I am getting ready to buy a clubman s. I'm VERY excited. I wanted to know though what it was like if you traded your car in. I have a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee that's in really great shape. I don't want to go through the trouble of trying to sell it private party. What has your experience been or advice?

Thanks!

 

If you want, take it to carmax. They will buy a car for reasonable value even if you are not buying from them. I have not seen any other make used cars on mini lot so doubt they will give much of a trade-in. But...I have not tried so not certain.

 

I live in Seattle, unfortunately the closest carmax is in California.

Thanks though!

 

well, does the dealer acutally have a clubman there for you to take home, or are you going to have it built? If its going to be built them you are probably 2-3 month out before you get your mini. During that time you could try to sell it privately to get more money. If it doesnt sell then trade it in. I think you can go to the dealer and get a quote on what the trade in value would be, then see if you can sell it for more. Good luck

 

In seattle, I'm told 7-8 months before your name gets pulled, then 2 months on the build...another on the boat...

So....what are you to do? You are to do the following. Go to a jeep dealership and find out what it's worth. It's called a buy bid. You should think about getting it detailed and new floormats as well, make it look as good as it's going to get. The mini dealership isn't going to make much off of the car since they are going to sell it to a used car lot anywho.

Check out KBB.com as well as edmunds.com and cars.com. I've spoken with my MA about this as well for my 04 mazda 3 and this was the process he suggested when I come into sign paperwork. Remember, nothing happens until your car gets here, so don't wreck it

 

My experience with other, non-MINI car buying has been you can expect to be offered wholesale price for trade-in (or worse). Of course you will get more if you sell it yourself. Like you, I hate the hassle, so wholesale it is, usually. If you are offered more for your trade-in, it is almost guaranteed you are paying more somewhere else for something in the deal. The dealer will manage the deal to maximize their profit. It's their business to do so.

Since the MINI seems to be a pretty 'fixed-price' deal with no negotiating room, I expect to be offered flat wholesale (or worse) at the MINI dealer. I will probably sell my 2007 Mazda 3 to a local Mazda dealer as digi0123 suggests. They might give me a $100 more than the MINI dealer, who will likely just end up selling my trade to the very same Mazda dealer at - you guessed it - wholesale.

 

Thanks for the advice. I just got back from the dealer, it's a 7 month long wait! Yikes! I'll have plenty of time to ponder my options.

 

Not hassling with a private party sale is the ONLY reason to trade in. Indeed, that is why many people trade in cars, it is so much easier.

But any dealer or experienced private party will always tell you that you can get more for your Jeep by selling it privately. How much more? In my experience about $2000 to $5000 more is what they will say, probably $2000 on your Jeep.

As others said, if a dealer gives you a lot for a trade-in, it is making up for the attractive-to-you number somewhere else on the deal. Slick dealers who are out to make a killing on "both ends of the deal" [meaning on the trade in and the new car] will low ball the trade-in and inflate the sales price of the car.

On a good day, with an easy mark [aka sucker] the dealer will:

Give $2k to $5k lower than a trade-in is worth [that is, worth wholesale, not retail],

Make an extra $2k to $3k ABOVE what the new car retails for [e.g., "additional dealer markup, rust proofing, setup charges, paint coatings / protection, etc.]

Sell you an extended warranty, disability insurance,

Finance you at a lousy percentage rate, for any number of reasons, such as supposed bad credit, "that's our standard rate," etc. [Most dealers sell financing contracts to banks and loan "sharks" who pay the dealer the difference between the loan APR to you and the APR the bank agrees to buy the loan at. For example, a $25,000 loan to you at 12% APR is bought by the bank for the difference between 6% APR the bank buys loans at.]

On a "fair deal" day the shopper has not done a trade-in, got financing elsewhere, got all the add-ons and extra charges taken off the bottom line and refused all the crap the F & I person [finance and insurance] has tried to sell.

Despite how nice your Jeep looks, it is not something any MINI dealer is going to pay much attention to. So I would not even bother detailing it. It can be in mint condition, the dealer is simply going to wholesale it out to a car lot that sells used cars. Look at what the wholesale value of what your car is worth, that is what the MINI dealer might give you for it as a trade-in.

Sorry to piddle on your expectations, but a 14 year old Jeep is not worth much to any new car dealer, much less a MINI dealership. Even the used car lot is not going to get much for it. And in these days of no one wanting gas guzzler American cars [or SUVs] I doubt that even a wholesaler will give MINI much for it. Your Jeep has three things NOT going for it: it is very old, it is an American car, and it is a gas guzzler [defined as any vehicle that gets less than 20 MPG, IMHO]. Note that the market for big V8s and V6s is tanking to where the auto manufacturers are in an economic depression, IMHO, again.

And I am not aware of any MINI or BMW dealer who sells 14 year old cars.

See attached images on a rough idea of what your Jeep might be worth. I entered a fully loaded, best model, with 80,000 miles. Yours differs, obviously.

Your better bet is to simply sell it to a private party or simply expect to get about $3000 for it at a dealer [if that]. Be prepared for a MINI dealer to say that it does NOT want the Jeep as a trade-in because they might not want the hassle of getting rid of it to a wholesaler. What they will say after that is they if you really want to trade it in, they might be able to convince the sales manager to give you $2500 for it.

While dealers say the above on any car they accept as a trade-n [to low ball the amount they give you on a trade] in your situation the dealer may be telling the truth.

Sorry, but you asked.

 

Oh, forgot to mention, when a car is in hot demand and there are limited supplies [such as the MINI, 2008, 2009 or any MINI for that matter] there is no incentive the the MINI dealer to give a fair price for the trade-in or even to inflate the value so it appears you are getting a deal.

Maybe if you bought and agreed to ALL the "add-ons" I mentioned above, the dealer might give you a little more for the Jeep, but I doubt it, unless he or she can get an extra $2000 to $5000 from you on other aspects of the sale. But in your case I don't see the dealer needing to do that since the MINI sells without selling it, the salesman is simply an order taker.

There's especially no incentive for the shark to chip away at how much he or she can make on your "deal." Given the nature of car salesmen, I can't imagine anyone who would not attempt to maximize his or her commission by taking advantage on all aspects of the sale, starting with low-balling the amount given on a trade-in.

So these are additional reasons you can expect to be disappointed if you trade-in the Jeep.

 

SUVs are not in demand now.
Just about any 1994 is worth squat in trade.
Sell it privately.

 

I traded in my 2002 325xi wagon with 84k miles in great shape for my MINI Clubman S. I can tell you that they will give you pennies for your trade in, if they even take it at all. I know there are a lot of dealerships across the US that will not take trucks/suvs in as trade anymore, it's just not worth it.

In my case, the 325xi had 84k miles on it, and was long out of warranty. As you all know, owning german cars out of warranty is like digging your own grave. Even though the car was in perfect shape, and cost $36+ new, they gave me $10k for it. Carmax offered me $9,400. I tried to sell it private party, but selling a car that gets any less than 30mpg is really hard these days, and also they had the car I wanted coming in in less than a week, so I had to make a decision.

I'd inquire about trading in, and see if they will even agree to give you anything. It sounds like you've got some time though, so trying to sell it private party may be your best bet.

Good luck!

 

The other thing to consider is that the deal is not made until the car is on the lot. Basically, they will probably not agree on a trade-in value for your car until the day you are taking your Clubman home. Your Jeep is very likely going to be worth less 8-10 months from now, so they'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they made a deal with you now.

Over the next 8-10 months, try to sell it private party. If by the time your Clubbie comes in, its still not sold, take the pennies for the trade-in.

 

I dunno your situation in terms of cash, but if your Jeep is really nice you may want to simply make a charity sale of it to a friend, relative or co-worker. By charity sale, I mean giving it to them at maybe half of what it is worth retail.

At least that way you know it is going to a good home and someone in need.

The other alternative is to simply keep it as a spare vehicle. If you have a curb or driveway, never hurts to have a "hauler" for those times you need the room [Costco, Home Depot, etc.]

But selling it to a family member or friend in need is a feel good deed. You at least get something for it, they get a car.

Bonus Tip: If you do sell it to a friend or relative, count yourself lucky if they pay you up front. Normally someone that "needy" is going to want to make payments. And depending on how reliable they are, they trash the car and stop making payments about six months into the deal. When I have sold vehicles to friends and relatives I have pretty much taken the sale price as a loss and don't count on seeing much money.

One way you can do it is to agree on monthly payments they will make, then have them write post-dated checks for each month. Then assure them that the 1st of each month you will deposit each check as the date rolls around. When I have done that each person has paid the full amount owed. As I recall, only on one load did the person call and ask me to hold off on putting the check in the bank for that one month.