Thanks. I am not resolving any issues, and I am not going to get a lawyer, ect. I think it is nuts that I didn't know, but now all I have to do is continue to tell people not to buy their car at that dealer.

 

Well, don't let it eat at you. I know it's frustrating but 1k isn't worth if for your health and peace of mind.

 

It's for reasons just like this one that I no longer buy cars, I lease them. At the end of the lease, you send the car back and that's it. You pick another and off you go. If you don't like the way the dealership treats you, then when your lease is up, turn in you car, pay your disposal fee and go somewhere else.

 

I take proud in ownership and tend to take great care of my cars. I am the perfect leasing candidate as I don't drive more than 12K miles a year, but honestly there are little financial benefits for me and I really don't like the idea of having nothing to show for at the end (I know, you pay for depreciation only).

Some leases tend to have nasty surprises and hidden charges at the end. Also I dislike the idea of having an eternal car payment. Leasing gets you on a car payment treadmill which is good for the car manufacturers because they know that every 2-3 years you will come back for another leased car.

I prefer to pay off a car in 2-3 years max and be done with it. The MINI enjoys such excellent resale value that leasing it doesn't seem to be that great of an advantage, then again for me personally.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

If you have your own business, leasing is ideal.

 

Exactly. Also if the car has sustained damage and it has breceived body shop repairs, you will get nailed the same as if the car were your own property. Leasing doesn't make you immune to these situations, contrary to popular belief.

 

I've been driving for 22 years and have never had a car over 3 years so leasing is a pretty good option for me. Heck, since 02 I've had a 2002 MCS, a 2005 Scion xB and now a 2005 MCc. Apparently I love car payments.

 

It all depends. There is nothing wrong with leasing per se, but unfortunately a lot of people get into the leasing bandwagon for the wrong reasons (I.e: Get into cars they could not afford otherwise, etc) and get nailed big time at the end or when they suddently realize they made a bad choice and can't break away from the lease contract.

If you understand leasing and its implications and it works for you financially, hey more power to you.

I tend to keep cars anywhere between 1 and a half to 4-5 years tops. I prefer to buy them outright. The MINI is one of those cars that make "sense" as a purchase due to the low yearly depreciation. For instance, my last '04 MCS I kept it for 16 months, put 17.5K miles and sold it last week for $700 above original sticker!. That car cost me only taxes and fees which are non-recoverable expenses. I think I did extremely well for a non-leasing situation. MINI resale is absolutely incredible

I have only leased one car before, a 1997 Acura 2.5TL. I leased it for 3 years and while the experience was mostly positive I did not like having made all those payments and have nothing to show for at the end.

It all depends. I like freedom of ownership others don't mind always having a car payment, drive a new car every few years and have no positive equity built into the car.

Just a difference of opinions, but neither makes it right or wrong.

 

You probably don't need much out of pocket cash when you lease a car So it can be a mixed bag either buying outright or leasing. Circumstances dictates many decisions.

 

I may be wrong, but I don't think you ever mentioned which dealership it was that stuck the shiv into you.

 

Not possible, Dennis, because the entire car is covered with Cosmaline during the oceanic transit, including the wiper nozzle jets. Now VDC is supposed to get all that bad stuff off everything, but sometimes it stubbornly stays in the window/body creases and cracks and (for 05s) in the rear wiper assembly. My S dripped Cosmaline outta the rear wiper the first 2000 miles, and it DEF stains the paint if not given immediate attention. Jimbo

 

My car still had the plastic on the hood when it arrived at the dealer and you can see how the fluid would run through any creases or seems in it. I have posted a picture in my gallery. The roof was covered in plastic as well.

Dennis

 

I've been selling MINI's since they landed here in 2002 and I have NEVER had a car arrive with plastic on the bonnet. Crazy.

 

After a winter up here in Winnipeg Canada (where Homer got his cheap drugs) I had a couple of dents i needed touching up (from my son's bike falling over in the garage... new rule---no bikes with 10 feet on the Mini!). When I took my car in they said "you better get your bonnet painted"

They showed my the pock marks and peppering across the front of the bonnet. Really bad for one winter. holy crap! I took it to my BMW dealer & they said the Mini specialist would have to look at it & would be in next month. Since it was the beginning of summer, and I was busy with work et al ( I had to make an appointment with the specialist as he was only in one day a month) , I decided to screw it and have it painted. Even if they gave me a couple bucks towards the paint job, it wouldn't have made up for the wait & ugly front in show 'n' shine season.

So now when I bring my lease vehicle back next year they are going to give me trouble? I kind of doubt it because they have given me great service and I have but good things to say about them. Especially since they got rid of the a-hole salesman who went to a Toyota website to tell me the value of my Mini when I told him I wanted to trade in and custom order a new one. He said, and I quote, "we don't make much off the custom orders"

So we'll see about the paint thing when I trade up later this year.

FYI - almost through another winter with new paint and nary a scratch on the bonnet... something to be said about 2003 factory paint, no?

 

I don't intend to involve the dealer in public. I don't think it is appropriate.