not wanting to make this another "What's my car worth?" thread... but just wanted to share my experience in trade-in values for my '08 Clubman S

first off, I love the car -- but I now need something larger
its unfortunate that I can't wait for the MINI trucklet...

Window sticker was ~$33k for my Clubman -- every option, minus the LSD.
the trade-in values given to me for my 13k mile Clubman have ranged from a very low $18k to $21k


yes, i've tried to sell it privately for $26k -- but no takers
fortunately, i have enough equity even with these given values. i'm surprised that even the vaulted high resale values for MINIs got hit so hard.

 

The first year's trade in depreciation is always the worst and sometimes all the bells and whistles don't add up to what you paid when it's time to trade.

Where have you advertised it to sell it privately?

Having had several MINIs, I have to say that I have always done well by trading them for another MINI which, of course, makes sense yet is of no help to you.

 

Noticed the economy lately?

 

I find this a bit surprising. That seems like quite the change in value. Still, a few things to consider:

-The economy.
-Where you are trying to offload it. My guess is you'd get the best value from a Mini dealer, but then I've read on this very forum about one person not getting as good a trade in value from their Mini dealer as they did another dealer.
-$33k? What does your car look like? I think Minis are great because you can really make them look even more unique than they already do, but personally I find that people go too far. That's my personal taste and to each their own, but if you go with certain colors or color combos, if you add racing stripes, etc I would guess it'd be harder to sell.
-It's a niche market. I don't think that half the population even knows what a Clubman is.

 

I am on the market for a Clubman. Let me know what you have.

 

Wow, that's way too low. Especially since the dealer will list it at like $26k-27k or so. Where are you in the USA? Perhaps you should market the heck out of it on your own... including Craig's List (including several markets) and Ebay? Good luck, Friend!

 

The market has been hit harder than usual this past year. There are a few things that contribute to it...

1) cheap financing and lease programs on the new ones... alot of people need to borrow money for a car, and if they can get 1.9% or 2.9% from BMWFS on a new one, it makes the overall cost much difference between a new one and a late model used one much less.

2) discounting on new cars... it's a big circle, once people start getting discounts on new cars, it makes the cost savings to get a used one less until the used car prices start to drop as well.

Those two factors, plus the first year depreciation (which is always the worst) and the difference in trade-in vs. retail values all contribute to your lower value. Also, cars with alot of options tend to lose more value as a percentage of their original price because the extra options do not retain the same percentage of their value as the car itself.

Best of luck with your sale.

 

To throw my 6 and 1/2 cents in here......

There are just too many good used cars on the market right now.
Gas is cheap (at the moment) so getting a gas hog still makes sense when they are so cheap to buy. Just wait until Gas goes back up to 3.50 to 4.50 a gallon and see how much the Mini is worth then.
On Craigslist, a newer model is still anywhere from 22K to 27K in Austin anyway, 16K to 21 K for a older used. Anything cheaper than that I would avoid as it prolly is time for expensive maint.
YMMV.

 

Register yourself as a dealership and sign up for the CARS (cash for clunkers) plan. Then you can sell it for $26K, and for that extra special treat, you can take a sledgehammer to someone's old GMC Jimmy!

 

haha... he can't sell it under the program, because it is used!

 

Just about everything is depressed in this economy right now. What we really need is some kind of stimulus...yeah that's a great idea Bobby! (sorry...I'm just "trying to reason with Hurricane Season"). My wife just went through this drill with her '08 Bimmer. She needed/wanted something larger too...took a beating. Not a good time to trade a newer vehicle. Good time to get rid of a clunker though. I'm sticking with my Mini.

 

No more $4/gal gas. Mini's were flying off the lots when fuel prices were high making the Mini resale market strong.

Terry

 

I've noticed a trend over the years. If you want to sell especially trade, you get a low ball offer. The same dealer when selling the same car to someone else wants the moon & stars for it. Hmmmm.

 

The car market is really depressed now, I trade in my cars in yearly I wanted to trade in my 2008 clubman mint condition (no accidents) with sunroof, leather, auto that only had 5000 miles sticker price $26,500 for the 2009 cooper s convertible and mini dealers in Los Angeles wanted to give me $12,500.00 to $13,500 for trade in and then full sticker for the 2009 mini s convertible. At one LA dealer near Universal Studios the sales manager told me that clubman’s resale is lower than a regular mini coopers. They also offered me the lowest trade in $12,500.00. I called the salesman I bought my clubman from in Las Vegas and explained what I wanted to do and over the phone they offered me $20,000.00 for my clubman and $1500.00 off a fully loaded 2009 Interchange Yellow cooper s convertible. So I took a trip to Las Vegas and traded my clubman in. I really would have preferred to get a little more cash for my clubman but I am very happy with 2009 convertible plus it is big step up for me as my clubman was not a S and my new cooper is plus it has the JCW stage 1 package.

 

Can I ask why you trade in your cars yearly? It's your money, but this is not a strategy that works out financially. Any chance you could short-term lease instead? You took a $6,500 hit on the '08 Clubman, without considering any tax or delivery fees. That's about $550.00 per month, and $550.00 per month will get you into cars costing twice what a MINI costs on a lease. Again, it's your money, but there are cheaper options than buying and selling annually.

 

I like my cars and I am always changing out the fleet and yes on some I lose money on some but others I make money on so for me it evens out. I own sixteen vehicles at the moment and that includes some very coveted classics that I do not part with yearly.
Cheers

 

If you trade in your new cars yearly from an outright purchase (not a lease) there's no way you're making money off them. It's your choice absolutely, but c'mon, there's no way you're selling them for more than what you paid for them just a year later, not even counting the incredible amount of sales tax.

Buying new is a poor investment.
Trading in your car will never usually get you the most $$$ from a sale.
Doing this each year is probably a worst case scenario from an investment standpoint.

But again, it's your money and I'm not saying you shouldn't do that. But facts are facts.

 

Not necessarily where a Mini is concerned. Now of course I'm not talking about the other poster who said he buys new and then trades it in yearly. I'm talking about with Minis and in this economy. I bought Pep in April. Before doing so I searched online and in the surrounding area for an 08 Clubman to see if I could find a better deal. I looked for about two months and to no avail. I found one I was really interested in down in IL and they wouldn't even budge on the price. Since I bought Pep I've checked out AutoTrader pretty regularly and I've only see a handful of deals on used Clubman's.

Now buying new back in April as I did worked out well for me. I had a 96 Camry and got at least 30% more than what it Blue Booked for. On top of that I got 6% off the sticker price via negotiation and since I was willing to take an 09 off the lot. Also, I'll get my sales tax back this year thanks to the government stimulus plan. So all told I'll have saved 10% from the original sticker price and that's not even including my trade in. I've seen Clubman's with less for more than what I paid for mine new. So with a Mini it isn't necessarily a poor investment to buy new since most of the time used Minis that are only a year old are about the same price for a new equivalent.

The other thing with buying new that I liked was that I knew it hadn't been driven before. I have some refurbished things/floor models that I've bought in the past, but they weren't cars. With a used car I was a bit worried about who might have driven it previously and how they drove it.

 

nice bit of discussion going on here from my original post --

yes the economy stinks and is having an effect on the residual values of MINIs - I just didn't think I'd be losing 40% the first year (this isn't a Land Rover or Jaguar, which have notoriously bad first yr residuals)

i was estimating around a 20% loss to take into account this recession, which is more than the 12-14% MINIs usually lose in there first yr.
the interesting thing is I just sold my 08 BMW 135i privately, with only a 8% loss from sticker --

going to go try on last push to sell this privately -- or i'll just trade it in for our new station wagon

 

Apparently with the car market so screwed up, right now just isn't the best time to "trade". My wife's 2008 328i experienced a 35% depreciation in one year. I realize that any car depreciates a lot during the first year but this was a little hard to take. But what do I know? When she bought the bimmer one of the key selling points was it's supposed "high resale value". Not. If you can sell it privately you will be better off for sure. It's just a PIA.

 

Why buy new? Because it's NEW!

 

I sorry to say but you are wrong I have turned a profit on many cars that I have bought from new car dealers. I will give you some examples. 1998 VW Beetle, I was one of the fist in LA to get one had it one year and sold for more than I paid for it, remember how crazy people were for that car when it came out. 2001 PT Cruiser, I had it one year it was a 5 speed and traded it in for the 2002 model with automatic and I turned a profit trading that car in as well, remember the one year waiting lists to get that car. Toyota Prius I have bought one every year starting in 2002- through 2007 and I have turned a profit on every single prius, traded in five and sold one private party. I also took tax incentives on those priuses every year through 2006 in amount to as high as $3500.00. Most amount of money I made on the prius was a 2006 model I had because the car was very hard to get and it had car pool stickers. I have also turned a profit on a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 that I had for almost a year and I am turning a good profit on a 2010 camaro V6 that I am now trading in for a 2010 camaro SS model. I do very well on the cars I buy new and now and then I lose some but I make it up on the others. Also to get the deals I put deposits down and get on waiting lists so I pay sticker or under sticker on the very popular cars I buy.

 

my strategy

Buy new

drive it until the wheels fall off which is usually around 10-15 years

go buy another new car

current fleet 2001 Volvo xc70 135,000 miles, 2003 Ford F350 4x4 diesel crew cab for hauling horses 85,000 miles. 2009 Clubman S 23,000 miles

 

That's one of the reaons I got a Mini. Of course I love the car, but I was thinking longer term. A few things I considered when thinking long term:

-Fuel economy, it's one of the most fuel efficient out there and the auto industry won't change that fast.
-Style. IMO the car is very timeless in it's style and very unique.

I will do my best to take care of him too. If I get sick of him though I know that generally Minis get better resale values than other cars.


One final thing I've noticed of late, I have been seeing more Clubmans here in Milwaukee of late. I've been looking for them for a year now, but I'm seeing more and more lately and IMO that's a good thing. I just saw another one today on the way to work.

 

In 2005 I bought my Cooper S for $25k, four years later I sold it for $17k. Your $25k Ford, GM or Chrysler MIGHT be worth $7k at that point (if you are lucky). That is the higher resale value they speak of.