With the strong resale value of MINI's why would anyone buy (2nd gen) used? Are dealers really selling used for at/near/over new replacement cost?

I started looking at new MINI's in May and decided to wait for the 2009's. In the meantime, I thought I might save a few $$ and buy a late model used. I have looked on Ebay, AutoTrader, Craigslist, etc. The ads say "save thousands over new" but when I go to the configurator and price them out, they invariably are priced higher than new. (Note: I am looking at lightly optioned non-S MC's to use as a daily commuter)

That said, I know that there are rare deals out there. A co-worker just bought a beautiful '06 MCS with 25k miles for just under $18k.

 

Beats me! I've been looking new the whole time. There's nothing like sitting in your brand new MINI and knowing that the only person that's been in your seat before you is some bloke testing it on a treadmill! Or at least, I think that will be an exciting feeling. I'll let you know sometime towards the end of the year

 

The reason that lightly used Mini's sell above sticker price is that they are fuel efficient, and you can get it now. Some people don't want to wait for a new one and have no concerns about buying a lightly used one.

I on the other hand always buy new, because I want to know that someone didn't ruin the engine or tranny.

 

Dealers are usually completely off on price and you can buy a new one for the same price. Makes zero sense.

Lots of private sales have been the same as well. And what's sad is that Im sure there are knuckleheads out there who will buy an overly priced used mini. Doesn't make sense to me- for the same price, why not get a new one?

 

Disclaimer: I wouldn't buy a used Mini, I'd wait and get a new one.

However, let me illustrate a scenario (one that I bet is actually quite common these days) that could cause you to pay "new price" for a used Mini.

Let's say you drive a SUV that gets 15mpg, and your gas bills are killing you, and you really want to save some money. Let's also say that for these purposes that the person also has a car loan and is not upside down in it for the SUV.

That person can wait MONTHS to get a Mini and get hammered with gas costs, and just watch SUV value decline. Or they could sell it now, and buy used and save months worth of gas difference, and the decline in the SUV. The difference in those could well be worth it to some to go ahead and get a lightly used Mini now, and not wait months for a new one.

 

I bought my Mini used with 12000 miles in perfectly mint condition for $2500 under msrp.

 

You have to be really careful these days -- especially since so many people who buy MINIs tend to be "appliance drivers" not real MINI enthusiasts....the type of people who actually *GASP!* abuse MINIs without regard to their life-after-ownership. (Search threads for "abused MINIs" and you'll see what I mean.)

There's a great link that's probably been made a sticky by now, but it's on Motoring File (motoringfile.com) about used MINIs.

Personally....I think I'd always go for a new one, as long as the quality continues. If not, I would stick with the models made between 2004-2007 (as of right now, anyway.)

Good luck, kids. And keep your eyes posted on the "want to sell" threads here on NAM. Sometimes your MINI is just an airplane ride away......

 

Mine was used with 2500 on the clock the Person wanted a Clubman instead.

 

If I wanted a color that they don't make anymore -realllly wanted it - I might consider buying a used MINI. But since my MC is PW/B, it's a 2008 for me!

 

Let's say you have a huge Chevy 2500HD that gets 13mpg (I do) and the gas bills are killing you (they are...$400/mo) but you have to keep that vehicle to tow your toys (28ft Airstream).

Then you buy a second car (Mini) and save $200+/mo in gas....roughly half the payment. Sounds like a win-win to me.

 

I can see one very good reason for buying a used one. If I had the modding fever (which I don't) it appears to me it is much easier to mod the R53 than a R56S. It seems to me there are much more mods available for the R53 (that work) than the new R56s. I'm not saying that the R53 is going to be faster than the R56s when you are done, just that it appears easier to mod the older supercharged engine.

 

Good point. Although the ease of the modding is probably more related to the amount of time that companies have been modding the super-charged mini vs. the time they've had with the turbo'd version. I bet it all becomes equal at somepoint. But for now your point stands as a good one.

 

There are many reasons. Some judt cant stretch out the extra 2-4 grand for a new one. Or the found a used on in great condition with all the goodies and they dont want to wait.

 

Why buy new when used will do?
While the original post was specific to used Gen2 many replies concern Gen1. To me it is a huge cash savings. With decent, loaded Gen1 cars fetching anywhere from $14K to $19K (from my recent searches), brand new well equipped Gen2 cars can go over $28K or more. Sure, the base model with NOTHING is around $19K. Shopped properly, with an extended warranty from a reputable company for peace of mind, one can save substantial cash AND enjoy the MINI experience quickly and affordably. Most of the real personalization is in the wheels and stickers which can be added or replaced anyway.
I really wanted new but the wait is too long and $$ too high. In the future though, a new one will be a more viable option because I have my 1st MINI...
Best regards

 

The thrill of the Hunt, they don't make R53 anymore, the sound of the Supercharger, Space blue, oh and near instant gratification!

 

I'd buy new. I want to know that my engine and drive train was properly broke in. I've read many stories on this forum of someone buying a car or driving a demo and putting it right to redline. Order now, wait it out and configure it exactly how you want it.

 

I suspect like many car buyers they just don't do their homework, they don't go to the site and build a car and see what it actually costs for a new one. They go to a dealer that has a used one, the price is say $25k, and they haggle it down to $22k, and then figure they saved money but they never went to the MINI site and configured a car.

We actually looked at used ones in order to get a test drive, usually it's hard to extricate yourself from a car salesman but after pointing out I could build, order and take delivery of a new one just like it for $2,000 less, I told the guy "what's my motivation to buy this one".

I'm sure he could have knocked more off the price but he knew he could sell the car at close to that price so he didn't offer to "deal".

Sure enough the car was gone by Monday (we looked at it on a Saturday), it was a fairly loaded base cooper they wanted $25,500 for, but you could have built one for about $23,500.

A Lexus dealer was even worse, their used base MC was like $4,000 over the build price and when I pointed this out to the guy in an email he just kept talking about "auction values".

As I told him, "why would I want to buy a used car for $4000 MORE than a new one?"

Some people are impatient and don't want to wait, or maybe they really Need a car (hell I'd rent one for two months until my new MC came in rather than get ripped off on a used one) right away so that is involved as well.

Yes it makes no sense but then again a lot of people make stupid decisions when it comes to buying cars....

Analogeezer

 

I bought my 2007 S Convertible with 9K on th clock for about 7K less than new, so buying used was an easy choice. If I wasn't saving anything over new, let alone paying 2-4K more than new, I would never consider used as an option.

 

I bought my R56 MY used with less than 10k miles on it. Reason? Since fuel is subsidized here alot of people are still buying the same ol' big cars, and since the Dollar is weak, Mini's are too expensive. I can buy a brand new Mini Cooper S or a Lexus GS300 for the same price! Plus my Mini is the only R56 JCW in the country! It pays to live on a small Island

Anyway, I've always wanted another Mini and since I got a good deal on this one I went for it.

 

Why buy used? Same reason as ever. An educated buyer can find them for thousands under MSRP. (See responses to this thread.) And people who don't do their homework will probably still be overpaying whether it's new or used, so ripoff dealers are kinda a moot point.

I think it's much more difficult to argue for buying new (skipping platitudes like "I don't know how the previous owner drove the car"), even with high resale value. imho. But then I bought new.

 

I wrestled with the same question for months and months.

I finally decided, after crunching the numbers, that I'd rather live without a car payment, so I bought a used 2005 MC this past week. It's in perfect shape (I had a BMW mechanic inspect it, pre-sale), looks brand new, and I got it for less than the TMV/NADA value. The salesman just wanted to move the inventory and I had cash, so it worked. It also had every single option I wanted on it, which I couldn't believe. It just sort of appeared out of nowhere, like it was meant to be. And I also acted quickly and grabbed it before someone else did.

So, yes, there are overpriced used MINIs out there, tons of them. But, keep looking, don't give up...saving a large chunk of change will inspire you to continue the quest.

I figured, when all was added together (taxes, etc), I bought a 3-year old car for $10,000 less than what I had built on the configurator. I'll take that, anyday!

Good luck, and keep us posted. I'm washing and waxing my new baby this weekend, then I'll post pics. I've been grinning since I picked her up! Have fun.

 

I have noticed that it does seem easier to get a reasonable deal on cars that are more heavily loaded with options.

My '09 build preferences are in the $22k range (non-S MC). Used '07/'08 of this nature are generally so close to/over the replacement cost that, for me, it makes no sense not to just order it the way I want. This is basically going to be a second car for daily commuting plus a little fun (MPG + fun = MINI).

 

I got my 'used 2007 mini' last November before gas went up like crazy. I got my car with 7500 miles for $7000 off the MSRP new and the car came in new condition. I bet I could sell it now with 15000 miles for more than I bought it for.

The woman who sold the car wanted a Cooper convertible.

I think I got a good buy. It is impossible to get a good discount on a new Mini. People are now paying more for used Mini's b/c of fuel costs.

 

I have to sell my 2007 Cooper S in a couple months. Hopefully I can sell it for something near what Edmunds estimates their longterm test car is worth:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=121998

4.13% depreciation. :D

 

Id buy a used one after someone tunes the hell out of it. We dump 1000's into our cars and we will not get it back when we sell it. I am planning to return mine to stock before I sell it.