My girlfriend is in the market for a used mini and found this and i want to get your input.

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-...sting=41908666

I have had 2 minis an R50 in the past and currently have an R53. The milage seems a bit high for the price but since i have never looked into the cabrios i wanted to get some other opinions since i have pretty much no clue about these. Anything special we should look for in a cabrio? Any common issues/failures that seem we shoud look for?

 

The average dealer retail price for such a car (with "normal" options) would be around $12,500 in my area according to Edmunds. In my opinion, history and current condition of the car could swing the price up or down by over a thousand bucks. Also, the dealer probably has at least that much wiggle room to still make a profit ("ask a lot; take less")

 

Thank you! I just got to take a look at it. From what i can tell it either needs a new or recentky got a new hydrolic motor mount, the toggle switch panel is a bit loose, the weather stripping on the rear end of the belt line is dry rotted, and it looks like it had had some body work (found some over spray on the driver side wheel well). The roof opens smoothly and the fabric looked really nice, and engine seems mechanically sound as well. Told her if she can get it for 11,000 to bring it home if it's over 12,000 then walk way.

 

I think your on track with your suggestion on pricing. I recently purchased an 07 S Cabrio with 25K miles for $19K. The dry rot on the beltline weatherstrip I think is normal. Mine has it and so do several others I have seen. Good luck with your decision.

 

Unfortunately or maybe even fortunately the deal was a no go. Dealer wouldn't go below 12,500. They pulled a car fax report that showed no accidents but there was clearly some body work done on both the drivers side fender and rear bumper. Tomorrow i've got to drive an hour away to go look into 3 others for her. Good news is that the mini market here in the dallas area is really huge so they're always popping up. Right now there are about 40 used ones for sale in a 100 mile radius.

 

If you want the least problems with an R53, I'd suggest you look for an 06. BMW at least made an attempt to fix common problems such as strut tower mushrooming by 06...I may have some bias though...

 

I canagree with that! Mine is an 04 r53 and while i havn't had too many issues i know several people have had tons of problems with the older builds. After driving the cabrio for about an hour i think she has decided against it (didnt like the tiny back window) and is going to get a hardtop instead. trying to sway her towards 05 and newer Pretty much the only thing she is set on is that it has to be white or black.

 

Go to Pepper White/Black. Best of both

Still showing my bias...