I would love your opinion on buying this car I found. It looks like it is in good shape (atleast from the pictures). I called the dealership that sold it 3yrs ago with the vin #. He looked it up and said it has cold weather, premium, and sporsts packages. He said it also has 17' wheels, limited slip, multi-function steering wheel, Xenon lights, and something else about a different bulb in the turn signal i think. I didn't quite understand that part. He said that the original sticker was $27,200. I asked the salesman what he thought of the price and he said he thought there was some room to negotiate. So what do you think? The biggest problem is that I am in Utah and the car is in Maryland. About 2K miles. Shipping would cost about $800-$1,000 i'm guessing. Flying out and driving it home would be a LONG road trip for me. So what do you think?

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...&&aff=national

 

Do you have a link to the car? Or the mileage / year / price?

 

sorry, I forgot the link. I went back and put it in.

 

Plenty for 2008 MINI's to go around - I would look local or at least within a few hundred miles. Never buy sight-un-seen.

 

Probably no smoking deal, and it costs a grand to ship a car, and you'll have to pay sales tax too. Can't you find something local, in SLC, or in Denver to look at? That's what I'd do. Cars are cars.

 

Agreed. There are tons of them for sale, I'm sure you could find one way closer to you for a comparable price. I love those wheels though.

 

Agreed. The price would be a decent deal if it was local, but buying without test driving as well as tacking on another $1,000 onto that, I would not do it.

I would LOVE to have that limited slip and Xenons, though!

Good luck!

 

Just FYI, the other thing about the headlights was that it has the "White turn signals" option. That means that, while the bulbs blink amber, the lenses in the headlights, taillights, and sidemarkers are al clear instead of amber. It's a $100 option, but not something easy to change later.

 

It looks good on paper and I can understand your interest if you have decided you're in the market for a MINI.

A used car is always priced for negotiation, but they have had that car since 1/2/11 and no takers to date. As mentioned, buying sight unseen is a crapshoot. I wouldn't have the guts to buy that way. If gambling is in your blood, go for it.

Otherwise, take the advice given and look closer to home.

 

Buy a car sight unseen? Its hard enough to know you bought a good used vehicle even when you see it, test drive it, and have it checked out.

 

Looks like aftermarket exhaust on there... somebody might have had some fun with it before you did. Just something to keep in mind...

 

Thanks guys. Buying site unseen is a big gamble. I would either have someone look at it in person and have the local Mini dealer inspect it, or I would fly out there and do the same. It's a lot of time and money so probably not the best idea. I was really wondering what you guys thought of the price. I figured if I could get it for about $16K it would be a good deal for that car with all the options. It is pretty loaded and the wheels are really nice. There are alot of minis around closer, but I am buying this for my wife and she wants a 07-09 "S" that is red with a few specific options. That is where it gets a little harder. I will keep looking. Thanks again.

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

The price didn't seem terrible, but once you factor in the other issues (shipping/travel costs) it might not make sense. Also, it looks like it has an aftermarket exhaust from the pictures. Not that that's a big deal, but just something else to think about and potentially a indication of how it was driven/used. It does have some little niceties, such as both sets of floor mats and drilled/slotted rotors, but not enough to overcome having to buy it sight/unseen.

 

I live in Annapolis Md and I saw the car listed too.Actually, the dealer that is selling it is very reputable in the area.I also see that it has been dealer maintained at Mini of Annapolis also a highly regarded Mini dealer.I take my car there for "ck-ups",very knowledgeable and honest.Oh and btw the car will have a 50,000 4yr warranty from Mini which is alot better than some of the other makes.Have a third part mechanic ck it out before you jump,and haggle the price.Its a non Mini dealer so they would want to move it...Good luck and let us know your decision.

 

My advice is to be very careful. I don't know what type of car owner you are and what you want this car to be. (Do you want to buy the car and mod it or keep it as stock?, are you a DIY person or do you want it to be dealer maintained?).

Make sure you are aware of the Carfax guarantee conditions, the carfax reports are not always 100% accurate. I believe they only guarantee against a "Salvaged" title, if the car was damaged/repaired and it's not on the Carfax then there is no guarantee. If you really want that particular car, maybe you can pay to get it inspected by a Mini dealer before you buy. It would be a lot cheaper to pay a couple hundred bucks for the inspection to get an independent assessment before shelling out for airfare to see it (selling dealer would obviously need to agree to allow the inspection).

Car Dealerships love Mini's because of their high resale value and sometimes cars with questionable histories are puchased at auction. Best of luck with your search.

 

I would pass this one. Build your own, get it new and enjoy! If you are short a bit cut on options. Just an opinion on the interweb...

 

I paid close to $19,000 for my 08 MCS with 32,000 miles back in October. I think $17K and change is a great price. Maybe negoiate half of the shipping cost. Have the dealer send you detailed photos of the Mini inside and out.

 

Just bought our '08 MCS loaded with 25K miles for $15K - smokin' deal if you ask me. Keep looking, good deals are out there closer to you. This one was an hour from us.

 

Please pardon the lateral step, but are you sure you meant to say that? I don't know about the majority of MINI people but our li'l guy isn't just some here and gone car. We've had ours for near 3 years now adopted from a dealer he brought in from out of state. It's been a totaly joy.

 

To me that looks like a good MINI at a decent price. To buy that MINI new would cost a hell of a lot more. Buying sight unseen is a gamble I would not take. I think finding one closer to you makes more sense.