BMW Mini Dealers, buying 2nd hand.

[Hamish]

hey all,

Anyone got any thoughts/ideas on the following...

Say I was looking at buying a 2006 Gen 1, Cooper S from a Mini dealers.

Do you think there would be much movement in the price? i.e. how much do you think you could expect to get them to knock off the price? Car is sitting on forecourt at £10,995.

Also, anyone have any experience of MINI finance? Good :thumbs up:, Bad :frown:... Ugly :moonie:? Any ideas what kind of APR they're on just now?

Kinda out my price bracket at this precise moment, but if I could cut a bit off the price and or get decent finance it might be worth a look.

Alternatively I'm looking at a not too bad Cat D write off as if i manage to finally get a mini then the plans for it would be BIG in terms of making it my own. ;)

[GCA3N]

I have used mini fianance and found them brill. I got 7.9 % apr I think. If you a want a bit off go in on the last 3 to 4 days of the month and you should get a good deal. If you are not trading you should get that for around the 10k mark, if you pushed. With no deposit and a 4 yr deal you should get that for about £250 a month ish. Hope that helps a bit mate.

[Hamish]

cheers Greig... mmmh, thats not too shabby when u work it out at about £250 a month...

I'd love to be able to walk in with cash and say how much... lol, but that aint gonna happen unless the lotto comes a calling!

Is the APR fixed for the duration of the finance? Knowing my bleedin luck interest rates would start shooting up the moment I signed on the dotted line!!! haha

Thanks for ur help mate.

[TheDoctor46]

Is the APR fixed for the duration of the finance? Knowing my bleedin luck interest rates would start shooting up the moment I signed on the dotted line!!! haha

The APR will be fixed for the duration of whatever term you choose, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months etc.
If your having to Finance, maybe a Personal Loan will be better, mostly have lower APR's than Car Finance??

Ian:thumbs up:

[Hamish]

The APR will be fixed for the duration of whatever term you choose, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months etc.
If your having to Finance, maybe a Personal Loan will be better, mostly have lower APR's than Car Finance??

Ian:thumbs up:

cheers for that Ian, I'll do some digging :popcorn:

[TheDoctor46]

cheers for that Ian, I'll do some digging :popcorn:

No probs mate :thumbs up:
Personal Loan APR's usually depend on how much your wanting to borrow but do tend to be lower than the Finance that the Garages can offer.
Tesco, Alliance&Leicester, Black Horse etc etc. Do your homework with them all and you should find exactly what your looking for. :thumbs up:

Ian:thumbs up:

[stoney]

you can do diffrent finace thro mini i.e you pay up over 3/4 years then pay a bubble at the end of it and that would make it cheeper a month i have had 2 minis this way and found bmw/mini finace to be very good

[euan]

you can do diffrent finace thro mini i.e you pay up over 3/4 years then pay a bubble at the end of it and that would make it cheeper a month i have had 2 minis this way and found bmw/mini finace to be very good

It's cheaper as your not paying as much on the deal, if you pay it all off you own the car outright at the end of the deal, which you don't on the balloon payments unless you pay the final payment.

I've done both, if you want to keep the car for the length of the deal, balloons are good. If you want to change halfway through, you can find yourself a bit stuck though as you'll not have paid off as much so the car may not be worth enough to pay off the finance.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Hamish, I am sure site sponsor (and fellow SMCC driver) Mark Dryden could find you a decent finance package.

I would avoid personal loans, they are a bit cheaper but you don't have the same protection and benefits as you do with vehicle finance. Also, personal loans seem much harder to come by at the mo, most finance houses are happy to loan against an asset, but for an unsecured loan you seem to have to jump through a few hoops. All IMHO.

Don't know if £10,995 is the right price, but it seems in the right ballpark, depending on the spec etc. And as Greig says, with no trade in, you should get money off, but not sure you'll get a full 1K off. May have to fight for that.

A.

[Hamish]

cheers everyone,

Thanks Andy.

All hypothetical and what ifs for me just now... I'm doing some sums and some serious consideration... not sure I can justify it yet, but it is a MINI lol, and I really really really fancy one!!! hahaha.

What do you think a 2006 Cooper S, in pepper white or black should cost (roughly)...

All have chilli pack, heated seats, 17 inch bullets,

Pepper white is 06 plate has less than 30,000, seems fairly standard though at 10,995

Black is a 55 plate has under 45,000 miles but a JCW kit, Harman Kardon hifi, LSD, Visibility pack, seems to have more accessories but its at just over £12k

[Forbes]

Think Ryan payed roughly the same for his S but with less miles. Might be worth a PM to him.

The second to me would be the better deal I think, will also be easier to sell on with such a good spec and should hold it's value better

[Hamish]

cool, cheers for that, the second one looks better spec etc... just really down to colour preferences etc.

I'd probably kinda tweek the car to be my own anyway, if i get one it would be to modify up. ;)

[Forbes]

So why not go for the pepper white as it is more of a blank canvas? Gives you more options for the engine and sound system...

[GCA3N]

cool, cheers for that, the second one looks better spec etc... just really down to colour preferences etc.

I'd probably kinda tweek the car to be my own anyway, if i get one it would be to modify up. ;)

Ye bits of other colours on the body and bumpers some grass and tyre marks on the wings, the usual stuff eh!!!!:eek::Whistle:

[Hamish]

Ye bits of other colours on the body and bumpers some grass and tyre marks on the wings, the usual stuff eh!!!!:eek::Whistle:

haha, yeah, if i wanted to do it up like my race Coop all i'd have to do is drive it into a parked mini at 70mph, hey presto... racing front end! lmao!!! :argh:

[Hamish]

So why not go for the pepper white as it is more of a blank canvas? Gives you more options for the engine and sound system...

Yeah thats what I was thinking... to be honest, I was only really searching for PW S's and thought what the hell n added black too...

I was only thinking white, but after seeing the S's in black its got me thinking haha, ahhhh decisions decisions!!!

I could just buy a bumper sticker sayin "my other cars a mini" then would I be allowed on runs with you lot? hahaha

[GCA3N]

If it is an r53 defo black if it was an r56 then the pepper White IMHO

[Hamish]

its a gen 1 cooper s... y u think that mate out of curiousity? u think the r56 looks better in white than black? that just down to the shape?

[GCA3N]

its a gen 1 cooper s... y u think that mate out of curiousity? u think the r56 looks better in white than black? that just down to the shape?

There is something very special about the 56 in pw everytime I see one I wish I had opted for it. Don't get me wrong love the lazed blue and love the effect you get when you clean and polish it, which sadly I don't think you can really do with the pw. It's kinda like silver it never really looks any different after you clean it. Oh and by the way had a black car once never again. The hardest car colour to keep clean and you have to be ulta carefull as it shows every scratch.

[baptie]

As previous I was going to head down the 4yr bank loan route. Mini finance was the same, 7.9% and they have the pass back option where the bank loan you dont.

I gave them the location of the car (Non Cherished) they went and got it, week later got it under cherished.

Was kinda unsure going for a MINI, bloody glad I did.
So many smiles per miles nowadays!

[Hamish]

As previous I was going to head down the 4yr bank loan route. Mini finance was the same, 7.9% and they have the pass back option where the bank loan you dont.

I gave them the location of the car (Non Cherished) they went and got it, week later got it under cherished.

Was kinda unsure going for a MINI, bloody glad I did.
So many smiles per miles nowadays!

thats pretty awesome they did that and got it cherished... cheers for the advice :thumbs up:

[Hamish]

There is something very special about the 56 in pw everytime I see one I wish I had opted for it. Don't get me wrong love the lazed blue and love the effect you get when you clean and polish it, which sadly I don't think you can really do with the pw. It's kinda like silver it never really looks any different after you clean it. Oh and by the way had a black car once never again. The hardest car colour to keep clean and you have to be ulta carefull as it shows every scratch.

gawd, it'd b my 3rd black car, i'm a sucker for black cars haha... i agree with the scratches etc.

Never had a white car, mmmmh, think am gonna have 2 just think n think n think... might go have a look next wkend at one of them!

[ianking]

I would defo take the R53 in white as its much rarer in that color. PW seems to have been more popular recently with the R56 so be a bit different and snap up the white R53.

[Hamish]

thanks Ian, thats what I thought... you hardly see any PW Gen 1 Cooper S's around...

Would I be the only one on NMS with a Gen 1 Cooper S in PW? ... that would be a bonus.

I've got it nailed down to 2 out of that 3, the PW and the Black with the JCW kit.

The PW is rare, but the the S looks frickin menacing in Black haha, decisions decisions.

Not sure how long the PW would stay PW if I got it though ;)

[ianking]

Pacman has/had a PW R53. He isnt on here much anymore if at all now though.

Black cars look great all polished up but I just couldnt have one as it takes so much effort to keep them swirl free.

Buy the white car and add what tuning bits you want, not necessarily JCW stuff. The car is a clean canvas that way.

[Hamish]

haha, yeah I'd have to join the manky club if I had another black car!!!

Suppose its tempting to go for black one as it looks awesome, but what I should be thinking is how the PW would look if I made it my own... like u say "blank canvas"

Cheers again. H :D

[Gismo]

You're gettin great advice here Hamish, i've certainly found that the lack of cleaning a black car certainly helps to keep the swirls down ;) but that's not the right approach.
If you really intend to upgrade the car then steer well away from a JCW car, pointless spending all that money to just simply rip the bits out, you'll probably get the suspension and brakes in the kit, so, maybe not a massive loss.

As with others, defo do not go for an unsecured loan, get the MINI finance or at least a dealer deal, this way you can trade in and get some kind of a deal when you come to move the car, but, try not to be in negative equity with it, means a bigger deposit, but, if you're circumstances change then you can get out easier

[KenL]

As previous I was going to head down the 4yr bank loan route. Mini finance was the same, 7.9% and they have the pass back option where the bank loan you dont.


My preference is for a loan.

No setup fees at start AND finish, you own the car so no problem if you decide to sell etc.

If you are financing the whole car then a dealer type HP or PCP scheme could be better for you though.

[Gismo]

My preference is for a loanIs that the method you used to buy you're MINI ?

[Craig]

If you really intend to upgrade the car then steer well away from a JCW car, pointless spending all that money to just simply rip the bits out, you'll probably get the suspension and brakes in the kit, so, maybe not a massive loss.



Did you read this before you typed it.... :Whistle:

:laugh::laugh:

[Hamish]

haha, nice once Craig.

Again, thanks to all for the advice... need to go an have a look at them and work it out from there... they may look so bad in the flesh that its better to walk away and keep an eye out for a better one.

cheers again :D

[baptie]

My preference is for a loan.

No setup fees at start AND finish, you own the car so no problem if you decide to sell etc.

If you are financing the whole car then a dealer type HP or PCP scheme could be better for you though.

Each to their own dude, looked the better deal for me on paper.
Same bank that I am with giving me a little credit with bank.

[KenL]

Is that the method you used to buy you're MINI ?

Yes.

Dealer could not beat the rate I got and there was no admin fees with the loan.

[KenL]

Each to their own dude, looked the better deal for me on paper.
Same bank that I am with giving me a little credit with bank.

Good, as long as you got the best deal for you, and you were happy, that's what counts :thumbs up: