A good deal or avoid?

Casdawer · 25 Apr 2019 at 18:42

Hey all,

My C1 is in the last year of it's lease so I'm looking at replacing it.

I've got my eyes set on a Mini due to my wife having one previously and it was a great car to drive.

I've found a 2016 Mini Cooper S from a Mini dealer and I've managed to get them down to £300 down and £229 per month or £256 if I decide to get a new 'standard' Mini Cooper.

I'd prefer the 2016 S but mostly because it comes with most of the options and would depreciate slower than the brand new one.

Do you think £229 per month is a good price for this car or shall I try and haggle some more?

Thanks!

[TW]Fox · 25 Apr 2019 at 18:49

The monthly figure is irrelevant without more detail. What's the final payment? How much actually is this car?

Casdawer · 25 Apr 2019 at 18:51

Car is £13,998
Deposit is £300.

Final payment details haven't been sent over (just discussed via email) but I would not keep the car at the end, I would change it.

[TW]Fox · 25 Apr 2019 at 19:30

Looks like a poor spec example. It has the terrible halogen headlights for a start which is why it's cheap.

The new Cooper will likely be better spec as things like LED headlights are now standard.

Casdawer · 25 Apr 2019 at 19:31

[TW]Fox said:
Looks like a poor spec example. It has the terrible halogen headlights for a start which is why it's cheap.

The new Cooper will likely be better spec as things like LED headlights are now standard.

Excuse my ignorance but what's wrong with halogen headlights?

This is the car in more detail - https://approvedusedminis.co.uk/veh...quoteref=1356a849-d63d-47c8-bc44-8c4f72eec63b

[TW]Fox · 25 Apr 2019 at 19:34

They look poor as they don't have the LED DRL or the projector light housing and the light output is poor compared with the LED lights.

That car doesn't look like a good spec at all really.

Casdawer · 25 Apr 2019 at 19:39

OK, that's fair enough.

What would you recommend at around £225 per month with a similar sized deposit?

I have been looking at the 'new' Polo which you can get around the £200 mark but that's a standard SE spec with a small 1.0 engine.

fastwunz · 25 Apr 2019 at 19:47

Fiesta st?

[TW]Fox · 25 Apr 2019 at 19:57

Casdawer said:
What would you recommend at around £225 per month with a similar sized deposit?

If that's really all you can find then a 13 grand car probably isn't smart.

Housey · 25 Apr 2019 at 20:08

Casdawer said:
OK, that's fair enough.

What would you recommend at around £225 per month with a similar sized deposit?

I have been looking at the 'new' Polo which you can get around the £200 mark but that's a standard SE spec with a small 1.0 engine.

My Polo GTI was 1200 down and 168 a month over 2 years as a point of reference

Peerzy · 25 Apr 2019 at 20:44

Ah, the standard 3-monthly Casdawer "I took a really bad lease deal on a Citroen many years ago and now want to sign myself up for another long and potentially bad lease deal" thread. What's wrong with a bank loan and a £5k car considering you've posted in the past how tight things are? Haven't you also mentioned buying a house and kids as well, none of this sounds like renting an expensive poorly specced Mini is the answer?

Use the knowledge you've gained from your existing Citroen lease deal and get a nice cheap runabout on a bank loan for a few years, it'll be paid off in no time and you'll own the thing. You could then have an extra few hundred each month to save up for a bigger deposit if you feel you'd like a nicer / newer car.

As you've seen changing or getting yourself out of a lease deal early is very expensive, so taking on a Mini a £xxx pcm and then deciding it's not suitable in 12 months is just going to lead to the same situation you are in now.