Hi, I’m in New Jersey and I have a Tesla Model S and Model Y and thought we would never have a gas vehicle again (previously we had a 2006 BMW 530xi and a 2011 BMW 335xi, M sport Performance Edition Dinah Stage 2 and prior was Saabs and Volvos back to the 80s). Anyway our 18 year daughter had sworn up and down she would never own a car and then wham, just as her permit (all kids in NJ get one in high school as part of phys ed, makes sense in a twisted way I guess) was a month from expiration, she decided it was time to learn to drive. Incredibly, she got her license on her first try. Given that we have two relatively new cars worth over $50k, she added $5k to our insurance bill. Plus, she now all of a sudden she LOVES to drive. But she’s a good kid and got a $20,000 scholarship and, to top it off, she will likely be able to have a car on campus for $400 a year. It takes 45 minutes to drive back versus 3 hours on public transit.

So all of a sudden a car for her became a good idea. And I found one, a 2010 Mini Cooper in British Racing Green in pretty decent shape. 110,000 miles which is a bit, but she won’t be driving that much, I think we’ll be ok. It was the first car I looked at and, after Motovise.com checked it out and it came up good AND at the low end of the price range, I said what the heck, and got it for her. She had a short day at school and was at home hoping to go to IHOP (I know, retro fun) with her friend and I asked her to wait until we got home since I was waiting for a package. She was sitting in the Model Y with her friend and told them get out. Boy was she annoyed! She said “What IS it?” “Oh is that the reaction I get when I buy you a car?” “What?”

We spent the day detailing it today, clay bar, rubbing compound with the Griot’s orbital polisher, polish glaze, and synthetic wax.

It’s a really fun car to drive, I had no idea! I’d always been turned off by the “retro” dash but alright, we’ll live with it. The transmission gearing is, well, odd. But It’s so much fun to take curves when you are at speed, plus you can see so much in the car. There is literally no blind spot if you look over your shoulder. Incredible. Great safety equipment. Incredibly high gas mileage. Just a perfect first car. I hope she has it for many years and loves it. She is really thrilled.

I’m here to find out more.

 

Welcome, and Congratulations! (On the good kid you've raised.)

I don't know much about the older Mini's, but, you've come to the place where others do. Make sure you heed their advice and hopefully this will be a good experience for you and your daughter!

 

Oh well, I misspelled land, so much much for writing on my iPad. Isn’t it supposed to autocorrect.

Yeah I know, they’re made by BMW and there are a host of problems (timing chain, etc). We will live, I’ve got a great German mechanic.

 

Wow $5k increase in insurance for an 18 year old. Hope you only have one kid! My soon to be 18 year old son bumped our insurance up about $1000 and it all went on the MINI which is now $1900 a year. And his younger sister is more likely to get her license in about 2 years than his older brother so I hope we can stave off even higher insurance for a bit.

cheers
MacMini34