Maybe not as much but you certainly can negotiate. It also depends on time of the year, sure when you're shopping year end and outgoing new models are on sale they will be more close to lightly used, didn't see you mention the timing factor. 

Problem is you get all the way out to some place remote, turn it off, and then who knows if it will start and get you home.

Except that your apps for the mini will all have to be redesigned to fit the new size. It's not rocket science, you'll be forced w/ oversize iPhone apps, or shrunken iPad Apps until the developers catch up.

Wrong. People go w/ Kindle fire because of the vast array of content that can be streamed and accessed - especially if you're already a Amazon Prime subscriber. Nexus 7 because you can actually surf the net without seeing "Cannot play" signs on half the pages you go to (back to lack of flash). The iPad IMO is…