Hi,
Wheres the best place to buy a bmw mini. Micronetshowroom had the One at £9,097 but its now £9400...the gap is rising between a uk one and that...however i still reckon importer - know any other good importer prices?
Also, have been considering an A3 1.6 Sport used and a 316ti compact used - is the Mini still a better car?
any opinions appreciated!
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If you but a UK model don't you get 3 years servicing for £99?
Factor that into your decision, as without the offer, the servicing will cost a packet, and if you do without the servicing you instantly make your imported Mini even less desireable to buyers.
Blue
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I agree. A UK sourced car is what you should keep looking for to take advantage of the 3 years servicing for £99. I think that you should stick to finding a mini. Demand exceeds supply. Not often that hapens in the automotive world!
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Problem is BB is that i am a buyer...so prices are hiked high at the moment.
I really like the Mini and am very tempted to buy one, however i keep thinking that there are other cars on the market which are good value.
i.e.
1999/2000 Audi A3 1.6 Sport - £8-9000
+ = Audi Quality, nice looks
- = used, possibly a bit too mature for a 1st car
NEW Yaris T Sport 1.5 - £9500
+ = quick car, brand new
- = a bit like an mpv to look at
206 XSI NEW - £10,000ish
+ = Nice looks, gti styling
- = 206 has bad quality issues
so it still comes back to the mini.
If i buy a One i will be looking for:
15 Inch Alloys
Chrome pack
Salt Pack
A quote for one like this delivered to a port from micronet is around about £10,300 - the cooper is £10850
UK car would cost me £10,300 basic + tlc £100 (worth £500) so £9,900 + salt pack (£350ish) £10250, + alloys (£300ish) £10550 + chrome (100ish) = £10650
difference would be £350 if i got a mini one from the uk but at the moment would be £850 realistically so its still a big jump in price
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Yeah, but think about resale value as well. Boring, I know, but that's how you make the jump to the next car you want.
It's quite possible for the import to be worth £500 less in three years' time as well, or more than that, so overall, the import will work out more expensive.
On top of that, delivery times, particularly for the One, might be quite a bit less on the UK car than on the import. There's also the third year of warranty on the UK car to consider, that I don't believe you get with the import. Plus, if you buy from your local BMW dealer, they're more likely to go the extra mile for you than with an import, which they'll see as a threat to their trade.
So all in all, even if you have to find an extra £850, you'll walk away with much more than that in 3 years' time and generally have a better customer experience.
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Hello Carmad, another thing to factor into your equation is the cost of an extended warranty. You may have to allow for the cost of one or two years' warranty on a car imported from Europe in order to get a true indication of the "saving". In this instance I really don't think it's worth your while importing. In any case, there are some internet companies who source their cars in the UK only and therefore include the warranty and (in this case) the tlc pack - I have seen this on the web in the last couple of months. I think ukcarbroker and drivethedeal are two of these, but not sure if they also import. Good luck with your decision, anyway.
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Sorry to be picky but BMW offer 5 years free servicing with the TLC package not 3 years.
The Mini is probably one of the few cars where going the imported route does'nt really make financial sense.
Apparently if you buy a ONE you can buy a chip which increases the performance to same level as a Cooper for just a few hundred pounds. JC from Top Gear mentioned this a few weeks ago.
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