[pavarolar]

Does anyone have any experience leasing a Cooper from Classic Mini in Mentor Ohio?

I am looking into leasing a Cooper S from this dealer. The mini that I am looking at will be around 25,900 with 48 month term with 2500 down. The payment is 365 a month. I've try
using lease calculator with these figure and come up with 342/ month. Which sounds right?

If there anyone that have work with Classic mini in mentor on a lease before I would really appreciate any suggestions on it. The sale person there does not give me a lot of detail (the apr. money factor, residual value,the number stuff) for me to figure it out if this is a good deal.

I really looking forward to having a Cooper S but I want to make sure that I got a decent deal on it too. I have heard many good things here about this dealer but I feel a little unconfortable when a sale person can't give me the information I need to make my dicision.

Advise anyone?

Thank you

 

[weezgrrl]

my advice would be not to lease. unless you're leasing out of business necessity, you're going to be losing a lot of money. i would suggest waiting, saving up more for a larger down payment on a financed car.

in regards to the dealership, it's been my experience that the actual money is the final thing the dealers want to talk about. from what i've researched, the best option when trying to get a straight answer out of dealers on the money is to finance elsewhere, know your APR going in, and how much you'll put down, and then the only haggling you'll need to do at the dealership is with the purchase price. and with the MINI, for the most part, that is set in the MSRP.

 

[pavarolar]

weezgrrl " i would suggest waiting, saving up more for a larger down payment on a financed car."

Thank you for the advise. The dealership inform me that it would take 13 weeks to get a mini S. With that amount of time I plan to save up some money and maybe able to put down 5000-6000 dollars on the car. The larger payment will definetly bring down the monthly payments. I will look around for other financing option away from the dealership.

The reason that I'm leaning toward the lease is to keep my monthly payment down and not having to worry about paying to fix what ever can go wrong with the car down the road. Mini generally has a good reputation on reliability but it is still a car and thing do break over time.

I have been haveing a lot of bad experience with owning my current car, mainly the bill that pile up from having to fix things that break on it.

I have been looking around for a replacement for my current car and the Mini cooper S just does it for me for the price and the motoring experience. My dad use to drive the mini back in his collage years in England, that is also another motivations that pull me toward owning a mini.

As for Classic mini Mentor, they seem to be pretty straight on the MSRP of the car. But, they are just a bit fuzzy when I ask about the financing or leasing numbers.

I have made my mind to go with a mini it is just finding the painless and least hassle way of getting it.

 

[landparkmini]

I got a 4.25% fixed rate on a 60 month car loan from Classic MINI.

 

[silver bullit]

You did not indicate the mileage per year or the residual percentage on the Mini.

Leasing is usually OK when the mileage is 12-15K per year and the residual is high, which I would expect it to be on the Mini.

I have leased vehicles in the past because I normally trade every three years and drive less than 15K per year.

A friend in the car business told me that leasing was all about paying for the portion of the car you used versus what the manufacture or leasing company thought it would be worth at the end of the lease.

So let assume the Mini is worth 40% of new value ($25,900) after 4 years or $10,360, so you pay for $15,540 + Taxes + Interest divided by 48.

Be careful about the mileage and understand the expectation about returning the vehicle in acceptable condition including the tires.

 

[CooperSAZ]

I agree! I would stay away from the lease! I have a friend who is leasing an SUV (yes, a little off topic), due to her place of employment, she can only "afford" to drive the car to and from work. If you want to go out, you have to drive as she cannot due to mileage restrictions. And a $500/month bill! Heck of a lot to pay for something you do not own!

Plus turning in the vehicle, the tires etc etc...

I am all about keeping the monthly bill down, but leases are tough to handle! Everyone I know who has a lease keeps rolling whatever they owe from Car A into Car B (next lease). Sooner or later, it will catch up and they will end up paying $700/month for a Kia! Or hope that your next BIG bonus will go to getting into that next lease!

My favorite discussion with a salesman was about the "equity" one has after a certain period of time within a lease. Huh, equity and lease should not go in the same sentence... still cannot believe he said that with a straight face!

 

[Melanie]

Purchasing MINI in midwest area

Hi. I'm looking to purchase a MINI by the end of this month, but of all the dealers I've spoke to are very adamant about not reducing the MSRP. I know the invoice price is roughly $22,000+ for a Cooper S, and knowing the dealers are going to make a huge profit, therefore I"m hoping to get at least $1,000 off. Does any MINI owners who purchased a '05 get a lower MSRP? If so, can you please share your tactic in hassling a lower price. Thanks!

 

[CooperSAZ]

Hi. I'm looking to purchase a MINI by the end of this month, but of all the dealers I've spoke to are very adamant about not reducing the MSRP. I know the invoice price is roughly $22,000+ for a Cooper S, and knowing the dealers are going to make a huge profit, therefore I"m hoping to get at least $1,000 off. Does any MINI owners who purchased a '05 get a lower MSRP? If so, can you please share your tactic in hassling a lower price. Thanks!

I went through a dealership that only priced the MINI at MSRP, some even charge a premium! I think you might be stuck only in that MINIs are in demand. If you won't pay the MSRP price, they will find someone who can/will/wants to.... Unfortunately, the buyer does not have a lot of weight to play around with lowering the price!

This is from my experience!

Good luck!

 

[Melanie]

Thanks Cooper SAZ for your feedback.

 

[Cooper76]

pavarolar,

First, NEVER put money down on a lease. If the car is totaled or tacked as a loss, say goodbye to your down payment. Second, by the time the car actually comes in and you do the financing, you should have enough money saved up for a buy. Third, leasing doesn't make any sense when the resale value on the MINI is so high. If you do not like having a vehicle out of warranty, then when the warranty runs out, sell it. You will get a very good deal on the MINI because of the high resale and then you can time it with the order of your second MINI!

Hope that helps!