MINI Resale Still Strong
MSN Autos has named the MINI the best new model in terms of value retention. It’s an incredible feat considering the times but according to MSN the MINI retains 67% of it’s value after three years of ownership. Obviously there are some pretty obvious reasons for high resale vs low:
>If a car is in low supply and high demand, it will probably retain value, and vice versa. “For example, the high fleet penetration of the Ford Taurus has created a huge supply relative to its demand, driving its price down,” says Fernando Ubeda, manager of custom modeling and analytics for ALG. Generally, cars that depreciate fastest are sold in large numbers at big discounts to rental-car or corporate fleets, like the aforementioned Taurus. Those flood the used-car market when the fleets replace their vehicles.
>Another factor that determines value is design. “Cars with a current, bold look, such as the MINI Cooper, are in demand and thus worth more,” Ubeda says.
<p>That’s exactly why I decided to buy a new MINI. I discovered for only $3-4K more than a used MINI with 20K+ miles, you could get a new one with a full warranty. Also since MINI’s are so personalized, they usually didn’t have the options I wanted.</p>
<p>This seems to be a similar trend in New Zealand where 2002 Coopers are still asking circa US$11750 (new was US$19380).
Japanese used car sites for export are also around this value as well.
In fact you can buy a 2002 BMW 3 series for less.</p>
<p>I’ll give my 2003 Cooper away for $11K. Unfortunately people in Canada seem to relate resale value to the size of the car.</p>
<p>the KBB on my mc-40 (75k) is worth $1000 more than what I paid for it two years ago with 16k. Even if I got $12000 for it i’d be happy. Someone straight out offered to buy it off me, and I declined :)</p>
I for one won’t be adding my mini coop s convertible into the used car market. It’ll stay in the family until it becomes a “barn find” in 50 years!
My ’05 R53 S was $22.5K brand new 4 years ago. According to Edmunds TMV report here is a snapshot of what I would get for the car if I were to sell it today in my area:
Private sale: $14,602 (65% residual value)
Trade-in: $13,032 (58% residual value)
This is a very lightly optioned 2005 MCS hardtop with 54.5K miles. The car has depreciated a further 15% in the last year.
65% residual after 4 years of service is not bad at all. However, I have no plans to sell this car as this is, after all, a R53 🙂
Let’s take a look at how my 2008 Clubman S is fairing in the used car market today. Using Edmunds TMV report I get the following snap shot:
MSRP when new a year ago: $26.2K
Private sale: $19,895 (76% residual value)
Trade-in: $17,813 (69% residual value)
Again, this is a very basic Clubman S with just auto, MFSW, 16″ wheels, metallic paint.
Hmmm, but wait a minute! What are we seeing here? Is it me or the Clubman is depreciating twice as fast as my ’05 R53 S? In the first year of ownership, my Clubman S depreciated a whooping 24%!!! By the same token, it has taken 4 years for the R53 to depreciate 35%!!
So the R53’s annual average depreciation has been around 9%. The Clubbie has gone down in value 3 times as much over the period of a year.
I am not sure how to interpret these residuals…. Either the second gen MINIs are not holding their values as strongly as the 1st gen cars used to do, or, the R53s either hold their value much better overtime or have the potential to increase in value.
What do you think?
It’s nice that, even w/ a nice second gen car around, the first gen car still enjoys great desirability because of its own unique features that will still be sought out by discerning buyers.
I think in my area, the R56s and R55s are depreciating at a much faster pace than the R53. I ran the numbers in Edmunds TMV for a 1 year old 2008 R56 S auto, equipped similarly to my Clubman S.
The hardtop R56 S seems to retain value a bit better than the Clubman, but still first year depreciation (Based on a car with 9K miles) is a lot higher than the 11% annual depreciation rate that MSN suggests in the article above. In fact, the R56 S hardtop lost nearly 19%-20% value on the first year of ownership.
It’s the times… All the used cars are dropping in value. Brand new cars get hit highest in percentage and dollar drop, cause they have “farther to fall”. I think articles like this lag reality, as they are based on backward looking statistics.
I do expect Minis to hold value better than some other cars, maybe even most. But when dealer lots are full of new cars, drops in residuals are inevitable.
Matt
Matt, agreed. I also think that what could help R53 residuals is the fact that the car is no longer in production. But no matter how you cut it or slice it, this is a tough market like the world has ever seen.
I’m looking at the 2009 Audi TTS. Just for laughs I asked what they would do for a trade in on my 2008 JCW MCSC which has all packages and was $38k new (5900 miles). They offered $22k.
Apparently, not everyone read this article.
Gee. You’d think that the Audi dealer was trying to get your car, then try and sell it actually make money. The nerve of some people.
No s*** smart guy. $16k drop is a bit extreme though for an eight month old car with 5900 miles. I paid $28k for an ’03 Z4 and a year later got $27k from a Porsche dealer. A jackass comment MR. Got anymore?
Would have expected that they wouldn’t have even tried on their first offer to low ball you? You’d do the same.
Your first comment isn’t even applicable and it seems that you are only using that experience to attack the author of this post.
Not to mention that from your previous post you expect one transaction 5 years ago to dictate what would happen in this economic environment that is completely different.
MR you are the only one attacking anyone here. BTW, that was their only offer. I’ve been around the car game long enough to know the nature of the process. My post was an observation of the fact that “on paper” values don’t always apply to all senarios. Just because you didn’t get it is no call for a snarky dagger at me. Who are you to decide what post is applicable? It’s comments like yours that turn the site into something it’s not intended to be.
<p>The other night I had a dream that I was driving around in a Honda Accord and that was confusing but ok until I realized that my MCS was gone, gone forever and that’s when I realized it was a nightmare and found myself waking up in a cold sweat.</p>
<p>I hope that when I eventually move on, I will be able to keep my Space Blue MCS rather than be forced to sell or trade it in, regardless of its resale value. It still makes me smile every time I turn the key.</p>
<p>…HMMMMMM…</p>