Agreed. I think they are wayyyy too much money for what they are.
They certainly are fun to drive though, but for the money I would rather have a Civic SI or a MKV GTi if I were shopping in that market.
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Mini Coopers
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Agreed. I think they are wayyyy too much money for what they are.
They certainly are fun to drive though, but for the money I would rather have a Civic SI or a MKV GTi if I were shopping in that market.
Wow - a Mini as a hatchback? I looked at what I consider a hatchback when I was shopping for my car and they were much larger then the Mini - think Mazada 6 HB version.
I currently own a 04 Maxima and it fits 5 adults comfortably, along with luggage and what not. I'm having a real hard time imagining myself driving and having enough leg/arm space to enjoy the experience - and I'm 6'0, 220.
[I will say that I understand this as an "image" car or for a single person - makes much more sense to me if you only have yourself to take care of.]
Watch it, there are some nice middle class families around here who might take exception to that!
Why, because you're not nice, or because you're not middle-class?
Sure. I don't have a family, but I'm not single either. We also own a BMW 5-series, but the Mini is our regular shopping car and my regular driver. I've packed it full many times, and I can report that it holds an amazing amount of stuff -- including the box shown here!
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Heh. Okay I give - I believe you that Minis are great and hold 3 metric tonnes of crap.
These things really are like Macs: a small, very loyal fan base!
These things really are like Macs: a small, very loyal fan base!
True story, and for good reasons. A Mini, like a Mac, is not for everybody. But for those who are looking for what they got, then the feeling quickly becomes "where have you been all my life?"
Are Minis nice cars? Yes.
Are they expensive? Yes.
Are they expensive for what you're buying? Yes, they are too expensive when comparing them to similar sized hatchbacks and other cars in terms of performance and other characteristics related to driving.
Do people still want to buy them? Hellz yeah.
Are they expensive? Yes.
Are they expensive for what you're buying? Yes, they are too expensive when comparing them to similar sized hatchbacks and other cars in terms of performance and other characteristics related to driving.
Do people still want to buy them? Hellz yeah.
Sorry to disappoint. I actually went to class today and then didn't see this thread 'til it got bumped up just now.
In the beginning, it was hard to get a close to base configuration if you weren't willing to be placed on a one to two year wait list. My 2004 MCS actually has waaaay more options than I ever wanted and cost an embarrassing amount, too.You can load them up with all sorts of options and bump the price well into the mid-20s, but it's hardly necessary.
BTW, chile red and white -- the best color combination!
And while I love my color combo, dark silver, black top-- if I could do it all over again? I'd get chili red w/ black top. *drool*
It's a decent size (I'd actually prefer a SMART). It's incredibly fun to drive (and this coming from a person who hates hates hates to drive
) and it looks damned nice. It's fun to drive. It looks really good. It's fun to drive. Does that answer your question?I can manage to fit some decent sized canvasses. And yes, 6'+ folks can fit in 'em just fine and dandy and seeing as how I'm not nearly that tall, I fit in mine with no problem at all.
I'd like one, a new one or an old one. Been my favorite car for years and years. Humble I know, but what you can you do.
In the beginning, it was hard to get a close to base configuration if you weren't willing to be placed on a one to two year wait list. My 2004 MCS actually has waaaay more options than I ever wanted and cost an embarrassing amount, too.
And while I love my color combo, dark silver, black top-- if I could do it all over again? I'd get chili red w/ black top. *drool*
I wasn't wait-listed nearly that long. It was a total of six months between order and delivery. For my patience I was rewarded with a car built to my exact specifications and I paid no premium over MSRP. I was also able to follow the car's production on the Mini website, as well as its shipping, arrival and processing.
Okay, now I get to confess to something kind of weird. Not only did I track this process almost daily, I managed to talk myself into the port on the day the car was rolled off the ship (I live nearby). The port manager who drove me around the storage lot told me there was no way I'd find my car among all the hundreds of Minis in the parking area. He was wrong. I spotted it right away (identified by the VIN, which of course I'd memorized by then).
So I bet I am the only Mini owner around with baby pictures. Mine is the red and white one, of course! Still has the shipping dressing and deck hooks attached.
As for color, I also like yellow and black, but I wouldn't own black. Just too hot, IMO. Some Minis, at least in the first two model years, also had trouble with the roof dimpling in hot weather, only with black roofs.
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Sounds like you were quite excited. Perfectly understandable of course, I would be the same, though I doubt I'd watch it roll off the ship. Lucky you got a photo before a sea gull pooped on it!
Actually the Mini Cooper is the most indestrucible [sic] cars on the market. The roll cage is nearly impossible to crush unless it's 3 tons of weight.
Yup. The originals dont have bonets packed full if computers, and all that extra stuff to contest with that the modern day car has to have, mainly by law.
Obsessed, more like. The funny part is, unlike most Southern California residents, I don't normally get very excited about cars. My last one was hardly ever washed in the seven years I owned it, which meant (living in an arid climate) that is was often very dirty. In fact in this car-crazy part of the country, driving around in a filthy car is treated as a kind of antisocial behavior. I didn't care about that until I got the Mini. Since then I've taught myself automotive hygiene, and have taken an absolutely ridiculous amount of pride in keeping the Mini washed and waxed.
You ain't whistling Dixie there either brother.
Heh. I envy you a bit though - it's rather neat to get so excited about something and take so much joy from it. I like my car quite a bit but I don't think to the degree you do...
For a while Markleshark's image was replaced with one calling him out for linking to someone else's image.
Yeah, I tracked both mine every day (sometimes multiple times a day). Didn't go as far as going to the port though - although might have if i'd thought about it
You ain't whistling Dixie there either brother.
Heh. I envy you a bit though - it's rather neat to get so excited about something and take so much joy from it. I like my car quite a bit but I don't think to the degree you do...
I keep expecting it to wear off, but it hasn't, much -- four years later. Unfortunately I hardly ever see the "Mini wave" anymore. For the first couple of years, Mini ownership was like being a member of an informal club.
Got it, thanks.
Yeah, I tracked both mine every day (sometimes multiple times a day). Didn't go as far as going to the port though - although might have if i'd thought about it
It probably wouldn't even be possible anywhere but at this particular port, which is probably the smallest on the West Coast, and relatively casual. I was working on a freelance piece about the Mini, which I never completed -- but it did get me into the port on just the right day.
I totally still do that!!!
And then nobody waves back and it makes me feel like an idjit. And actually, my first choice would have been a classic mini, but the ones in half decent condition that I kept finding were easily $14K so there was no way in hell my parents would go for it.
Wait, they think that someone who drives a mid-engined, rear-drive hatch day to day would be incapable of handling a less powerful front/front hatch?
That's like telling someone who owns an EVO that they can't drive a WRX.
I still flash people, but nobody has flashed back for agesI totally still do that!!!
Someone waved back the other day, but a flash for a flash and all that