2022 Cooper SE residuals

Hello and hope you do decide to join "the SE club."

IMHO, there is little or no way to reliably predict the value of these early MINI electrics in 3 years' time. There aren't many used MINI SE on offer around the country (or new ones, for that matter), so there isn't a whole lot of data to be found (although I am certain that you found one of the best places possible to ask your question of folks more knowledgeable than I).

That said, however, and first, it is perhaps the least expensive full-electric vehicle on the market in the US today, so that helps mitigate the financial risk quite a lot up front. Second, this significantly lower cost of entry for an otherwise really fun driving city car also has great operating economy among even EV's in general and carries through to prices of insurance, etc., saving you even more $ over time of ownership. Third, in CA there are other unique advantages to be had, including state, local and utility rebates for which you might benefit, and even the HOV lanes are open to EV's making your commute a little less of a hassle.

New MINIs qualify for the full $7500 federal income tax credit and a federal tax credit on purchasing & installing an EVSE (a charger) at your home.

On the downside, I would say it is very likely that BMW / MINI will in the next few years introduce MINIs with better batteries, longer range, etc.

If you want to really hedge your risk, you could consider leasing an SE too.

My (adult) son lives in Venice Beach (next door to Santa Monica), and his usual drive car is now an older ICE (internal combustion engine) VW Golf, but he also is thinking about a new MINI too.

Anyway, good luck with your decision-making and hope to see you soon and often again on this forum.

 

As far as I know, MINI isn't doing leases on SEs.

I've never leased a car, but I was considering it for the SE because I don't know how the battery will hold up long term. I may sell it at the 5 year point instead of keeping it for 10 years like my current MINI.

 

Now you're asking the hard questions!

I really wanted an island blue but didn't want to pay for the electric collection so ended up with moonwalk grey

 

You could try to see the depreciation history of the BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf over the past few years. Mini is probably somewhere between those two.

 

That sounds about right. Both of them lost a lot of value as the longer range EVs came on the market. EV tech is still moving fast and Mini isn’t trying to compete on range. But perhaps that means it won’t drop quite as fast because the last gen battery is already baked in.

Plus you “lose” $7500+ the moment you purchase due to the tax credits. You can’t resell for close to the purchase price because of that.

 

Leafs have pretty limited battery technology (until recently), with sub-100 mile range, no cooling), and no CCS charging. As for the BMW i3, maybe it's because it's so expensive to begin with ($10,000 more than an SE!). I think that's due to the carbon fiber body. The other major issue with the i3 is the goofy wheels it has, which are a unique size for the i3 only.

I do take issue with the value of EVs based on mileage. There's nothing to wear out. The only real degradation will be in the battery packs, and evidence is showing for most EVs it's much less of an issue over time than initially speculated.

 

But those (likely Chinese-built) long-range MINI Cooper EVs will be larger and heavier, hence less fun to drive.

No manufacturer is hinting that they will make a compact, sporty, 3,000-lb EV that can compete directly with the MINI Cooper SE. The uniqueness and limited production of this (admittedly short-range) EV could work to help used SEs maintain higher relative (to MSRP) values than other, non-Tesla, EVs. Reports of how the SE's CATL battery fares after years of use will, of course, affect the SE's resale value.

I don't believe any forum members have reported they have been able to lease a MINI Cooper SE.

 

And yet, the few used SEs that I have seen for sale are priced as if that tax credit didn't exist. That makes them more expensive that a new one, at least if you can take advantage of the credit. So, either the cars aren't actually selling at that price, or they are being purchased by buyers for whom the (full) tax credit isn't available.

 

I wasn't aware of that site prior to the OP's OP, but was looking at it yesterday to see how well non-SEs held their value. That may not be a valid comparison, however, given that EV version should be free of any engine/drivetrain reliability issues that the ICE model might still have.

TL, DR: It's a crapshoot. Buy it, drive it, enjoy it, expect to lose money on it no matter what you buy.

 

Or for those who aren't willing to wait months for a new one to be built. But yeah, the few used ones I've seen are priced without consideration of the tax credit.

 

Depreciation is skewed by the tax credits. Here in NY, I can buy a $30k SE for about $20k. That 67% depreciation is off the MSRP, so it is work $10k after 5 years / 60k miles. So really it's only 50%, which is actually pretty good.

 

This calculation seems about right. The tax credit is not lost in any sense of the word.

 

How has the battery on the i3 held up? From what I've read, it is basically the same thing. 31K MSRP, less 10K in tax credits where I live is 21K. In 5 years will I get 10K? that's 167 a month. Add $83 a month to the equation if i can only get 5K in 5 years.

YMMV Your Money May Vary

 

The Korean Samsung battery in the i3 wouldn't fit into the MINI without jacking it up 6 inches, so MINI put a Chinese CATL battery into the tunnel and under the back seat. The CATL battery supposedly performs better in cold weather than the Samsung, but it hasn't been around long enough to know how well it will hold up with time.

 

Is it the fact that no forum members have been able to lease a MINI SE? I know that many have reported not being able to get a lease from the factory (i.e., MINI itself), but what about other (private) leasing sources?

(At least here in my state and probably others, there are lots of independent auto leasing companies that write leases on both new and late model used cars supposedly of any make / model, but I don't know whether these companies have written any MINI SE leases in particular. Then again, the MINI SE volume is low, too, so maybe it is a potential market that is too small for them to mess with?)