Nothing new here. Forbes finds that the MINI keeps it’s value with the best of them. Now that the MINI is in its 3rd year in the US (fourth elsewhere) many of us now have first hand experience with selling ’02s or ’03s for the new ’05. I can personally attest to my 2002 Cooper only losing $3,000 in three years. As crazy as it sounds, I’ve heard of others in the western part of the US that have come out almost even after one or two years of ownership with an MCS.
Here’s the report from Forbes.com:
[ Ten Cars With the Best Residual Values ] Forbes.com
Here’s the question to all the MotoringFile readers out there. How many of you have sold a MINI on your own? What was the experience? Did you get what you expected out of it? Would you do it again a few years down the road?
<p>When my 2002 MCS was totalled by flood exactly one year ago today (<em>sniff</em>), I only took at $2k loss… not too shabby for getting nearly 40k miles out of her! Due to the bad timing, I was unable to get some of the things I really would have liked in my current car (LSD, anthracite headliner, JCW bits from the factory)… so when the time comes (hopefully a <em>very</em> long way off), these types of options, along with retaining high residual values, may influence my decision to go for the threepeat, or to start shopping around…</p>
<p>I was able to retain 72% of the value after nearly 3 years and over 41k miles on an ’02 Cooper CVT – bone stock. I had buyers at higher figures that fell through and then I just “let it go” for less. If I had waited a little longer I’m sure I could have retained 80%. I’m still quite pleased with my results.</p>
<p>It took about 6 weeks total time to sell – probably 2 weeks of that were “lost” since I quit showing the car while 2 different “buyers” tried to arrange financing.</p>
<p>i had the exact same experience as lawrence.. when my 2002 was totalled, i just about broke even.
i wonder what will happen when the next gen mini’s are released next year.. will the current mini’s be worth “more” or “less”… should be interesting. :)</p>
<p>Bought new ’04 MCS in October 2003. Price $21,300 MSRP.</p>
<p>Car had no packages, just a few options picked “a la carte”:</p>
<p>MFSW with cruise control
Trip Computer
Front Fog Lights
Harmon Kardon
Chili Red/White
Chrome mirror caps and front grille
Leatherette seats
Rain sensing wipers
Auto self dimming rearview mirror
AUX Input jack
Union Jack roof flag</p>
<p>Kept it until February 2005 and put 17K troublefree miles on it. Sold it for $21,900 CASH in just 6 days after putting it online.</p>
<p>Resale value is fantastic. First car ever I made money on after using it. Made $700 above original sticker.</p>
<p>You can’t beat that.</p>
<p>I’ve traded in two MINI Cooper S’s and not made as much back as I expected. However, my last MINI Cooper was a bare bones 2004 – only options were chrome package and H/K. Paid 17,200 out the door for it – sold it on craigslist.org six months later with 6,000 miles on it for $16,600. My lesson, option lightly for a quick sale and even less residual value reduction.</p>
<p>Believe it or not I agree with Kurt’s comments. It appears to be that MINIs lightly optioned are easier sells in the used car market than cars with full optional factory equipment.</p>
<p>The individual that bought my ’04 MCS from me said that one of the things that attracted him to my car was the fact that it was a “light” MCS. Most of the used MCS avaiolable locally at the time had sunroofs, xenons, leather, 17″ wheels and metallic paint. He said that none of those things attracted him and he kept specifically looking for a “bare bones” MCS with low miles and factory warranty until he found mine.</p>
<p>Expensive factory options only make money to the manufacturer and often resale more difficult.</p>
<p>Would this be a good time to mention that I’m selling my cool blue MCSc (I have an ’06 or order.) It’s loaded and has Navigation & XM Radio; $31,000.</p>
<p>“Would this be a good time to mention that I’m selling my cool blue MCSc (I have an ’06 or order.) It’s loaded and has Navigation & XM Radio; $31,000.”</p>
<p>I’ll give you $47,568.00 for it…on second thought…</p>
<p>This is the fourth time I have heard about this; “It appears to be that MINIs lightly optioned are easier sells in the used car market than cars with full optional factory equipment.” Can anyone explain why this might be the case?</p>
<p>Generally for premium cars the opposite is true. In fact, based the emails and call I got when selling my car, had a ton of interest for (just a few days on the market) the opposite reason. Granted it didn’t have some of the big ticket items like leather or Nav… but it was almost fully specced for an early ’02 Cooper.</p>
<p>East coast I know a few people having trouble selling their ’02 or ’03 MINIs. Values are not holding so well; my GBMINI#2 has been waiting for a new owner at MINI Peabody since March – it is of course loaded including JCW.</p>
<p>I think the loaded MINIs don’t sell because their pre-owned price is then as high or higher than a new base MINI; also people wanting a more loaded MINI are also more likely to want to spec their own.</p>
<p>The MINI is in “its” 3rd year, not “it’s” 3rd year. Great site and information, but you could use an editor. ;)</p>
<p>Okay… your hired. When can you start 😉 Will you work for a set of white mirror caps that have been in my garage for three years?</p>
<p>I just picked up my 2nd MCS after I had to sell my ’04 due to some financial issues. I felt like I stole it from the owner though, at $17,500 I got an ’02 MCS in Dark Silver with Sport, Cold-Weather, and Premium (minus HID), Plus Panther Black Leather, AND only 36,000 miles… So at $24,300 or so MSRP I paid 72% of MSRP, though I’m sure the original owner paid some markups due to it being a July ’02 build.</p>
<p>since the bay area is still bringing a premium, i’ve been able to actually make a few bucks selling a 04 mcs with hk and sport and a 05 mcscab with just 17″s and hk. i totally agree on it being easier to sell a light car. folks in the secondary market don’t want everything ~ they aren’t as into it. </p>
<p>i hate to say it, what forbes says about the 7 series, is totally stupid. everyone knows the 7 is not very good at holding it’s value. that’s why it makes more sense to buy a three year old 7 than a used mini. </p>
<p>i’m in a tough spot ~ get a 06 mcs or wait and get a 07 mcs? i’m just nervous that the 07 isn’t going to look as good as the 06 and i don’t like the fact that it’s going to be bigger. turbo sounds nice though. any thoughts?</p>
<p>cheers,</p>
<p>paul</p>
<p>The 2007 will be virtually no larger than the current car – we’re talking millimeters… you can read more here: <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.motoringfile.com/2005/03/20/next_generation_mini_revealed">motoringfile.com/2005/03/20/next<em>generation</em>mini_revealed</a></p>
<p>This is all very interesting to me. Iwent by Roadshow in Memphis the other day and a newer salesguy tried to tell me I would hit a “homerun” if I got $22k for my 05 mcs that I paid $26.7 for-and it only has 9k miles in one year? He was a real loser!</p>
<p>Several months ago the local Carmax store had one of the pre-spec ’02 Cooper S models for sale on their showroom floor. This was the “stripper” pre-spec: red/white with vinyl seats and no options other than the 17″ wheels. With 17K miles, the price was an astounding $22,995 — much more than original sticker. </p>
<p>So… my mind starts reeling, knowing that Carmax has a policy offering to buy any car on the spot I start thingking if that MINI is selling for $23K, what is my MINI worth? I own a ’02 Cooper S, with a VIN just 100 cars away from that one (probably built the same day), but my dark gray pre-spec has has a lot more options: leather seats, the premium package, and the sport package. Granted my my car had 38K miles at that point (average mileage for the car’s age), but my car also had options on it originally pricing it with a sticker about $4K higher. </p>
<p>So, knowing that Carmax has a bare bones twin of my car at $23K, what is the price they will offer me for my MINI? Answer: $16,000 I was a little surprised to say the least. Yes, I know they are in business to make a profit, but I would have reasonably estimated at least $20K-$21K for my car based upon the price of the other MINI.</p>
<p>But it was not to be….</p>
<p>Something to keep in mind. I spoke to my dealer last spring when I was buying my new MINI about what they would give me for my ’02 Cooper. While I had no intentention of trading in, I was still curious. He surprised me when he said that they generally look at MINIs as specialty cars like an M3 or M5 when it comes to mileage. That means anything over 10,000-12,000 miles is considered high and will dramatically reduce the value of your car. I was sort of shocked since I always have looked at my MINI as a daily driver.</p>
<p>Huh! The MINI is a specialty car? Very interesting. I guess I think of our MC as an everyday car too. I wonder if they think differently of the MCS? or do they consider them both specialty cars.</p>
<p>Hmmm… A ‘speciality’ car… When they’re average price is in the low $20k’s… And they’re producing the heck out of them, one after the other… I don’t know if I buy that statement.</p>
<p>Sure Gabe, I can use those white mirror caps! Sign me up! ;)</p>
<p>Hey Gabe, about those white mirror caps. How much to ship to the UK ?</p>
<p>My ’02 MCS, fairly loaded, I bought used for $20,000 with 3000 miles on it and sold for $18,000 after 2 years it had 44,000 miles.
Sold in a few days on cars.com.</p>
<p>Ian, I think if they painted the roof on your car it would have a better chance. The union jack wouldn’t be most buyers cup of tea even as nice as it is.</p>
<p>The three MINI’ I have purchased have been from the east coast FL, NC & MA. I live in LA area. The prices are lower and the people willing to negotiate. </p>
<p>East coast observation. The car I bought my daughter was from Boston area. It was an ’03. I noticed while washing it that rust had already started in areas like under the mirror swivel base and under the bonnet. </p>
<p>White mirror caps….now why would you have those?</p>
<p>I am headed to the dealer to order my new MCS after work today and have been struggling with whether to trade in my 02 MC or sell it. It’s got 44k miles and premium, cold, and sport packages. The dealer has offered me $13k for it, a used car lot has offered the same. The dealer told me the best I could expect on my own is about $15k (similar price in blue book and on Edmunds). Will I really make significantly more in Center City Philadelphia if I sell it on my own or am I better off just trading it in?? </p>
<p>Help!!</p>
<p>I sold my car for $16k with almost the exact same spec last April in Chicago. It took five days and saved me almost $4,000 dollars considering what the dealer would have offered. I would highly recommend selling it yourself if you can.</p>
<p>Thanks Gabe – I’ll keep you posted. Will most likely try to sell on my own first and trade in if I have no luck before the new car arrives.</p>
<p>YO…….Allison…………………………………………</p>
<p>Did you read my post? I got $18k for mine with less stuff than yours. Sold it on Cars.com in about 2-3 days.</p>
<p>Mine only had Premium, Sport, Zenon/washers. It was immaculate though.</p>
<p>Try cars.com, carsdirect.com and autotrader.com………no luck with Ebay! also takes to long for bid process.</p>
<p>well, the new MCS is ordered…expected arrival late september, early october…i need my car to get to and from work…any thoughts on when i should start advertising? </p>
<p>did i mention i’ve got a bit of sticker shock after seeing the final cost of my new MCS?? perhaps i’ve gone a bit overboard with options…but i didn’t think so.</p>
<p>RB – thanks for the advice on places to list the mini kugle…i’ll keep you posted on the outcome.</p>
<p>A</p>
<p>Allison – not sure if you saw this from last spring, it may help a bit: <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.motoringfile.com/2005/05/09/tips_on_how_to_sell_your_mini"><a href="http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/05/09/tips" rel="ugc">http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/05/09/tips</a><em>on</em>how<em>to</em>sell<em>your</em>mini</a></p>
<p>As a “wannabe” owner for the past 2+ years, I’ve been watching used prices for some time. A “light” MCS is a rare car and for someone looking for one, it seems to me you’re better off just ordering a new one. Especially if you’re like me and do not like the MINI’s sunroof. After 2 years of riding in, occasionally driving, and constantly wrenching on my g/f’s MCS (see link, some of you know it), I’ve developed a pretty good idea of what I like and don’t like about the cars.</p>
<p>An extreme example of “stripper price gouging” is a Blk/W MCS currently listed on Autotrader.com in NJ. It is almost exactly how I’d want it: minimal options other than CWP & MFSW. They are asking $25K for it w/ 14K miles. A car that was $21K new… Granted, it’s at a BMW dealer so I would expect a higher price, but $4000 more? That’s insane.</p>
<p>I don’t think, at least in CA, you can get a decently equipped MCS for less than $24 -$26K then add in tax license, in CA 8.25%, and your easily at $28k. If I ordered the MCS of my dreams it would have cost me, without tax & license close to $31k – $32k.</p>
<p>I hear all these claims of $21 – $24k MCS’ but when you really see what they got it’s a stripped vehicle.</p>
<p>Most cars being sold online are available for a lot less as most put their fantasy price or they if they won’t deal they owe that much.</p>
<p>Maybe some folks should actually go to a dealer and sit in the chair and order a car and see what the real scoop is instead of living through others. I did and that;s why I buy used!</p>
<p>In Chicago with 9.0% sales tax you certainly can’t.</p>
<p>9.0% sales tax! ouch! Are the roads any better?</p>
<p>It depends on how you define better – I’d say many of them are one step above a war zone.</p>
<p>Bought our black ’04 MCS w/Sport Pkg in CA. It had 22,000 miles on it and we got $20K on trade + $1,000 rebate in New England (needed something bigger b/c our big car crapped out). Sad to let it go, but its residual value reinforced what a good decision it was to buy the Mini in the first place. All fun, no guilt. </p>
<p>My guess is that the color scheme affects the trade/resale value more than the options. We almost got a yellow one, and I doubt we’d have received as much for it in trade.</p>
<p>we bought the mini new with 300 miles (dealer demo), and drove it 22,000 miles in 18 months — just wanted to clarify my post. we didn’t buy the car with 22K miles on it.</p>
<p>Im twelve years old and already saving up for a 2004 mini cooper s with resonable miles….I am planing on getting it in 2007 and was wondering if yall had an estamated price for what it will be in 2007…..thanks a bunch</p>
<p>Chan-</p>
<p>Impossible to know what future resales will be … but today a 2002 MCS might sell for $15K or more, depending on specs; a well equipped one with the JCW upgrade could go for $22K+</p>