Probable new Mini owner

[Rene]

First off, I'm so excited to get the Mini and I hope it is everything it is looking to be, I can't wait to rock a Mini!

I found 2006 Cooper S with 11,100 mi., in mint condition. I am having it shipped down to me this week and taking it to a mechanic here in Tucson.

If it is not rusted or screwed up, I'll be buying it for $10,000...I couldn't believe it when I saw the price.

What would you guys say i should be looking for the most. Have you heard of any scams out there like this?

I won't be paying a thing unless I decide to buy it and I'll have it for 10 days to get it checked out.

So any suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks!

[66Cooper]

That sounds too good to be true. Have you done a car fax check on it yet?

When it arrives, let us know and besides having a mechanic check it out maybe a few of us from the Tucson chapter can come have a look over it for you.

Where did you find it advertised? Did you find it on line? If you can post a link to a site where it was or saved the description post that.

There have been a couple of scams that some of us have noticed on the web for MINIs that were priced way too low, but we couldn't get the seller to contact us. In one case the car was supposed to be in Phoenix, and I think he would not return my email or calls because we were local enough to come to him or ask to meet him in the Phoenix area to see the car.

[Rene]

Yea I did a carfax and it only turned up that it was imported from the uk, then switched owners twice,

It was advertised on yahoo auto's so it is a pretty secure deal. no loss to me if it is a scam.

That would be awesome if someone could meet up and take a look at it with me. I'll make sure and post the arrival date when I find out when they think it'll be here.

his phone number is from chino valley. the car is in NY and he is in Iraq...so I am just hoping it is a relationship mistake car or a present or something.

[jessijames]

I found the same deal on Craigslist about two months ago for a 2006 JCW package Cooper S for $11,000. This guy had a great story, his post was in the phoenix craigslist for less than 24 hours, then it myseriously dissapeared. He said it was paid off, in his name and it was his wifes car. He had possesion of it and wanted to sell it before she got it in the divorce. He would not give me the name of the shipping company until I told him that it sounded to fishy and was not interested. I checked out the company that was shipping. They had a very nice website, the first thing that popped up in the search engine when I typed in their name was a website dedicated to fighting fradulent shippers like this one. Further down the page I found a website for a shipping company with a similar name. I checked it out, surprisingly they had a very professional looking website. This website was quite different from the website for the first shipper, but there were a couple of pictures that were identical. The first shipper boasted how their company was based in Florida and the second company was based in Texas. Further looking into these websites I found the customer comments on both websites to be identical and from the same exact customers. I played along with these guys for a little bit. I even requested to fly down to Georgia(where they claimed the car was sealed up in a werehouse) and pick it up in person, then drive it home. Of course if they are in some other state or country for that matter, why would they care where you flew. Another strange thing was the e-mail address that was given on craigslist to reply to was not the e-mail address that they responded from. Both addresses being untraceable free accounts.

Believe me with that great of a deal your mind does strange things. I had already checked on plane tickets and everything. And I kept telling myself that it couldn't be a scam. Just be careful. It was to weird so I finally shopped around and found an '02 Cooper S here in town with 46k and in great shape for under $12k.

Good luck,
Jim and Jessica

[azminiman]

If it was imported from the UK, the only reason I could see that it may be priced low is... It has the UK dash which is in Kph. Dont even think they display MPH in small print. and all the measurements are in Metric... MPG. speed, ect...

OBTW, is it left or right drive?

[Rene]

Unfortunately its left hand drive, and it does have MPH so I'm not sure if they change it all out or what.

I hope its not some elaborate scheme that would really be disappointing.

[Carey934]

Unfortunately its left hand drive, and it does have MPH so I'm not sure if they change it all out or what.

I hope its not some elaborate scheme that would really be disappointing.

It makes no sense that someone would sell a car worth twice as much at a starting price so low, unless they know you personally or you're an excellent negotiator. And while you might have 'scam' protection from Yahoo autos, you might want to read the fine print. It could take you months to get any money back, if you get it back at all, if this deal turns out to be what it appears to be on the surface...

[Rene]

well the moment of truth is coming soon so I'll definitely let everyone how this went.

I've heard of stranger deals, my next door neighbor got a 1990 gt convertible when it was worth 22k, he got it for 1200, again the guy was in the military. And my cousin who just shipped out for Iraq did the same, just dumped his 240sx. so it seems to be a reoccurring trend.

[66Cooper]

If it was imported from the UK, the only reason I could see that it may be priced low is... It has the UK dash which is in Kph. Dont even think they display MPH in small print. and all the measurements are in Metric... MPG. speed, ect...

OBTW, is it left or right drive?

Please keep in mind all of our MINIs were imported from the UK, just some are built for export in left hand drive models.

Although most of Europe uses KM per hour, England uses Miles per hour. Even my old right hand drive classics use miles per hour as the main or only numbering on the dials.

[66Cooper]

Unfortunately its left hand drive, and it does have MPH so I'm not sure if they change it all out or what.

I hope its not some elaborate scheme that would really be disappointing.

I would love to have a new MINI to match my classics in a RHD version. To me the right side is the only place to drive a Mini from, and wish I could do the same with my MINI. When we ordered ours, I asked and was told I could only get LHD for US purchase. Sigh........

[Rene]

hehe looks that you were all right so far. yahoo confirms never hearing of him. hehe that sucks.

[66Cooper]

hehe looks that you were all right so far. yahoo confirms never hearing of him. hehe that sucks.

Any word yet?

I saw an Indi Blue S for sale at Alvernon and Valencia the other night, parked on the south east corner. Didn't get a number or notice the price, it was dark when I drove by (around 6pm).

Do you want us locals to keep an eye out for private party sales around Tucson for you?