To buy or not to buy???

1377 Views 13 Replies 8 Participants Last post by lauram, Mar 13, 2009

lauram

Discussion Starter · Mar 11, 2009

I am having doubts abouting buying a mini cooper i have seen as i posted yesterday.

I love the car but just worried about how much it is worth now and when i will come to sell it on.

It is listed as a cat d for light panel damage in 2004 the work on th mini was completed the same month and then sold on to second owners they have had the car for 5 years but have no service history.

How much would you say the car is worth???
2002 mini cooper, cooper s leather seats, cooper s bonnet, cooper s bumpers, built in sat nav, cooper s alloys.

Thanks
Laura

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1 - 14 of 14 Posts

Moleatrude

· #2 · Mar 11, 2009

It sounds very dubious. No SH is a bit strange....I'd be very wary.

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crofty136

· #3 · Mar 11, 2009

i'd leave it personally, cat d cars are generally worth 25% less than un damaged cars, and the saving you make now will be your loss when you sell it. I'd say that with so many places struggling to sell cars you probably have a good chance of getting a good deal on a better car without accident damage and a full service history etc

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Tallpaul

· #4 · Mar 11, 2009

7 years old, Cat D, no SH and extensive cosmetic modifications?

Assuming average mileage it is probably 'worth' around £2750, but I use inverted comma's as the market for such a car is tiny compared with that of an unmolested Cooper of the same age (which would be worth around £4500).

You're right to be worried about the resale, but I would be far more concerned about buying a 7 year old car with no idea of how it has been maintained. It could be a money-pit for repairs and it's not like you are even protecting its value by cherishing it.

I'd steer well clear. If a nice MINI isn't within your current budget I would save a little longer rather than buy a pup - it'll only cost you more in the long term.

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iain cooper

· #5 · Mar 11, 2009

it sounds as if someone wanted a cooper S but could only afford a cooper.........and it was probably driven like a cooper S !!

I wouldn't touch it and agree with Tallpaul's post.

but if you really have your heart set on it offer £1800 for it.........they might need the cash.

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dalboyne

· #6 · Mar 11, 2009

Sounds like they raided quite a large part of a donor Cooper S to provide the various "upgrades"

Before you rush off to buy - have you checked how much it might cost you to insure? That might be a nasty surprise.....

My gut feeling would be to walk away, raise a bit more cash, and get one that has a decent history......

Good luck!

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rentagas

· #7 · Mar 11, 2009

If it was outrageosly cheap I'd buy it and by that I mean 2-2.5k. You could find it costing you lots of money but at that price the parts wuld be worth selling on.
I certainly wouldn't pay the 5k I suspect they are asking

No SH FFS!

ps all the mods would have to be declared to your insurers you may find that many will not touch it and those that do will charge you similar amounts to that which you would pay if it was an "S"

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lauram

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 12, 2009

thanks all for your help on this one i have now changed my mind.
He did have the ar for sale on the autotrader advertised at £5500 not mentioning anything about it being a cat d it wasn't until i did the hpi check that we found out, he also said he had no idea that is was a cat d.
I then offered him £3k for it and helaughed and said £4k would bel owest he would accpet. I have aslways had VW beetles before but now set my heart on a mini and to be honest im shocked at how many cat d minis are around ive watched a few sell on ebay.

so the hunt for a mini will continue.

I have about £5200 to spend anyone no of any minis for sale in my price range. I am being quite fussy however if it is a mini cooper i would like panaramic roof and cooper s wheels but if i see a cooper s in my price range well thats a big bonus. I am not to fussed about year of the car but do not wqant anything over 70k miles.

Thanks again for your help much appreciated and needed

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Tallpaul

· #9 · Mar 12, 2009

lauram said:
He did have the ar for sale on the autotrader advertised at £5500 not mentioning anything about it being a cat d it wasn't until i did the hpi check that we found out, he also said he had no idea that is was a cat d.

If that is true (which I strongly doubt) he is a fool for buying a car without doing his own HPi check.

£5200 sounds like plenty to find a nice example of an early Cooper, i'm sure with a bit of patience one will turn up. Good luck

EDIT: I wouldn't worry too much about holding out for one with Cooper S wheels, they sell from £150 - 300 on eBay.

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dalboyne

· #10 · Mar 12, 2009

lauram said:
thanks all for your help on this one i have now changed my mind.
He did have the ar for sale on the autotrader advertised at £5500 not mentioning anything about it being a cat d it wasn't until i did the hpi check that we found out, he also said he had no idea that is was a cat d.
I then offered him £3k for it and helaughed and said £4k would bel owest he would accpet. I have aslways had VW beetles before but now set my heart on a mini and to be honest im shocked at how many cat d minis are around ive watched a few sell on ebay.

so the hunt for a mini will continue.

I have about £5200 to spend anyone no of any minis for sale in my price range. I am being quite fussy however if it is a mini cooper i would like panaramic roof and cooper s wheels but if i see a cooper s in my price range well thats a big bonus. I am not to fussed about year of the car but do not wqant anything over 70k miles.

Thanks again for your help much appreciated and needed

This makes very interesting reading! If the seller didn't know before, more fool him for not checking before buying! And now he does know, so will he change his advert and asking price accordingly? I hope so......

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Moleatrude

· #11 · Mar 12, 2009

You definately made the right decision. Its always hard when you fall in love with one car. Keep waiting and the perfect car will come along soon, guaranteed!

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omar

· #12 · Mar 12, 2009

i actually went and viewed the advertised car today. i am in two minds about it tho the car drives and look great, but does show as cat D on the Hpi, in regards to the history i was advised the car has been fully serviced by a garage,but the service book has been lost, but he is willing to get a new service book,with all the relevant stamps. The car has all its MOT slips, including the one from when he bought it.The buyer wants much more than 4K,what should i offer as a price if i am happy with the condition and history?

the buyer advised me the car has had a 5 speed box installed 7K ago and did seem to know what he was talking about when explaining what was done with the box

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Tallpaul

· #13 · Mar 12, 2009

omar said:
i actually went and viewed the advertised car today. i am in two minds about it tho the car drives and look great, but does show as cat D on the Hpi, in regards to the history i was advised the car has been fully serviced by a garage,but the service book has been lost, but he is willing to get a new service book,with all the relevant stamps. The car has all its MOT slips, including the one from when he bought it.The buyer wants much more than 4K,what should i offer as a price if i am happy with the condition and history?

the buyer advised me the car has had a 5 speed box installed 7K ago and did seem to know what he was talking about when explaining what was done with the box

Are you and LauraM related??

So, again, it's Cat D and has no service history...

Seller has already claimed he didn't know about the accident damage(!) and has 'lost' the service history but not the MOT's?

Does he have any documentation for the gearbox replacement?

Honestly, I wouldn't touch a car like this if it was FREE. I'm not exaggerating either - it is a complete unknown quantity; was it repaired safely, how much will it be to insure, has it really been serviced correctly??? All these unknowns equate to a risk I wouldn't be willing to take, it really could be a complete lemon that may saddle you with significant costs and time off the road and really would be hell to sell on. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

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lauram

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 13, 2009

I agree the car is lovely and i was very interested but not for that sort of price, I spoke to bmw mini and they can provide a new service history book but not the stamps for previous services. Although the spec is fantastic it is still a cat d car.

I was very tempted but not for that sort of price and i think it will be very lucky if they get the sort of price they were hoping for.

I have been watching to see how much cat d cars sell for on the internet and in th autotrader magazine and they are selling on for about £3500 so if i bought this car i would have lost money straight away.

i have now seen a mini cooper s advertised in the autotrader for £5k 42000 miles and looks fab which i am going to look at locally today. Although i would have considered buying the cat d car had the price been right.

Thanks

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