Be careful what you wish for...

Chrysler

I didn't really expect to find any "life" on thos boards or scenes, but it is interesting that they exist. I know there are some loyal Aztek people out there as well.
Back in November, I was out on Long Island meeting up with vdubdoug and was in a parking lot where Nissan Maxima owners were getting together for a meet. There were some VERY interesting Maximas there....

I have put over 30,000 miles on my car now. It's still a blast to drive(maybe not in 7 degree weather when every rattle appears), but it handles great, looks great - and this may sound silly - but it's very easy to find in a parking lot.

 

Thanks for the replies, I just got back from the local MINI dealer
where I was just staring at the cars for about an hour, the VW
dealer is just down the block and I only spent 5 minutes there
looking at the GTI. I can just feel that my MINI is on the dock
in England knowing that it is wanted and knowing that it will be
in a good home with a good owner very soon.

 

>>Be careful what you wish for...
>>
>>Chrysler
>>

Oh my... If I vanish from NAM, ya'll know where to find me.

 

jsun -- you are correct. I joined the South Texas MINI Club about the time my baby was on the Jingu Maru coming over. I live in Austin,TX the dealership is in San Antonio. When I was called and told Mr Bridger was at the dealership, going to the body shop so expect to pick him up in a week or so... I posted how happy I was and how I hoped it was a weekend so my brother could take me to pick up my car because I needed a truck to bring back to my house all the original bumper covers and side skirts from my MCS. Well, out of no where, a club member sent me an e-mail saying, don't wait for your brother, if you need a ride to san antonio to pick up your car, any day of the week, I'll take you in my full size pick up. WOW ! Who are these fine people?? and he did!! I was able to get my car on a Tuesday and not wait until Saturday! and this is to and from a dealer that is 100 miles away! and he followed me home with my bumper covers, etc... We will be friends for life! and now I've never paid him back for his favor, I'm paying it forward. Anytime any where I see or hear about a MINI person in need and I can help, I offer and do it!

Owning a MINI is much more than just owning a car.
It is a lifestyle.
It is waving back at the kids in the neighborhood and sharing joy.
The car brings smiles from everyone!
It is belonging to an active Motoring Club !
No internet-sit-at-my-computer club!
and I mean a club where they drive their cars!!!

(when was the last time you saw 16 or 9 Camry's or VWs going down the road together for a Sunday drive ?)

The MINI attitude is total acceptance and friendship, no matter if you are a student, a retired person, a person in the military, a computer graphics tech, a chef, an artist, a nurse, a teacher, a professor, a milkman, a CEO, a bank teller, ... you can be a car autophile or like me... a person who loves to drive fast cars and you will be accepted for what you are!

 

There are even station wagon enthusiasts. Disagree with them and you'll be labeled "anti-family" and a "sorry individual".

I agree with the sports car analogy. Don't kick the tires, or the fender trim will fall off. Treat your MINI like a sports car and it will be OK.

 

The MINI as a family car? Heck yeah!

We have currently own 2 MINIs and sold our previous 2 mundane and "practical" 4 door sedans for these cars. We haven't looked back and we don't regret it one bit.

My wife's '02 Cooper CVT is her daily driver. It gets driven like any other car and it is not tucked away in a garage your for "Sunday" drives. In her Cooper we have travelled throught the entire East Coast of the US in total comfort and speed, we get our groceries, we do errands, etc, etc. The more you use the car the more you discover its wonderful features and how seamless the car blends into daily life. We have had ZERO reliability problems and this car has been more dependable than the Hondas we had before it.


My '04 MCS gets driven about 1K miles a month. I got it almost 4 months ago and the car has been absolutely fantastic.


So it is up to you to find out!

 

I use Minzila everyday. He has covered almost 27k miles. My 1995 BMW motorcycle covered 62k miles in it's first 7 years and only 2k miles since. It's a very good motorcycle but the MINI is more fun.
Motor On
MB

 

My MCS is my daily driver and I wouldn't have it any other way. We don't have any kids so space isn't a huge issue, but if we're traveling we take the MINI rather than my wife's Eclipse GT. In our case the MINI is our 'family car'.
Happy Motoring!
Wings

 

Two cars in the family but the MC is my only car

 

I also have a 1996 Saab 900. My dad passed it on to me when his vision no longer allowed him to drive. It's a Lutheran from Scandinavia, so is a good winter car here in the snowy north. Also, I don't like taking my MC out on snowy days due to salt on the road etc. But everytime I drive Mrs. Peel I am amazed how much more fun she is: sort of a hedonist from a mixed Brit/German marriage.

I have a friend with a MCS who said his young teen daughter loves the backseat and they had a very comfortable several thousand mile trip recently.

I second what Pebbles said about the NAM community. It is great for info and advice about our cars. But I am also amazed at the friendliness and other info. In Off Topic I've gotten lots of great info too. My recent favority was the value of electric toothbrushs. I'm now a convert. In what isn't a flame free zone, Of Topic Politics, I've found it to be emotional but respectful and with many who have lots of reasoned views whether I agree or not. It's a welcome forum in a climate where shouting at each other is the usual way it's done.

NAM people are great. I only wish I lived in a place with an active club. Mini's are still relatively rare around here.

 

13000 miles in 8 months of ownership, you'll be looking forward to comuting.

Your coworkers won't understand you anymore.

In fact no other people will understand.

Just wait till you get your MINI.

Then you'll understand.

 

Daily driver? Only as much as possible. I would take it all the time but my wife doesn't like "That little car of your's" so when she goes I have to take the Volvo.

I have more fun in my MCS than in any car I have ever owned (or borrowed from the bank ) and I have had a lot of different vehicles over the years.

Earl

 

My MCS is my daily driver, but one of three British cars that I own. It has been very reliable by any standard. You won't be disappointed if you get the MINI.

 

ha, I have you beat 21,000 miles in 9 months! Helps that I've been on a couple of cross country trips so far. I also use my MCS as a daily driver and i'm glad I do. My other option would be to use my 95 Jeep Strangler, with no radio, failing powersteering and a permently zip tied shut window. It's 8 degree's here today and i had to start it for work, well, i tried to start it at least. I think i have frostbite on my bum too, from sitting on the frozen seat.

 

When I first got my MCS (it will be a year next month) I didn't really know whether it was going to be my daily driver or my weekend toy. I had a Jeep Wrangler and a Honda motorcycle already and I decided to keep hold of both of them until I knew the answer. By July I think I had driven the Jeep 3 times, and so decided to sell it. The motorcycle had to go as it and the mini were fighting for the same parking spot in my garage. As you can see, the MCS is a daily driver and for me it was from day one. As a matter of fact I look forward to driving it every day. I almost wish I had it back when my weekly commute was in excess of 1,000 miles per week instead of the short trip it is now. I'd hate to be racking up those kind of miles on it though.

Ken

 

I have two cars. The MCS and an M3. I can honestly say (and I never thought I'd say this 6 months ago) but I don't even really want to drive the M3 anymore, so yes, the MINI IS my daily driver. I only take the M out anymore once in a while just to run it. In fact, it's probably going to be up for sale in the spring!

I haven't had any problems with lack of space in the MINI, though I have yet to have a backseat passenger to worry about. Perhaps if you're dealing with older kids I could see the small size becoming an issue... perhaps.

 

Senator, that jeep deserves to be put out of its misery. So do you, get back in tha MINI.

 

she will become my daily driver in March. Just trying to keep 1 more Detroit winter off her... I'm single, so my back seats rarely get used. Only a passenger from
time-to-time...

I usually have another car at my disposal for REALLY crappy weather... and when I travel I leave her at home in the garage. Plus I have a garage @ work and @ home!

 

UFO, I use Alice as my daily driver in Vegas. Hmmm...50 mile commute...you work at the test site? Or the Air Force site north of town? Can't think of anywhere else you'd be doing that long a commute in Vegas.
I've had my MCS for about 15 months and the only days in that period I haven't driven it were when I was out of town.
I even use it to do my grocery shopping and to go to Home Depot. I got a 60" x 12" glass shelf entirely in the car and home without it even coming into the front seat area.
And if you DO buy a MINI, join the Sin City MINI Club.

 

>>I have put over 30,000 miles on my car now. It's still a blast to drive(maybe not in 7 degree weather when every rattle appears), but it handles great, looks great - and this may sound silly - but it's very easy to find in a parking lot.

30k too, and I'm right there with ya!

MINI is my only. (Can't take it out to play just yet, I'll need it tomorrow.)

_________________
-goin440 IB/IB MC

 

My MIni ( ambrois) is my daily driver, tho I do soemtime use my fiancees car jsut to keep the miles down, I also drive over an hour to get to work, except for driving over teh train track everyday, I enjoy the whoel ride.. mini make my daily drag a little bti more enjoyable.. is it a daily driver... why woudl you drive somethign boring everyday, when you can drive one that will make you smile. :smile:

 

Mine is my daily driver. Our other car is a Jeep Liberty. If we take a weekend trip somewhere, we take the MINI. (My wife, our three year old, and me). if we take a short vacation, we take the MINI. If we go shopping in town, we take the MINI. If it is going to snow, or we are going on a longer vacation (over a week), we take the Jeep.

We can fit our luggage for a week in the MINI by folding one seat down. But then again, we don't live by the rule that we need to pack 1/2 of our worldly possessions if we are going away for a week. We took it to Florida for a week last fall, 9 hours each way was no problem.

Our little girl has no problem in the back seat (she sits behind my 5'6" wife), and my wife is plenty comfortable.

The MINI is just so much better on gas mileage and safer that we prefer to drive it whenever possible. Never mind the fact that it is so much more fun!

I actually think the MINI is an IDEAL daily driver. I mean, compared to say a Ford Expedition, which one is really the inconvenient one?

 

Mine is an everyday car. I haul stuff with it, commute, go on club events... its my toy, friend and car! I'm a single college guy, so I rarely cart any more than one person around with me... the back seat is really there for looks in my opinion, lol. Thinking about just removing them and making the space underneath into a storage cubby. Less weight anyways.

I do plan on retiring the car as an everyday car (at least in the bad months) so I can keep it in show quality (I do show it, have 4 trophies), and get it race-ready. I plan on buying a Jetta 1.8T as my everyday car then. But it won't stop me from driving the Mini. The Mini is a great all-around car, unless you have a family. Great on road trips, and for short drives. Versatile!

 

mine is my daily driver/commuter. My weekend ride is an '83 Porsche 911.

 

For 10 months and 15K miles it was my daily driver. I just bought a small 4X4 pickup as the winter vehicle to spare the paint from the ravages of snow, sanded roads and ice. I miss the fun but would rather not have my baby hurt. I can't wait for spring!