Don't take this as totally jerkish, but I would not buy a MINI as a first car. Who spends 25K on their first car as a teenager?! Buy a used American car, learn how to work on cars, and save up to pay for a better car when you have a lot more experience under your belt with driving and maintaining vehicles.

As a mid 20's college graduate I can say this all from experience. You'll be dirt poor in college and this is not the time to own a potentially pricey car. Buy a MINI when you get a decent job. Take heed of my advice my son.

 

I wish I had bought the GTI over the MINI. That's only because it has useable back seats, a quality-sounding engine, and my kids have grown at least a foot over the past year or so. If you want to haul friends around, the MINI isn't the car to have.

I hate driving and parking my MINI on campus. The average college student's driving skills suck. Most do not care about their own car, let alone yours. Some resent shiny new cars and will vandalize them. The parking lots are typically very cramped and people will back into your car. If none of this bothers you, go for the MINI.

If you care about keeping your car dent, scratch and ding free, driving a new MINI (or new anything other than a Kia) will cause you to get an ulcer. Whatever you get will be trashed by the time you get through school.

Like others have recommended, buy something decent, fun, and disposable. An older MINI? Save the extra $15000+ for some world travel/road trips while in college. There are plenty of those possibilities and you may appreciate those experiences more than an expensive car with a busted headlight, dented door and key scratches.

 

That's funny!

 

Man this was me in school. I was driving my trusty Dodge Dakota with 150,000 miles and it got backed into probably 3 times while I was in engineering school. If I had my MINI back then, I definitely would have strips of gray hair down the sides of my head and a parched throat from cursing so much at all the damage to my MINI.

 

Personally if you don't have a full time job I think buying a GTI would be a mistake...If you like hatches check out the Mazda3 as well, granted it has the softest steering in the world but other than that it was pretty nice when I test drove it. Your best bet is probably to get a few year old Civic SI, they are nice and cheap and aren't huge compared to the Accord which is giant.

 

Hey guys.
Thanks for all the input so far.
The parents don't want something used, I don't know why.
It's also because my older sister was able to get a new car, so my parents said it would be fair if I got one too.
I live in So. Cal. Just to give you an idea.
I guess it's also gives some kind of comfort that it is new.
From everything I heard...
It's definitely either going to be the Mini or the Honda.
And the only reason I don't want a Civic, is just that it's the "stereotypical" asian car.
I'm Korean HAHA.
I'm not sure. I guess the only thing kind of drawing me away from the Accord is that it is generic.
Please remember.
I do have two years in High School, and I know for sure if I go to a UC I would probably be taking my car.
Thanks again for all the feedback.

 

If you have a chance to get the MCS....then do it. Either the MINI or the GTI....the new GTI's are VERY nice. Not sure why everyone is saying don't get one because of maintenance....they have the same warranty we do 4yr/50k, and I know plenty of people with GTI's who have had FAR less problems than some people on here with their MINI's. However, the MINI is a much more fun car in my opinion...you'll love it. I've had 2....both were during my time at college...and couldn't think of a better car to have in college.

The whole philosophy on here of thinking that's too much car for a HS or college kid is silly. The fact that his family is in the position to buy him something should not be held against him. The MINI is very practical, very economical, yet extremely fun and well built....oh and safe too. I can't even count how many people I knew in high school & college with much more powerful and much more expensive cars (m3's, M5's, porsches...etc) and believe it or not.....we're all still living .

Edit: Forgot to add....the MINI and GTI are essentially the same size...(assuming 2 door GTI). And you'd be amazed at how much you can fit in the mini.....each summer I'd pack up my entire dorm room and pack it in the mini for the drive home back to AZ. Hell, one time I managed to fit SEVEN people in my old MINI ...wasn't exactly comfortable, but i laugh when people say the MINI is too small.

 

Go for a cooper s, you will never regret it! I love my car soooo much! This is actually my second car, I used to have an Eclipse haha. It is so much fun to drive and an all around pleasure to own. It just breaks my heart to not be able to drive it now that i'm away at college :[ Every time i go home the very first thing I do is hop in and motor around for a bit , anyways, I cannot think of many other vehicles giving a person so much joy. A MINI will change your life for the better for sure.

Cheers

 

I would use the space on the MINI as an excuse to not bring people in my car and only take the dates in .... maybe her friends! lol...... get a ride in other boring guy's honda jajajajajaja

MINI is the best and fun car you'll have... just get an used r53 loaded with options.. it'll be cheaper and it'll be even less hassle than an R56 in the budget department...

if you take the R56's ... well it won't be as loaded in premiums, but you get warranty and a more peppy motor.. and a newer car anyways... when u start modding it ... yes!! the bug will bite you :D ...you'll make it even better

 

I can definitely see why your parents want you to get a new car versus used. Most new cars come with a long enough warranty that cover you well into college, or even beyond if you go with a Kia or Hyundai (Hyundai Genesis coupe?).

 

I would have voted GTI for the sake of being able to haul more stuff.

With the MINI vs Honda, obviously the more practical car would be the Honda, but I guarantee the MINI will be a lot more fun to own.

Its cool owning a more unique car in HS/college

If I did it all again id get a Jeep or FJ though lol, but we also have a lot of snow here, and steep crappy college driveways ect.

 

MINI. Life is too short.

 

The MINI and GTI are both fun enthusiast cars, but I would cringe having any new car around a high school or college campus. I'd be afraid of them getting messed up. The Honda is an appliance.

Have you ever considered a Volvo 240 to hone your enthusiast skills?
- bullet proof
- easy to work on
- relatively cheap to mod
- great enthusiast following
- cheap to insure
- who cares if you get a door ding or your bumper scratched

Check out the forum here: http://www.turbobricks.com/

 

I will most likley get reamed for my post, but here goes. We have four kids, with number four in HS and college now. Although we could afford it as Eddy's family can, none of the kids were given a new car at 16. It is not a matter of being able to afford it, but what are we setting our kids up for? They will excpect the first car out of college to be a new beamer or audi a 911, the list could go on. Get a reasonable, safe, efficient car that gets you from a to b. Save the extra cash, buy gold, and cash it in 6 years. You will appreciate the fact that what you did was smart, and you will like your choice more that you worked toward the goal. Kids today think everything should be instant. I have been lucky that all my children have a goog head on their shoulders, and and are healthy and happy.
That said, a mini can be a money pit if you are not careful. We have a cabrio and a mcs coupe. The brand will be around when you graduate, and you have the time to tune, track, and drive the twisties till your heart is content.

 

I agree...more space just means more freeloaders.

 

Maybe if people teach their children strong work ethic, values, and respect from a young age....they won't come to "expect" a BMW like a spoiled brat when they turn 16.....they will deserve and "earn" it.

Buying kids "expensive" cars is not the problem...parenting is. My view of this is probably skewed though...because a) I'm in my 20's b) I've only ever lived in Scottsdale, AZ and Southern California which are two places that are definitely not representative of the rest of the country when it comes to socioeconomic aspects.

On a side note, although debatable...investing in gold is probably not the most sage advice currently. It's far too late to ride that train...and that over-inflated bubble will burst, just like everything else has.

 

Everyone has had great advice. Let me add my two cents into the mix.

First... if you want a MINI, consider MINI Next. They are certified used cars with 100k warranty which would be good since you will be using it for a long time. Check the websites for dealers within driving distance, see who has Next cars available that fit your wants.

Second... Spend the whole week looking at cars. Don't get overly excited and emotional about a car, stay level headed. Always test drive several, and then try to go back a day or two later to purchase so you don't make an impulse decision. Drive all of the ones you are looking at in order to compare them, and stay open to ones you haven't even thought of. Pick the one that you like the most and will regret paying for the least.

Let me impart my car buying history, learn from it what you will. 1st car I bought because I loved the way it looked. I didn't do any research or anything, it was just one that I thought I wanted because I liked them. Car was a POS and I got out of it as soon as I could. Because I wanted out so badly I was again not really shopping clear headed and bought the first good thing I could get. It was a good car, but boring and I felt it didn't fit my age and again wanted out. So next car, I shopped around for a week and ended up in a car I never expected to be in. I loved it so much I kept it for 7 years. At that point my husband convinced me I should get something new, even though my car had no mechanical problems. I wanted an SUV, so I test drove them for a couple weeks and again got a car I absolutely loved and it was great. With both of those last two cars I waited a day or two before buying to be sure, rather than jumping in like I did with the first two.

Shortly after I got that SUV my husband bought a brand new car too. It was the first car he didn't have to compromise on, the ones in his past had been older or were just purchased because it was cheap and reliable. Like my past experiences he was so ready to get something new that he dived in and then hated the car 6 months later. It took a while but I gave in and let him get something different.

Enter the MINI. Which ruined me. I had always loved them, and now that I could drive his MCS on weekends it was killing me that I couldn't drive it all the time. So I got my own. That one I did buy the same day I was shopping, but it was a little different. I had waited several months, stalking the inventory lists and waiting to test drive the Countryman... which I did not like, so I went home with a Clubman. But I did spend the entire day test driving and negotiating price. And I mean I was there from open to close that day!

 

I'd go for a GTI or TDI. The service isn't the best, but every VW I've had has been way more reliable than my MINI. The extra space will surely come in handy too, especially if you have a major where you have to move stuff around (architecture, engineering, design, ect).

Insurance will be cheaper, they have the same free maintenance period that the MINI has with a longer warranty, the DSG is a million times better than a automatic, you can get them at or below invoice, mods are cheap, ect.