I just bought my first Mini. My boss has had two of them. He traded the first one after about 3 months, but he's hung on to his Countryman for more than 3 months (which is practically a lifetime for him). So I found this wonderful little car sitting alone and forlorn on the Repo Lot, and I bought it from the bank.

Having driven this fun little machine for more than a week now, I keep wondering how someone could have let this car be taken from them. I think I would have sold my blood to make the payments if I had to. I understand times are hard, so to part with something this great, the person I suppose must have really been in a financial pickle.

About 11 years ago in the middle of a divorce, where my ex-wife had run up thousands in credit card debt, I suffered a similar fate. The bank came and took my minivan, and I was devastated by it. I remember how angry I was, and how much that really hurt. And that was a crappy little minivan for heaven's sake, not a great little car like my Clubman. My heart goes out to the guy/gal who lost this little Cooper, and while I feel bad saying it, I'm glad they did. I probably never would have paid asking on one.

My rule is to only buy cars I can pay cash for now. I never finance a car, and never will buy a new one again. There are too many good used cars to choose from. And I may never buy another common car again, because I am having so much fun with my Mini.

Oh well, just some ruminations on the quality of life on a lazy Sunday morning. Or as my wife frequently says: "your two cents worth is wildly overvalued."

 

Just make sure that you keep an eye on the oil levels, and take it to the dealer to find out if all of the recall work has been done. :-) If you aren't on the database as the owner or something, you might not know that it needs the work until something goes bad. Oil level is the most important part, though. Followed by oil change intervals... search this forum for info on that, because low oil or bad oil is terrible for a MINI, especially an S. If repossessed, they may not have taken care of it like they should have.

Yes, they are wonderful cars, and I adore my little Justa hardtop.

 

Oh, and some people just aren't car enthusiasts. Some of us bond with our cars, and get excited every time we get to drive them. For others, a car is just a thing. My hubby was never enthused about cars, but now that I have the MINI, and our son has a Jeep, my hubby is living amongst MINI club events, Jeep doors in the hallways, MINI collectibles and clothing, Jeep runs, and constant talk of both vehicles. Sooo... guess what? Hubby wants a Coupe now. It's like his inner car enthusiast now has permission to come out and play.

 

Aldewitt, this isn't about the car, but about the financial stuff.. You ever heard of FPU (Financial Peace University)? That is one of the big things Dave Ramsey pushes with Finances. We are actually getting ready to pay off our loan for our Mini here in the next month or so and we're excited to be able to save that amount we are spending instead of giving it to a bank