested about the mechanical improvements, namely the extra 5hp, enhanced shorter gearing, improved supercharger, improved intake and revised exhaust note.

To me the rest of the cosmetic changes are the icing on the cake (Minus the 3 spoke steering wheel which I am not very fond of).

As for the current spec, I don't think I would make any radical changes in the new order (May add the remote garage door opener) and for sure I will be sticking to Chili Red/White because this color is sooo right for a MINI and certainly love it.

All of this is still speculation at this time and I might or might not do it, but I will be getting in touch with my dealer to get "the hard numbers" and make a final decision soon.

Last I heard my dealer currently has a 6-8 week lead time on new MCS factory orders, so that should work quite nicely. I waited 10 months for my current '04 MCS, so 8 weeks is nothing by comparison.

Anyone facing the same dilemma right now? Anyone done it already?

Finally, some of you may ask, why not get a MCS cabrio. Well it is substantially more expensive than a hardtop MCS, more insurance and quite frankly while it is a very, very nice car I am not into convertibles. In my opinion you lose some of the "good" aspects of the car when going over to a ragtop MINI (Less cargo space, less rear shoulder room, aweful rear visibility, less solid body, heavier, not as nimble as the hardtop, etc).

 

Interesting. I just bought an '05 MCS but had taken an 04 on the test drive (the Monte Carlo edition). The 05 seems to have noticeably better response when accelerating compared to the 04. On the 04, you'd press the accelerator and it took a bit of time for things to pick up, but the 05 was much more immediate. And keep in mind I'm still breaking it in, so I'm doing less than 4500rpm.

 

I consider myself very lucky as my 2/04 MCS has been perfect through 10k km - even the initial slight Yo Yo seems to have disappeared on its own.

Before I bought the car, I was concerned about the number of problems owners had reported with earlier models but I think by the O4 model year MINI had it pretty will sorted out.

The 05 changes seem to have a minor driveablity impact, but some relatively large mechanical changes, meanig the reliability risk might be a little higher than the 04.

5Hp, LSD, Machine gun headlamps and Orange washer lights aren't a compelling reason to walk away from a gem IMHO - but then I've been married 20 plus years!

 

I think the only reason IF I decide to buy a 05MCS would be for gearing.

Ive been going back and forth the last 6months or so if I want to get
my second MCS ..

 

sorry but what are the Orange washer lights?

 

http://www.motoringfile.com/2004/11/...ights#comments

Some peopele would trade up for this

 

The LSD is the deciding factor for me. I am also considering moving from my 03mcs to an 05 with lsd. Might run some #s with the dealer next week.

 

cooooooooool...thanks rhogg

 

I currently own an 04' MCS and I just put in an order for an 05' MCS for a Jan build and Feb Delivery.

Order Specs:

The LSD is the biggest reason why i want to trade up. But with all the additions it becomes a total pkg type thing that would make the car practically perfect. They've brought up almost every little issue plus a few more things that i would have wanted in the 04'. LSD, MP3 radio, Anthracite Headliner, and so much more. The only negative is the 3 spoke because it doesn't have the MSFW controls on the rear of the wheel where i rather have them.

 

Cool!

How much is your dealer giving you for your '04 MCS trade?

 

Just guessing here, but I wouldn't be surprised if that'd be a "backward retrofit" kinda thing that wasn't too difficult.

I'm thinking the same thing for when I place an order this month. I am not a fan of the Nintendo wheel.

Derek

 

They offered 16,500 and i said i'll just sell it privately. I'm looking for 21,000

 

I don't think it will. I don't think the 3 spoke has room or wiring to put it on the back of the wheel.

Plus its a Playstation wheel

 

Who's your dealer? South Motors MINI or Braman?

I am buying from Lauderdale MINI.

$16,500 is a pretty nasty lowball. These cars are going for much higher than that in used car auctions, that I can tell you. What's the spec on your '04 MCS?

 

I am not a fan of the 3 spoker wheel either. Too bad that MINI decided to ax the excellent 2 spoke sport wheel, which is what I currently have in my '04 MCS. I also like the fact that the old sport wheel has perforated leather (looks sporty and high quality) versus the smooth leather surface on the new 3 spoke steering wheel.

If I do this, one thing I am sure to miss will be the 2 spoke sport wheel.

 

Thameth, did you try taking your '04 MCS to Carmax for an appraisal?

I am curious to see how much they would offer you vs. the dealer trade in offer.

Carmax don't currently have any used Cooper S' in the Miami-Ft Lauderdale area (Just regular Coopers). it is likely they''ll give you top dollar for yours.

Just some food for taught......

 

I bought my current MINI at Lauderdale with Debra. I ordered the 05' at Lauderdale with Dan since Debra is gone. We went through the whole thing on why they have to offer that low because of the money they need to put into the car to turn it around and sell it under what the new MINI's are selling for. They need to put it through service for inpsection and refurb (Standard procedure) they think it'll need new tires blah blah blah.

I knew there was no chance at them giving me what i wanted but i just asked for giggles.

 

Yea i've thought of taking it to CarMax. I would have to take off the lowering springs and Oil Catch can first as they probably won't like seeing that. I'll probably have them look at the car right before i put it up for sale. If they offer me over 20k i'll have them take it, if not it goes up in the marketplace here. I can imagine there are a few people in Cali that want to get into a MINI now instead of ordering one and waiting 6-8months.

Here's My current Specs:

04' MINI Cooper S PW/PW

Aero Grille's
Xenon's
Premium Pkg
-Auto AC
-Pano Sunroof
-Onboard Comp
-2 spoke Multifuntion wheel
Fog lights
16" V-spokes
Space Cloth
Anthracite interior

 

While I understand that a dealer has to make FAIR profit on a trade in, I think $16.5 for a car that is not even 1 year old is not really fair. If they take your car and they put it in thier lot it will most likely leave for around $21K-$22K. We are talking about a $6K-$7K profit margin. No wonder that the "real" money to be made at dealerships is with used cars. All I know is that putting a new set of tires and "inspecting" the car is not going to cost that much! They make it sound like your current car is falling apart or something, geez!

The MINI has incredible resale value and you should never give up your car for less than its worth in the open market. In fact, I checked trade in values at various sources, including the "Black Book" which is the official guide used by most dealers and the trade in average for a 2004 MCS right now is in the $21K-$22K range..

Places like Carmax do offer higher trade in/ sale than new car dealers, so you may have better luck there. I suspect Carmax will give you at least $20K for it and the good thing is that they process your equity check/bank payoff in about 45 minutes while you wait. Definetely worth a try before putting up the car for sale here.

Best of luck. I am still deciding whether I should go for the '05 MCS or keep my ultra reliable and solid '04 MCS. I will make a final decision on this today once I hear from the dealer with the numbers they promised me to have done.

 

All I know is that if I decide to trade in my '04 MCS at Lauderdale all the "refurb" they will need to do to my car is to wash it, but wait it is already washed and detailed!


My car is pristine inside and out. Still looks showroom fresh. All I know is that the "refurb" story it ain't going to fly with me!