New York MINI Car Dealers

Okay, so the only thing I know is that I have approved financing and I'm looking for a 2008 or newer Mini Cooper Base or S. I'm in NY and there is one that I am looking at that appears to be what fits. It's a Yellow 2009 S with 21k miles on it. The CarFax is clean and from the options, it looks to be a stock Cooper S. The list price on the Website (Hassel Mini) is 19,995. First off, how low can I go before I insult them? The other question (sorry, I haven't bought a car in years, and not a "nice" one) is that there is a 2011 Base HardTop Automatic (Black) that is listed at 21,850. Are the 2011's selling for much under "list" price? Any reason to think I could get say $2k off of what these "listed" prices are? Thanks for any replies. I know dealers have to make a living, but I really want to try to get the best bang for my buck. Being so unfarmiliar, I don't even know which I should target, the '09 or the '11.

Hi again Car_man, Well my 2011 Countryman S All4 has just been unloaded from a carrier in NY and I expect to pick it up late this week or early next week. When do the December lease rates expire? When do you expect January rates to be published? Still looking at 36mos lease with 10K or 12K miles per year and would like to know captive lease rates (residual percentage and money factors). Thanks again for all of your help!

Yeah... If you are worried about the ride, the 15" wheels are the ones you want.... The tires are the same overall diameter of the 16" wheels.. Less wheel = more tire = more cushion.. plus, as noted... non-runflat.. which will be even more forgiving.. If you like to shift and run through the gears, you'll have a little more fun with the base model, as it takes a little more rowing to get where you are going.. If you just like power/torque and don't care about the shifting, then the "S" will be more appealing (at a substantial extra cost).

The standard 15" tire is the only one in the MINI line that isn't a run-flat. Some of the guys at the store maintain a bigger wheel will give a better ride. But the shorter,and therefore stiffer sidewall of a larger tire has to give a slightly rougher ride.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "And avoiding run-flats by specing the 15" wheels is very appealing to me."? The 15" tires have me worried that I'll feel every little bump in the road...