http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-...QQcmdZViewItem

SEXY^

 

Some nice touches -- although the stickers in the rear bumper are a bit much in my opinion.
and that price seems high for a cabrio with over 54k miles on it.

But it is an interesting and different look.
I've been considering getting ghost stripes in that design for my car -- but I'd want the fron of them to be more parallel with the upper grill trim.

 

They are asking about 5K over the value of that car.....but it looks nice.

 

Uh, show me an S Cabrio for $15,000........

 

^ Agreed. Even with 50,000 plus on the odometer, $19,900 seems to be a pretty fair asking price for an 05 Convertible. Especially one that is nicely dressed.

Now... if they would just paint the mirror caps red.

 

Just ran it through NADA... asking price is about $3,000 below book.

 

that's not my cup of tea

 

There are cabrios going for $23k with as many, or more options, and 40k less miles (and still plenty of warranty left). I agree that it's not overpriced by 5k, but I'll stand by my first comment.

 

that car has been on eBay for months. the mileage must be scaring people away

 

...like many people who try to tell us we're "ripping them off" when we make Total Loss settlements with them, what others are selling at isn't necessarily indicative of your vehicle's value. Just because someone in the world is willing to sell at a certain price or someone in the world is willing to buy at a certain price, doesn't mean that's what a car is worth.

Conversely, just because NADA says this car is worth $23,000, doesn't mean the seller will find someone who will agree to pay that much.

Just sayin'.... NADA places the value at about 23 grand.

Getting off the price, I'm surprised the interior of this MINI is a plain jane given the bling factor of the exterior.

 

New top and new clutch makes me wonder if its a theft recovery!

 

OK - I guess I am wrong. I am new to the world of Mini as I am still waiting on my delivery. I am just thinking of past experiances with other cars. I figure a 'vert S with the Aero can be ordered for 29K (they said its the JCW areo - so I took that to be just the areo and not the JCW engine etc. ) So my thought process was simply why by a 2005 with 50K+ miles when for an additional 9K I can have a shinny new 2008 with zero miles. I suppose because its really a JCW ??

 

cg1, Get used to the fact that MINIs do not depreciate at the same rate as most any other vehicle.

And... getting a new convertible S for $29,000 means you have one that is pretty much bare-bones. We've seen people on NAM buy them and option them out for as much as $40,000.

 

I enjoyed reading this post ! I never buy a car for resale value (buts nice to know that the car will hold the value none-the-less ) I am waiting on mine now - its optioned to the tune of $45,000 and I went ahead with another $1,000 for the clear bra (just added that yesterday after posting here, by the sounds of it I could save $500 by going aftermarket but that lets me run the risk of getting a chip. And since I drive 100+ highway miles daily I am not risking it).

 

Well... there you go ! You know first-hand just how much $$$ you can wrap up in a new "S" convertible !! And now that you mention the $45K, I do remember your thread talking about your order.

And, as far as retaining their values, last year the MINI ranked second in the nation. I believe one of the Honda models was #1.

I'm not sure how anyone ever sells a one-year old MINI, given that it costs nearly as much as a brand-spanking-new one.

 

I was gonna add that the price seems to pretty good for an S cabrio .. but thats been beaten to death :(

 

I recognize that car. It belongs to one of the Arizona club guys. I've seen it at MITM (last year) and at least 2 AMVIVs. It looks fantastic in person, and the original owner is a real nice guy, though it looks like it's at a dealer now.

 

I was posting this just to look at. Not to talk about the price. I think it just looks good. lol

 

Show me a thread that stays spot-on topic and I'll show you a short thread.



BTW... I think it looks pretty darn good, too ! But what do you think about that price ??

 

You just have to accept that you won't get what KBB suggests its worth. Edmonds seems to be much more realistic with pricing.

 

NADA is the auto industry standard for car prices. That's the source I used to get the value of this MINI.

But my comment that you quoted was general in nature... MINIs, regardless of the source you use to determine value (or if you just look at the prices they're fetching), retain their value extremely well. And statistical data backs that up, too.

 

Oh they definitely do. Just don't try to convince the dealer of that when you try to trade one in, LOL.

 

You're right... I wouldn't trade in a car unless I tried to sell it privately for at least 6 months. The last time I attempted a trade-in, I got so pissed, I walked out of the dealership with blood pressure readings that resembled my SAT scores.

 

^^ LOL, that seems to be a common occurence. I walked in to the dealer, told them all I'd like to get is $2k under the trade-in value, and they're like, "LOL, ok here's $6,000 less than that."

 

FWIW, I got my 05 MCS with 7K miles for about 24,500. Hot Orange, Chrono Pack and a few other options. I believe it would be about 31K brand new. I _think_ it was a relatively good deal. It's hard to judge what's what when you are trading. I traded a 99 Miata with about 100K miles and got approx. 5k for it in the trade. Miata was pretty much wholesale book value, Cooper was a little under retail, but it's what I wanted. It was a quick deal. I could have gotten more for the Miata privately, but would probably have lost this particular used Mini waiting for the sale, or had to lay out more cash. On paper, they charged me 26,500 for the cooper and gave me 7K for my Miata, but your just moving money between pockets. I think the dealers like to lean that way to keep the book values up on the newer pre-owneds and make you feel better about your old trade.

Cheers!
Lee