I've never understood why anyone would consider the resale value of a car as a reason to purchase it. Sure you might get back a bit of your investment, but with the fickleness of the market you may not. It's not like you're buying wine or a fine watercolor/oil painting which usually gets special care in displaying. A car gets driven in all kinds of weather, gets dirt/rocks/sand/hail tossed at it at very high speeds. A car is always in danger of getting smacked by another car. It just seems that a lot of folks here stress out about not seeing their supposed return on the Cooper. Some even get quite angry when they're quoted a lower resale value than they think is fair. I'm quite certain that nothing was given in writing when I bought my MINI about it's resale value so it strikes me as quite ignorant when someone complains about it when given a lower quote than expected. Their unrealistic understanding of the real world and how it functions is ludicrous to the point of being quite funny.

To all of you who bought with the idea of high resale...there were/are no guarantees on this...get over it.

 

I agree. I did not buy a car for the "next owner" but for myself...

However, I can't quite agree with you on the other points regarding resale 100%.

Resale value has a direct impact on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). It has been demonstrated over the years, that vehicles with lower residuals (Most American branded cars, Korean imports) tend to be more expensive to own and maintain over the life of the vehicle than comparable cars with higher resale values. This does not take into account whether you sell the car or not 2-3 years into ownership.

I guess people tend to spec their MINIs thinking on what the "next" buyer may or may not like. I don't subscribe to that thinking methodology.

But....

After owning domestic branded vehicles that lose 40% value the minute you drive them off the lot, I purposely look for vehicles with high residuals because the TCO, should I decide to keep them longer than 4-5 years, will be lower than on a new car bought at a "fire sale" with rebates and discounts which will effectively kill the resale value.

Just ask any GM, Ford or DCX owner.

I have owned 3 MINIs. My first MCS (2004 model) was owned by me since new for 17K miles. When I sold the car in February 2005, I made money on it, $700 to be exact. I paid for it new (Pre-tax) $21,300 and sold it 17 months later for $21,900 CASH. I have never owned a vehicle that sustained its value like this, let alone "appreciated" in value.

My experience was perhaps exceptional, but generally speaking, it is nice to know that if life circumstances change or if you want to move onto another vehicle, your MINI would not have costed you an arm and a leg to own.

The TCO of ownership of my 2004 MCS was $1,700 which was the sales tax, tag, registration and other fees. (Non-recoverable expenses at time of sale) Show me what other cars in the MINI's price segment can match the kind of high residual performance shown by this vehicle.

 

This drives me nuts too. Especially when someone says they want JCW to increase resale. Sure, mods are fun, but they're for YOU, not resale. They're typically not a good "value" other than the fun factor.

 

Factory fitted JCW cars have the potential to command respectable resale values in comparison to cars that had the kit retro-fitted at the dealership.

Still, in terms of resale, a JCW car will be more palatable than a vehicle smacked with 100 different aftermarket parts

The only problem with high performance versions of certain cars, like the MINI, is that any potential buyer may come to think that the car has sustained some kind of user abuse (Auto crossing, track racing, etc).

But if you own a factory fitted JCW vehicle (Only in 2006 MINI offered the JCW factory option) you are sitting on a car that not only has future collector's potential but a car that will be very desirable for those in the "know".

 

People lack understanding of "used car" values, simply because they are not involved in that line of work on a day to day basis. There are many printed and online publications in the subject of used vehicle appraissals and most individuals would benefit from getting acquinted with the process. Some folks become great new car negotiators but fall through when the time comes to sell their used ride.

If people "did their homwork", they would not get screwed left and right in dealership showrooms when trying to get a decent trade-in appraisal. In fact, most would take the time and energy to sell their car themselves.

 

For sure! I didn't know how to put this quite so eloquently.

 

How "retro-fitted" is a part only offered through MINI? I seriously doubt the origin of install would affect value in this regard.

Speaking of "in the know:" The first JCW MINI was the MC Tuning kit in 2002. The JCW MCS Tuning kit came late in 2003, and is still availible to date, with two versions. But the original JCW kit was discontinued in 2004, which gave way to the JCW MC Sound kit, still availible to date. The latest in the JCW stable isn't exactly true to its origin as the official name "MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works GP kit" would imply. The GP portion of the kit is not offered by JCW, rather MINI.

Guess I "should've bought an S."
I'm outta luck with my JCW MC Tuning kit "retro-fit." Of course, not that a 110k mile, very lightly spec'd, "factory" MC has much value left in it any way; even after the 1 of 30 in the US JCW MC Tuning kits has been installed by the dealership instead of at the factory. But then, I have no concern for resale value of a vehicle in which I associate priceless memories.

IMHO, I'll be thoroughly surprized if the MINI's high resale value doesn't collapse in about a year.