I would like to own a MINI Cooper. Problem is, I have yet to break it to my wife. Before I do and she rolls her eyes thinking I'm crazy, I thought it might be better to see if any folks here have come up with a convincing strategy. A way to break it in so she will be the one who wants it. I figure this has come up before, but my search came up short. I'm a guy and my wife is a girl (just to help with any logistics that might be gender related). I'm looking for a winning convincing strategy. I was going to say "honey, it gets really good gas mileage, is quite safe, does the laundry and cooks, but not being an owner, I am not sure this is accurate" Any advice would be appreciated.

 

This all depends upon whether your wife is a "car person".

IMHO, just go to a dealer, have HER take the test drive, let them come back and ask what she thinks .... You'll know the answer then.

 

Ordered it now and you have 6-8 weeks minimum to convince her

 

I am increasingly amazed that so many husbands find that their wives need "convincing"...yes there are women who are car enthusiasts out there and there are those that couldn't care less, but how could it really be that hard to present the MINI argument? Any reasonable woman would see that its a great package for a great price!

I see how this could be a problem if the woman has been appointed to control the household finances and thinks that it might not be the best idea at the time financially...and if that's the case then the husband can just go get a 2nd (or third) job!

Note: Any man I end up marrying will never need "convincing"

 

Note: Any man I end up marrying will never need "convincing"

Oh wow, I remember when I was like that, thought that way (Not the marrying a man part). Hmmmmm..., yeah, it was good, it was good...

 

Any man I end up marrying will never need "convincing"....to buy a MINI! That's the only thing I meant that he wouldn't need convincing about, and since my b/f already loves driving my MINI if I marry him well then it's all good

 

1) 4 seater, practical for a "sports car".
2) We can park our high mileage SUV during the week and you can drive the Mini to work, thereby saving on gas and (SUV) depreciation.
3) A convertible will let us enjoy our short summers that much more
4) you know, it's really a miniture BMW
5) Handing her the customized brochure and her new Mini keychain while saying "Honey, you're really gonna look great in THIS!

All is fair in love and war'

7/10

 

Go rent The Italian Job, then make clever comments during the movie, like "Wow, those sure look like fun cars!"

 

My wife thought I was a little crazy at first, took her for a test drive and she was sold!!










she still thinks I'm crazy though

 

My wife refused to consider a MINI for several years. The strategy that worked for me was laying out a series of interesting cars and including the MCS in the mix. 'After all, whats the big deal we'll just test drive it.' After she sat in it and drove the car and a couple of the other possiblities, she made the decision that it was the MINI that was the car to buy, despite some of her reservations about it (too small, dealer not close by). Best of Luck

 

I just went and bought it (a used one). Then drove home and asked her to take me up the dealership so I could drive my MINI home. I don't understand the issue here.

 

1) 4 seater, practical for a "sports car".

Its NOT a sports car.

2) We can park our high mileage SUV during the week and you can drive the Mini to work, thereby saving on gas and (SUV) depreciation.

My SUV gets almosts as good mileage and take regular so its CHEAPER to fill up

 

This works both ways. I (the wife) caught MINI fever and had to convince husband. He was worried that it was too small and wouldn't be safe. He thought that going for a test drive would take care of my desire to own a MINI. However, the test drive convinced him that I needed to get my MINI. And, even better, within days he was asking how often he was going to get to drive the MINI....End result was that we both now drive MINIs.

So, I say take your wife to the dealer and test drive one together. I've watched lots of folks returning from the test drive and they are always smiling.

 

Chows...
Whatever... how about we call it a "sporty" car... Nah, I'll call it a "sports car" even if I'm wrong and MY SUV gets a whopping 13mpg. I conclude that my argument is THERFORE VALID

 

Sporty ... good choice

13 mpg ...

Seriously though, it costs less for me to fill up with regular than premium for the MINI

 

Yeah but at the same frequency? You can't blame the Mini if the way you drive it results in it not reaching its optimal mpg

To JATO - really, try the test drive, it should do the trick Really though, tell her how you feel about it, I'm sure she wants you to be happy and if you can address any of her concerns and its not a huge financial burden I don't see why it can't be worked out. You may have to agree to her getting something she wants in the negotiation though

 

I would attend a MINI drive with your local MINI club. Economical. Not the best approach. Good mileage if driven on the highway. Around town mileage can suffer.

I would mention 6 airbags and go for the safety aspect. Then throw in the fact that it is a BMW product and has all maintenance included for the first 4 years. Also hit the resale issue hard. MINI and BMW hold their value better than anyone else. To hammer this point home I would check on the prices of a used MINI in your area.

When we sold out last car to CarMAX, they had two MINIs in stock both were 2003 models and the cheapest was $19,000 The other was $20,000 This made the $750 dollar difference between the 2006 that we speced to our liking much more easy to swallow.

When you test drive make certain to drive the MCS Last.

 

Hmm, so the salesman telling me that low to mid twenties for the MINI S was not quite accurate for city/traffic driving? My buddy has a Chevy Tahoe, 14 MPG. I need to do much better then that. In my area, premium (91 octane) is about $.20 to $.30 more then regular (89 octane). I can deal with that provided the mileage can compensate somewhat. Any thoughts on a non S versus a S. I have a friend who insists the non S is so much better. He has a non S. I want a S if for no other reason then to compensate for the 9000' elevation I hit around Lake Tahoe.

Lastly, I like some of the comments on how to deal with this. Sure, I could go out and just buy a MINI, but I really do want my siginificant other to want it by at least the square root that I want it. I know she will drive it.

PS- I have 14 MINI's in memory at MINIusa. is there a limit? How many did you have before you bought? My latest and up to now greatest is a CR/B, Web spoke, Premium, Sport (performance tires), Chrome everywhere you can get it, LSD, armrest, JCW air filter, rear fog light if for no other reason then to fill the switchboard and maybe the black stripes. I need to look at the dash to see if the std alloy patina is OK. Man I lerve this car and I hate cars.

 

I'm averaging 23 mpg with my foot in it (S)... The 13 mpg figure refers to our durango. The non-S is better??? In any regard besides mileage???

7/10 (who is already making plans to add HP to his "S")

 

I've been getting 27 mpg in the city and 37 highway in the MCS. It's an improved average by a couple/gal after mod'ing up with the SD coil-pack, Nology wires, Denso plugs and the Alta 15% SC pulley. And that includes getting on it a couple times a day for the thrill. If you up the horsepower it would stand to reason that under normal driving conditions the fuel consumption would improve.

While the newest of SUV's do get good gas mileage, the older do not. And let's not confuse real truck-sized SUV's with station wagons in drag. Our '97 Expedition fills up with regular nearly at $60 per tank with midrange octane. The MIN was $25 with premium. 'Course, it doesn't have quite the range that the Exped does.

BTW, the wife wants her own MINI too. I keep my eyes open for another used one in good shape. At least there's more room in the driveway with MINI's than SUV's.

 

The test-drive is a good approach, JATO. Test-drive several different models and include the MINI in the mix. The MINI's safety is a huge plus...6 standard airbags and it is VERY well-constructed. People have walked away from horrific crashes, with nary a scratch.

BTW, I sometimes get up to 36+ mpg in my modded MCS on highway roadtrips. Of course, gridlock kills everyone's mileage, but you can really get good mileage if you don't hot-rod it everywhere you go.

I like the idea about going to a local MINI club meet. Check out the MINI community...your wife may enjoy that. It's a very lively and fun group wherever you go.

 

Has your wife seen the website? Speccing a MINI feels suspiciously like shopping - fun for women too! And a glance at the brochure detailing all the safety features (alphabet soup) was reassuring for me. What really sold me, though, was the test drive -- LOVE at first sight! Of course, it didn't hurt that we test-drove a Miata first, which felt like driving a roller skate down the freeway at 65mph - made the MINI really shine by comparison. Now I want one of my own. Good luck!

Sign me,
...enthusiastic wife of roymo and huge fan of his MINI....

 

In December I started looking for another car. Like a prius or some hybrid. Once i drove both of the hybrids, I hated the boredom of the car. Gas mileage yes, fun factor ZERO.... I told the wife I was looking at a Mini and she thought i was crazy:impatient I am. So with that understood, I just ordered the car. I always do that, I just do what I want After 30 years with me the wife just understood. I love my little Betty and the wife. The wife puts up with both of us

 

Just take her to a dealer and let her take a test drive, without you in the car. My wife came back just about foaming at the mouth. She actually did foam at the mouth when I told her the next day I was going to wait a year so we could better afford the JCW package. She told me to get the damn thing and we'll just have higher payments.

Of course, she still thought I was nuts today...after giving Dinah a good washing, waxing, etc I drove the car onto the lawn and parked her in front of a cherry blossom tree in bloom. I wanted to take pictures of her there

And then there was the time a week ago when I told my wife I needed to take pictures for my sig (still in progress )...I'm often trying to get my wife to pose for me, so she said, "I'm not going to pose with the car." I said, "that's ok, I didn't want you in the pictures...I just wanted some car shots." She wasn't real happy with that answer, even though she said she didn't want to be in the pictures. Women...is there ever a right answer?

But I digress...let your wifey take a test drive without you and let the car and salesman do the convincing for you.

Paul

 

I had my MINI for four weeks now. My wife just can't believe how great my car is and wants to order her own. Probably an MC. So convincing was easy. The gas mileage is great so far: 23 city, 35-27 hwy, and I tend to drive spirited. Plus, I feel as though I am having much more fun driving a MINI than the drivers of all the other cars on the road. The MINI sells itself. Take your wife for a test drive.