Don't be foolish. Buy a used one. There are many out there that are in great shape and cheap. You will get more bang for your buck buying used, especially from a private seller. Plus 2006 and earlier have Mercedes engines.

 

There is no reason to buy a used MINI right now.

MINIs hold their value extremely well, so you won't get much of a discount on price. Plus, buying a new car before the end of the year, you qualify for a tax credit on any sales tax paid. Additionally, depending on what vehicle you are coming from, you may be able to take advantage of the "cash for clunkers" program. And, buying new, you get to put exactly the options you want on the car and can enjoy the whole "let's track my shipping vessel across the Atlantic" game (I wouldn't suggest buying new off the lot).

So, really, there is no reason to buy a used MINI right now... which is why you may be able to negotiate a much better deal on one.

 

Depending on the deal you get you might want to pick up a used Mini. My father just picked up an 08 with 5000 miles on it that an executive was driving. It has everything you can think of (except the anthracite headliner) with a sticker price of over 32K - he got it for 24K out the door.

 

Don't forget that Mini is offering 0.9% financing on new Minis right now. Don't think you'll get anything close to that on a used Mini (which you'll probably have to finance). Also you can get $1000-$1500 off MSRP on ordered '09s now or even more off in-stock '09s.

 

He got 1.9% over 5 - he would've had 0.9% over 4 - maybe it's dealer dependent.

 

Surfblue +1! KEEP IT BASIC!! The base car is fairly priced. The dealers count on that website and all the tack-ons and eye candy to push you into spending much more money than is necessary. Keep your car stripped to the basics, or what you need/can really live with. I got mine out the door for $28.8k and if you weren't picky about the interior you could lose the chromeline, the anthracite headliner and other things that won't make the car drive one bit better. An absolutely basic Mini S is going to put just as big a smile on your face as the most loaded up car you can build, and will drive just as good. You can always add goodies later. However, if you do want interior items like the anthracite (black) headliner or the chromeline rings, order up, because doing them aftermarket is a pita and expensive. I'd consider the headliner just about impossible aftermarket.

 

The 2006 and earlier MINI's use a Brazilian built Chrysler engine. The S versions were supercharged. 2007 and later versions use the direct injection Prince engine that was developed by BMW and Peugeot. The newer S versions are turbocharged rather than supercharged. Both versions of the MINI are fun (See excerpt below from a September '03 Motoring File article).

From AutoExpress:

 

just tell them "...I was talking to {insert mini dealer} and was wondering how you compared..." let's them know they have to compete. I was able to work them down on a few things and save about $700.

 

Yes, definitely. Although they will make it seem like they are doing you some great favor ordering one it is actually cheaper for them as they hardly even have the car on their lot for a day.

Negotiate up front when you order as they have you by the nuts after you've waited two months for the car.

 

I agree. I was able to run out with my MCS a bit over base invoice. I have few features but all I do is drive in my car (no jabbering on the phone, looking up at the sky, etc.). Though I have to admit the only thing I would have paid for in retrospect is non-checkered silver trim which is just cheap looking.

 

I agree. I got the piano black. I later saw the anthracite headliner and wanted that too. Oh well.

 

last feb 2009--i had my choice of any car off the lot for $500 over invoice

 

This is the best time to buy a used Mini. New ones are not holding their value. They did 2 - 3 years ago when I bought my Mini. The used ones have come down in price 2-3 grand since spring. You can find exactly what you want if you look around and you won't get ripped with a new car price and all that sales tax. At least in IL you pay a fixed sales tax price which is much less than the county rate that you pay on a new car.

Don't be misguided by old information about Mini's holding their value like they did in the past. I know I replaced my Mini with a 911 and cannot sell it for a fair price. Low miles and perfect condition with all options.

 

Not much, but this depends on where U live. If y're in the mountain time zone, there are only 4 dealers. however, in dealership-dense areas of America one may be able to get a nickle-dime ($500-$1,000) discount on an ordered car because there's more competition.

Right now the general rule is that a discount is more readily available and easier to negotiate with dealer stock, rather than ordered. But it never hurts to ask. Like another poster said, one reason these cars hold value so well is that they've historically not been steeply discounted or incentive-ized. Let's hope it stays this way.

 

Slippy, it probably depends on your dealer, but yet, the economy has taken its toll on the auto industry so at least try to negotiate. I am going to order a new 2010 MCSa, and at a dealer that normally charges a mark-up, I negotiated $1000 off MSRP and free installation of dealer-installed accessories.

 

Um, how do U know this? For one thing, resale data is only available on 2007 models thru KBB, NADA, etc. and I've not seen much of a reduction. Maybe actual, local-market- dependent trade-in values are less now because of the glut in new and used dealer stock and lower gas prices, but overall new MINIs are losing only an average of about 8-9%/year.

Compared to my 2005 S, which lost a little over 7%/year over 4 years I had it (with most of that hit in year 4), that's still quite good.

 

This only proves you know not what you're talking about, so how can there be any credibility to your assertion that new MINIs aren't holding thier value as well as the old ones??

 

You cannot use Kelly's or Edmond's to figure your used car current value. You can only use market prices in your area.
When I bought mine in 2006 I checked the asking and sales prices of 03 -05 Minis on the internet and at local area car lots. They were only down 2 -3 grand below sticker prices of new 06 Mini S's. Now check anywhere and see what they are. I cannot sell my Mini in the Chicago area for anything over 17 grand although I paid over 30 for it 3 years ago. Dealers are selling low mileage 06 S's for less than 19k.
Your right in one sense, that I do not know what a brand new one will sell for in a year or two, but isn't that understood in a logical discussion. I am only talking about my 06's market value verses that cost of a new one as compared to what the prices were when I bought mine.

More financial logic... it is always, at least 98% of the time, better to buy used rather than new. Yes you do not get that new car smell, except with my Mini, and you might actually have to talk to folks that are not professional salesmen... oh my lions and tigers and bears, but you do not lose the traditional several thousand dollars the moment you drive it off of the lot.

 

You can't get an indication of what 2nd Gen MINI resale value is by looking at 1st Gen values now -- especially for the S. The 2nd Gen MCS has more power and gets better mileage than the 1st Gen MMCS. Being an older model after such a major change gives the 1st Gen a significant disadvantage.

 

http://www.automotive.com/auto-news/02/40081/index.html

And you have to go by places like KBB, NADA, Edmund's, etc. because local markets fluctuate too much to arrive at a base truth for a brand as a whole without looking across the larger landscape of used car values. And, hell, if the market sucks in your area for selling a MINI, sell it somewhere else.

 

The best advice, which is the basis to this thread is to buy used. That has not changed no matter what generation of Mini is out.

Besides the French make good chiefs and bad mechanics.

 

Why, because you gave it?
The basis of this thread is the question, "...is there a good way to get a deal on a customized factory ordered MINI?"

Buying someone else's nightmare is not good advice for someone who wants a factory ordered MINI just they way they built it on the Configurator.

Compared to American cars of its time, the Citroen DS had some pretty impressive engineering.