Thinking of getting a R56..

[DTMkarnage]

So I sold my beloved E34 about a month ago and got me a V-TAK honda to run about. While I was on my way to work one day I saw this red 2007 mini cooper S staring at me at a dealership. I had some time to kill so I went in and asked the dealer about it. We did a quick quote to see how much it will cost me out the door and he say about $15k with a $3k down payment. The car is MINT with only 2 scratches and has 35k miles. So my question is..is it worth 15k??...How do you guys like this car??..

[Gundun]

Just go for it.
Here in Italy they ask minimum 18K (euros) for a used CooperS, it's ansolutely a toy.
I'm driving it my CooperD for a day (sold my Z3) and I have to say, though I miss my roady, it's a great ride.

[SilverBeam]

Yeah definitely worth 15K, I paid $14,500 for my R53 last week, I'll chock up the difference to the California car syndrome. I drove an 07 stripped S at the dealership, they said they could probably swing 17K, it had over 50,000 miles on it. So price, wise, I think it is solid. Do you know what options the MINI has?

I like the R56 a lot. They definitely made a lot of improvements, especially in the interior styling. It's a bit softer than the R53, but the engine is nice, and I wouldn't not get one just because of that.

[madsedan]

The car is $18k, not $15k, right?
I went back and forth on this issue recently, ended up buying a loaded up single owner wellmaintained and dealer service 2006 S for $14,9k. I could have bought the R56 S for about $18k or so but based on advice from people in the mini community I drove both and liked the supercharged model a little more. Knowing it was at least $3k cheaper and was the last year of the r53 instead of the first year of the r56 I was done.
No regrets with the cheaper R53.

...should have clarified, the OP says it $15k with a $3k down payment, thats how I came up with the $18k price.

[DTMkarnage]

True..the list price at the dealer was 18k but with 3k down its 15k. I went to the guy today and asked him if he can drop the price a little and with a little bit more talking and convincing him..he said the final new price for the car with the down payment would be 14.5K...this car has been there for a while now because its a 6-speed. Majority of people who live here drive Automatic cars..so I gave him a deposit and asked him to hold it for a month until I can come up with the DP. Seems like its a deal.

[SilverBeam]

I've gotten the bait and switch at a MINI dealership before when it came to downpayment. Make sure they are clear that with $3,000 down you will be taking out a loan for $11,500 and that the $3,000 isn't just to bring down the $18,000 price. It sounds silly but it is pretty awkward and enraging to sit down and do the paperwork and see that they were telling you one thing and writing down another.

[madsedan]

When I've asked a dealer the cost of a car I've never been told "...well its $21k out the door, with a $4k down payment"
You could apply that logic to anything "...the new Ferrari is only $15k, after your $179k down payment..."