Getting a second British car

[Brooklands]

Earlier this week we did a CARS trade in of our 93 Villager minivan. It was hard for my wife to consider having the one car that she has had longer than ANY husband, but she did agree to make the deal for a 2009 Mini Clubman which will be come our new road trip car. I had to cave on the transmission as she had no interest in the manual, but I can still use the paddle shifters on this one. We are scheduled to pick it up late Monday morning. I will post photos when our new car is safely home...

 

[aerog]

I'd be interested in a review of that one. I don't have any reason to ditch the Miata, but I've been pondering a Mini for a few years now. If there was a dealer closer than 60 miles from me I might have already gone for it

 

[Brooklands]

Yeah, we had to travel 50 miles, but the BMW dealer about 5 miles from here is in the process of getting a Mini franchise. I enjoyed the short test drive, but will have a better feel for the car after we do our trip across northern PA on US Route 6 in September. I will let you know what I think after that.

 

[Silverghost]

I wanted a New Mini Clubman to go with our 63 Wagon.....until the one I wanted priced out at $39,000! That was too close in price to a new Suburban (family of 5 plus here)! Have they come down in price?

 

[Stewart]

Very nice. I'm thinking about trading my truck in via the cars program if the rumor is not true that the program has been suspended. I'm thinking more along the lines of a jetta sports wagon tdi though.

 

[Brooklands]

First off, the recent suspension of the CARS clunker program could delay our deal, but our car lists at $26,600 but was not loaded. It is to be our quick trip to the market car as well as a road trip car for vacations. So as soon as I find out if our deal has already gone through or if the dealer failed to put the paperwork in before midnight last night, then I will know if we are getting this car. If we did not already have a Subaru Legacy wagon, the Clubman would not have been a viable choice for us either.

 

[Brooklands]

Well, they put the CARS rebate back on this morning, but the dealer felt the money would run out this weekend, and so I canceled out of showing Fagin at Das Awkscht Fescht, and went the 80 minutes to the Mini dealer to complete the dealer. About an hour later, we were able to leave in torrential rain to head home. We ended taking much more fun roads on PA 29 through the Perkiomen Valley and got home just in time to change and go to the AAA IronPigs baseball game this evening to see Pedro Martinez pitch in his rehab. The Mini Cooper drove wonderfully through the rain. It will be a perfect car for my wife to use, and a fun drive for me to play with too. No time for pictures today or tomorrow as I am definitely going to take Fagin to the show tomorrow...

 

[Brooklands]

Since I got rained out from taking the TR3B to Das Awkscht Fescht, I took advantage of a brief gap in today's downpours to take a couple of quick snaps of our new toy...

 

[aerog]

I wanted a New Mini Clubman to go with our 63 Wagon.....until the one I wanted priced out at $39,000! That was too close in price to a new Suburban (family of 5 plus here)! Have they come down in price?

$39k?! I've priced the regular and the clubman several times and usually my combo of stuff comes to just shy of $28k - manual transmission, leather, upgraded speakers, sport package, and a few other add ons. That's not the "S" though.

After 6 year the Miata has suited me fine. I've needed something bigger a few times, but I've always managed with it. Nobody has worked on it except me (excepting three sets of tires)... but I'm still toying with the idea of a Mini.

My 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman
Base MSRP* $20,200
Destination & Handling $650

PAINT IT
Silver Roof/Mirrors $0
Silver Rear C-Pillar Trim INC
Nightfire Red Body Color $500

PACKAGES
Premium Package $1,250
Automatic AC
Dual Pane Panoramic Sunroof
Leather Sport Wheel w/Multifunction
Sport Package $1,500
Front Fog Lamps
Dynamic Traction Control
Sport Seats
16" 5-Star Blaster (Perf. Run Flats)
No Bonnet Stripes

PERFORMANCE
Sport Suspension $500
Dynamic Stability Control STD
Rear Spoiler $250
6-Speed Getrag Manual STD

COCKPIT
Center Arm Rest $250
Leather: Gravity Tuscan Beige $1,500
Chrome Line Interior $250
Cream White Color Line INC
Interior Surface Brushed Alloy INC
On-Board Computer STD
Alarm System $500
10-Speaker. Hi-Fi Sound System $500
Interior Color: Tuscan Beige INC

TOTAL MSRP AS CONFIGURED* $27,850

...

And my idea "regular" Mini

My 2009 MINI Cooper
Base MSRP* $18,550
Destination & Handling $650

PAINT IT
Nightfire Red Body Color $500
White Roof/Mirrors $0

PACKAGES
Premium Package $1,250
Automatic AC
Dual Pane Panoramic Sunroof
Leather Sport Wheel w/Multifunction
Sport Package $1,500
Sport Seats
Front Fog Lamps
Rear Spoiler
Dynamic Traction Control
16" Bridge Spoke White (Perf. Rft)
No Bonnet Stripes

PERFORMANCE
6-Speed Getrag Manual STD
Sport Suspension $500
Dynamic Stability Control STD

COCKPIT
Center Arm Rest $250
Cream White Color Line INC
Leather: Gravity Tuscan Beige $1,500
Alarm System $500
10-Speaker. Hi-Fi Sound System $500
Interior Surface Brushed Alloy INC
Interior Color: Tuscan Beige INC
On-Board Computer STD

TOTAL MSRP AS CONFIGURED* $25,700

JOHN COOPER WORKS ACCESSORIES**
No selections in this category

GENUINE MOTORING ACCESSORIES**
No selections in this category

TOTAL ACCESSORIES ** $0
TOTAL MSRP AS CONFIGURED* $25,700

TOTAL COMBINED $25,700

 

[Brooklands]

I'd be interested in a review of that one. I don't have any reason to ditch the Miata, but I've been pondering a Mini for a few years now. If there was a dealer closer than 60 miles from me I might have already gone for it

I have several hundred miles on the Mini to date. One sunny day we just went to the southern section of the Poconos, and then the farm country around here for a first run. Later we did a run to Northlandz model railroad in Flemington NJ using both Interstates and back roads, and this past week I drove on highways to the Poconos both in heavy downpour going up and sunshine coming down.

We find the car to be quite comfortable for two people (we have not used the back seats yet on a run) and it is very stable even passing 18 wheelers in heavy rain. It is fun to drive even with the automatic, and the sport setting is even a bit tighter. We do not have any of the handling or engine options as this is to be our economy car anyway. It corners very flat and feels like a go-kart much of the time. It has a harsher ride than our Acura TSX on rough surfaces, but nothing like the TR3B. When lost, U-turns are very easy with the small turning radius. The standard stereo so far is nothing special listening to the radio, so I need to drive with Phil Collins' "Something in the Air" in the CD player. I still need to spend time experimenting with some of the features and settings on the controls.

We feel we made a good choice and will get more use out of this vehicle even though we no longer have a furniture and mulch hauler, but we have friends and relatives who can loan us other vehicles when needed for those purposes...

One of our trips to the Poconos also caused us to make another purchase...we bought a used rental "cabin" in a Poconos campground (Timothy Lake) to give us a get-away home a bit over an hour from home.

 

[vagt6]

Really nice car, Dave.

I purchased an '05 Mini Cooper S brand new and have put almost 30,000 miles on it and never regretted for a second buying this car. Fit and finish, mechanicals, everything has been perfect.

It's plenty fast and handles literally like it's on rails. And, it averages 31.4 MPG (according to my trip computer), which ain't chopped liver!

What's more is the resale value: my '05 is worth up to $17,000, more or less, which is <span style="text-decoration: underline">excellent</span> value retention. I paid $25K for it, so it's retained almost 70% of its value after 4 years. That's great.

My dealer is in Richmond, 65 miles from here. It's not a problem because I've never had a squeak, rattle, hiccup or miss, ever with this car.

Did I mention that it runs like a scalded cat?

Great car, no doubt about it.

 

[tiga2]

...We got an '08 Mini last Jan,it has been just great, one major problem,the electicals went berserk, sunroof motor was not shutting off, draining battery and causing all kinds of strange things to happen. Mini paid to have it towed 170 miles, no charge at all. dealer is wonderful, Sandia Mini in ABQ. The 6 speed auto, paddle shift in sport mode is way cool!

My only minor complaint would be the road noise from the "trunk" area in back, tho if you just keep a blanket back there it make a big differance.

 

[Shinsen774]

I replaced my wife's 2000 Subaru Outback last week. We considered the Mini Clubman, but ended up getting a great deal on a 2009 Subaru Outback base model with a 5 speed manual. This is our third Outback. Good all around car to have when your other two are a 2003 Miata and a 1964 MGB.

 

[TRDejaVu]

My wife has a Subaru Legacy and loves it, while my daughter has an Outback sedan and also loves it. I have a Saab and the TR4, so we have quirky cars all around.

 

[MadRiver]

This thread has suddenly become topical for us! My fiancee's daily driver is a 1996 Z3 with 140,000 miles on it. While the Bimmer still has some life in it, we're starting to get worried that the periodic visits to the local repair shop are growing more frequent, and the repair bills are approaching the car's whopping $2,300 trade-in value. So, as we've looked around for a new convertible, the Mini Cooper S has caught our eye. Glad to hear so many positive comments!