If so was there room to move on the price of the car?

 

My wife and I bought used from a dealer (not a Mini dealer) and yes, we negotiated price similar to buying any other car. My recommendation is not to buy from a dealer but if you have found the one that screams take me home what choice is there. Such is the case with "Jack" 2004 DS/W MCS with that spiffy interior Cordoba beige and only 16k miles. My wife and I fell in love with the little bugger. Previous owner had lowered and installed 19" Falken Circuit Spec wheels and tires. One of the best Minis we had seen.

My suggestion is if you see a Mini on a dealer lot get the details on options then go to the Mini Configurator and see how much the options cost. Reference Nada and Kelly Blue Book and determine a fair value. Realize the dealer acquired the vehicle for far less and your are the consumer.

 

We bought Bumble (our first MINI) off of an acura lot. We saw no need to negotiate as they where selling it for $18,500. and it blue booked way above that. Six months later da hubby hit a tree walked away, got our 23k (FYI it sold off the original showroom floor for 21K) from the ins co and bought another one six days later

 

I want your insurance adjuster...

 

He didnt understand it either

 

We bought "Madge" '05 MCSCa in Hot Orange for less than KBB trade value and they took my '01 S-10 on trade for more than I wanted for it. I even managed to back the truck into a tree 15 min. before I went down to trade. 1st scratch on the truck

Steve (mr.minianni)

 

yeah. they budged a little. the place i bought from deals with BMW, mercedes, and audis so he didnt want to move to much. only took $1000 off

 

I really couldn't negotiate with my first MINI as the dealer got it from an auction. But the $21,000 price I paid in 2003 was good. Now, I just traded it in for the Jet Black one. The dealer wanted $22,000 for it. Still not bad, and except for the mushroomed strut tower. Of course the dealer not being a MINI dealer didn't know anything about the mushrooming. All in all I'd have to say, if you can get a MINI from a MINI dealer, do it, but in my case, the nearest dealer is a 400 mile round trip.

 

i bought mine from a used car dealer too. 2002 mcs (the exact configuration I would have done in 2002 minus the dealer markup) got it in 2005 for around upper 18 large which at the time was around 2000 less than KBB.....
There is always room for negotiation....Especially on a used....Oh and don't get suckered into a used car dealer warranty...Remember that MINI has a 4 year 50000 mile warranty....(mine just expired) but I got good use from it..
Good luck and please let us know what you buy and post pics.

 

I've been looking for a used 02' or 03' MINI Cooper and I'm wondering if you buy from a used dealer (other than MINI) can you still get the extra 2 yr, 40km warranty. There's one for $15,900 (71,000km - 02') Cnd near where I live and I know the original warranty is probably up. Is it something you can get if you take the car into a BMW/MINI dealer and get them to do an inspection?

Here's the link to the ad:

http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/detai...2&adid=5425401

 

Bought my 2nd 2003 Cooper (which I later sold for an S) from a Toyota dealership. He originally bought the MINI thinking it would make him a ton of money.. priced it at $22,500. It sat for a few months then went to $20,500. Ended up buying it for $18,500. Poor guy was glad to get rid of it I think.

 

I don't know about canada, but other that a third party supplier..... ....I don't think BMW or MINI will do an extended warranty other than the factory 4/50,000 mile warranty..
why don't you look into a bit newer that is still under factory warrranty?
if not find yourself a good, trusted mechanic// That is what I did now that mine is out of warranty///

 

Hey there,

I bought my 04 MCS from a local Honda dealer -- he moved about $3K on the price.

One thing to check is the warranty -- call your local MINI dealer with the VIN# and have them check for warranty coverage.

Mine was bought in Spain and imported to the USA but never registered with MINI USA -- so my warranty was only valid in SPAIN:impatient . It took alot of phone calls and e-mails but I got it taken care of.

Good luck

 

I bought my 2002 Mini from a used car dealer. He had bought it at an auction but I was still able to trade in my 1982 Mercedes for 2,500. and he came down cash wise, 1,500. I thought I got a pretty good deal since the car was fully loaded and had 29,000 city miles on it. So with tax, licensing, etc...I paid around 18,500. for it. I didn't really care about the price though...it was love at first sight!!

 

Hey-

I bought mine from a Mini dealer and there was actually a little wiggle room, but I didn't push too much because a: the car really wanted to come home with me and b: the book value was still 3,500 above the asking price. I liked working with the Mini dealer because they did a great job of sitting me down and showing me all the features of the car when I picked it up, explained the warranty which they understood very well, showed me around the service center, and generally made me feel even better about purchasing my mini if that could be possible

 

I got "Egan" from a Zimbrick dealer in town. My parents and I decided to trade in my Golf (my first car) for it. Sadly because my car had hail damage (even though it was fixed) that dropped the value a bit. But we still got a good deal I think. It was a good deal to boot because it was 2k off the original price because it was Zimbrick's anniversey sale.

 

I have bought 2 Minis from Non Mini Dealers...1st were my "training wheels...a 2003 MC with a few options and premium package (24,000 mi)....stole that one...

The second is an 04 MCS...got a couple of thousand off but was not able to really pound him (they now know more around here)

Most Non Mini dealers only know about the basics that list in KBB...like the packages, leather, Auto climate etc...They do not know about some of the others like Xenons, special wheels, cold weather pkg, Ipod jacks etc (but they are learning fast around here!!!)...I am still a happy camper...PW 04 w/18,400 mi and LOADED!

 

I bought Bug Eter at a Mazda dealership. I had already been pre-approved for $19K and I paid $18.5k for her. Before I made the purchase, the dealer let me take it to the local Mini shop and give it the once over. The only thing Crown in Richmond VA did was give me a service print out of what had been done to the car. I was impressed and went back to the Mazda dealer and finalized. One year later Bug Eter and I are enjoying the good life .

 

If the dealer selling the MINI isn't near a MINI dealer, I'd look depressed and talk about how far you'd have to drive it to a MINI dealer because you like OEM service and you called the BMW dealer and they don't work on MINIs (cause they really don't) and blah blah blah.

That might knock the price down a peg.

Of course, that might be harder if you're buying it from a MINI dealer. :-p

 

I got my first MINI (02 MC) from a Chevy dealer before they knew anything about them. It was loaded and I convinced them that it was bare bones and got it down from 21k to $17,250. I had a great sales tactic. I told them that I was either going to buy this MINI or head across the street and get a brand knew Corolla S with full warranty, and that it made no difference to me, and that it was up to them which I bought. They screwed up though when they brought out a printout showing the last 50 MINIs sold in the US and the price that they sold for. They showed me that the average was above 21k and that I was getting a great deal. I pointed out that one sold in Ohio for $17,250, and they could sell me this "bare bones" (haha) MINI at the same price or I would buy the Toyota. They were so frustrated that they brought in the Manager, but he too got frustrated and folded.

Man that was fun, the first good deal I had gotten on a car.

 

I got mine for $15,900 with 53,500 miles on it. I didn't haggle at all. I really wanted the car, it blue booked for much higher than that anyway, and honestly I was just happy to get a car I really, really, really wanted for a price I could afford. I figured if I wanted to, I could get them to knock the price down to 15 even, but I thought it was already a good deal so I didn't bother.

 

When I was at the MINI dealer buying my MINI the salesman was trying to find a good solution to fit my payment parameters and he actually offered to knock $1000 off some used MINIs but it still came in around $18k and they had 30-40k miles on them. I figured it would be better to pay just over $20k for a new one with the full warranty/maintainence.

 

It seems to me that the car almost holds to much value.
When your looking to buy used.
Makes buying a used one a tricky question almost beter off getting new
Like clarkdr81 said warranty and maintainence
i would say deinitely do the math.

I KNOW I AM ON MY 3RD MINI. THE FIRST ONE I GOT RID FOR MORE THEN I PAID FOR IT AND THE SECOND ONE I TRADED IN, FOR MY CURRENT MODEL I WAS GIVED $375.00 LESS THEN I PAID FOR IT IN TRADE.

 

I'm looking to buy used. I've been looking left and right:impatient . From what I can see, you should stay away from the high-end dealers, they seem to be on the lookout for big time suckers...
Just to give you and Idea, I went to the one and only Mini dealer out here in Protland OR (Rasmussen, AKA: Ripoffmussen), they had a 2002 MCS with 40K miles on it, pretty bad shape on the inside. Asking 24K (with no room to budge)!!!. On top of that, they make you feel like they're doing you a favor by letting you walk on their lot...

 

My wife and I had the exact opposite experience. We purchased from a Lexus dealer. They offered us drinks and none of that "here meet my manager" garbage. The only two people we talked to were the sales and finance rep. Knocked down the price without me even asking. Scottsdale Lexus are alright in my book and I recomend them.