Hey guys and gals,

I'm new here and I have to admit I'm not a Mini owner, but I've been enamored with them since they announced they were going to bring them back.

I currently have a BMW M3 and a VW Passat wagon. The Passat is 10 years old and is becoming more of a maintenance headache than I want to deal with. I'm thinking in the next year I'll be replacing it with something new and I'm itching to get a MCS.

Here's my dilema. The Passat wagon is obviously much larger than a Mini (duh) and I use it for my Home Depot/Lowe's trips. I have an OLD house and it seems to like a lot of attention. The BMW, being a coupe, is useless for hauling anything large either.

My boyfriend just bought a new wagon (Jetta) so technically we could use that for hauling. Please somebody tell me that I'm not crazy to have two, shall we say impractical, cars!!! The practical side of me is telling me to get either a new Passat wagon or a Volvo V70 but the rest of me wants a Mini. The Mini is a hatchback afterall. Maybe it's not all that impractical.

I've been down to Princeton Mini to "visit" a couple times but haven't dared to take a test drive. That would just get me in trouble since I'm not ready to buy ANYTHING yet.

So please convince me that I'm not crazy and tell me that Minis have more practical use than their name conveys. For now I'll have to settle for staring at every Mini I see on the roads, which seems to be quite a few in this area. If you drive your Mini near Princeton and you see a crazy person in a green M3 racing to get up close to you, it's just me trying to get a better look.

Robyn

 

JerseyGirl: What year M3 and how many miles on it? If you want a MINI that badly, I'll do an even trade for my '02 S, it even has the pulley, Magnaflow and Madness intake.

_________________
Men that drive MINIs have no shortcomings to make up for.

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Robyn,
greetings and welcome! Alas, if you don't have a REAL car, then I would say no. We have a Town & Country Chrysler van for our family of five...and I use it to pull a trailer for all of my building materials (phase two construction starts in a month...woohoo!)
My cooper S is my work commuter and other primary use for dates with my wife and errands...and for any non-reason to drive somewhere
If it were not for the van, I wouldn't have purchased the S. Wait a few years until construction is finished or get a larger other car

good luck to you

 

OK, Jerseygirl...

Let me get this straight...The only thing really impractical about your buying a MINI is you won't be able to break up with your boyfriend. If you do, you'll need to replace him with another large car owner. Is that a problem?

 

>>Let me get this straight...The only thing really impractical about your buying a MINI is you won't be able to break up with your boyfriend. If you do, you'll need to replace him with another large car owner. Is that a problem?

I have no intention of leaving my boyfriend. He is more than willing to use his car for hauling, but he also tends to do a bit of travelling on the weekends from time to time for the bike races he participates in. That leaves me with only my own cars.

I really WANT a Mini. I can't describe to you how much I want one and yeah, you only live once. But part of me keeps thinking it's stupid not to have a practical car, even though I have access to someone else's. God, maybe I'm getting old. I'm worried about what's practical.


I could get the Mini and on the off-hand chance we break up, I'd have to reconcile myself to the fact that I'd have to sell it and go back to practicality. Hmmm....

 

You can rent a truck from Home depot, I think it's $20.00 for an 1/2 Hour

 

>>JerseyGirl: What year M3 and how many miles on it? If you want a MINI that badly, I'll do an even trade for my '02 S, it even has the pulley, Magnaflow and Madness intake.

Robyn

 

He's a bit of philosophical look at the situation.

If you want one you'll own one. I don't have the financial resources to have one, but I do. I find a way every day to make it by and yet still have opportunities to throw aftermarket items at it.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

 

>>You can rent a truck from Home depot, I think it's $20.00 for an 1/2 Hour :smile:

 

>>>>You can rent a truck from Home depot, I think it's $20.00 for an 1/2 Hour :smile:

Can we add Jerseygirl to the Happy family of cooper owners?!
Happy, Happy Joy Joy!
Welcome to MCO

 

Jerseygirl
Welcome to MCO.

 

Given how much you lust after the MINI, you need one for your psychological well being.

Sell the Jetta and get a MINI.

Simple!

 

>>Jerseygirl
>>Welcome to MCO. Go for the MINI Cooper S. I have a 1997 M3 (Dakar Yellow) with 81,000 miles and after picking up my 2003 Cooper S seven months ago, I hardly ever drive it. Two weeks ago I placed it for sell in the AutoTrader and the BMWCCA Roundel. Love driving the MINI, doesn’t have the power of the M3 but it’s a blast to drive.

Good to hear from another M owner! I would definitely be getting an S but I can't believe you dont' drive the M3 anymore. I've had mine for 5 years and I still grin from ear to ear every time I drive it. I sold a '95 Daytona Violet M3, and for nine months I was miserable until I went out and got the '97 I have now. I think I'm addicted to the M3 and I'm not sure I can live without it.

Though it would be nice, especially to my wallet, if the Mini could break my addiction to the M. Good luck selling your car!

 

>>Can we add Jerseygirl to the Happy family of cooper owners?!
>>Happy, Happy Joy Joy!

Thanks for the welcome but don't add me yet. I can't buy ANYTHING until I at least have the Passat sold, and since it's on ramps in my garage right now waiting for some new parts, that's not happening anytime soon.

I'll be sticking around and living vicariously through you guys for a while.

 

>>Good to hear from another M owner! I would definitely be getting an S but I can't believe you dont' drive the M3 anymore. I've had mine for 4 years and I still grin from ear to ear every time I drive it.

 

Hi Jerseygirl. I sold my '93 325i with //M suspension to get my Cooper S, and haven't regretted it one bit. I do occasionally miss the squishy ride of the Bimmer

Toss the Passat and get a MINI
Good luck,
Ryan

 

>>Hi Jerseygirl. I sold my '93 325i with //M suspension to get my Cooper S, and haven't regretted it one bit. I do occasionally miss the squishy ride of the Bimmer

 

Jerseygirl...

Welcome... I think it was Thoreau who said "simplify, simplify" -

get rid of what you don't need... you already have a house that's keeping you busy, why keep a VW that will do the same? At the same time, like us, you need a vehicle that you can use when the family arrives and everyone needs a ride.

After spending some time in Florence last year, we decided that we did not need three "big" cars. We are keeping one vehicle that we can carry 6 adults in with comfort, but it will stay parked when we don't need it. Each of us, because we go different directions, will have something small and economical. (read MINI x2).

Besides, I'm tired of cars/trucks that I need a ladder to wash!

Bottom line? The choice is yours... Simplify!

John

_________________
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience which you must stop and look fear in the face... You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

jerseygirl,

ran an 89 e30 M in BMWCCA schools and a few events, I agree big grins! don't feel like the decision needs to happen now, it took me six months and 4 test drives in an S to convince myself it was practical enough[/I]. i sold my ski vehicle (2001 cherokee) and will be selling my track car (97 jetta GT) for one parking space where the mini S will go (down to 3 month delivery from Peabody MA).

By the time you drive an S 3 times you will have just as big a grin!

good luck!

 

I'm kinda in a similar situation Jersey. What I have done is ..Before buying the Mini, I bought a 1990 Nissan Pickup with lots of miles on it for $1000. The engine on those trucks is very solid. I use that for my weekend hauling machine. I HATE renting a truck. It's always a hassle to find out if they have the one you want and you always get stuck paying more than the $20. At least I do. I only have minimum insurance to cover the other guys car in case of an accident. If I got in an accident you can toss this truck in the sea. I still haven't got a Mini yet...I will.

 

Jerseygirl,

Get the mini. I got rid of my Vanagon to get the mini. I miss the space, but it just means you have to get creative when you need to get lots of stuff. You may even have to make multiple trips :smile: :smile: :smile:

 

jerseygirl,

Back to practicality... Figure out what the $ difference would be to buy the MCS ($26k loaded) vs. the Volvo V70 ($35k loaded). That's a 9,000 difference.. more than enough to buy yourself a nice 2000 Ford Ranger used for those extra trips.

 

>>I've been down to Princeton Mini to "visit" a couple times but haven't dared to take a test drive. That would just get me in trouble since I'm not ready to buy ANYTHING yet.
>>
>>Robyn
If you think that blue car taunts you now, wait until you drive it ! It's like stepping over to the dark side. You won't want to go back.

 

>>If you think that blue car taunts you now, wait until you drive it ! It's like stepping over to the dark side. You won't want to go back.

I know. That's why I'm not going to drive one until I can buy something. I've got a friend who just bought one and he's been bugging to take me out and possibly let me drive it. There's NO WAY I'm getting behind that wheel yet.

 

Just a suggestion....why don't you buy a smal and cheapl used pickup truck like a Toyota Tacoma, Chevy S-10, Mazda B2000, etc, etc for all the home repair related duties?

Get the MCS. If you get that VW passat wagon or the Volvo wagon you will regret it. If you need an utility car on ocassion then get a cheap pick up or an used station wagon. Then keep the MCS and the BMW for fun. The MINI is very practical, more than you would ever think possible (We currently have one and will be adding a '04 MCS to our Cooper CVT in October) but if you need to put messy junk in the car just buy a cheapo workhorse for that purpose.

Welcome to the club!