Having owned 64 cars in 10 years, and 5 this year alone, Ibuy cars that I want and trade when i want, I dont need a loan and pay in cash, sometimes i make money sometimes i lose, who cares you cant take it with you when you die

 

Kudos for Apple's automotive generosity; she just gave away a nice Classic Mini on another thread.

 

It's always cheaper to continue to drive (and repair) your existing car rather than getting a new one. You can pay for some VERY expensive repairs with the money you save in the high depreciation of a new car. Even a car like a BMW or Mini, with somewhat high repair costs, doesn't make it cheaper to get a new car.

But.... I do think you want to monitor how your car is behaving during the warranty period, and if it looks like it might be a lemon, then jettisoning it near the end of the warranty is probably a good idea. But don't to afraid to keep an old car and spend some significant money on good repairs - it's the cheapest way to drive by far, and there is something very satisfying with "bonding" to a car and driving it year after year. It's a little like marriage - you give up some thrills, but you gain other things of greater value.

- Mark

 

Sounds like you own your own car dealership Apple?

I once was contacted by the local newspaper & offered the commercial rate because I'd had so many cars for sale in the classifieds over the year. When I was a young one I used to seek out VW beetles with bad engines. I'd fix them up & flip them. Didn't get rich, but always had a Beetle to drive & 3 or 4 in the driveway. It was a fun time for me.

You are 100% correct, you can't take it with you. Life is short, enjoy it.

 

You can make money buying and selling used cars. But, buying new and selling used is a good way to blow though some cash. I'm not going to knock anyone's right to spend their money as they choose. But I wouldn't encourage anyone to do that either. There are plenty of folks that always lease or trade in cars frequently that do not have a sufficient financial cushion.

Saying you can't take it with you is a bit irresponsible. There are too many folks that spend their money like there's no tomorrow and then wind up bankrupt. That's not my business until they start asking for a bailout.

 

Wow, no one here has asked anyone for a bailout. I think maybe you need to sit back, breath in the fresh air & relax a bit. Enjoy life my friend, it is short & you never know when your time is up. Also it is a fact of life that no, you can not take it with you.

I'm going for a relaxing motor now.

 

Very well stated Mark Jenn. I could not have said it better myself. The cheapest form of car ownership is to hold onto a car for the longest amount of time possible in order to justify admission price, depreciation and cost of repairs. I also agree that if a car proves to be a headache during the warranty period, it may not be any better after it ends. In such cases is better to dump the car and cut all losses. Otherwise, it is a huge waste of money to be trading cars for the heck of it (Unless you are financially well off to afford taking a hit every now and then).

Face it, the vast majority of people that trade every 3 or 4 years do so because they get tired of the car, regardless of its condition. Leasing only makes sense in very few situations (By the way leasing is going the way of the dodo due to the current credit crunch). Unfortunately most people lease cars they can't otherwise afford, don't understand the implications of a lease contract and end up in a monthly payment threadmill they can't never get out of .

I love cars, but I also like to save and live a debtless lifestyle. I don't save for the sake of putting money away and never enjoying it. I take nice vacations every year and everything I own is mine free and clear. I am not rich, neither have an executive salary. It is just that I live "under the radar" below my means and this has enable me to weather the storm a lot better than most folks with huge mortgages, piling credit card debt and all other sorts of financial problems that affect Americans today (Buy today, pay tomorrow mentallity, enjoy life because it is short and the typical mantra )

Again is you are swimming in cash and enjoy owning 100 cars every 10 years, please be my guest. However, 97% of Americans can't keep up with that kind of lifestyle, so the rest of us have to excercise restraint and care with our finances and enjoy the things we have (However few they are) to the best of our ability. Let's also enjoy our families, celebrate our lifes and the things that are truly important and fulfilling to the human experience.

 

I agree. If you can afford it, by all means do it. Unfortunately a lot of people with salaries below $50K a year also want to do nonsense like this. We taxpayers end up bailing out the rich and irresponsible all the same.

 

I was relaxed and was not aware that the tone of my reply was so strident. Perhaps it was the angry face. But, I stand by my position regarding the irresponsibility of the "live now, for tomorrow may never come attitude". If you can afford to buy/sell a new car every three months (and like doing that) then it's okay to do so. But if that hypothetical person loses their business (or houses decline in value and can't refinance) I don't want to have to pay for the consequences of their decisions. Right now, everyone and his brother is asking the US Govt (me as taxpayer) to bail them out from their financial decisions - banks, companies, real estate investors, home owners etc.

 

I would have to agree with ChrisTKD. Just because "life is short", doesn't mean your personal decisions don't carry repercussions for others. I'm a huge proponent of "buy it, life is too short" but at the same time I'd only do so responsibly. For example, I could really only afford to spend 22k on a Mini Cooper but decided to spend a grand more for the Clubman. Life is short, I ain't gonna lose sleep over a grand even if I cannot afford it now. However, this decision isn't going to carry appreciable repercussion to others.

Remember that the free market ASSUMES buyers are able AND willing. However, both conditions are rarely met together. Like Chris, I don't feel like bailing out large corporations. In other news, the oil tycoons of the world are meeting b/c they're worried about the drop of price for oil. Seriously? Record high profits for the past few years aren't sufficient to tide you over?

-sorry I treaded off topic- :P

 

Chris, that is one of the problems with the internet. It's hard to get the true feelings of someone here. Yep that angry face made me think you were mad. I apologize if I misunderstood you.

A person can indeed say life is short & one should enjoy it & be totally responsible. Enjoying life has more meaning to it than buying a fancy car & throwing ones money around. To me it means living well & giving my family & friends all the love & support that I can. It also means helping others not as fortunate as myself.

No I really don't like the idea of bailing out irresponsible company's. Trouble is if they go under they will take thousands of people & there families with them. Lots of tough choices to be made. We are in for a rough ride.

Life is short, enjoy it. You can't take it with you, share it while you're here.

Back on topic...

I'm keeping my MINI for the foreseeable future. So far she's been good to me.

 

My wife's MINIs have had no issues so far...

We will be trading the 07 VW Beetle Convertible for the new 09" MINI Cabrio and her brother wants to buy the 07 MCS PW/Blk Top Hatchback from her.

I'm driviing the Clubman and plan to buy that once the lease is up.

 

Now that's the spirit to live by. Perfect for the Christmas season. I'll admit I'm too conservative for my own good. My Dad's depression era ethos took too much of a hold on me.

I agree with the other posters that if you haven't had problems with your car there's no reason to sell it at the first $1,000 repair. I guess Apple's question really gets to the heart of the issue as to whether you have faith in the reliability of the Mini. I'm a Mini wannabe owner that's struggling with that issue right now. I love driving the Mini S - - I'm going for a record on the number of "test drives" at Mini of Sterling before committing. But this is the first car that I've considering leasing just because of some probably overblown concerns. I also don't know whether I'm going to want to drive a Mini for a really long time. Although I've never heard anyone say they got bored driving a Mini.

 

Chris TKD,

To help you decide, check out the new issue of Consumer Reports. The article I'm referring to is their 5th annual auto satisfaction survey (425,000 responses).

 

I'm not a member of Consumer Reports and because so I cannot get the report. What does it say?

Help me out.

Regards,

Pat

 

It's two pages long and I'm too lazy to spend a lot of time on the details, but out of all cars sold in the last three years, MINIs took 4 of the top 27 slots (out of hundreds of makes and models). The rating was based on people who said they would definitely purchase the same car again, all things considered.

The MCS came in second only to the Porsche 911 in the sports car category (87% of owners said they'd buy the same car again). The Clubman did even better in its category, with 91%.

Someone else can fill in the details or correct me...thanks. (P.S. You can scan the article at any newsstand or library).

 

Good enough summation. Thank you.

Pat

 

that's a good question since I got the an extended warranty at the time of purchase of the vehicle to 100,000 miles and I put 16,000 a year so it would take 6 1/2 years to reach that milestone I'd say no cause I only owe $7,000 on my car now and I love it

 

Mine is doing great so far thank God!
I hope to drive it a long long time.
12 years minimum.
If it turns into a lemon I'm not sure what I will do.
Possibly park it in the yard and drive my
CRX until my wife is tired of her SX4.

I'm tired of buying cars. The reason (semi replying to the above)
to buy a new car is you are tired of cleaning up somebody else's poo.
It's hitting the "reset button".

But it is for sure that for normal people, which is like 97%
of this country, car payments steal your wealth, your future,
and your family's future.

One thing for sure the idea of putting a Hummer on an HEL and
the dude ringing you out at walmart having 12 gold cards in
his wallet is over. Well, until The Man figures out a way to
create a new generation of slaves.

 

I'll be keeping my 07 MC way past the warranty period, I'm sure. Haven't had one problem. There are a couple of independent BMW garages around that work on mini's, so I'll avoid the dealer fees if repairs are needed.

I also still have my previous car, a 99 Honda CR-V. Drives like the day I bought it. I just recently past 100K miles and did new timing belt, new tires, battery, and plugs. I'll have it for quite a while still. I see no reason it won't last 200K or more.

 

The entire reason I ended up with my '07 R56S was because of all the issues I had with my '04 R50. I absolutely loved my original Cooper, but I just couldn't handle one more problem, especially out of warranty! I've always thought BMW products were well engineered and well built cars. Now I believe MINI's aren't any better than your run of the mill GM product. That's right I said it. The interior materials on the R56 is enough to rest my case.

I've had my R56S exactly one year today and I have had no issues execpt for the Cold Start noise which REALLY worries me as nobody seems to know if there will be a long term effect on the longevity of the "Prince" engine. If am experiencing problems when the warranty is expired, sadly, very sadly, I will get rid of it and never buy another MINI. All I've ever owned before my first MINI was Japanese cars with hardly any issues. I still dream of owning a BMW someday, but I'm beginning to feel I'll never be able to afford a car payment and the price of BMW replacement parts. I would hate to have to return to a boring Honda, but Honda's don't cost me undo money.

 

I don't think of Honda as boring. I never felt reliable was boring. I still enjoy my CR-V. I tend to think my MC is that reliable, but time will tell. If not and I end up ditching it, I won't look back. I like a small hatchback, so if I had to do something non-mini, it would be a Honda Fit, which soon will be available in a hybrid.

 

Wow! Now this guy is something else!

 

LtRex,

This guy is so much "something else" that he's a woman. Welcome to the 21st century...

 

Apple's like Herbie, or the WWF in late July from 1998 to 2000 ....