Greetings, I haven't been here in a while, but I am back and looking for opinions. My wife and I have an 08 clubman (justa) and an 03 jetta 1.8T. When we bought the mini it wasn't her car or my car, just a car in the garage (same with the jetta). Well the clubman has been hijacked by my wife, yeah there are shoes, makeup, and a purse in it at all times! I now drive the jetta everyday, and while we bought it with the intentions of being a 4 door family car, it really isn't that much fun to drive, or any larger than the clubman! I used to be a jeep guy but with gas still rising it isn't an option, and we have decided 1 child is enough, which the clubman handles fine for that.

Sooooo, we are thinking about getting rid of the jetta for another mini. Having already owning one I know about the high repair costs, but also the reward of daily driving. Since we are staying a 1 kid family, and the clubman is going to be the main family machine, I am leaning towards a MCS or JCW, since it will be just mine . Here is where some of my questions come in....

First would you ever consider owning 2 of these crazy cars? Also, we have had to replace the brakes on the clubman twice already at only 32k miles. Now it is a auto, and the newer one would be stick, so I am assuming brakes would last longer? Is the exhaust on a stock JCW really that loud and "poppy" (checked youtube)? I am sure a MCS would be sufficient enough for me, but $4k-$5k is the only real difference for a used JCW around here, but the louder exhaust really isn't for me, so I thought I would ask. I know this post is all over the place, and probably an english teacher's nightmare, but I will say thanks in advance! Ben

 

Personally, unless you really want one for you to drive every day, I wouldn't. I would look for something with a little bit more utility like a sports wagon.

 

If we decide not to get one, we will just keep the Jetta. Thanks for the reply.

 

I would. The wife leased an Accord for the time being, mainly to save cash for a down payment. And I have been talking to her lately about what she might want, since we are close to 1/2 way through the lease and she has been hinting at a MINI of some kind. I think she likes the Countryman, but not totally sure yet. But honestly, I would have more than one. Then again, I do most of my own work on my cars.

 

The wife and I here have my MCS and we've had one before for many years and for 2 people its great. Currently she has a Acura TSX and as much as we like it will probably trade it for a Countryman in the future. We love the way a MINI drives and the community around the car. For future family duty we think a Countryman would be a more fun car to have. So yes we'd own 2 MINIs.

 

I have thought about it. Getting a Cooper for the daily driver for better gas mileage. I like my S and am currently DDing becuase my other car is broke, but I would never consider DDing a JCW. Too much money for one to start putting that many miles on one. I would stick to an S or a Cooper for the DD route.

 

Agree totally. Mine is a Justa and it is perfect for my DD. If I had 2 for myself, wife's not included, the JCW or S would be my weekend car and the Justa would be my DD. I would absolutely do it tho!

 

Yes, I absolutely would (and have). Tried to get my wifey into the Clubman, but she was not interested so I ended up having an R53 and then added an R56 JCW.

I know many his/hers MINI families, very doable with one child and a Clubbie.

The R53 was sold last summer (bad idea, but necessary at the time) and keeping the door open for a 2nd MINI when the right opportunity comes along in the future.

 

Since my 3 kids aren't kids now (My baby is almost 18). I am trying to talk my wife into dumping her mini-van and getting a Countryman or clubman. She really loves her 04 Sienna. Before I got my MINI I offered to take her 04 and get her a new Sienna. Her answer was no.

I don't understand but I am glad I got my MINI.

Oh and the reason they call the MC a Justa is because they are just perfect.

 

ABSOLUTELY. The Clubman is my wife's little truck and grandbaby-carrier. The MCS is my daily-driver/play car.

 

NEVER AGAIN. We currently have an 03 and 07 both S's. The 07 has been nothing but trouble. We love both cars and will drive them till they drop but I will never buy MINI again.

 

Couldn't afford two of 'em. Love my 07 MCS and
will probably keep it till it falls of the wheels.
Wife has a 2011 Nissan Juke (alot more room) but
yet still small.
My 1999 PU (great for the haul).
I consider my herd the perfect circle.

 

We have 2. I got my 06 Pepper White MCS in 07. My wife is actually the one who wanted to buy it. Her dad restores/drives Triumphs and she mistakenly thought it was a British car. She's a bit of a fanatic about British cars you see. A zealot even. Anyway, I usually have severe buyers remorse over everything (I over analyze every purchase, from groceries to cars), but I have never had one day of remorse for letting her talk me into Millie (#1). At the time, we also had a CRV as another transport option.

Fast forward 5 years later, we returned from a stint overseas and were in need of a car. My wife has always had the hots for my car and demanded one of her own. I resisted heavily because I thought 2 Minis would make life difficult. No space for groceries or a family of 3. I looked at every car under the sun. I found nothing I wanted buy. All the while, she was looking for a Mini. Finally, I got smart (a temporary condition at best) and bought her what she wanted. A Hot Chocolate Clubman she named Gigi (I call it #2 ).

I have to say, I've never had any remorse for buying this one either. Space can be tricky at times, but we find solutions 99% of the time. I mean buying new patio furniture and getting it home is difficult, but how often do you actually do that? Probably not often.

I would suggest a MCS. I've never driven a JCW, but I will say driving my car is so much more fun than the Clubman. The Clubman is fun, but it's not anywhere close. Take the money you save and put it in the S. For 4-5 grand, you can make the S a beast.

 

I do. I had a R52 and my wife liked it so much that she bought her own R52. I kept mine for four years and traded for an R56 and I traded that for an R55 which I still have. My wife still has her R52 and is looking at the Roadster for a replacement.

 

MINIs are British cars. They are made in England, in the same Oxford factory as the classic Mini was.

Dave

 

We do own two MINIs. I have an '11 MCS (traded in my '09 MCS on it) and my fiancee has an '11 Countryman All4. We love 'em. A few hiccups here and there, but overall, the experience has been very positive.

If we had the means, we'd probably have a Roadster or Coupe for drives that didn't require four seats.

 

They may be British-built cars, but they're not britcars. Or LBCs (Little British Cars). They're small FWD BMWs, assembled in the UK.

 

We bought my Countryman in August as a replacement for my Forester XT. We figured it was big enough to haul things we would need, but not too big. We loved it so much that my husband replaced his Forester XT with a R56. He drives it back and forth to work, and we take it together sometimes, but the CM is our main vehicle when we go somewhere together and on trips.

 

Seriously, folks, let's keep this thread on topic. Please have the British car/not British car discussion in another thread or not at all, as it will surely derail this one.

 

Thanks for all the insight so far folks. Our hardest hurdle to overcomb is thinking that the clubman will be our largest vehicle for a family of 3 (plus a dog). But like others stated how often do we need to move large items, isn't that what free shipping is for? Guess it's time to haul the car seat to the dealer to test the fits out.

 

Just my two cents... We have 4 vehicles, one of which is my mini. It's usually my daily driver while it's not snowing. However since we have just found out we have a little one on the way now we were talking about getting a small SUV. I took her to the dealership just to pick up some parts and she wanted to oogle the new coupes. While we were there we test drove the the Countryman, and she fell in love with it right away. She asked if we could actually take it home that night...

Now we're looking at getting rid of one of the 4 vehicles... Most likely the Bronco... and buying a countryman.

 

When we need to haul something really big, a cargo van or pickup can be rented for a fraction of the cost and hassle of feeding, maintaining, and wrestling with a bigger vehicle on an every-day basis

BTW the 2011 MCS is getting 34 mpg average, mostly city driving -- actually better than the 2009 MCC!

 

We have had 2 MINIs as our cars for over a year now. Sometimes I wish we had a bigger vehicle but I don't mind it so much when I pump gas.

 

For hauling big stuff, we have a 77 F250.. HUGE difference from driving my mini, but gets the job done when we need to haul half a house, or go camping.

 

We three cars, a Grand Caravan, Highlander and my new R56-s; if I were to sell the van, I would consider a countryman for a 2nd mini; I was actually looking at the countryman, but opt'd for the smaller size and higher MPG of the MCS.