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MINI Cooper Prices Paid and Buying Experience

1491 messages,  Last post on Apr 23, 2013 at 2:35 AM

You are in the Prices Paid - Buying & Leasing Experiences Forum.

What is this discussion about? MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper Clubman, MINI Cooper Countryman, Coupe, Hatchback, SUV

Messages Page 43 of 150

#419 of 1491 Re: Buying a 2002 Mini Cooper - good deal or not? [mini_dreams] by markjenn

Jul 21, 2006 (7:59 am)

Replying to: mini_dreams (Jul 18, 2006 6:04 am)
Max,
 
Above all, get the car you want. A Honda Fit may be a great car for the money, but life's too short to own a great car that you don't like.
 
Yes, the reason Mini's are holding value is because they're well-regarded and popular. Certainly if you were only keeping a car for a year or two, then a relatively high price paid now would be recouped to some extent when you sell, so you could come out Okay. But while I don't expect used Mini prices to "crash", I do except they'll trend down quite a bit from their current hyper-inflated values. My comment is mostly that a used Mini gets you a bit of the worst of both worlds: a new car price, no new-car warranty, and used car repairs.
 
Sorry, but I have no idea on whether you could do better than the $14K the car is being offered at. I doubt they'd take $10K, but I'd certainly offer less than they're asking. It all depends on your negotiation skills. I would do some serious pricing research ahead of time - KBB, Edmunds, Consumer Reports, Ebay, your local paper, etc. If you look at enough sources, you quickly get a much better feel for prices. I'd probably offer $12.5K and if the asking price to selling price ratio is typical, I suspect they'll sell a $14K asking price car for about $13K. Again, this is just my shoot-from-the-hip evaluation - I'm not tracking the used Mini market.
 
The strongest advice I can give you is just to be cautious on a 2002. Personally, I wouldn't own one at almost any price but I'm not very tolerant of the types of squeaks, rattles, and fit/finish problems that tend to plague all-new designs the first year of production. Everyone who has owned a 2002 and later traded has said the difference in build quality is like night and day. 2003's are much better, 2004's better yet, when they finally got most of the bugs worked out.
 
On a 2002 or 2003, I'd be careful to check the tranny and make sure it seems to shift well - weak 5-speed trannys in the early Mini's (not S models) were a big problem - they're fine when used carefully, but don't like abuse (such as speed-shifting) at all and they're devilishing expensive to fix.
 
- Mark

#421 of 1491 Re: Buying out of State - Please Help [ncowling] by bfromhold

Jul 21, 2006 (10:08 am)

Replying to: ncowling (Jul 20, 2006 1:23 pm)
ncowling & markjenn (and anyone else who chooses to comment)~
  
After ordering my Mini from another dealer that's closer to me (Washington State), I wish I would have just ordered one from the Moritz dealer in Texas. After putting $1,000 down, my "expected" delivery date went from October to November! I'm quite iritated since I put the $1,000 deposit less than 24 hours after being told October. Now I'm wondering if it's going to be closer to December by the time it's all said and done!
 
Also, I was told some story that I'm not able to get a production number for 2+ weeks or more and couldn't give me a approximate delivery date until late August. Why the delay? The dealer in Moritz said he could have a production # for me in less than 48 hours. Any idea why the difference in time frame?
  
The guy I talked to was very informative and promised me I could get a car in 6-7 weeks at the latest. Also, Moritz had the best price overall. He was going to sell a car to me at MSRP plus throw in a few assessories (all floor mats, sunshade, etc.). I'm wondering if I can back out of the deal I made with the other dealer.
  
Talk to the Moritz Mini Dealer and tell him some chick from Washington State sent you there.

#422 of 1491 Does the Mini Cooper plant go on vacation in August? by bfromhold

Jul 21, 2006 (10:36 am)

Replying to: markjenn (Jul 21, 2006 7:59 am)
I was told by a dealer in the Northwest area that the Mini Cooper plant in Oxford, England goes on vacation nearly the whole month of August and that's why the delay in delivery of special order MCS. Is this a made up story? A dealer at Moritz in TX says production is slowed but not halted. Who is telling the truth here?
 
 
I ended up emailing the Mini Factory in Oxford directly. Maybe they will set the record straight.

#423 of 1491 Factory info I found interesting online by bfromhold

Jul 21, 2006 (10:46 am)

Replying to: markjenn (Jul 21, 2006 7:59 am)
Here's something interesting I found on Mini Cooper's website that gives information about the Cooper's manufacturing. I don't see anything about a vacation in August:
 
"A highly skilled and highly motivated staff of approximately 4,500 work on three shifts seven times a week, with an average output of 3,500 cars per week"

#424 of 1491 Re: Buying out of State - Please Help [markjenn] by bfromhold

Jul 21, 2006 (1:22 pm)

Replying to: markjenn (Jul 04, 2006 9:00 pm)
How many weeks from the time you ordered your car from Moritz until the time it was ready for you to pick up?
 
I'm considering reordering my MCS through Moritz instead. Did you drive it home? I guess it could be a nice road trip back to Washington State.

#425 of 1491 Re: Factory info I found interesting online [bfromhold] by cct1

Jul 22, 2006 (2:44 pm)

Replying to: bfromhold (Jul 21, 2006 10:46 am)
The factory has shut down, or significantly slowed down, at various times for various things--retooling and modification being major reasons. Not sure if it will slow down in August or not (but that would make sense--the 2007's are due in Europe in the fall, and this will require more retooling, although some of it is apparently already done), but it's not unheard of for the factory to significantly slow down for a period of time; often times this is known in advance. For example, most recently this spring, , they changed how they paint the cars--gone is the 3 coats (one being primer) and in is a 2 coat process, no primer or baking. This put a crimp in the factory for a few days (but overall speeds up the build process--not sure what it does to quality though).
 
If you look at those numbers, they are prefaced by "approximately" and "average"--the Mini assembly isn't continuos, but has fits and starts here and there.

#426 of 1491 2004 Mini automaitic with 12k miles by art07154

Jul 22, 2006 (9:28 pm)

I want to buy Mini as a birthday gift for my wife but I 've bought 2 cars in my life.I need some help on pricing.I've found 2004 Mini cooper base model in red with automatic transmission with panorama roof,leather seats and stability control for $17500 still has plenty of warranty left!Good deal,fair deal or bad deal?Thank you

#427 of 1491 Re: Buying out of State - Please Help [ncowling] by exit64

Jul 25, 2006 (8:43 am)

Replying to: ncowling (Jul 20, 2006 1:23 pm)
I just ordered a mini from Moritz yesterday and I have had a great experience so far. I actually live in Colorado but chose to order from Moritz in Texas because I had a really negative experience with the dealer in my state. They added a clear coat bra and a another protective product for an additional $1000. I was willing to pay the price for the car, I just wasn't going to pay an extra $1000 for products I didn't want. I would have paid the extra $1000 for better rims or a roof rack or something. Anyway, my brother also had a good experience with Mini of Dallas. I called maybe 15 dealerships across the country before I ordered my mini. I also thought that Ferman mini in Florida was very helpful.

#428 of 1491 Re: Another option? [plekto] by exit64

Jul 25, 2006 (8:48 am)

Replying to: plekto (Jul 17, 2006 8:56 am)
I read that the new one is only slightly longer and that is to accomodate a new pedestrian impact bumper requirement, so the interior should not be noticeably different. Also, reports of the 2007 indicate the exterior styling is indistinguishable. The major differences should be in interior options & packages. The 2008 Traveler (soon to be renamed) is longer with suicide doors for a REAL backseat.

Messages Page 43 of 150

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