Last week I saw a great deal on a '11 Clubman at a reputable Mini dealer. Got in there early, they hadn't had time to prepare it for sale. Was great in the test drive so I bought it.
Unfortunately it failed smog and a couple of days later they called back with a valve problem so they decided it would be too expensive to fix and they couldn't sell it after all. They went out of their way to make up for it.
I spent a while in the managers office where he offered any pre owned car on their lot at an incredible price. Even showed me the cars on their software with their purchase price, how much they had spent on the car to prep it for sale and basically would sell me a car for the price they originally purchased it.
To cut a long story short. I ended up buying their service/courtesy car with 6700 miles on the clock at a very reasonable price and financing.
So I now own an 2017 Electric Blue Cooper S Auto with black roof and wheels.
I have been driving a 04 MX5 as a daily driver the last 14 years.
I love it, but at almost 44 I'm getting older and need something more comfortable, plus you can't put 3 pugs in the back or do home depot runs for remodeling materials, or buy stuff on craigslist (surprisingly I did manage to fit an electric guitar in the boot).
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I was a bit apprehensive about the Auto at first, Originally being from the UK where 98% of cars on the road are manual, not being able to modulate pulling off by dragging the clutch at the start was a bit weird. Previously I hadn't really driven an auto other than a rental about 6 years ago.
All seems to be fixed now. I am a little remorseful of losing the manual, but I still have the MX5 and I really want my wife to learn and be able to drive. Fortunately green mode will make it easy to teach her. The car responds like a grandad car in the green setting.
I'm starting to get a feel for the manual gear change of the auto, the car is so quiet I'm having a little trouble judging the RPM of the engine for downshifting and the skinny rpm gauge on the side doesn't help much either. The mini is pretty cool, there isn't quite as much feel in the steering tires as I'm used to and the FWD is taking some getting used to.
It's a blast on the freeway and far more refined. My MX5 doesn't even have central locking or ABS and has poor visibility around town with your head at door handles level on most modern cars. So the mini does make things a lot less stressful with comfort, decent handling and tons of power in reserve. Reminds me of a BMW 3 series in some ways, not as visceral as the MX5 but great for someone that enjoys driving and doesn't want the mundane, characterless experience of driving an appliance.
I'm just starting to get the hang of using the manual shifting when coasting to lights and approaching corners. It's doesn't feel as balanced as the MX5, the steering is a little more remote and you can't feel the tires start to stretch as you reach their threshold. But it's still fun and handles well and is a blast merging on the freeway. Merging is a breeze and no longer a challenge. With the extra acceleration, I'm no longer frantically trying to get every inch of speed from the stop light near the end of the freeway on-ramp in order to squeeze into traffic that is belting along at 80mph in the slow lane.
I really like the car so hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll feel right at home.
Unfortunately it failed smog and a couple of days later they called back with a valve problem so they decided it would be too expensive to fix and they couldn't sell it after all. They went out of their way to make up for it.
I spent a while in the managers office where he offered any pre owned car on their lot at an incredible price. Even showed me the cars on their software with their purchase price, how much they had spent on the car to prep it for sale and basically would sell me a car for the price they originally purchased it.
To cut a long story short. I ended up buying their service/courtesy car with 6700 miles on the clock at a very reasonable price and financing.
So I now own an 2017 Electric Blue Cooper S Auto with black roof and wheels.
I have been driving a 04 MX5 as a daily driver the last 14 years.
I love it, but at almost 44 I'm getting older and need something more comfortable, plus you can't put 3 pugs in the back or do home depot runs for remodeling materials, or buy stuff on craigslist (surprisingly I did manage to fit an electric guitar in the boot).
---
I was a bit apprehensive about the Auto at first, Originally being from the UK where 98% of cars on the road are manual, not being able to modulate pulling off by dragging the clutch at the start was a bit weird. Previously I hadn't really driven an auto other than a rental about 6 years ago.
All seems to be fixed now. I am a little remorseful of losing the manual, but I still have the MX5 and I really want my wife to learn and be able to drive. Fortunately green mode will make it easy to teach her. The car responds like a grandad car in the green setting.
I'm starting to get a feel for the manual gear change of the auto, the car is so quiet I'm having a little trouble judging the RPM of the engine for downshifting and the skinny rpm gauge on the side doesn't help much either. The mini is pretty cool, there isn't quite as much feel in the steering tires as I'm used to and the FWD is taking some getting used to.
It's a blast on the freeway and far more refined. My MX5 doesn't even have central locking or ABS and has poor visibility around town with your head at door handles level on most modern cars. So the mini does make things a lot less stressful with comfort, decent handling and tons of power in reserve. Reminds me of a BMW 3 series in some ways, not as visceral as the MX5 but great for someone that enjoys driving and doesn't want the mundane, characterless experience of driving an appliance.
I'm just starting to get the hang of using the manual shifting when coasting to lights and approaching corners. It's doesn't feel as balanced as the MX5, the steering is a little more remote and you can't feel the tires start to stretch as you reach their threshold. But it's still fun and handles well and is a blast merging on the freeway. Merging is a breeze and no longer a challenge. With the extra acceleration, I'm no longer frantically trying to get every inch of speed from the stop light near the end of the freeway on-ramp in order to squeeze into traffic that is belting along at 80mph in the slow lane.
I really like the car so hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll feel right at home.
OVERDRIVE
Both are great looking cars.
Your MINI would eat the Miata up on some good roads. Your S is close to the performance of a Honda s2000 that would also eat the Miata's up. If you look at my signature I have experience with both the Miata and the s2000. With my height and age, I could not ride in the s2000 for any duration. The MINI shocks many people with the amount of room they have and then when you add the performance, there is not too much better, IMO.
Your MINI would eat the Miata up on some good roads. Your S is close to the performance of a Honda s2000 that would also eat the Miata's up. If you look at my signature I have experience with both the Miata and the s2000. With my height and age, I could not ride in the s2000 for any duration. The MINI shocks many people with the amount of room they have and then when you add the performance, there is not too much better, IMO.
6th Gear - An Official NAM Greeter
Hi and welcome to NAM and congrats on your Mini purchase!
Thanks guys. I read through my original post and realized that it could have come across as quite negative. The Mini will take some getting used to and both cars have compromises. Fortunately, practically all of them are addressed between the two vehicles.
The Mini is my new driver and makes me a bit more sensible around town, I love the freedom of being able to take the dogs away from home and still have fun in my car. It's been a hit for them. We took them to a nearby park the day we got the car and they were super excited. The following day Monkey was sitting begging to go out, everyone was super excited when we got their harnesses on. Opened the door and my wife and I were dragged straight to the mini <Grin>
Tomorrow will be the first time I get to take it out for a proper spirited drive, will probably shoot down to Napa from Winters and back up through Pleasant valley road on the way back. It's a pretty nice drive there when there are no fallen rocks or water eroded roads. Should be good this time of year though.
Used to take my first Miata there most Sunday mornings before we moved further north.
The Mini is my new driver and makes me a bit more sensible around town, I love the freedom of being able to take the dogs away from home and still have fun in my car. It's been a hit for them. We took them to a nearby park the day we got the car and they were super excited. The following day Monkey was sitting begging to go out, everyone was super excited when we got their harnesses on. Opened the door and my wife and I were dragged straight to the mini <Grin>
Tomorrow will be the first time I get to take it out for a proper spirited drive, will probably shoot down to Napa from Winters and back up through Pleasant valley road on the way back. It's a pretty nice drive there when there are no fallen rocks or water eroded roads. Should be good this time of year though.
Used to take my first Miata there most Sunday mornings before we moved further north.