My wife has an 04 Cooper that I really like to drive. I have a pick-up that I drive on a daily basis but don't really use the bed much. I am thinkin' of ordering my own MCS and selling the pick-up. Pros? Cons? We have no children so that is not a concern. Thanks for any input.

 

My husband has tried to convince me to get a truck as a third vehicle. I have resisted only because I don't want to maintain and store three vehicles. It might work for you though. You could keep the truck around for its utility value.

But, if you sell it and go with two MINIs, obviously you will lose the cargo space. However, there are a number of people on NAM who have done the two MINI thing. Hopefully they offer their opinions.

 

How about a convertible MCS?
With the open top you can haul things that are a bit bigger?

I'd sell the pickup and go for the cabrio just for the fun the open air.
There are a few two MINI households on NAM and all are doing quite well with two.

For MINI events you can go together in the cabrio or drive both.
Good weather? Cabrio.
Not as good then the hardtop.

 

We are also a 2 MINI family here:smile:


My wife drives a 2002 Cooper CVT (Pepper White/Black roof) and I drive a 2004 MCS (Chili Red/ White roof).

So far we are very happy. We downsized from 1 compact ('97 Mercury Tracer) and 1 full size American sedan ('01 Chevy Impala LS). Haven't looked back again.

When my wife first got her Cooper CVT, I used to drive it a lot. It came to the point that my Impala stayed parked for days to no end, because we both always wanted to be driving the MINI. So we both agreed that maybe I should get what I really wanted, so I ordered my '04 MCS in late January 2003.

Her Cooper has 25K troublefree miles and my MCS has nearly 11K troublefree miles.

Both cars are used as daily drivers and we have done thousands of miles of roadtrips in them. Many times we have been riding 4 people in the cars with no problems.

MINIs are soooo versatile, economical, cool and fun that soon you start thinking why did I ever bought that huge 4 door sedan for?

We don't yet have children, but we don't think it will be a problem once the first one arrives. The MINI is equipped with ISOFIX baby car seat seat anchors in bot rear seat positions.

I think we should have a 2 MINI family forum here in NAM!

 

Honestly when you have 2 MINIs you don't need a third vehicle such as a pick-up truck. Ask yourself...How many times do you need to use that truck on a weekly basis?

MINIs have more cargo space than most people will ever use or need, specially with both rear seat backs folded down (You have a full 25 cubic feet of cargo space back there).

You can always rent an U-Haul truck for $20+ a day if you ever need to haul anything from The Home Depot. Otherwise why keep a third vehicle plus added gas and insurance??

If you have relatives that you need to pick up from the airport, bring both MINIs or simply offer to pay for them the Super Shuttle fare from the airport or rent a Minivan for the time they will be visiting.


The bottom line is... Never buy a vehicle based on an infrequent need.

 

We're a three Mini Family. Well, 2 MINIs & 1 Mini. Wife loves her Cooper. I love my MCS. The other is a 78 Estate I use for running errands etc.

 

I don't know if this counts but I have a '05 MCS set for Sept production and my dad is going to be ordering a 1/05 build. I went up north to visit my parents... dad and I were passing a mini dealership and took a test drive. We got out and he said "OK who's buying one you or me"... I replied "what if we change the or to an and".

We may not live in the same house but he's still my dad/ family so I hope this counts.

Patrick

 

My wife and I may become a two MINI family. I have an 03 MCS and she has a 02 truck. She is tiring of the poor fuel economy plus ready to get a vehicle she wants to keep and has fun driving. The last few weeks we have been in search of a vehicle for her and have come up empty handed so far. About the only car, besides a Z3, that she enjoyed a little was a convertible bug but that was shot down a few hours later. She says it's not as fun as the MINI or Z3 plus has decided that she would keep the top up more often than down so why pay extra for something that she will hardly use. I believe the only thing holding her back from getting a MINI is the dealership being in another state. We'll find out in a few months. BTW, she is currently on autotrader.com looking for low mileage Z3's. She really loved that thing and I don't blame her. I like it too.

As for not having a truck any longer, I've thought about that. We do require the use of a truck atleast once or twice a month so not having one would be hard. We both decided that we would just pick up an old sixty something model Ford pickup and clean it up a little and use that. No payments and easy to work on. It may not have leather, a/c, power window and such but we don't care. It's a truck. :smile:

 

My wife and I both own a pw/b 2004 CVT and a cr/w 2004 MCS. We have 2 children 6yrs old and 2 yrs old. We all love the mini, the bad is that we plan to buy dirt bikes so we eventually will get a truck or SUV.

 

I have an S10 which was paid for and used a lot when I first saw a mini and decided I had to have one. I need my truck and use it a lot, so my mini is my fun car, my truck... the workhorse when I need it. I love my truck, but I am in love with my mini. I find that it's great to have the truck still because if bad weather is threatening (hail and such), or if the roads are really bad (salt or snow) I can leave Steely safely in the garage and take the workhorse. I get attached to my automobiles and would like to have many long years with my mini, just as I have with my truck. I find I enjoy that time when a car is no longer new and you know it really well. However, I want my mini to look sharp when it is older and the truck will help me do this. Soooo...it's nice to have a back up car. Then you don't have to put "stuff" in it that might add a little scratch or ding.

 

Thanks for the input folks. Looks like I need to design me a MINI.

 

My MA had mentioned that MINI will be creating more add-ons to the hitch in the future. One he thought might be coming down the pipe is a trailer that attaches to the hitch (where the new bike rack goes now).

We had thought about getting a roof rack and box, but decided to wait and see if we really needed it. If so, then maybe by that time, the trailer will be available.

 

Can't live without my truck!! I've got a 95 Chevy Z71 with close to 200K on it that will likely continue to be my daily driver. That said, my PH/B MCS due for production week 32 will be my play car!

 

Well right now, we've got a Honda Insight, MCS, and a Chrysler Town and Country van. The van is only used when we need something big to haul or long trips. Within the year, we plan to sell the van and get another MCS (hopefully a Works). That would make the MINI the largest car we have! I can't wait. We've taken the MINI on 5 hour trips with no problem but we're probably going to rent a van or car for long vacations.

 

Remember, you can always RENT a truck any time you actually NEED the extra capacity.

 

I get the feeling you are trying to encourage me to buy a MINI.:smile: I already have a 1970 Pontiac convertible so I think I will stick with the MCS coupe. My pick-up gets about 13 mpg so that alone is a big reason to switch. Now to pick a color..................

 

We're about to become a 2 MINI family in October. I've ordered a Cabrio & my husband loves driving my current MINI. The kid is grown & we don't do big time hauling anymore. We have loaded fairly large things in the MINI & were amazed at what you could fit in it. BTW, we also have an elderly Miata with low mileage that only comes out when it's warm & the sun is shining. The MINIs will be our everyday drives.

Lois

 

We are a two-person, one-MINI family. Does that count?

We never need to carry anything the MINI can't hold. That's why they have delivery trucks