Sister is thinking about a Mini- Need advice

[fly4navy117]

Ok so my sister is 18 and bored with her V6 Mustang. She wants one of the supercharged Mini's and I don't think its a good car for her. If she can sell the V6 for 4500, her budget is 8k. She makes about 300 a month that would go towards the car in general (gas, car payment, ect). I would like to know if I'm incredibly out of line saying that the initial cost, insurance and maintenance is too expensive for her to handle. If I'm wrong and it is a good DD for a lot of highway miles, then so be it. I want to hear it from Mini owners. If I'm right, she might listen and pick out a more suitable car.

[bholloway]

If shes thinking of buying new its probably too much. I was looking at buying one a few days ago and a decently equipped mini cooper s is around $26000. So for me, after a $13000 trade in and 1.9apr financing for 36 months( best financing plan they have) I was still looking at over $400 a month. She could buy used, but most of the mini coopers that are cheaper ($10k-15k) have a lot of miles and are out of warranty. So any repairs/maintenance would have to come out of her pocket which can be costly for a mini. I've also heard that the insurance rate is pretty high on minis. Minis are great cars, but for now it might be a little out of her range.

[beken]

The last of the supercharged MINIs are coming off warranty right about now but MINIs have held their resale values very well. So it might be out of her budget range.

Supercharged MINIs are very condusive to modding. Buying a used one requires careful consideration on what has been done to the car. Also MINIs beg to be driven hard. So inspect carefully. Those who really care about their cars would have taken their car to the dealer and had any issues taken care of before the warranty expired. Given the passion MINI owners have about their cars, the number of MINIs out there, and the amount of modding (customizing) going on, the problems we've heard about are relatively few and the R53 generation of the MINI has proven to be quite reliable. That's not to say that routine maintenance isn't expensive. It is, but I have found it's not (too far) out of line with other cars out there.

[fly4navy117]

I appreciate the responses. I think this is just one of those things that she really wants, but is simply out of the price range right now. She really needs a practical car over a super fun car and maybe this thread will help.

[ScottinBend]

Practical...........my 04 is my daily driver and have had no issues at all. So for me it is very practical. And it's got to be better than a Ford. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/happy/happy0009.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=happy/happy0009.gif)

If she can afford it, the MINI is a nice economical car. I get around 30mpg in the city and high 30's on the highway. And this is by no means grandma driving.....lol

Good luck with the car shopping

[fly4navy117]

Practical...........my 04 is my daily driver and have had no issues at all. So for me it is very practical. And it's got to be better than a Ford. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/happy/happy0009.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=happy/happy0009.gif)

If she can afford it, the MINI is a nice economical car. I get around 30mpg in the city and high 30's on the highway. And this is by no means grandma driving.....lol

Good luck with the car shopping

She can't afford it, that was like my first concern. And I haven't had a single problem with my Mustang. Preventative maintenance goes a very long way.

[ScottinBend]

Yes it does......good luck

[beken]

Well, she's only 18. So at her age, she should be looking at getting a good education and establishing her career. Then she can get whatever she wants and not worry too much about price. Being bored of her car should be the least of her issues.
However, from a practical point of view, I've found my MINI to be more practical than pretty well any other car I've ever owned. The high roofline and hatchback can swallow a lot of stuff inside with the rear seats folded down.

Including a whole load of camping gear.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2427/3759777180_2c0aeae6f8.jpg

[siuformula]

If shes thinking of buying new its probably too much. I was looking at buying one a few days ago and a decently equipped mini cooper s is around $26000. So for me, after a $13000 trade in and 1.9apr financing for 36 months( best financing plan they have) I was still looking at over $400 a month. She could buy used, but most of the mini coopers that are cheaper ($10k-15k) have a lot of miles and are out of warranty. So any repairs/maintenance would have to come out of her pocket which can be costly for a mini. I've also heard that the insurance rate is pretty high on minis. Minis are great cars, but for now it might be a little out of her range.

Through Geico i have an '04 Mini S, Kawasaki 750, and a toyota celica. All with full coverage for $90 a month. I've had it for 2 years and the only issue i had was needing a new battery.