The plan was for it to be a sort of "consolation prize" when I turned 40. Then several close family members had battles with cancer - one who didn't make it - didn't make it to *her* 40th. That brought it home...why wait?

Wow, Girlandhermini!
I'm sorry about your family member! I'm 40 too and was wondering if this mini craze was a mid-life crisis thingy- but I too believe that you never know whats around the bend-so have fun taking the curve!

 

I drove one in 1968 when I was overseas... I caught the MINI fever and have spent the last 40 years trying to shake it. Decided it's now or never and signed the order form. Incidently, I still have the MINI fever.

 

If the test drive desn't hook ya then what can be said. Not to mention the economy,the engineering,safety and the green factor. Oh, we all said something about the test drive I think

 

Had to turn in my company car and my '69 MGB was total hell to drive on an everyday basis with no a/c. I did some comparables and the MINI came in with the best bang for the buck. Had seen one a few months before in '02 when they first came out and loved the look. Very different than what was in the market. Besides it had English/German blood (also own a '73 Beetle). The test drive sealed the deal (woe is he that owns that test driven car) and I gave my deposit. Ordered my R53 that same week. After 55,000 miles I got a great trade-in price in the summer of '07 for it and placed an order for my R56. Lovin' every minute of my experience with it.

 

I wanted an Audi A4 for a while, but when it was time to buy, I decided I'd feel like a fool if I didn't wait for the 09 A4 to come out. So I decided it would be a good idea to buy something used that:

A) Held its value so if I sold it in 6-8 months I wouldn't lose on it
B) Was fun to drive
C) Was economical on gas

I was going to get a used 06-07 A4 but I figured when the 09 came out, I would take a hit on resale. I had driven the Mini several times and I remember liking it, but I was always worried about the space. (I am known as the driver in my (big) group of friends) and I was afraid there wasn't enough room. I thought, "for 6 months, I can get something crazy."

Turns out to be one of the best decisions I've made. I'm loving it and there's plenty of room. I bought a used 06 Mini Cooper S Convertible in Dark Silver, with black bonnet stripes, every package etc. I couldn't be happier!

I still may be tempted to look at the new A4 though

 

my eagle talon broke down for the 3rd time this year and always loved mini's and the wife really likes them so it just all added up.

 

Cruising car sites on the interweb sometime in early 2001, stumbled across a British site chatting up the Mini. Boink! Hooked like a tuna. Started weekly visits to the local Beemer dealer chanting "Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Discovered that I could be 280th on the waiting list [! :-( sad panda]. Better than 281st, so I took it. Went to the new Mini dealerships grand opening in February of 2002, and while chatting with the owner, overheard his conversation on the phone with a customer who had to cancel (financing problems). Told him I could be back with a cashier's check for the full amount of the car within an hour. GIMME, GIMME, GIMME!! Took some serious talkin', earbending & armtwisting, but; LO! Number #13 was mine. All mine! Drove it home that afternoon, and drive it still. Love that car. Love it, love it, love it. Me 'n Farley are buds.
The end.

 

When my dad was 18-19 he used to rally them in the Azores. When him and my mom got married, their first car was a cooperS... I've grown up with rally racing in the house so when I got married last June i felt compelled to go and test drive a new one when we got back from our honeymoon. 1 week later I had my order in...keeping the family tradition

 

I had 140K on the M3...It was barely passing smog, and I was constantly throwing 1K in maintenance a year into it.

I've always wanted a MINI ... and after BMW did the redesign to the R56 I was sold.

 

Ever since I was young, (even though I'm still technically young ) I always loved the old Austin MINI Cooper. When the new MINI was introduced, I said to myself, "That is my Dream Car." And since I loved the new MINI, I loved watching The Italian Job as well. Made me feel more attached to the car even before I had it.

Fast forward to June of 2006, I was graduating from HS and as tradition in our family we get a better car than what we started out with at 16. (I have two older brothers btw) I was in the look out for a small hatchback preferably. So the MKV GTI, Acura RSX, Civic SI, and of course a MINI Cooper S. I got a chance to test drive the GTI in both stick and DSG formats and both were really nice. It seemed that the GTI at that point would be my new car.

Then out of the blue, my Dad tells me of a 2005 BRG MINI Cooper S at a dealer. So the next day, we went there and got a chance to take it out for a drive. I'll never forget that day. The MINI left me with a huge grin on my face. I was thoroughly impressed. So I got to thinking about it for a couple days and we came back to the dealer and took the MINI out again. When I drove back, I got out of the door and said, "Yup, this is the Car for me!"

So my parents and I (along with the salesman who was a real nice guy) then got to doing the paperwork and settling the deal. I left the dealership with a used 2005 MINI Cooper S with just under 25k miles on it and it was previously owned by Peter Egan of Road&Track. Hence the name of the MINI: Egan. (Although sometimes I do call it Peter as well. I think it goes both ways )

Fast forward again almost two years later, I'm still in love with it and drive it when I feel the need. With gas prices though of today, I don't drive as often as I have in the past, but I'm not complaining too much. I have Gran Turismo 5: Prologue to hold me off of my driving needs.

 

I drive a truck at home and a bigger truck at work. I want something fun to drive. I bought an old beater of a Prelude and it was a blast to drive and got decent mileage. Then it broke the timing belt a while back and I parked it. Got it sold it last week. That should pay for a mod or two. Lemme tell you, it's real easy to justify a new purchase when one vehicle is the true definiation of "beater" and your other vehicle is overkill for most of what you do.

I had already been looking at economy cars for a replacement. Mini kept popping up in the searches. I was looking at all the usual suspects. Then I decided I might as well get something I actually want. Went and drove a Clubman S and a Cooper S. Decided on the Cooper S and placed my order.

 

This topic is easy for me. I used to work for a MINI dealership and got to drive them around all day; and get paid to do so. Loved the way they drove, and looked.

 

A good friend bought one. I called it a clown car, then he threw me the keys. I got in and found out how much room it had for my six foot four inch self.
Then I drove it...
The end.

 

My family has always had small british cars around. My olders sisters' first cars were a 1972 MG Midget and a 1971 MGBGT. My very first car was that same 1972 MG Midget that my dad and I started a full restoration on when I was 15, it still looks bad b/c 7 years later I still haven't done the body work, but anyway.... I bought the MINI b/c it was the closest thing to a classic british car that I could find.

 

The MINI made me do it 4/02 order date 6/02 delivery date.

 

I needed a smaller car that got great gas mileage for commuting, but I also needed it to be able to carry my guitar gear, and also be fun enough to satisfy my need for smiles per gallon.

I drove the Clubman S, it satisfied all my needs, and I was sold.

'nuff said!

 

Smiles per gallon...SPG...I'm gonna steal that!

 

I have always loved fun eminently driveable cars. Had 2 VW bugs in the 60s/70s. Bought the Fiero which I traded on an Alfa Romero in 1988. Hubby is a car nut too. He has a lovely Maserati biturbo tucked away from the Michigan winters. I gave up my love for small fun cars and bought a BMW 540i. Had it for ten years. Loved the speed and handling - a superb car. When the new Minis came out in 2002, I fell in love. Watched the Italian Job and knew I had to try it. Went for a test drive and was instantly in love. The timing wasn't right at that time. Well, the BMW is still going strong, but things are needing fixing and frankly while it gets decent mileage for a V8, it still isn't that great with the high gas prices. I was going to buy a car this summer anyway and was thinking either another BMW or a Mercedes, but I just couldn't get that darn Mini out of my mind. Found out that the R56 was slightly bigger, had more amenities and went for a test drive. After we both drove the Mini around the dealership's area with silly grins all over our faces - it was fate. I ordered my MY/W MCS on May 23rd. Miss Maggy will arrive refreshed from her ocean voyage on June 18th at Charleston! Can't wait to get behind the wheel. It will be my present to myself for my 60th birthday and I will be that wild granny zooming all over the Detroit area in my Maggy!

 

I used to race Bugeye Sprites in the 80s, so Mini-lust came natural to me. In 1996, I exhausted almost every avenue trying to import a Mini to the US. I finally gave up and bought an old Mercedes 280SL (W113). Loved that car, but it was stolen in 2000. Of course, we were still a year away from the Mini launch, so I got a Boxster S. That is probably the best car I've ever owned, and I would still be driving today if it wasn't for my kids, who were born in 2002 and 2005. With a nuclear family, the Mini just made sense. We now have seven of them in my immediate circle of friends and family, mine being the genesis-car! My wife always said that when her business took off, she was going to get me any car I wanted. Now that she's successful, I'm still sticking with the Mini (but that new Ferrari F149 sure looks sweet ).

 

I grew up in the UK, where cars are a more sensible size. The original Mini was one of the few cars which was too small for my liking, I liked cars from the "Super Mini" class (ie just a bit bigger than a mini). There were plenty to choose from over there, though I did sometimes think it'd be nice if the likes of BMW or Mercedes entered that market, I had to make do with a Lancia.

Coming to the US, that class of cars was entirely non existent, I had to make do with a Civic. While it was a reasonably nice car (and utterly reliable) it was just too big. I was quite interested when I heard BMW was resurrecting the MINI as a brand in its own right and I took notice of all the news I could find about this. We took a test drive when they were first available, but the Civic just refused to die and other circumstances meant it wasn't the right time to buy.

We test drove all the competing vehicles, our criteria were: 1. Small, 2. Fuel Efficient, 3. Hatchback. The MINI was the best of the small available selection, even if it only met 2 of the criteria. Eventually we bought one, and were hooked. The second one came along largely because the "who gets the MINI today?" question was causing friction.

 

I first looked in a MINI showroom in Oct 2002, only base coopers to choose from, quite a long wait to order a new MINI and Cooper S coming soon.

I got tired of driving my 12 year old Dodge Caravan with 124,000 miles and stopped by the dealership in Feb 2003.

Within two days I had bought an MCS off the lot (6 month wait for an MCS order). A great driving car for someone that loves to drive.

I hate to wait.

 

About 25 years ago my neighbor use to leave his Mini 1100 in my garage everytime he goes to Australia so that I can start and run it periodically. What a fun, nimble and fast little car! From there, I said to myself that I will have one too someday and my dream came in 2004 & 20 years later. The new Mini is as thrilling & fun as the old one.

 

The voices in my head

 

For me, it was seeing this one MINI running around town. It's in town on Saturdays from an outlying area in Idaho, and this car is adorable. It's a Chili Red S with the premium package, it's a manual and it has a body colored roof. This car would stop at the local bakery every Saturday when I went there with my friend for coffee. I fell in love then, but wasn't sure that I'd ever get one. They seemed too sporty for a soccer mom sort of gal like me.

Then my husband decided that it was time to replace my car. He asked me the question, "If you could drive anything, no matter how much it cost or how much of a pain it was to get one, what would it be?" This has been a typical question in our relationship and the answer, for years, was a Porsche 911, but because of the chili red S the answer changed this year. This time I told him, "I think I would love to drive a MINI Cooper."

He was surprised and we researched them for a while, then he found a used one at a local dealership and I test drove it. I've never had so much fun test driving a car in my life. I was hooked after that test drive. I test drove several other cars after it and absolutely nothing compared. A few weeks later, my husband and I road tripped from Spokane to Tacoma and bought Viola off the lot. He tried to talk me into ordering a car, but this one already had everything I wanted and more.

 

Yep, that pretty much covers it for me.

Saw an ad for Mini in Maxim magazine back in 2002 with punch out trading cards. Each card had a different color, etc. Didn't have any information about it, just showed the trading card with my car on it to my husband, and said, "this is my next car". It never really worked out, financially.

2/8/08, we went to pick up my husband's Element from getting an oil change. The honda dealer had a Mini on the lot. He went to pay, I sat in the Mini. When he came out, he found me still in the Mini, and suggested we go take a look at the dealer, which was right across the street.

We ended up ordering one, it was my Valentine's Day present and the rest is history!