Hello everyone,

I just bought my first Mini!

I've wanted one for a very long time and never seriously considered buying one. I love unique cars (i've owned a Honda Element, Toyota Supra, many motorcycles, etc.) and now that I live in Miami, I wanted something small, good on gas, and easy to park but is fun to drive.
After having our 1st baby and my wife getting a really nice SUV, I figured it was time to get something fun for me. I went on Ebay and saw a clubman for sale and didn't know the difference. After researching, I found out that by it being longer, my jogging stroller would fit in the car with 1 seat down, as well as the car seat in the back.
I labored for a month, looking for cars every day. I even contacted someone on this site and had a deal in place and he Flaked on me!
With so many scams and 'questionable' dealings in Miami, I decided to look through the whole country on AutoTrader and Ebay.

I insisted on having an S model, Dual Pano Roof, and No Accidents on the car fax. I wanted under 75k miles and to spend under $15,000. ( preferred $13,500 or less because of tax/title fees).

I found the friendly people at West Chester AutoHaus in Philly (where I'm from originally ironically) had a 2010 Clubman S, Automatic, with only 41k miles for $13,800. I got em down to about $13,000 and after much back n forth, made the deposit and planned my trip. I figured I would fly up, buy it, visit my grandmother and drive it back on a real road trip. My dad flew up from JAX and met me at the airport and we did just that!

We took Route 1 from Dover, DE down to the Chesapeak Bay Bridge (Awesome!), through Jamestown, over the free Scotland Ferry, and all through the winding roads of Virginia.

With sport mode on, those twists and turns were very fun!

This Car....Corners like its on Rails!! (Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts).

The handling is amazing and reminds me of my step dad's corvettes.
It blasts past most cars on the roads and we blew through North Carolina in only 2 hours 20 mins (its a 180 mile state)

(my Valentine 1 Radar Detector saved us 3 times in Georgia, once in Maryland, and twice in Florida)


3 Days, 1350 miles, 3 tanks of gas (premium), lots of memories!

I'm excited to be apart of this new 'club' :-)

 

Congrats

Yes watch out on I85 between Macon and the Flordia border they highway patrol is always out.

 

Welcome to the club!

 

Next time you're back home in Philly, stop by Helix and say hi!

 

Welcome to NAM! Looks like you're enjoying your Mini so far!

-Luccia

 

Welcome to NAM. Congrats on the new Mini and the your mileage driven is the way to bond to your Mini.

 

Welcome to the forum and you now know why Mini owners always have a smile on their faces! lol They can be a PITA at times, but well worth the trouble.