Originally Posted by MINIMarauder

I have been separated for a year now. My wife's Pontiac needs some help so I decided to surprise her with a new car. (For her awesome job as a Mom to my daughter) Like many others, since she saw "The Italian Job" she has craved a MINI and even named her Dachshund, Cooper. After months of research and dodging would-be scam artists, I found the perfect one. After conspiring with my daughter, I arranged the loan at my bank, made a $500 down-payment on the car, bought a plane ticket to Minnesota (I live in New Mexico...Yes we speak English here) and after sharing the good news with her was told that she didn't need me to buy her a car!! Well, no use throwing out months of research and wasting $700. I flew to Minneapolis, picked up "MY" new 2003 MINI Cooper S. I drove it home (1300 miles) and the only bad part of the trip was that it ended. I am in LOVE with my MINI. I have since added an aftermarket stereo (H/K Amp was blown) and replaced the old scraped wheels with new ones and I can't get enough of this little car. Never understood what all the hype of the MINI was until I got behind the wheel of hers...er, mine...yeah, MINE!!!! Wife still doesn't know I've got it but I can't help but wonder what her reaction will be when she finds out that she...cut off her nose to spite her face and I am the beneficiary. Glad to be a part of the MINI Cooper family.