Buying a Mini = PITA?

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davidmcintyre
Posts: 411
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 7:49 pm

Buying a Mini = PITA?

Post by davidmcintyre »

Gas has finally gotten to the price at which it starts to make financial sense for me to buy or lease an alternate commuting car. There are tons of very cheap econoboxes out there, and tons of stylish/fun cars, but the Mini seems to be one of the very few in the intersection of those two requirements.

However, I am a little surprised at my perception of the Mini market. Can someone help me out?

1) Is it true that Mini's are generally selling for MSRP in our area? I read on some forums that they are selling above MSRP in California. How can this be?

2) Mini lease prices seem to be exceptionally high. For a car that appears to be retaining an unbelievable percentage of its initial value I would expect a very low lease price, but this seems not to be the case. It also appears that Mini does not currently subsidize lease rates like nearly everyone else (including BMW) does. Comments?

3) Of the three dealers within my area, Princeton, Morristown and Manhattan, where am I least likely to get screwed? I have a resistance to Princeton since they've done so little to support our club in the past.

4) There seems to be a few dealers around the country that offer better pricing for internet buyers that "fly in and drive home." How much additional pain is it going to cost me come warranty repair time?

5) Finally, is the non-S model going to be too slow to enjoy? I want a cheap economical car, but I also don't want to hate merging...

If anyone has any comments I would be most appreciative. If you currently lease a Mini and would be willing to share your $ costs, you could PM me with the numbers and I would keep them to myself. It would be really great to get some real-world numbers.

Thanks, Dave

NeilE30
Posts: 339
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:30 pm

Post by NeilE30 »

Dave,

Please give Morristown Mini a shot, they were the sponsors of the successful Street Survival School we had on May 21. They also want to work with club members who purchase from them.

Neil

Bossertrot
Posts: 123
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2004 6:56 pm
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Post by Bossertrot »

Dave,
You'll want the "S" and if you are lucky you will get 25mpg combined the way you will drive it (foot to the floor, LOL). Plus it runs on Premium. Great fun car but more performance than economy.
-G

jwhite
Posts: 329
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm
Location: Bridgewater, NJ

Post by jwhite »

Dave,

We got our S at Morristown and I have had good service from them so far (all maintenance or little stuff). The car is more fun to drive than you can imagine. We paid MSRP in July of '04 for an '05 model. We chose the BMW (Mini) Select financing option which is essentially a purchase structured as a balloon so that your monthly payments are about the same as a lease. The advantage is that you can sell the car at any time since its not a lease. You are correct that they are retaining their value very well.

-Jeff

BrianSMorgan
Posts: 122
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm

Post by BrianSMorgan »

I bought my Mini Cooper S at Princeton Mini, and have been pleased with their service.
Also, I would like to note that Princeton Mini has in fact supported the Chapter, donating very generous prizes for our 2005 Spring Rally. I know they are willing to do this again.
Brian

abarks
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:04 pm
Location: West Windsor, NJ

Post by abarks »

I live near Princeton, but I bought my Mini Cooper S from Morristown last month. I'm glad I did. My sales guy, Joe Scarpa, knocked off $100 from MSRP and threw in some floor mats to make it worth my drive to Morristown. Joe was very responsive to my countless queries about delivery date. (It arrived 5 days before I took it to my first DE at VIR. I cut it close.) The best part about Morristown: ordered on 3/17 - picked up on 4/19. Princeton said 8 weeks.

I never drove the non-S, but the S scoots when the blower is engaged. It's sprung somewhat firmly. If your commute involves banging over expansion strips, you might get a little tired of it.

I look forward to some more track miles at SPR in June!

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