I want a MCS but I don't have enough to drop all the cash now nor do I want to pay much interest. I know other car companies have it from time to time, but did Mini ever have 0% or 1% (around those numbers) interest or will have one anytime soon?


And about the back seats. I've seen the car, but have not actually sat in the back. How tall of a person can sit there with a 5'8" person in the front seat? Right now I have a 95 M3 and can have up to 5'11", maybe even a 6'1", in the back with minimum or no leg room.

Things I love about the mini is the hatcback. It's back aching to clean the backseats of my M3 and the rear interior panel can catch a lot of dirt with the windows open, kills the carpet material.

Thanks.

 

No. And other car manufacturers will most likely not be offering it again any time soon with the interest rates starting to creep up.

 

Sorry, I highly doubt it. Even when interest rates were bottoming out, MINI never offered that kind of deal. Car companies that offer that are usually offering it as a promotion. Its usually something like, zero percent financianing or a thousand dollars cash back (or a higher or lower value). I think some cars that are are not in high demand are still doing that. Seems like I've seen Escalade commercials that still offer that. But, the MINI has never had to offer any promotions.

You might want to keep your eyes open for a good used MINI that's for sale by owner. The dealers mark their used MINIs up to almost new prices, but owners don't have a showroom, and usually want to sell their car in a week or two. So, you might find something there.

 

lol. I doubt that they will be offereing a promotion of that sort for a very very long time... Thoes types of deals are used as incentives to buy cras. The mini needs no incentive as people are willing to wait 5 months to get one. Try buying a chevy impala for 0% finance.

 

Low interest rates and rebates are a way to reduce the price on an overpriced car without changng the MSRP. With MINI being able to sell every car that is produced and with used MINIs selling at almost the same price as new, don't look for any "deals" anytime soon. That said, when you look at the quality and content of a MINI you are still getting alot of car for the money, even at MSRP. When you take the potential re-sale value f the car into account it is actually a pretty good deal. If you ever hear of MINI offering rebates or 0% financing you will know that your re-sale value just went into the basement!

 

Easy answer...most car companies that sell cars with 0% interest are domestic cars.

Most import car companies will have some sale on leasing their cars.

 

VW is the one exception. I got 1.9% on my Passat in 2003.

 

Ahh..but you also must consider the cars that retain their value the best usually don't give discounts or low APR. Such as BMW and MINI.

 

I got 4.75% last week. I thought that was pretty darn low for a new car.

 

I got 4.49% on my MINI last August from BMWFS, and we got 1.9% on my wife's Element this past weekend.

 

That's not really true... Mitsu, Subaru, Isuzu, even Toyota have all had 0% financing in recent history. I would say it's more of a demand issue. With Mini demand so high, there's absolutely no reason to offer incentives.

I think the auto industry did themselves a serious disservice with their introduction of 0% after 9/11. There are a lot of people out there now who won't buy a car without it.

 

I got my MCS for 4.0% from wellsfargo in December 2004

 

Basic truth: when a car is in demand, its maker doesn't have to pay people to buy it. 0% or 1.9% financing equals paying people to buy it. It's a virtual rebate.

You don't have to pay people to buy MINIs. In fact a lot of people still pay the dealer a premium to be allowed to buy them.

And current market rates for car loans are at historically low levels anyway. I'm at 4.35% through BMW Bank of North America. By way of comparison, when I bought my first new car back in 1981 the interest rate was 17.5%.

The original poster who thinks 4.5% or so is too high and hopes for 0% or 1% should remember that economies run in cycles and we're nearing the end of a real down period for rates. We're headed back to the stratrosphere someday -- if inflation kicks in, maybe sooner rather than later. Take the long perspective and 4.5% looks real good.

 

I got 4.75% from the dealer. At first they didn't want to give me a very good rate. Then I went to Lending Tree and got several offers for 4.75%. So, I told the dealer that and they "worked" with their bank to get me the rate I wanted.

As for your question about the back seat. No one very tall (maybe 5'2"?) will be able to sit comfortably in the back seat if your are 5'8" and sit the proper distance from the wheel, but it does depend on where your seat is & how short your legs are. It is possible to fit 4 people in the car at a time, but they probably won't be too comfy. My husband once got 4 guys over 6' in my MINI at once. They were in it for 15 minutes and could barely stand once they got out. It really made Bruno look like a clown car though

 

I doubt 0% will be seen abt time in the near future. With waiting lists in many parts of the country what incentive could Mini have to buy down the interest rate? That tactic is used only when you need to move excess inventory (hopefully without deep discounts on the MSRP).

If you want to save on the interest rate try the domestic SUV market.

 

I'm not answering in the interest rate part of this conversation as there have been many replies.

I'll address the rear seat.

I'm 6'1" and made a point to sit behind the salesman while my mother test drove a Mini (mom and dad showed suprising interest in the car after I ordered it). I should have had him crank the seat up (height) a bit because I couldn't get my feet too far under it, but I was able to sit there comfortably.

Did I mention we were in the cabrio? I was not touching the roof, had just enough shoulder room to be "Ok" (The way the cabrio is made, my right shoulder was right against the side of the car), but all in all, I would say someone 6'3" would mave fit. (I'm probably more legs than body though)

I didn'tfeel smashed in like a sardine if that's the answer you are looking for...

 

I beat ya!

I got 4.09% from Capital One Auto Finance on a 30 month loan.

 

Back in 2003, it was not uncommon for people to be getting under 4% on loans from Capitalone and Mini Finance even on 60 month loans. I think 36 months were 3.49 for a while.

 

Damn was really hoping there was. I know that BMW and Mercedes had them during end of year sales but not at 0% but something low. Mitsubishi had it with no payment and 0% which put them in financial trouble. I guess I will have to wait till the year end for a Mini, but the craving kills me. Cars aren't everything and there should be more important things to spend money on, but I'm addicted to driving. I find stupid reasons just to go out and drive my M3, but maintaining it is a killer. The new car incentive is that I can drive it like I stole it and still have it under warranty. I envy you Mini owners .

After pricing everything I want, I seem to be on the fence for a MCS and a G35. Both around the same price.

G35:
Division of Nissan (who makes overpriced Maximas). Reliable and cheap to maintain. Devalues fast. High torque and hp numbers. Plastic built. RWD.

Mini:
A division of BMW. Small (I live in NYC so small is good for parking, but the accidents that are unavoidable with all them bad drivers might actually kill me). Solid built. More unique (Lot of teens buy the G35 or their parents buy for them and think they're pimps).

I wouldn't drive either car in NYC snow, FWD or RWD, even with snow tires. That's whats suvs are for. However RWD is scary. Drove in the snow for 20 miles (on highway too) with my M3 in performance tires and almost crashed a few times. Especially when drivers enter and cut me off. Drifting like crazy (well, skidding really). Had trouble driving up an incline (took a few tries to get the wheels to connect). Thanks everyone for your response and listening to me ramble. :smile: :smile:

 

I got 4.09% for 30 months from Capital One about a month or so ago when I took delivery of my '05 MCS. When I first got my 2004 MCS back in October '03, I got 3.99% for 36 months also with Capital One. Bottom line is that BMW Financial Services could not touch the rates I was offered by Capital One. Their lowest rates for 30 months where like 4.8%+ APR.

 

I would imagine that Lot15 has gone through MUCH more snow than most of us will ever see (he's in Canada) and he says that he gets around great in his MINI in the winter. No one needs an SUV. We have a truck that I drive in the winter when there's alot of snow, but that's only b/c we have a really long driveway that's hard to get a low car out of. At these times, we can't get my husbands EVO out either so it's not a question of FWD or AWD here, its ground clearance, and I wouldn't think that in NYC there would be many areas of over a foot of snow that hadn't been packed in so you could drive over it. The time with your M3 had mostly to do with the performance tires. Most performance tires don't like it when its below 40F and by the time there's snow on the ground they're as hard as rocks which keeps them from getting any traction. A MINI in the winter with appropriate tires should be fine

 

Oh God I'm gonna pass out...

Seriously dude one reason why MINIs retain their value so well is that they're not instantly devalued with zero/low aprs and other program incentives like the rest of the pig-iron KAKA sold in America. MINI leads the automotive industry in the lowest incentive dollar amount of $12 per car. Lexus and Scion aren't far behind. Supply versus demand is still weighted on the "demand" side--even after three years. Amazing. Bet VW and DC wished their bug and cruiser were so lucky..... Jimbo

 

Detonate:
This is the end of the year for auto prurchases. It may already be too late to order a 2005. You may find a 2005 that has been used as a demonstrator or driven by a salesman that will have a very small discount, but it will not amount to much. I have seen some low-mileage used MINIs sell at above MSRP because people don't want to wait for a new car to be ordered.

The crash ratings for the MINI are very good, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

The MINI is very good on snow or ice. The only problem is that it does not have much ground clearance, so if you need to drive through deep snow there are better choices.

 

I was also debating G35 coupe versus MCS, what they have in common is beauty, sporty, speed, economical and relatively roomy back seats.

G35 is more of a luxury car, smooth ride, comfy, traditional styling, faster. Basically a 350z with a back seat. Also larger trunk.

MCS is a more fun car. More unique, more ecomomical, less expensive. Marginally slower than G35 but MUCH better on gas.

My solution was just to buy a very well appointed MCS (Premium, Sport, Nav, Leather, HK) so I don't miss the things the G35 offered. My MCS was still $10,000 cheaper than an equal G35.

The other contender was RX8 but if you care at all about mpg they are to be avoided. No excuse for a car that size to get such bad gas mileage. Nice car but IMHO they should throw that rotary engine out and start over.

 

0% for me. Heres how.

First off, I don't have any debt and a high credit score. I can't stand paying interest either.

You know all those credit card applications that come in the mail right after Xmas, I applied for two of them that had 0% for 15 months. One also had no fee and 0% of a cash transfer. They went ahead and transfered $21,000 directly into my checking account. I am now paying about $400 a month which is all principal.

O course, next January when the new offers roll in you have to open new credit cards and transfer the balances. The balance transfers are 0% normally and there is no transaction fee for it.

I figured out that I would save roughly $960, $840 in the first two years. If you have good credit it can be done. You absolutely can never miss a payment on any of your credit cards. I have never missed a payment in 17 years so I'm not worried about it.