Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
also, my steering power went out trying to squeeze into a really tight spot parallel parking (lots of repetitive turning of the streering wheel). This happened to me big time on a test drive of a car on the lot when I parked 3 times in a row. Now it's happened on my onw new Mini. It's not a HUGE deal, but it does sort of suck.
I'm thinkin' of getting a 2007 base model, stickshift with premium package and a few more extras.
No wiggle room at the dealer so far but I'm still hammerin'.
Looked also at the EVO, but gas mileage isn't good at all. (as one might expect for a hi-po car).
Mrshiftright
Visiting Host
Driving style = aggressive, many WOT throttle runs per drive, shift over 4k rpm often, always turn on the sport button.
They do now... BMW finally bowed down to popular pressure and made an auto MINI Cooper S. The first three or four years of production did not have a Automatic option
I drove a base automatic and for a base model I'm going to opt for a manual transmission if I buy a Mini. But a base MINI automatic is "adequate" certainly. Depends on what you expect from 118 HP.
RE: Driving in NYC---well, when you're sitting in traffic in any car, your miles per gallon is.....zero....that'll kill your average.
I'd really like an S but I find them too pricey for me by the time I put on some options. GEEZ, you can run up a big tab on that MINI options list...really scare yourself. :P
Thanks everyone for answering my question!
MrShiftright
Visiting Host
Also, she can't shift and won't learn ,so I told her to build a S model model with a CVT and check off the performance package.
Did I steer her wrong? Does performance mean a stiffer ride?
Many Thanks,
Joe
2. No CVT in the 07 Cooper S models. It's a real 6 speed automatic.
3. Sport package - there isn't a performance package unless you call the JCW a perf pack - will make the suspension tighter and the ride much harder.
Go test drive the cars...why would you buy without driving one first?
P.S. I'm so in love w/ my MINI.!
Pepper White
Leather Punch Carbon Black
Cold Weather Pkg
Premium Pkg
Sports Pkg
Comfort Access System
Black Bonnet Stripes
MSRP $26950 - Negotiated price = $26500
24month Lease - 15K/yr - 0 down
MF = .0030
Acq fee=$625
Doc fee=$225
Sec dep=$500
Total inital pmt = $1884.74
$479.36 /month
$479 a month for a Mini with those options seems high to me even though it is only 24 months with no cap reduction, but we can't really tell since you did not list the residual, any disposition fee if you turn it in or the lease interest money factor.
Are you trading in a car on top of that?
For instance, with $1500 down, I get aroudn $50 more a month to *OWN* it, which is a lot better.
Consider that even a 4-5 year old base Mini sells for $12-13K these days and you see how since the depreciation is so low, you'll get a lot more back when you finally sell it.
Say you pay $30K including finance charges on a Mini - and sell it for $18K. The lease payments for 24 months are equal to roughly $12000 and with the downpayment, it's closer to $13,000. In effect, the lease costs you the same out of your pocket in two years as buying it over six years.
So the smart money in this case is on buying it and for the same money in the end, having it for 4 more years to drive around.
P.S. If you do sell it early, the load will be right-side-up within the first six months anyways, so you can unload the car anytime you want and have a few thousand in your pocket. With a lease, you can't do this(The Mini is one of only 2-3 cars that you can do this with because of the virtually nonexistant depreciation)
I was paying 464 a month but I sold the MINI two years and 30,000 miles later for around 20,000 USD.
Sorry my residual for the 24 months is 72% it's thru bmw financial so I think they do charge some kind of disposition fee no?
Yes I am going to trade in my 2004 I35 43K Miles. Should I trade in or Sell it myself?
Can I try to get the doc fee waived? Also I have excellent credit, maybe I can get the security deposit waived? Is it possible to get the acquisition fee waived/reduced? I was a previous BMW fs customer about 3 yrs ago.
This is a GREAT board !
As for the lease, buy it. Go through a credit union. They will ALWAYS beat a dealership if you have excellent credit. And they won't play a single game with you, either. If the payment is $337.22 a month, for instance, that's what it is - and paying it off quicker lowers tha emount or term - most banks give you the choice, unlike a dealership)
Take the check into the dealer for MSRP and buy the car. When it comes time to sell it, the amount you'll have spent is going to get at least half of it returned to you.
For instance - check this out:
http://www.carsdirect.com/used_cars/vehicle_detail.spring?listingId=80369289
That's as low as I could find that wasn't a total beater or had a questionable history.
These cars depreciate literally $1000 or so a year. So at least 2/3 of the money you put into it you'll be getting back if you buy it. You pay, say, 450 a month - the real cost to own it is closer to $150 a month because of this.
Your exact case:
Lease: $13,389.38 in payments for two years, including all the startup fees. Total cost per year: $6694.69 Roughly $12K owed as a residual. IF you have the $12K to put down, you can turn around and get back most of your money(resell the car for about $20K)
Buy: ~13K in payments for two years.(48 month term). When you sell it, you get 11K of that 14K *back* in your pocket. Total cost per year: $1500.
Why is it less to buy than to lease? Because with excellent credit, the credit union will have no problem with a 0 down loan! You just pay the monthly payments which are 40-50 higher per month.(that $1800 or so in fees to start the lease add $75 a month to the real cost of the lease - which is more than the difference to buy it.
Net effect: same payments. You own it as opposed to leasing it, so mileage, wear and tear, and so on all aren't a factor - and you don't need $12K in cash to recouperate your investment at the end of the lease.
Of course, you *do* buy a S and you get as few options on it as possible to keep the cost down. That way you can resell it for 75-80% of what you paid for it 3-5 years later.
Thanks for the comments on buying vs. leasing, though I must lease it for tax reasons (I'm using this car for business).
I'm going to try to get my dealer to go $750 under msrp, .0028 money factor for a custom order car... wish me luck
Many times people looking for newer cars will be more likely to buy them off the used car lot of a new car dealer.
There are some car dealers that will do the sale paperwork for your private party sale for you for a fee.
The price is very competitive, and during the test drive everything looked and sounded good - no rattling or funny noises, clutch seemed fine. Original owner traded it in for a new MINI. Carfax report comes back clean, though shows nothing after a 22,507 mile servicing in which electrical and suspension systems were serviced. (I plan to ask the dealer tomorrow for any/all service records they have.)
Consumer Reports rates the 2003 Mini as poor for transmission, electrical, body hardware, and power equipment. That, combined with the general problems of early models, makes me wonder if this is a wise purchase.
Me: a city girl who wants a cute, small, fun car to drive around town (not for work commute) and on the occasional road trip to the mountains 2 hours away. I will not be putting lots of miles on the car, maybe 5k/yr, so the high miles don't really bother me.
But should I worry, given the generally bad track record of the early MINIs?
I'd like to think that if this particular car had a lot of problems, the owner wouldn't have kept it for 4 yrs. And/or, my impression is that the glitches on the early models tended to manifest pretty early in the car's lives... settling down later??
Recommendations, please?! I need to purchase or let the car go in the next 24-48 hours.
Only way to be sure is to take it to an independent mechanic and body shop and have it checked out.
The only way to do that without being stuck with the car would be to either have them let you do it before purchase or after purchase if they give you a money back guarantee for a few days and a couple hundred miles or so.
Many dealers will also give you at least a full 7 to 30 day warranty on everything even if it is out of factory warranty so you can find out if it has "pre-existing" problems and have them take care of them.
Is this price quote about right for a MC S 2007? You guys know where I can get a better deal in SoCal?
Thanks
What dealership are you ordering with? How has it been, and what's the ETA of a car special ordered? I'm probably drivin to Bob Smith, Universal City, & Long Beach next Thursday to make my purchase or place an order...Thanks!
***
IIRC, it doesn't matter whether you lease or buy the car if it's a business expense. Both ways can get a percentage written off - and in the case of a purchased mini, even the basic deduction alone more than covers the depreciation.
In effect, you pay nothing to own a mini. And at the end, 4 years later, you sell it and actually make a profit.
Talk to your accountant/tax preparer about it - the numbers on a Mini as a business expense are really upside-down in your favor.
I initially wanted to jump on this b/c Kelley Blue Book prices it at (retail suggested value) $17,600 and Edmunds says $15,000 for dealer retail. If the dealer is to be believed, they just cut the price $2000 because it had been on the lot for 30 days and they want to move it. It is also priced well below other 2003s I have seen on Craigslist.
But I just came across two listings for two 2004 Minis 100 miles away from me, both priced at $13,900: one is automatic transmission/21k miles, the other a 5-spd/28k miles, both have similar options as the one I am considering. At this late hour I couldn’t reach anyone to get more details, but it seems strange to me that cars with 30-40k fewer miles only cost $1000 more. What’s going on?
Is mine as good a deal as it seems? I’m having a mechanic check the car out tomorrow morning, and then am prepared to fork over a cashier’s check. But, should I shop around more and/or try to bargain this one down a bit?
You can always show the others the asking price of the lowest one and they will likely at least match it unless theirs have alot more equipment or are in better condition.
I am trying to avoid getting in a pure haggle over this, absent any actual criteria on which to argue for a lower price - because I think it's going ot be a tough argument.
Of course, this means the newer ones are a good deal again - and likely to hold their value quite a bit - especially next year's model(2nd year of a production cycle and all)
Of course, it means that a lot of people who couldn't afford a Mini can do so for cheap as well - kind of a win-win situation.
MC S '07
Premium package
Cold weather package
Convience package
Laser blue
Sales price 25.3K
MF .00355
Money down 5318K (3000 towards cap deduction)
36 month
residual 67%
254.78/month
I am looking to lease to keep my cash payments low. and I own my business so I want to take advantage of the tax savings of a lease.
Is this a good lease deal ?
What should watch out for ? What is negotiable besides the sales price ?
And lastly with the high resale value of the mini would a better deal be to buy instead ?
That would be my advice..
For a car in the $25K range, buying it may be better from a tax standpoint, than leasing.. Plus, that money factor equates to an 8.5% APR.. Pretty expensive financing.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
Order was placed May 15th. Yesterday (6/7) the dealer called and said that they will have the car in 2-3 days (less then a month of waiting time).
Last week I went with a friend to a Mini dealership in NJ. The salesperson said that there is "no way anyone can get a new mini below MSRP". He also told me friend that he had no choice but to buy the car at sticker and that some dealers as asking for more then sticker. I told the salesperson that its not true and took out my invoice. He looked very surprised and asked if he can make a copy and then went to talk to his boss. He came back 10 minutes later and offered the car for $1000 below invoice. :shades:
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
pepper white mini cooper S
6 speed stick shift
DSC - $500
LSD - $500
Chrome line interior - $200
Cream white color line - $200
Multi function steering wheel - $350
floor mats back and front - $85
Total MSRP = $23,685
Price paid = $22,500
The Hamptoms looked like a ghost town when I went. It was in the middle of the week and the dealership looked very quite and empty. There was no one else at the dealership making a purchase and they had over 50 mini's on the lot.
Both Hassel mini and the NJ mini dealership said that the most they were willing to take off the MSRP was $300. Seems like they all agreed on this number (except for mini of the Hamptons).
I will pick up the car in 3 days (my next day off from work).