Hi everyone. My wife and I have been looking forward to buying a Mini for a while now. A friend of ours offered us a Mini cooper S 07 with the sports, luxury and winter packages, with only 6000 miles (the car was bought in June) and all cream leather seats for $25000.

Can anyone confirm if this is a good buy?

Also, anyone who has experience buying or selling Minis, does anyone know how transferring the warranty works? Since it only has 6000 miles in it will I get the dealer's warranty transferred at all?

Also, will I have to pay taxes on it? (sorry, I'm not american so I don't know much about how the taxing system works in this country)

Thank you everyone for any help.

 

warranty will automatically follow the car with the inservice date it was bought ...yes you will have to pay taxes on ir the 25k
price seems about right

 

that car is about 28K new, why in the world would you pay $25K for one with 6000 miles on it?

 

Determining if it is a good price depends on what options it includes. You should find out all the options it has then go to the Mini website and build one with the same options for a price comparison. It would be helpful if the seller could give you a copy of the window sticker so you would have a complete list of options.

I bought used and had to pay 3% North Carolina sales tax when I went to get a new title.

 

Because I would ONLY spend up to 25k. Initially we were thinking about a non-S mini but this one seems like a really good deal, especially because of the leather seats (which look LOVELY)

 

[QUOTE=Redseele;2079063]Hi everyone. My wife and I have been looking forward to buying a Mini for a while now. A friend of ours offered us a Mini cooper S 07 with the sports, luxury and winter packages, with only 6000 miles (the car was bought in June) and all cream leather seats for $25000.

Can anyone confirm if this is a good buy?

Also, anyone who has experience buying or selling Minis, does anyone know how transferring the warranty works? Since it only has 6000 miles in it will I get the dealer's warranty transferred at all?

Also, will I have to pay taxes on it? (sorry, I'm not american so I don't know much about how the taxing system works in this country)


I have plenty of experience selling MINIs privately as I have owned 4 of them since 2002.

First, the balance of the factory warranty can be transfered to a second owner absolutely FREE OF CHARGE. All you have to do is call MINIUSA (1-866-ASK-MINI) and advice the customer service rep that you just bought the car from the original owner. With the VIN number + your personal information the transfer becomes effective immediately.

2) Yes you will pay taxes to your state's department of motor vehicles (DMV) when you register the car. The sales tax is based on the final sale amount of the vehicle at whatever sales tax percentage is charged locally. (I believe Oregon is one of the few states that do not have sales tax, so check with your DMV). You will need to present the vehicle's BILL OF SALE and the CERTIFICATE OF TITLE (Which needs to be signed over to you by the original owner) in order for the DMW to issue a new registration and license plate in your name.

As far as the price of the car, check www.edmunds.com used car values calculator for a rough idea on what you should be paying for the car according to equipment, options, mileage and regional conditions.

 

Although is your personal friend, I highly recommend obtaining a www.Carfax.com report on your vehicle. Also with the VIN serial number, any MINI dealer in the country will be able to pull up for you the original build sheet and the service history of the car. Personally, I would not buy an used MINI (Regardless of having little or many miles) without first verifying by outside sources the true history and condition of the car.

 

I already ran a Carfax report. It is perfect, no accidents nor anything. I tried to make sure about this from the start.

 

I use to manage several dealerships and now sell to them. The price sounds good, however it has to be what you want. If it is go for it.

 

I agree with this. Even if someone has only had the car for 1 day, the resale value would drop dramatically. Be sure you know why your friend wants to sell the car.

 

If you have a good picture of the options, run the numbers on the MINI site. I think it sounds like a good deal, esp. if you have a good understanding of the history of the car, your friend's driving habits, and his reason for selling.

 

My friend just got a job in a company that sends him to different places in the US, Canada and Europe every week or so... in each location they provide him a car so he doesn't really need this Mini anymore. As I see it the car is perfect (just came from test-driving it tonight) but it really is bumpy. I didn't think I was going to mind so much but I guess the area where I live just has the worst potholes in the whole city.

From the stuff I saw (the packages mentioned above plus automatic transmition, xenon headlamps) the total price of the car on the "build your MINI" thingy on miniusa.com is $28,850 new. Also, my friend lowered the price to $24500 after haggling

Finally, I've been looking at some of the new Minis that some dealers in the area have in stock... some of them seem to be around the same price, which is weird. Are dealer prices the same as the price one gets from miniusa.com?

Thank you all for the comments. I'm finding this very educational.

 

Also remember buying a used car you might not get the same financing rate,as buying a new car from the dealer ...

 

Almost all MINI dealers do not discount off the MSRP price which is the same as the miniusa.com build price. What you build on miniusa.com is very accurate as to the final price.

 

I would rather have a brand new car with less option vs one that's used with 6000 miles. Especially when you order one, there is nothing like the anticipation of waiting for a car to be built for you and the day you pick it up

 

btw automatic in a preowned MCS is an auto deduct of $2000 off market rate

 

Also with a new car you get to do your own break in routine. Finance rates are less favorable on used "Person-to-person" vehicles than on new ones. I would say that if you can get this car discounted to $24K, get it. Justify buying slightly used over brand spanking new.

 

You want to avoid big potholes because they can damage tires and wheels. However, a 2007 MCS with the Sport package has 17" wheels and runflat tires. You would get a softer ride from 16" wheels and non-runflat tires. You can get 16" Rota RB wheels for less than $150 each. You could probably sell the factory wheels for $100 ea. if they are in perfect condition.

 

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From the stuff I saw (the packages mentioned above plus automatic transmition, xenon headlamps) the total price of the car on the "build your MINI" thingy on miniusa.com is $28,850 new. Also, my friend lowered the price to $24500 after haggling
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I'd buy it. Your friend benefits by being able to sell a car to you and not a stealer. And you get a good price on a used car.
Good Luck!
I on the other hand payed too much for my Mini But I love the car so live and learn

 

I agree with Robin. Plus, replacement tires are cheaper.

Clubman, I'm with you--for 6,000 miles I'd buy new so that I can do the break-in myself!

 

Sounds like a good deal to me if thats the combination of options you desire!I was in a similar situation that you are in. I bought my '05 MCS from a friend with 5000 miles on it.Never had any problems with the car and sold it with over 100,000 miles.Oh and that auto trans really comes in handy in the city!Save the paddle shifters for the backroads!Best of luck in your decision!