I'm ordering a 2007 MCSC, so I took my 2006 MCC today to the MINI dealer I bought it from and they gave me a trade-in value of $18,000.

This was for an MCC with an MSRP of $24,700 that I bought in late May 2006, is flawless inside and out (no dings, no scratches, no curb rash, non-smoker car, etc.), and now has precisely 9500 miles on it. It's Liquid Yellow, has the Premium and Cold Weather packages, plus Xenons and the front and rear fog lamps. (And FWIW, if the car hadn't been an early production 2006, the sticker would've read $25,200, since it was built right before the $500 price increase that took effect about a year ago.)

Now, I know there are about a gazillion reasons why I shouldn't expect any kind of spectacular trade-in value: I haven't even had the car for 8 months (first-year depreciation is the worst, check), it's a convertible that I had appraised in the dark of winter instead of spring or summer, I live in Utah and not sunny California, MINI dealers are more interested in selling new MINIS than used ones, it doesn't have the Sport package or sport seats or leather, you always get more for your car when you sell it yourself and should't expect any miracles if you're trading in your car to the dealer, blah blah blah...

...but based on your experiences and knowledge, doesn't that seem like an awfully low trade-in value to get from the same MINI dealer I bought it from, and with whom I've reserved a spot for the March production and April delivery of a new 2007 MCSC?

Like I said, I didn't expect a spectacular trade-in value, but I did expect at least a fair and reasonable one. And $18,000 doesn't strike me as either fair or reasonable, or even respectable.

The Edmunds trade-in value for my car -- which, yeah, I know is only a guideline -- is $20,168. (Their private party and dealer retail values, just for context, are $21,734 and $23,293, respectively, all of which sound about right to me. And I'm disregarding the outrageously inflated $24,825 Kelley Blue Book says it's worth -- that's just bogus, as it's more than the MSRP new.)

I welcome your comments, suggestions and opinions.

 

Why don't you offer it for sale here in the marketplace? It sounds like a great barely used car that would be very desirable to many.

 

I suspect it's not a great time to be trading in just now ... most dealers have a pile of '06s delivered from MINI USA to keep sales going through the changeover to the new car - but of course if they're not sold, they'll worry about having to discount them once the '07s arrive. So then the pre-owned ones will have to be lower priced too.

 

a two year lease would have cost you that much any how.

 

Wessy...

I agree with Yucca completely. I think you should post the car for sale on NAM. Honestly, I think you might get a better price on Ebay than the price given to you by the dealer (although I'm not recommending that you put it on Ebay).

At any rate, you should definitely list the car here.

Chuck

 

Dealers will always low ball you, if you were a dealer you would do it too. It's the nature of capitalism. Buy low, sell high. You will get more money by selling it yourself.

 

I'd sooner have my fingernails pulled out one at a time than to trade a car in to a dealer. Okay, that's a bit overstated, but you get the point. Trading a car in is only advisable if you need to get rid of the car fast, for some reason. Otherwise, it's a good way to throw away money.

Having said that, I'm not surprised at the price the dealer offered you. I didn't notice in your post that you haggled with them over that offer. If not, you did yourself a disservice. Probably wouldn't have made a huge difference, but I'm guessing $500-$1,000. Still not what you could have gotten by selling it yourself, but...

 

Check the CarMax site for your area (if there is one). You'll be able to see what they are selling for, and then do some math on trade-in or selling it yourself. Here is a listing with comparible miles:


'06MINICooper
2D Convertible
$23,998 8K Miles
Silver
Manual Trans
Stockbridge, GA / $450

Or you could check and see what they will give you for your car. Although they might not give you to top dollar, it's likely to be more then your dealer will. Oh and selling a car to Carmax is really easy too.

 

Well, if you really want the MCSC I would suggest saving money and avoiding the depreciation loss again by buying a lightly used one instead of a new one since they did not change significantly for 07. And, as people have already stated, definitely sell your car yourself or try Carmax vs trading in. Or you could keep your MCC and stick a SC on it

Best of luck!

 

Wessy, You have picked the worst time of the year to sell your car! Wait until spring when your car will have value.

 

Wessy you said you've reserved a spot for April delivery of an MCSC. I dunno if that means you have already ordered or not. If you have then you are kinda stuck because as everyone has already said...Winter is the worst money time to try to sell a vert. If you can cancel your order I would do so & wait a few months til the weather warms up to order your MCSC so you can privately sell your MCC for the max

 

I haven't actually placed an order yet -- I'm waiting for the pricing information on the special edition Sidewalk model to be released first so that I can determine if that's something I want to pursue. If it's priced more dearly than I'm willing to pay -- and I'm guessing it probably will be, but I'm waiting to see -- then I would be ordering a "regular" 2007 MCSC instead. And since my spot is reserved in their system for March production, I don't have to spec my build until sometime in February, so I've got some time to think about it. Also, because a newly ordered 2007 wouldn't be ready until mid to late-April, I wouldn't be trading in my car until then or starting to sell it until early to mid-April; I had the option of having a car built in February for March delivery, but I passed on that not only so that I could look into the Sidewalk but because I knew my used MCC would be worth more in April/May.

Of course, one of the things I've been thinking about is just getting a used 2005 or (preferably) 2006 MCSC instead, especially since, as eVal mentioned, they're essentially the same as the 2007 model. (I actually began on the assumption that I'd get a used one; it's only very recently that I've been considering ordering new.) As I told my salesman yesterday, their subpar offer on my car is a disincentive for me to buy a new one from them -- if I have to go the excruciating trouble of selling my car myself (I'm as opposed to selling my car myself as you are to trading them in, Chili Red & Pepper White, although I've always been inclined to go whichever way has gotten me more money, within reason), then I figure I might as well get a used one, since I'm not going to get any tax benefit out of the transaction. Hearing that, he seemed as if he couldn't care less.

Speaking of my "MA," I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'm planning on talking to the general manager both about my disappointment in their trade-in offer and my disappointment in my salesman, and get set me up with a different salesman in the event that I do decide to buy new instead of used. My salesman dropped the ball very badly the first time I bought a car there, and I had no intention of working with him again, but on the day I dropped by no one else was available and he started chatting me up, so I just went with it and decided to let bygones be bygones and give him a second chance. But he once again lacks the attention to detail I expect (I'll spare you the details here) and seems too disinterested in my satisfaction as a (repeat, no less) customer, so...no. I'm one of these people who never complains about this kind of stuff, so it goes against my grain to rock the boat, etc., but I'm really tired of this guy's careless attitude when it comes to what I'm doing with my money. Okay, rant over!
In the meantime, thanks to many of you for the helpful comments and suggestions!

 

Well good luck to you Wessy whatever you decide. I think looking into a used '05 or '06 is a very good idea too. There have even been a few pop up for sale on NAM with decent asking prices

 

MotoringFile reported that the Sidewalk package will cost $4000: http://motoringfile.com/2006/12/22/n...ut-in-detroit/. However, the Sidewalk package includes everything in the premium and sport packages, and along with the English leather it is a savings compared to what those options would have cost ordered separately.

 

Sigh. There REALLY should be a stickie about this subject.

Talking to the car dealer mgmt will do nothing. They are running a business. Do you really think he'll say "Oh yes M'am, your correct, my salesman is wrong and we are going to give you an additional $2K out of our pockets?"

To reiterate, online guidelines mean SQUAT. Just ignore them. All they do is get people upset when dealers dont offer what the those guidelines say.

The ONLY thing that matters to dealers are the recent wholesale auction prices in YOUR local area ... not Alaska ... not Alabama, or whatever.

Others have pointed out ... bad time of year (convertable in winter), Also bad time in general with second gen cars coming out.

First year depreciation on any car is a killer....

Sorry to sound "negative" but its just facts of doing business. If your prepared for the facts, its still hurts but at least you can ajdust the financing issues a bit better

Best of LUCK!

 

Thanks, rkw, and thanks for your follow-up, too, bamatt.

Yeah, I actually visit MotoringFile.com daily, and I saw that when it was first posted, but I don't find that info sufficiently specific or authoritative. I mean, if the MINI dealer can't tell me how much the Sidewalk costs and won't even allow me to spec one at this point because MINI hasn't given them pricing info yet, then all I can do is wait and see what the bottom line's actually going to be...

...unless of course, rkw, you're a dealer or otherwise have some inside info? It would be great to be able to plan with absolute certainty that the Sidewalk package will be precisely $4,000 and that it will include the exact content of the Premium and Sport packages as well as the Malt Brown English Leather seats, no more and no less...but I'm guessing you're just speculating based on the info that's out there thus far, as I am? If not, and you can confirm that you have an inside line on that info, please let me -- and the rest of us who're thinking about a Sidewalk -- know, as it'd be much appreciated!

And in the interest of substantiating why I have no intention of accepting the dealer's initial trade-in offer, for anyone who's interested, here's a quote from another poster followed by my response to them in a thread on this subject in the Mini Talk area:
And, as promised, my follow-up remark to MiniMaybee's post: Next step: Ordering a minimum of two appletinis when I go out for dinner tonight with my posse.

 

I just did a similar trade to yours, and seem to have got a better deal.

I had an 05 MCC (bought December 04) with premium package, CVT, chrome, XENON, leather seats, 26K miles. So my MCC was one model year older, more miles. I had no sports and cold packages but I did have leather (and those prices just about offset).

I got $20K in December in a trade for an 07 MCSC. My trade was in Florida where the cabrio is probably more saleable at this time of year.

 

It's not just Mini dealers that try to low ball you. I have a 2005 Avalanche with the Southern Comfort conversion package which includes custom two tone paint job, 20" wheels, two dvd players in the head rest for rear passengers, wood grain trim in the interior etc., I have 12,500 miles on this good looking truck and was wanting to trade up to a 6.0 engine instead of the 5.3 that I have for pulling a 24 foot trailer ocasionally. I was going to trade for a Silverado or Denali GMC with the upgrade engine fully loaded like my Avalanche. Not just one dealer did I contact but 3 including the dealer I purchased my "05" from. Here are the direct quotes from the sales guy & the sales Managers. "Your 05 is the old style!" "We can't allow you anything for the Southern Comfort Package that cost you originally $10,000 more, than a regular avalanche!" "There is no allowance for it in the trade in books NADA or Blue Book etc." "You would be better off selling it yourself!" etc. etc. etc. SO, guess what?, You guessed it I am keeping the truck! Another thing is interest rates right now are not very good, NO DEALS, especially for the loaded up vehicles. Plus, There was only one Silverado and one Denali in the whole SE USA that met my order criteria so I would have had to order one to get what I wanted. The same thing I had to do to get the kind of MCSC I wanted.

Always walk away on the first and sometime even second offer, if they really want or need to sell a car, a sharp sales person will contact you. NEVER, let them know how bad you want their car/truck. My truck deal never did go through but that is ok for now, because I now drive my MINI Cabrio a lot.

Hope this helped with my 2 cents.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Thanks for the additional info, robbiejax and Vics44.

 

Dealers with excess new 2006 cars on the lot are starting to discount (yes, I said the D word) them in some areas of the country ($500-1000) to clear them before the 2007's come in. That probably isn't helping your offer price right now, either.

 

I too am trading my 05 for an 07. We have the luxury of having 7 or 8 MINI dealers within 100 miles.....I contacted a few and took the best price for trade which was 500 less than I was going to list privatly. I did get a few lowball offers, but it was good that I could "shop around".

Good luck!