Ten years ago today I picked up my MINI! The best thing about it is that I love it as much today as I did then. Thanks to Way Motor Works it's even more fun. Thanks to OctaneGuy and ShowCarDetailing it looks almost as good as new. And thanks to lots of folks from NAM and other forums it's been fun just to be a MINI owner.

Here's the rundown on what it's cost to keep it on the road:

• Payments: $26,403
• Mods: $4,711
• Service: $4,261
• Repairs: $7,251
• Tires: $3,204
• Parts: $766

Total: $46,596, plus over $19,000 in gas, reg fees and insurance through 2010 when I stopped keeping track. Service/repairs are averaging $1,200 a year which isn't nothing but is a lot less than buying a new car!

 

Very cool, good to see your still passionate after ten years.

 

So around $0.40 per mile? An interesting way to speak in terms of ownership. Thanks for the post!

 

More like $0.60 per mile with gas and insurance. Back when I was commuting to work every day and driving about 18,000 miles a year the per mile cost hovered around $0.50. Now I work from home and only drive about 4,000 miles per year so the per mile cost has gone up a lot. A $1,000 service/maintenance/repair bill equates to $0.25/mile now!

That $1,000 figure seems to be the minimum cost of keeping it up and running now. Last year it was steering issues and a window regulator. This year it was an oil pan. Then there was the oxygen sensor. And I know the clutch isn't going to last forever...

But it's worth it because I get to keep driving a car I really, really like to drive, and as I get older I find modern cars less and less appealing. Even if I could afford a new car I have no idea what I would want.

 

This is a cool way to look at the cost of the car, very interesting.

I did a quick (rough) breakdown with mine, currently sitting at 336000.

Payments: $24,000
Mods: $4,000
Oil (Service): $840
Repairs: $2,000
Tires:$2,800

Total: $33,640
Cost Per Mile: $0.10

Fuel: (OUCH) $48,000 (Averaged at $4 per gallon, was a lot cheaper in 03)

Total: $81,640
cost per mile: $0.24

For a quarter a mile, I'll keep it!

Nik

 

For god's sake don't tell me how much it costs to have a child! I have 2 of them!

 

That is a very low repair figure! I spent more than that in the past two years alone. I haven't been around NAM much in the last four years - what's the secret to going that many miles without repairing anything? Or buying tires?!