well ever since the mini coopers have been released i have been in love with the car. i turn 16 on sunday and my parents have known i've wanted a MCS. see its not the price of the car that's a big deal, i'm paying for most of the car myself, the monthly insurance, and the gas. its the fact that its a new, small car and they don't believe is safe. i tell them about ALL the safety features, but since there is no crash tests as of yet, they keep saying that doesn't guarantee i'll be safe inside of it. their main fear is that since in dallas pretty much everyone owns a giant truck or SUV, one of them is gonna plow into my mini and kill me. now i have had my heart set on a mini forever and honestly there is no other car i would want. my parents have even offered to pay fully for other cars, but there is no other car i would rather have then a mini cooper. is there anything you can recommend besides more begging and pleading? any help would be greatly appreciated thanks

 

DuNcE223,
In a matter of fact, there is a crash test somewhere here in this site... i'll try to look for it 4 u!

--------------------
DS MCS, 17"R90s, full premium sport pack, front rally lights, white back indicators. SEX MACHINE!

 

Looking at the latest Consumer Reports I found that there really are not that many hard facts about the safety features of the MC/MCS. The last post is right, there is a crash test done. It's only been done in Europe though. It consists only of a frontal off-center impact. The crash looks as though it's at a fairly fast speed and did not affect the drivers area. Remember that it's made by BMW, which means it has mass amounts of safety features. BMW has been paramount to safety standards. Count the air bags on the car and think about it. The car is small so it's incredibly important to include as many air bags as possible. Your parents are just concerned for your safety. When I was 16 I wanted to have a '74 Branco. They roll over all the time, not a safe vehicle. Now the MINI shouldn't roll that easily but when driving you have to pay attention to all other drivers. Your so small in a MINI that most people will not see you. It'll be different in the new MINI because it's bigger than the old MINI. I had an 84 MINI and poeple just didn't see me. Think about it.

Cheers

 

>>DuNcE223,
Found it, not here but in mini2.com... here it is, brace urself, cuz ur one click away from owning a MCS...
Hope this will help... good luck

crash test

>>--------------------
>>DS MCS, 17"R90s, full premium sport pack, front rally lights, white back indicators. SEX MACHINE!

 

I think car and driver just had the first total of a Mini Cooper. The driver waled away with only a broken finger nail.

The BMW Mini Coopers are the world safetest car in its class.

One of the magizine n the racks yesterday has the car rated at 99.8 out of 100.

 

I've seen the video, but the page doesn't show the specs on the test. How fast was the vehicle travelling? Was the Gas tank full or empty? What happenned with the engine block? These are some questions we need answerred befor anyone can say it's a "safe" car. It looks safe, but thats a statement made without all the facts.

Cheers

 

>>I think car and driver just had the first total of a Mini Cooper. The driver waled away with only a broken finger nail.
>>
>>The BMW Mini Coopers are the world safetest car in its class.
>>
>>One of the magizine n the racks yesterday has the car rated at 99.8 out of 100.
>>
>>

CHeck out AUTOWEEK here for the article
Autoweek MCS crash (into tree)

 

Wow you must have some really nice parents if they decide to buy you a $20K car as your first car.....my parents would have laughed in my face.

That is why I had to buy a $500 car for my first....with my own money.

 

a

 

lol! L. Mini I'm with you!
I didn't get a car at all as a kid! I had to wait until I was 22 and had a "real" job to buy my own first car (which was a crappy Chevy Malibu.)
...oh how times are changing....
God I feel old....

 

Im 25, and paying my MCS for the next 4 years, The only thing I cant say is that when you buy you´re own toys, is the only way you take really good care of them.

Can youre parents, buy for me a pair of Rally Lights for my MCS

Only Joking.

 

I'm not trying to pick, but i'm agreeing with the bottom lif the thread... my parents bought my my first car, but it was a Dodge Omni for 200 bux (needed 300 bux worth of work, bringing the grand total up to 500)... I'd say don't get a MINI untill you've had some years of driving experience under your belt. You don't wanna end up like the fool who's story was reported on MINI2 where they lost control on a turn, and smashed into a parked ford probe. Just assmume that the first car you own is going to get totaled... it's safer that way...

Rocketboy_X

 

a

 

DuNcE223,

I agree with Rocketboy_X to an extent (you may bang up your first car), but I also know what it's like to want something SOOO bad that you know it's got to be right. No matter what other great car your parents would outright buy you, you won't be totally happy because it's not what YOU wanted.

 

DuNcE223,
There are two schools of thought being given to you. There are some of us who believe that the MINI is safe, and there are the others who believe that you are too young.

I believe that everyone who has answered you is correct in one way or another, but I will like to bring it home for you.

I think the MINI is safe in the hands of more experienced (not necessarily older) drivers.
I don't think anyone here would want to deny anyone on this Forum the chance of driving a MINI, but you have to think logically just for a moment.

This MINI is not the Mini I grew up with twenty years ago. This is a fine piece of machinery as many of us understand. This car just makes you say "Yes, now I can breathe".

I can honestly say that I can appreciate my first NEW car now after enjoying :smile: and hating :evil: my previous used ones.

Whatever you end up getting (MINI or not) enjoy it and be careful.

Lolo

 

hey thanks for those links, it put my parents at ease about getting me the MCS. but i think some of you got confused in your posts. my parents are buying the car for me, but i am paying for it (i currently have a litte more than $18,000 saved up). they are paying for the rest as a gift for my good grades and 5th highest gpa in my school (4.52). but my parents aren't really spoiling me at all. i am paying for the gas and insurance myself. my parents have taught me if i wanted something bad enough i had to work for it. ever since i turned 14 i have been working like crazy to earn money for my car. the past 2 summers i have held multiple jobs (at one point 4), and currently i have one after school job and one weekend job. my parents knew i wanted a MCS really bad and knew i was working hard to earn enough to get one. they said that they believe i deserved it, but didn't trust the safety (they said that before i showed them the crash tests, now their opinions have changed).

but someone posted that since the MCS is made by bmw it is safe b/c bmw has a long standing safety record. well i tried that arguement with my parents, but my dad knows just about anything about every car on the market (guess he didn't know anything about the mini!). he told me about how the 2k1 toyota camery had a 4 star side impact crash test rating, but the 2k2 model had only a two star side impact test rating under the same conditions. i mean bmw is a safe company but still it could make a mistake like toyota did (i know, i know i should be shot for comparing bmw to toyota).

as for the stuff about the driver's experience i hate to admit its true. this being my first car i have had little driving experience and my parents did worry about that, that is why they really stressed on the whole safety factor. but in my eyes nothing beats a mini, it is a luxury/performace/safe car....not many cars fit under all those catagories....

 

Boy... this is a tough one.

I can understand the incredible desire for something like a MINI (even 54 years doesn't dull that). However, as the father of a 16 year old son (who is currently learning to drive a stick shift, and perhaps my MCS), I have terrible misgivings.

The MCS car is safe (at least as safe as any car can be, compared to other vehicles on the road over twice it's size). However, in progressing from an "enthusiastic" young driver to an "enthusiast" (and later, a "skilled" driver, someday); accidents WILL happen. I would not give my son a car with such incredibly high limits (acceleration, braking, cornering) FOR HIS FIRST CAR. My son is responsible, an honors student, a member of the school track team, etc... but it's MY responsibility to make sure he gets to grow up. Matt will get our old Honda; with many miles on it, but excellent tires & shocks, etc. That way, "when" (not if) he backs into a fence, or curb (accidentally), it will be "no big thing". And, he'll be at least a little less likely to be pulling 1+ G's around corners. He'll also make mistakes on the HONDA's gearbox & clutch. And, when his friends want to go to the beach or mountains... the dirt & sand & dents won't matter so much.

Then, in a few years, he'll have made the progression to enthusiast; and will be able to select a new (?) car (if he chooses), knowing that he'll no longer be rounding the teeth off of the gears. He'll also be better able to control the sudden surge of 160+ horsepower suddenly applied to a rain-slickened road. And will have (hopefully) graduated from college without the albatross of additional college loans around his neck.

So, DuNcE223, if "I" were your parents... I'd let you cut your teeth on something cheaper and tamer (but still safe) until you're a little further along. In addition, if you put most of that money aside (now), think of the MINI you could get by your junior year in college! 250HP, 4wd, AND... you may be the first of ALL of us to get the Harman Kardan stereo.

Please don't take this the wrong way... you sound like a very sharp, HIGHLY motivated individual. You have a tremendous life ahead of you. With your dedication, you will have no problem in achieving whatever you want. However, it is the thankless lot of us parents to make sure that you "leave the nest" in one piece!

(ps: if you DO get the MINI... think real hard about a driving school; like Skip Barber, etc. You know the routine: skid pad, and other "emergency" maneuvers, so that all of your mishaps are minor)

Good Luck! And keep your enthusiasm for MINI's, whichever way the current decision goes!

... a worried parent (David G)

 

DavidG, that about sums up driving as far as know. Granted, I am just 22, so, realistically, I'm not that much older than most beginning drivers out there, but I have had a full range of experience on a wide range of cars (72 VW Beatle, 69 Cadillac, 96 Mustang GT, 94 Jeep Wrangler), and I have to agree. Even the Mustang, one of the finest American, if not the top line of American muscle cars, can not compare with the pure driving experience of the MCS. My Mustang was destroyed in an accident (the other driver's fault), so I know how the loss of a great car feels, and the feeling of walking away after the airbags saved your life.

Long story short, Dunce, I would reccomend that you get some experience. Example- driving home tonight, I took a sharp 110 degree turn at about 35-40, skidded out, recovered, finished the turn. Exhilirating, but scary still, and if it wasn't for my driving experience (specifically the Mustang), who knows what would have happened. The thing is, it's hard, and here I speak only for myself, to drive it like every other car on the road.

I love my MCS, but at the same time, I'm babying her, not only because she's new and rare, but also because it's the highest performance car I've ever owned, and driving it is entirely in a new class.

 

I commend you on saving up that money and I think it's great that your parents are rewarding you for your good preformance in school (although I didn't realize that a GPA in high school could go higher than a 4.0......man I would have had something else to strive for!)

But I agree with what DavidG and Multipurpose have said....I myself am only 24, and this is already my third car....my first car was about the biggest POS you could imagine....an '87 Ford Tempo that I got for REALLY cheap. But besides the fact the car was old I was thrilled to have it to practice on for those first couple of years. I got hit by a Surburban 2 weeks after I got it (damn SUVs) and although it was not 100% my fault, it could have been avoided if I had had more driving experience. And as is obvious, that Tempo was by no stretch of the imagination near the same class as a MCS.

After seeing a bunch of people I know get in dumb accidents when they were younger, I wouldn't recommend a car like that to someone young and inexperienced on the road. Regardless of how SAFE it is, you still don't want to total a car like that and as a young driver, you run a higher risk of doing so. Why don't you get something that you know you can beat around for a little while and really get your experience on before graduating to the MCS? Trust me, if you had that new car, you would HATE it if something happened to it.

Cheers!
L.Mini

 

16 is too young for such a car. You really do need more experience. IF you are really set on a MINI, go for the Cooper, not the S. For one, the reduction in power will help. The supercharged S might be too much car for you with a brand new license. The milder Cooper would be far easier to control..not to mention cheaper to insure.

And why blow your whole wad on one purchase? I mean, to save up $18k in 2 years at minimum wage pay (sorry but true fact of 14-15 year old labor) is an outstanding feat. To use it all on a single purchase isn't using your head. If you parents are really going to chip in, have them chip in on a Cooper and you keep $5k in the bank for whatever. As you seem like a responcible person, this really would be the way to go. Besides, what's the fun of owning a new car if you can't afford to take it out on the town?

R

 

As the daughter of a collision center owner, I have grown up learning how enjoyable cars can be, as well as how dangerous they can be. My dad instilled in me at an early age a sense of respect for all automobiles. When it was time for me to get my license, and start driving.. I dreamed of a souped up Mustang or MR2 (Minis weren't that abundant back in '92...lol

_________________
Proud owner of a Chili Red MINI Cooper, named "Dolly"...white wheels, barely-legal tinting, white roof, and a "MINI FREAK" tag on the front. MOTOR ON, BABY!!

 

I must Agree. Invest in college. Wish I would have go to driving school. Get a decent used car and learn to take care of it. You really wont be sorry. at least give it a year to make sure your passion justifies the expense. This is a sports car!

 

hey DuNcE223. First off, happy birthday (kinda late though). I am also 16. My mini is coming in at the end of Nov. Been waiting since my birthday in May. My parents had the same concerns about safety, etc. By brother has a BMW 3-series, which I am driving til my car comes in because he is at college and can't have it the first year. I love cars and I research them all the time. There is a site that has the specs of the crash test (the same one that the video shows). It is Euro NCAP. Go there then click on "superminis" and the MINI is in the list. If you haven't already, tell your parents about all the active safety features of the MINI. Like EBD, CBC, ABS, DSC. They stand for Electronic Brake Distribution (automatically distrutes brake force to front/rear for optimum braking), Cornering Brake Control (Brakes the correct wheels during a turn to help maintain directional stability during braking), Anti-lock Brake System (I'm sure you know what that is), and Dynamic Stability Control (during the event that the car starts to slide sideways, the car reduces engine power to specific wheels and applies brake to certain wheels to recover control if physically possible and DSC also activates during wheel spin and acts as traction control). I hope this has helped. The miniusa site has the active and passive safety features described on it and alot more info. Send me a message if you have any more questions. Motor On. :smile:

 

Your parents do have a point, even with all the safety features a MINI will still lose the battle with an SUV that's not paying attention (and doesn't it seem like most o f the bad drivers are driving SUVs... with cell phones, too? Hmmm...). Also, the Cooper S is a pretty powerful car for a young'n. I started driving in a '92 Jeep Wrangler with one of the most anemic engines ever invented, then moved up to bigger and better things (well, actually, smaller... droped to another Jeep, then a VW Bug, now the MINI). I'd suggest just waiting awhile, let the bugs get worked out of the new MINIs. They'll still be there in a few years, or you can also convince your parents to buy one "for themselves"... that you could drive in the future, as, lets face it, the gas mileage is a huge plus, and we're gonna need it if our brainless government decides to march into Iraq. For now, try buying a late model Taurus or something. It may be boring, but I feel its better to learn to drive in something dull, then work into the sporty stuff... hate to burst your bubble, kiddo.

-Jer

 

Oh, and I agree with shaskan, people DON'T see you in a MINI. I have to drive around with my headlights on a lot of the time (Ohio drivers are notoriously bad), and have still had close calls... and I've only had the car for a week!