i never was gaga over them...thought they were a kinda cool car thats way overated....until i got one... she captured my heart...

 

Wear Off?

Fugetaboutit!

 

I love my mini... but the novelty of it does wear off a bit. This doesn't mean I love it any less or don't have just as much fun driving it as I always have.

However, once you get elbow deep in modding and your checkbook balance drops to 3 figures for minimal gains... I'd say the novelty wears off. At least that's where I'm at with it.

I came from alfa's and subaru's prior to this. In those worlds I was never more then an added super charger or turbo for 2.5k including parts and install time for an additional 25-30% more power.

Oh and having to drive 300 miles to the nearest dealer... yeah the noveltly of a new mini left me a long time ago.

great car... great community (most of the time)... overall, this has been the best maintained happyness of any car i've owned.

 

If the novelty wears off, then you need to do one of two things.

1.) Change your daily route and take some more corners.
2.) Take a vacation without your MINI--fly somewhere and rent a minivan for a week, then when you come back, you will fall back in love with your MINI. Trust me it works!

2003 Indi Blue MC--Sept 2003 to Sept 2006
2005 Jet Black MCS- Sept 2006 to present

 

i love my mini... i also love many other cars that i have owned. Don't get me wrong i wouldn't trade the mini for just any other car... but it's just a car.

 

Sorta like walking down the aisle in the chapel thinking, "OMG, did I really want to do this?"

 

Mine's a daily driver and I drive a lot, so it's easy to fall into a sort of "it's just a car" feeling. Then you notice someone on the sidewalk staring slack-jawed, or a little kid jumping up and down pointing, and you realize just what an impact these cars make on the public!

 

Everytime i drive my GF's Chrysler Sebring i get a full charge on the novelty i feel for my MINI, I just hate her car so much!!

 

Interesting, that's the rental I just had to drive for 5 days while my MINI was being fixed. The way it accelerated and handled, I felt like I should have a horn that made grey whale sounds...

 

I debated for about two years before test driving a MINI. I was sold after driving around the block. Bought mine in August last year, and am not anywhere near bored with it. It's like driving a huge car in a small package. The fun factor is an added bonus.

 

Wear off, NEVER. I can't drive it enough.

 

I'm coming up on 2 years with Obie. I've done a few mods that I've wanted to do since the beginning, and few that I discovered (here) after having the car a while (one to be done soon). I still love my car. Never has an automotive love affair lasted so long (for me).

Zip

 

phew. glad to see that title was a false alarm. I've just ordered my first MINI, and I plan to cling to this excitement for years to come.

 

Yeah but it's really hard to sling a whole week's worth of groceries around the back of the Lotus. No problem with the MINI.

Playing with classic Minis since 1976, new MINIs since March 2002 and Lotus since December 2005.
I just did a novelty check. I'm still on the plus side.

 

Don't get me wrong....I love my car....but, any true car nut can't be beholden to just one.

 

Ah, but a true Mini nut is.

 

I don't think it's that important. My concern is that it really is like an additiction and MINI knows it. We will put up with **** on MINIs that we never would with another car. Not so sure I am in the mood for that.

 

Lotus's are more work than fun to drive. With such a narrow power band, you have to mind the RPM's all the time in order to keep the car in the 'fun' zone. It is work as the clutch and shifter of the Lotus pretty much sucks.

The clutch is an on/off affair, while the shifter linkage will suddenly surprise you and bind in a turn while you are trying to scuff some speed.

But, to the gest of the poster's comment. There are other cars that are fun to drive. The problem is, none of them have the quirky nature of the Cooper. Not one combines such utilitarian capacity, while making one giggle at the same time. Not one has the audacity to be different in a fun way. Not one car has the gaul to step up and beg to be acosted by its owner, begging to be personalized in such an outrageous manner. Across all the usages a car can have, only the Cooper does it with such charisma and panache. The spontaneous grins from others as you "motor" by are icing on the cake.

Then, and finally, there is only one car you can "motor" in.

 

yeah, well... okay, but........ oh, heck.. forget it.

 

LynnEl, may as well forget it on this forum. Even Consumer Reports is coming around a little. You can easily sell it if you decide it's just not the "right" car for you. The waiting is the worst part of the journey. I really dig being able to spot my car in the parking lot w/o having to put a "jack-in-the-box bobber head" on the antenna to differentiate my car from the masses.

Be forewarned, however, you'll be hearing a bunch of stupid comments on the car. Read up on some of the previous threads to be prepared with good comebacks.

 

Actually, this is my second MINI, so I know. Sell it???? Are you nuts??? To paraphase Winston Churchill, "It's the worst car in the world, except for all the others."

 

Ha ha..... Some people actually do think I'm nuts.

So you're not really having feelings of remorse! Shame on you.

 

Remorse isn't the right word. I just don't want the dealer looking at me with a "what did you expect" look if I bring my MINI in with a spiderwebbed windshield or a sunroof flapping in the wind.

 

Would they really do that? My MA left a voice mail message for me this week just asking if everything is still OK with Flo and to be sure that I'm still happy. This is six months after the sale. He knows that I'm OCD because my 11-year old Volvo (that I sold to a friend rather than trade in) was in mint condition.

 

Just going by threads I've read here. BUt I hope not.