Our pepper white 2006 is going away. It has been a great car, and my wife loves it to death. We finally have outgrown it, though.

As much as we CAN make it work, the girls are getting big enough now that they are starting to complain about being cramped on long trips.

Our family of four have taken this car to Florida twice, North Carolina twice (including a dragon trip) and Indiana countless times. It is being replaced by a Saturn Vue, which to my surprise is actually a pretty nice, if slow and numb handling, vehicle. (And it ends up being cheaper than the MINI after the employee discount, which is a nice deal.) We looked hard at jettas and a couple other cars, but decided that if we were going to get a 'big' car, we should get something with the convenience of the hatch, and the ground clearance for the snow up here.

At least I get to keep my 08 for as long as I want it, though!

Here, then, is a short history of the pepper white car, and a shot from a trip to Indiana shortly after we bought it, about two years ago.

 

Sad, but hopefully she will find a home where she is loved just as much.

Personally, I would have traded in the kids and kept the MINI! :D

 

Life goes on! At least you've had one, and enjoyed it. The Vue is a great vehicle, and you will appreciate it's assets for this stage of your life. Perhaps someday you will come back to a MINI as a "fun" extra car, or once the kids are grown and in college (better start saving, it comes REAL fast!!)......

Anyway, don't look at this as a sad day, it's the beginning of another great stage of life....


are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet?

 

I always like to see people with MINI's and kids. I'll cut you some slack since you're keeping one MINI, what makes my eyes roll is the stereotypical couple that says "well, we have a baby now, we NEED a suburban."

 

I did try to make a deal that I'd trade both kids and the MINI for a sky redline, but the sales guy wasn't interested!

 

That's what I'm telling my wife. This was her first manual transmission car, and the first car she actually 'cared about', after a few that she treated like appliances. We REALLY had a hard time finding a replacement vehicle, but the VUE ended up being the choice. Even then, it took her two full days to make a decision. The straw that broke the camel's back was having a family member fly in for Christmas and having to take two cars to go to dinner

The worst part is she doesn't like my MINI as much as she liked the white one. We did a lot of little things to this car, like the stripes, the aero grill, the R53 front bumper, the x-lites, and so on. It is a nice looking car.

I figure in a few years we'll pick up a used R50 or first gen convertible as a third car. That'll do it.

 

You should've gotten a clubman s! I've already told my fiancé that kids are going to be my excuse to get one .

 

Sorry for your loss, but you can always get another some day. I'm from
Indy now living in Georgia and have always cheered for the BSC Cardinals
over the years. How about that BSU football team!!! WooHoo!!

 

They grow up??

 

My kids are starting to complain when they have to ride in the back of Blimey (which, being a cabrio, does have a legitimate shortage of legroom).

So I've given it much thought, and I regret that I must say...


SCREW'EM.

When they're 17 they can have their own cars with legroom. Until then, whatever doesn't kill'em will only make them stronger.

Their "needs" are not going to intrude on my fun. Whadda they want.... free food, shelter, clothing, cable TV, broadband *AND* legroom? I'm payin', dammit. Suck it up, leeches. Just be happy I don't make you walk.

But I understand that this approach doesn't work for everyone... including those for whom the parenting instinct is still strong.

 

Enjoy the new ride - Too bad a Clubman didn't replacement the other MINI though....

Donna

 

Get a Clubman.

You'll regret selling this car and getting a non-MINI. TRUST ME.

 

Thank goodness you have at least one MINI!!!

 

When people come out of town and won't all fit in the MINI, guess what to do?

Rent a car!

It is funny how people buy "Big" cars for the 0.001% of the time they actually need to fill in all the seats.

You can offer to pay a rental for out of town relatives when they come or just rent a big van and when they are gone, simply return it.

The worst possible decision on which to base a car purchase, is to buy a car based on an infrequent need (Like most SUVs drivers out there).

 

Roger that! When my kids were younger I drove a full-size conversion van. It was a great vehicle on summer vacation and going to grandma's house for Christmas. The other 49 weeks of the year, it was a big ole hard-to-park, fuel-burning box used to transport lil ole me. Hated it.

Oh...forgot to say...

CHIRP! CHIRP! Go Cards!



BSU Alum
Class of '73

 

I have one word for you:





Menendez........

 

 

I agree completely with the 'I need a BIG car' thing for only a couple times per year. But not having ANY vehicle in the household that can take 5 people can be a problem when you are a family of four. My daughter can't take a friend anywhere, my wife and her friend can't go out with the three kids unless they take the friend's car every time, and so on. I also had to ride about an hour with a guitar hero box in my lap at christmas time this year, which was not fun.

Having said all of that, though, it really is about having a bit more room for the girls and the four doors for day to day use. It is a difficult thing, though, as I've been on here for years as an advocate of 'you don't need a big car, we have two minis!'.

Regarding a clubman, I was all for it, but two things stopped us: One, a clubman outfitted the way we wanted it was expensive, and two, my wife doesn't like the look or shape of the clubman (I do, though.)

On the bright side, I get to drive this everyday!:

 

A further thought:

Remember who is going to be in charge of choosing your assisted living or nursing home........

 

When I help them buy their first car, and we turn it into something special in the garage, all will be forgiven.

 

There ya go. The key to successfully navigating a twisty road is to keep your eyes up and look far down the road......

 

I've never thought about rule that as a 'life philosophy'. Very nice!

 

How did I miss this post!

Only about 5 hours 'till kickoff!

Class of '95.

 

Sad to see it go -- it certainly served you-all well.

 

You are already going to hit or miss the apex right in front of you, no sense looking at it now. Time to aim for the turn further down track.....

....and that's all I have to say about that....