Get the 2023 or wait until the next gen?

MINI is currently switching to the 2023 model year. Even if they announce the redesign this year, it would be the 2024 model year and probably won't actually be delivered for almost two years. Not to mention there are no hard specs on it yet regarding range or price, etc. If you order an SE now you'd have at least one year of enjoyment with it and probably more. You can always trade it in if you find the next generation model is desirable.

 

The next generation is expected to arrive in dealers sometime in calendar year 2023 so you probably won’t have to wait 2 years. How much of an impact it will have on the resale value of the current generation will depend on how much better it is. At the moment no one knows. But you could try to look at the market value of used Nissan Leaf’s and see if you see a bigger jump in model years when they upgraded the battery. Or you could look at the difference of new EVs that have a short and long range version.

 

If you aren't totally sure you could lease, but it is going to depend on the money factor. That is, if the cost of leasing less than the anticipated depreciation. It's going to come down to the dealerships in your area on whether or not they want to give you a deal.

Edit: Guess there's no lease option! Hah.

 

Still seems optimistic to me, considering the pandemic issues still hindering the world. The original SE was supposed to be available in early 2020 (pre-pandemic), and there were only a few hundred (I think) actually made available to US customers, the first true deliveries didn't happen until mid-2020.

As for resale, hard to say. But if the new model is smaller that might not appeal to many, and if it uses a less-powerful motor for longer range that could also change its appeal. Look at the prices on used BMW i3s, they seem to hold up pretty well. And we're still in the middle of a vehicle shortage so prices on used cars is very high.

(I also have not heard of any leasing available for the SE, so I'd be surprised if that's an option.)

 

Well, first question is, which country are you residing. Different country have different options. Like the Fiat 500 is definitely an alternate of the Mini. In France, you can also get an EV fix with the Ami. If it is me and knowing that a new model WILL be sold in my country. I won’t be getting the MINI SE now. If it won’t be sold then it will be a nice low volume EV that will pretty much stay unique for a while. Unlike those people that start to feel that their Tesla are not special anymore.

 

In either way, there is no resale value for this car. You just have to look. Do you still see the many Smart cars around? Anyway, it’s a big risk in terms of resale value for the current Mini SE.

 

Factually incorrect! Go on the interwebz and try selling yours. You will be surprised.

 

It's possible the value of pre-owned UK-built SEs could soar if drivers who like sporty cars consider the Chinese electric MINI to be a downgrade.

 

One other thing you may want to consider is the availability of parts for out of warranty repair. The current model has many shared F56 ICE components and BMW i3 94Ah electrical parts.

 

I am hoping they come out with a blue for 23 in base or plus, or a different color standard interior for the Iconic.

We were at the dealer this weekend and came up with what we want in a plus, but would like the blackout trim but don't want to pay the extra 500 for the black interior. Plus with leather brings the spread down to 2500. blackout is standard so the difference is 2000 which is OK, but to get a black interior it is back up to 3000. I am not sure I want to spring that much. If we go Iconic we will probably swing from moonwalk to enigmatic, and I don't think my wife was fond of the almost white seats.

 

Indeed, the current asking price for a used SE is quite close to that of a new one.

What we (or least I) don't know is what they are actually selling for (if indeed they are selling at all).

Of course, with such a new vehicle/limited (although growing) number on the road/current auto market, not a lot of reliable info to go by.

 

I'm glad I went Iconic (2021), because I really like the HUD and the big 8.8" screen (big screen is now standard), and the Satellite Grey leather seats. My nice MA had the seats treated to prevent color transfer from blue jeans, for which I'm glad. Sixteen months later, they still look good (although we have driven only 8K miles, thanks to pandemic).

Offsetting the light seats is the Iconic's anthracite black headliner. My Iconic also included the Power Spoke rims, MINI Yours steering wheel, the Parking Assistant, front parking distance sensors, MINI-E logo on passenger-side floor-mat, the wireless phone charger in the console, and the high-power USB-C port below the regular old USB-A port.

I keep the Power Spokes in the basement, fearful that I'll curb them--they'll go back on the car for a show on a sunny day. After one try, I found the Parking Assistant too scary to use again. The phone charger is too small for modern phones. All our trips are short, so we never need to charge anything on the USB-C port. Love the HUD and the MINI-E logo on the passenger-side floor mat. I've never curbed the used Loop Spoke rims I bought on eBay, so maybe I'll be brave enough to put the Power Spokes back on next summer. All in all, I didn't make a great case for the Iconic trim, but I'm still happy I chose it.

Then there's the Enigmatic Black paint that's available only with the Iconic trim. I got tired of washing black cars twice as often as the other colors, so I passed on that color and let my wife choose Moonwalk Grey, which I like a lot with our black top. One poster in an Inside EVs forum wrote: Black is not a color, it's a lifestyle. Always loved that quote.

Darn, I just came here to write about the benefit of treating the Satellite Grey seats and got carried away again.

 

Maybe go with the old model. MINI is doing electric conversions of the original!

 

We need to know how many £s and and how many lbs.

 

The thing I love about the satellite grey seats is how much brighter the interior looks. Like @insightman I also had my seats treated to prevent dye transfer, though it’s much too early to say how effective it’s been as I’ve only done around 340 miles in 5 weeks of ownership. I like black interiors, my last car was triple black which suited it, but my preference in the smaller car is for a bit more light and the satellite grey coupled with the sun/moonroof on the iconic/level 3 gives me that light in the car.
If the 2024 mini is to be built in China there may be more of a reluctance for people to get on board, but I’d expect build quality to remain high. The iPhone I’m using to type this is a quality product and it’s also made in China, so it is quite possible the new Mini would retain the quality feel of the Oxford made cars. Delaying purchase for a car that may not land in dealerships for 18 months or more and then when it does you may not like the specs would be to deny yourself a year of driving a great car. There’s always going to be a new version of everything along in a couple of years, you have to chose to jump in at some point.

 

This suggests it could be upwards of £25k plus donor car for the conversion. No word on the weight of the pack though.

https://www.drivingelectric.com/mini/41188/classic-mini-goes-electric-official-conversion-for-iconic-supermini-announced

 

I wouldn't worry about switching to an iphone for a 4 mile commute. I'm an Android user, and I'm not missing android auto too much on my 20 mile commute.