I am contemplating trading my '03 Mini Cooper in for a newer model, maybe an S, maybe go topless this time too. In speaking with the local dealer about a trade in, I was shocked (and disillusioned) when he tried to tell me that they would only give me 11k for my low mileage (36k), perfect condition car. He also told me that my model sold for $14k when new. As far as I can tell, when this car was purchased in late '02, it sold for close to $17k. Can anyone tell me what I can expect to get on a trade in from a fair Mini dealer?

I bought my Mini used from a Chevy dealer who took it in on trade. My Mini is truly a base model, no sun roof, BRG/BLK. I have just turned 36k, with regular maintenance and at least 80% tread on the tires. Is this guy trying to pull one over on me or is he being fair? I ran the trade-in and private party sales on both KBB and Edmonds and came up with much more realistic figures. Should I go see another dealer? My Chevy dealer paid more for the car than they want to give me for it.

Can't wait to hear what is really going on here.

 

if KBB is giving you much higher numbers, take that to the dealer, if they don't change their numbers, goto another dealer. They are most definatly low balling you.

 

in my experience, $11k is an accurate appraisal of your current MINI. You might be able to sell it private party for probably around $14-15k depending where in the country you are at

 

KBB isn't accurate for the current MINI market unfortunately. I know a lot of people trust it as a guide... but remember, it's just a guide. KBB doesn't buy cars.

 

Trade in value is always low. Remember they have to resell it and make a profit.
Why not just sell it your self and get about what you paid for it.

 

According to the trade-in feature at autorader.com, the trade-in value for a 2003 Mini Cooper (base, not S) is around $14,000 and the price to BUY should be around $17,000. So the dealer seems a little low with an $11,000 offer.

It doesn't really matter what they cost new, it matters what they are worth now. Generally you'll get the best price selling it private party, but you have to put up with all the hassles, too. When I traded in my BMW for my used Mini, I chose to take a lower price than I knew I could sell it for, partly for tax reasons and partly for paperwork reasons. In Washington state, you only pay sales tax (close to 9%, depending on where you live) on the difference in value between the trade-in and the "new" car, so that took a little sting out of the loss of a couple thousand in BMW trade-in price. Plus the dealership did ALL the paperwork - I paid off the $5k loan I still had on the BMW via the dealership and they did all the DMV paperwork - and I drove the car home that afternoon.

 

Would you buy an '03 MINI Cooper without any additional options for $17k, VS, a brand new MINI with some great options for $3k more?

See, it may sell for $17k at some chevy, dodge, etc... dealership... the buyer had probbaly not researched new MINIs, just assumed they cost more than that... but at a MINI dealer, we can't sell those two side by side. with that little price difference.

 

Unless you have plenty of money, by all means sell it yourself, especially a good car like yours. The only cars I ever traded in were the ones I could bring myself to unload on ANYONE, a pickup w/ 252K & no more 4th gear, and a Mitsubishi Expo with a huge cloud of smoke behind it.

 

MINI of the Hamptons has an 06' MC/W listed for $18,000. (I'm not sure what all the opitions it has were) I see how it would be hard to sit a 3 year old car next to a brand new one with $1,000 difference in price.

 

Jeremy1026-I agree, I think they are low balling me.
MiniChristina-I don't think 11k is accurate for a few reasons... will explain shortly
tools-They will be making a profit on the new car I buy from them as well as a fair profit ($1k easily) on the trade in.
MMS1- We are on the same page, the tax break on sales tax is the main reason I would trade my car in, the second reason would be to get a better price on a new car than I would coming in with nothing but a dream. You want my business, make me an offer I can't refuse, OR I will go elsewhere.
MiniChristina-If I could buy a new Mini with all the options I want for $17k we wouldn't be having this discussion thread. The problem is that the car with the options I want is more like 23k-26k plus taxes. If I want a new base model, yeah, I can get it for 17k, maybe. In that case, I will keep my low mileage Mini that is paid for in full, no loans, no additional sales tax.

So, the dealer gives me 14k (not 11k) for my trade in. They make it pretty, slap a 6 mo used car warranty on it and put it on the lot for 15k at $1k profit to them. (considerable profit) and sell me a new Cooper for 23k? How much profit have they made on the new Coop they sold me? Add their back door $$ to that and they have had a good day.

Meanwhile, I save sales tax on the 14k they give me for the trade in. (Don't lie to me, this car never sold for 14k new). They sell the '03 Cooper to someone that 1- can't afford the new cooper and doesn't appreciate the instant depreciation of a new car when it leaves the showroom 2- gains the security of the 6 mo warranty service and 3-knows that the value of that same Coop is worth 16k minimum from a dealer.

I have vast experience buying and selling cars privately. Because of this I know that Edmunds pricing is much more realistic than KBB is. NADA is the value that the tax department bases your property taxes on. They too are high but KBB's over estimation is out of control.

Lets compare retail between the three companies based on the same info and excellent condition:

KBB- $18,960
NADA- $17,550
Edmunds- $15,515

Big differences, no?
See KBB values are unrealistically optimistic because this is what the auto manufacturers want the public to believe the values are. The other numbers are based on actual market values from what I have observed. If you really want to know what you car is worth, check out Edmunds.com

And just to be sure, lets compare trade in values:

KBB- $14,825
NADA- $15,250
Edmunds- $13,290

See a trend? Again, KBB which the auto manufacturers seem to control has a considerably low trade in value. When your dealer offers you less than these prices, they will justify it in some way. My mini dealer said that these base models only sold for 14k new, knowing that I was not the original owner. Hell, they sold it to the original owner, didn't they? They knew. The Chevy dealer only had the websites to base the trade in and retail values on and did their best to udercut them based on condition/mileage, etc.

All in all, to buy a new mini, I would take less than the private party value just to give the greedy state of CT less sales tax. (the slimy annual property taxing bastards!)
(FWIW- they say that 16k is 70% of the NADA value of my Cooper and that is what they are taxing me on each year, you do the math.)

 

I agree

The car is a 2003, minimal options, normal mileage and you're the second owner. I think $11k is fair trade in.

 

Normal mileage on this car is 53,000 average. 36k is low mileage, very low.

 

Dealers always low ball you on the trade, since they don't really want your used vehicle. It's just more work for them. I've heard good things about CarMax buying cars if you have one around here (I don't so I don't have any personal experience with them). Or just sell it yourself.

But for a $17k car to be worth $11k on trade after 3 or 4 years is still a pretty good deal. Just look at what other 2003 cars with similar miles are going for. My coworker is looking at a 2003 5 series for $20k with 51k on the clock, it was $48k brand new and current kbb value is around $27k, talk about depreciation.

 

Sell it yourself. You are going to lose a ton of money on a trade in, because you are paying the dealer for a very expensive "convenience" of taking the car off your hands.

Unless you are rich, I advise people to take the time and sell the car themselves. it is well worth the time and effort. What is the hurry anyway?

I am an expert on this subject. I have owned 3 MINIs and one of them (2004 MCS) I sold privately a year and a half ago for $700 more than for I had paid for it originally, brand new. Incredible but true.

By selling the car myself, I put $3400 cash in my pocket, not the dealers. I don't know, but to me that is a lot of money.

 

Mira, you can easily sell your MINI for at least $13K-$14K. I think you'll regret trading it in versus selling it yourself. Don't make that mistake.

 

Ah, the benefits of living in Miami and having access to all that real estate bubble money...,, You cashed out at precisely the right moment to have bagged the 700 over original purchase price. I'll bet you an empty speculator owned Miami condo you couldn't pull that off again today with a 2005 or 2006 MCS, even if the dealer originally sold it to you at a loss.

 

She's right. I test drove a year old used Mini Cooper with 18,000 miles that the Mini dealer wanted $19k for and immediately went for a new one when I learned the purchase of a nicely equiped new Mini Cooper was only a couple a grand more.

 

I have sold two cars to Carmax. They both gave me what KBB suggested the car was worth, to the penny. The new car dealers always offered me 2k-3k less in comparsion to the Carmax offer.

 

You've already decided your opinion, so I'm not quite sure what you're asking.

I think you could sell your car for $14k-$15k.

I think for trade-in, $11k... maybe a bit more, is fair.

 

^ +1

that is the point all dealers will make. Ive been buying
cars every year and each time I am told this. I always bring
a KBB printout to show them what I am looking to get. They will
usually give me something between GOOD and FAIR condition value.

if you push them too hard, they will generously tell you to sell it
privately.

 

I think you are terribly confused.

 

Um, not to burst a bubble, but I would think 36,000 puts it right on target... It's 3 years old, and that's about 12,000 a year - about what most people do... I wouldn't consider that 'very low' mileage. Plus your "average" you came up with (what exactly is that source?!) seems a tad bit high too... I mean 17,667 miles each year is by no means AVERAGE!!

 

the source of avg. mileage is from KBB.com

 

1. KBB and Edmunds are absolutely useless, go to autotrader.com and search for similar vehicles. You will see realistic numbers.
2. I just bought mine through auto trader and I will tell you this, I would have snapped yours up in a heartbeat for $14K
3. If you find a similar car on auto trader it will tell you what your car sold for new, my guess is $15K - $16K
4. While searching for countless hours to find the mini I finally bought, I did notice this........base 03's with low miles were selling for about $1k less than the new price!

 

But the point is that you have to compare your car to similar alternatives, aka, a new MINI. A base BRG Cooper is $18,600. That's new, 0 miles, perfect everything, 3 years maintenance, four years warranty, and a Getrag vs. Midlands gearbox, plus a host of minor changes.

In any case, you can do the math as far as taxes go. A trade in saves you $900-$1200 in taxes. Can you sell your car for more than that, including placing ads, taking test drives, etc? If so, do it.
It's folly to think that a car dealer isn't going to maximize his return on a used car. You say it's a quick grand, but the dealer has to clean, inspect and the warrantee the car. Maybe nothing breaks, but if it does, it's on his dime, since the BMW warrantee is expired. I'm no fan of dealer cars, but they DO add value to the process, or everyone would just buy from private parties.