My 06 Cooper that is.

By the way, I hate the phrase, "Just a Cooper."

My Mini isn't just anything. It's a Mini Cooper.

When it hit 75K miles I started to think about buying a new car and there were some OK reasons. Mini has some great .9 financing and the Mini dealers within 40 miles of me (Bob Smith Mini, Mini of Universal and Mini of Monrovia) have a good supply of cars and they are dealing.

My guess is my Mini will need the following pretty soon:

Front & rear brakes.
Cooling system flush.
Brake fluid flush.
New tires (I've held off replacing my current set of summer-only tires since I figured the Mini's new owner could buy his own dang tires).

Issues:

Airbag light is on. Mini says it's the passenger seat sensor. Since I'm way out of warranty I'll be heading to Mini Corsa from now on and I'll have Danny confirm this when I go in for my next oil change.

The engine has never used one drop of oil and the clutch feels and works just like it did the day I rolled it off the lot. The Mini is still rock solid on the road. It's never had a CEL, a surge, a miss or a hesitation. If it weren't so cool you'd think it was a Toyota. Oh, except for the fact that it doesn't like to accelerate by itself.

The bottom line is that I still like this car and it feels like it has lots of life left in it.

Some math:

If I junked the car today it would have cost me .30 per mile. If I could sell it for $10,000 (and I bet I could) that cost would drop to well below .20 a mile.

How, exactly, do you beat that unless you're driving a Honda Civic?

So, my current goal is to take the Mini to 150K. At my average number of miles per year that'll only take me about 3 years.

Who knows? I might not be ready to sell it then either.

Cheers to all.

 

cheapest car you own is the one you drive the longest.. the all up cost is dependant how well you take care of it and how well you drive it.. a $2000 repair might have a lot of shock value, but paying $400 a month for 4 years adds up quick too! not to mention your insurance goes down on older cars (insert good driving habits here - take a driver training at your local racetrack!)

Also - you're not saving the environment by buying a hippie hybrid.. keeping your car has much less impact than buying a big stack of toxic batteries (just wait till you have to replace those!)

207,000km and going strong! regular maintenance.. original clutch.. drive it like you stole it

phil.

 

Stick with your car and learn how to work on all of the issues yourself. A lot of it is much simpler than you think. Just requires a little bit of time to learn. It's one of the cheapest way to own a car.

 

Plus you get to keep the original design low front end with the "way cool" headlights that stay in the hood, and the wrap around "c" pillar glass

 

05 MCS, 6 speed. 188k and just had it all tore down to do full maintenance. Every part I pulled off looked great to like brand new, except the waterpump.

I have no doubt after lots of reading on here that these cars are capable of some extremely high miles on original drivetrains.

 

Tell it, brother!

 

Good for you! I have had my 06 Cooper for less than a year, but it seems like a solid car so far, and I agree, it's not just anything!

 

You know the satisfaction some folks get from working on their own car?

I get the same satisfaction out of writing a check and letting someone else do the work.

 

I'm a great believer that the cheapest way to drive is to keep repairing what you got. And the mechanical systems in the 1st gen Mini are fairly robust.

But..... I'm not certain the electrics, accessories, and trim are up to the rest of the car. A single airbag light in 75K miles is doing pretty good, but there are a lot of folks out there who as the miles climb have been baraged with a constant stream of CEL's, airbarg warning lights, window lift failures, lock system failures, instrument problems, lighting problems, wiper/washer system troubles, power steering fan failures, climate control system problem, sensor issues, emissions system issues, assorted electrical gremlins, etc. And generally, this stuff is not very amenable to fixing by the DIY mechanic as the electrical system requires diagnostic equipment, spare parts to try, and experience that many of us simply don't have. For many problems, a trip to the ridiculously-expensive dealer service department -- who won't even bat an eye when they tell you some minor electrical problem is going to cost $1500 to fix -- is the only reasonable option.

Carry on, but don't be surprised if the airbag warning light is just the beginning of a lot of nickle and dime stuff (that costs a lot more than nickels and dimes) that may eventually wear you down and have you inspecting the offerings at your local Japanese car dealer.

- Mark

 

My '06 MCS was totaled about 6 weeks ago. I had just been to the dealership with my husband to purchase his first MINI. Our MA was asking if I would be ready to trade in El Kabong and I told him that I planned on driving it another 5+ years. I was very happy with him and did not feel that new car urge even while sitting in all those nice shiny new MINIs with my husband. I now have an '11 on order, and while I'm excited about it, if I had a magic wand and could get El Kabong back I would in a heartbeat.
So enjoy your '06, you're a lucky guy!
Annette

 

u iwll be glad u did

 

I see far too many stopped and abandoned cars on the side of the highway. I don't want to be that guy that spent $200 for hockey tickets and missed the game because he broke down. Or be on the way to a friend's wedding and suddenly get a red light on the dashboard. Or be on the way to see the girl of my dreams when smoke or steam start rising from under the hood.

I got caught in far too many of those scenarios in my youth. Now I keep the car for 3 or 4 years and when the warranty is about to expire, I trade them in. Yes, I am constantly making car payments every month, but I'm also making mortgage, electric, gas, cable, phone and many other payments each month too. While I am still working and can afford to pay for my own peace of mind, I will keep doing it. And even if I knew a lick about maintaining and repairing cars, I'd feel the same. Who wants to climb under their car in a tux to reattach a muffler? I have AAA and MINI Roadside assistance doing that for me if, knock on wood, that ever happens.

 

I had to laugh when I read that and it's sure not because I have lots of spare checks laying around.

 

Me neither, but when people need the kind of work I do they pay me.

So, I pay people for the kind of work they do.

 

Big thumbs up to that!!

 

Bravo

 

When I bought my 2004 R50 I said I'd never sell him. It was my first new car. He still drives like the day I bought I him, especially after new tires. He's at 79k miles and isn't my primary vehicle any more. Two months ago I brought him for the check engine light (O2 sensor...) to find that his gaskets (valvetrain and oil pan) were leaking. For about 30sec I contemplated just fixing it and selling him. Then I realized it'd be like selling my child, so I had him fixed and drove him home.

While I have had a few random things fail over the now 7yrs with him, including the above and a new steering rack at 43k miles... I will never part with him. No car has brought such happiness to me. My dad has an R56 Cooper and it's got a great drivetrain but something was lost in the steering. I guess I'll always have my MINI Cooper, Indi Blue original. And that brings a smile to my face.

 

Well said!, I hope to keep my car forever as well