Buying a used Mini Cooper Convertible in the credit crunch

[markymc]

Hi all,

myself and my girlfriend can now afford to put £9500 maximum into a Mini. However, we really are only in love with the convertible, and were looking to utilise everyone's expertise on here to help us get the best deal on a Cherished Mini, we're a bit stumped

I've read that the best option would be the cooper convertible around 2006 with no more than 18000 miles on the clock. Does this sound possible with a £9500 budget, and would dealers budge on their prices a great deal to reach it in the 'current economical climate'?

Should I wait until March for the new model to come out to see if the older models will drop in price or is that not likely?

Any help or advice would be most appreciated - we live in Surrey and have a few dealers around (Coopers, Vines etc).

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

[dalboyne]

I suppose there could be better choice of the old model from March onwards - people (like me) have been holding on to their cabrios and waiting (impatiently!) for the R57. But whether that will push prices down?? Some say that convertibles atract better prices during the summer months, and are harder to sell during the winter....

Whatever you do, make sure you have a good look at the roof for signs of wear!

Good luck, happy hunting

Ian

PS And a very warm welcome to MINI2!

[markymc]

Thanks for the warm welcome and sound advice!

Have now managed to push our budget up to 13500, to ensure a better age and mileage. How does an 08 reg, 3000 mile cooper convertible with chili pack, manual air con 18" jcw burnished alloys and tlc sound for £13300? Is it worth snapping up quickly, or do you think the official dealer will have a £500 discount to play with? Maybe chuck in an ipod connector - sound unreasonable?

Also as I've never bought a convertible before, where will the tell tale wear signs be on the roof?

Thanks a lot

[Gazzer1uk]

Hi Markymc,

I bought a used Cooper S convertible for my wife in December last year.

Mu budget was a bit lower, and we managed to find a good spec car with all the extras with less than 8k on the clock and 18mths old and paid about £11,200

It was originally on the forecourt for just under 13k.

My advice, is if your after a main dealer supply, go on the Mini website and set your search parameters for national, and your maximum price. Then have a look at the spec, age and mileage of the first full page.

Then set the maximum to 2,500 above your actual budget and look what is there. Refine the search until you have 3 that you like the colour spec etc.

Remember they will all have to have road tax added.

I would then speak to the dealer offering less than your maximum on the 3 that were above your maximum. Be cool, be calm, tell them you have 2 others to look at and leave it with them for a week if they don't bite your hand off! If they say "can't do" still leave it with them for a week or two.

If they come back quickly and say yes, tell them it is not quite the right spec, look to get some add ons, be aware of insurances and the like, go for goods and servicing, i,e. wind deflector, JCW upgrades, stuff like that.

Be prepared to travel, I bought ours from Park Lane whilst I live in Warwickshire, train ride to London was only £25 and I had fun driving back!!!!

Another tip is to avoid part exchange if possible, if not, leave it out of the deal until you have agreed a price reduction on the car. When your speaking to other dealers, get them to advise how much they would provide for p-ex, I guarantee you it will be rock bottom and you may be better off selling privately. Our pex was offered at a grand, but markets for about £1,800!!! Mind it is still on the drive if anyone wants a Shogun Pinin!!!!

In reality my view is that anything less than 2 years old and less than 15k is as good as new, the build quality is consistently good on Mini's. You might find yourself a better bargain doing the shop around and taking your time, not a lot is shifting and it is a matter of finding what you want at the right time. The dealers also know its a buyers market and their professional enough not to make an unaffordable loss, so use your buying power wisely, don't buy on emotion, buy on what you want. THe big tip is patience, I started looking in September but did not make contact until November, the car I had seen in October!!!! It took me two weeks and in the end the sales guy asked me what I would pay, and the deal was struck!!

Just the way I do things, not saying its right or wrong, I was happy with the deal, that was the important thing, perhaps someone could have shaved a bit more off, maybe not, the point was to me, it was value for money.

By the way, they are really nice cars!!!!!!!!!!! Pics of mine in the "detailing" threads.........

Good luck do let us know how you get on,

Gaz

[markymc]

Thanks Gaz, great help, and very VERY sound advice!!!!

We have been searching for the mcc for a while now, and this particular one had everything we wanted (bar the coloured interior and seats). The TLC pack being a must have. The price was 13290 at a mini garage about 30 mins drive away (there are 2 others within 15 mins). I went and spoke to the salesman who informed me after looking at the car inside and out that someone else was due to look at in in 2 days time, and that i couldn't see it for 3 days, a likely story, but it was in hid diary (only in pencil). 2 days later he phoned me telling me the guy never turned up (we were covered in about a foot of snow) so I went to check it out again. This time I asked the best price to which he asked his boss. "Cant discount any more, but can offer you a monthly rate of whatever with tyre insurance at £399!!!!!!" so I calmly and friendly asked to forget the insurance - we were buying it outright in full, and to stick in a wind deflector and road tax for the same £13290.

He instantly replied with, "I tell you now my boss won't go to that, we can't make that up." I stayed quiet for what seemed 2 mins but was probably 60 secs, which was very uncomfortable - he then went off and came back with a take it or leave it (we've had lots of interest) offer of the same price but we'll chuck in the paint and upholstery protector at £399! I thought long and hard and after he offered his hand I accepted.

Was it a good deal? Could I have got more? Should I have waited? I don't know, I felt it was the best I could get, and to be fair, it was the ONLY car that came up when I put all my prefernces in the mini cherished search.

We now have it (as of Wednesdsay 11 Feb) and love it to bits. It's been raining, snowing and downright cold, but we still had the roof down for 10 mins while it was dry, and cannot wait for the warm weather!

Thanks Gaz for your great help, please please tell me of anything we can do or look out for or should buy for our mcc, everyone clearly knows everything there is to know about minis on here, and we would love to hear of stuff that's worthwhile to do to our mini! (just ordered some velour mats for £45, I hope they're worth it.

All the best and good health to everyone!

[Gazzer1uk]

HI Marky,

Welcome to Mini Cabrio world, great isn't it!!!

OK, the deal. There will always be someone who thinks that they could have got a better deal, but no one will ever know and what I read is that your happy. And that my Cabrio owner friend is what is important. IF your happy with the price, you have done your research and know it was in line with others so you have not been ripped off, then it is GOOD deal no matter what anyone says, you've paid a price your delighted, its a good deal.

Emotion is really hard to mask, when you really want something, the coolness goes, and it's written on your face, body language the lot. The self discipline is really hard, the game is on and most of us end up being slightly compulsive. Where is the harm in that, you've enjoyed it, its on the drive, forget about whether or not you could have got some more dosh knocked off, it doesn't matter, your a mini owner,

I hope you thoroughly enjoy, when you get some time post up some pics for us to savour too.

And when buying used, its virtually impossible to get the full spec you wanted, heated mirrors appear not to be on ours........... no idea why not!!!!!

All the best,


Gaz

[bensidewalker]

markymc, well done! I agree with Gaz - if you're happy with the deal then that's what matters, you got the car you wanted with a few extras chucked in for good measure, it's all good. If it makes you feel better, I didn't haggle at all when I got my car end of 07 new and didn't get any freebies! (a couple of MINI keyrings don't really count )

I wish you well to use your new car and look forward to see pics!

[markymc]

Hi guys,
would any of you know if it costs any extra for 'comfort opening'? I read in the manual that you can have your key open the roof, as well as the door lock switch or door handle? I'd only be interested in the key option but I don't want to pay astronomical money for it.

Also, my boot key button won't do anything, is it supposed to unlock the boot if the car's locked?

Cheers guys

ps where do I post the pics - in this thread?

[dalboyne]

Comfort opening is, I believe, a function of the key - the remote one (only one of my keys does this).

Point key at the centre of the dashboard area from a few yeards away, press and hold down the unlock button. The sunroof feature should operate. Once the sunroof is fully open, press and hold again, the full opening action should happen, including the side windows coming back up afterwards.

For the boot opening, not sure, never tried it! And it's snowy outside, so not dashing out right now....

[Gazzer1uk]

Hi all,

I was told comfort opening had been removed on safety grounds i.e. kiddy gets trapped etc..... but the sales guy told me to have it programmed you need to get it done at the service centre, not progressed the query so may be bum info!!!

To post pics the easy thing is to get yourself a photobucket account. When you upload your pics there, you can see drop down menu which gives you the file location and image insertion code for forums, copy and paste that code and voila!!

To prove, here is our baby after yesterdays clean, seal and with her new roof on........ Loving it, sun it out today and its 7 degrees, I can feel summer coming!!!



Gaz

[bensidewalker]

Looking lovely! I drove on the M25 today with the roof down , 9 degrees and a bit of sun!

Regarding the comfort opening, I was told that it has been discontinued due to safety issues. I took it to a regular garage and they couldn't programme it so I left it at that, let me know if you find out any more...

Ben

[rellik666]

I had no problem getting the comfort opening programmed, but yes it doesn't come from the factory with it!

[markymc]

Thanks dalboyne, Gazzer1uk, bensidewalker and rellik666!!!! I really appreciate your opinions and knowledge and feel very welcome in what can only be described as the nuts of an association!!!!

I don't know the price of the comfort opening option, but I will hopefully find out next week when I whip up to my local dealer - any advanced warnings on wallet load would be great!!

I was thinking of starting a topic for the best accessories for a mini convertible, but I think it's already been done for the hatches. It would be a top 5 or 10 list, like most popular -

1: wind deflector
2: bonnet stripes
3: chrome exhaust
4: chrome boot hinges
5: spare tyre cellotaped to the undercarriage

Any thoughts??????

ps: Gazzer1uk, that has to be the coolest mini I've ever seen or wanted (colour is awesome!!!!! would love to see my wheels on it - will post pics by Thursday

All the best!!!!

[markymc]

Love photoshop - great wheels, but very harsh ride!

[bensidewalker]

Looks awesome! BTW, my boot button doesn't do anything either - I did ask once but they didn't really answer my question. When my car's locked, it won't unlock just the boot (which I think is what it's meant to do). It'd be great if you could find out what it should do when you go to the dealer!