Dearest all,

I was offered a decent price for my daily driver of 17 years. It's been a few weeks..and I still am missing the MINI. Such a sweet car to have in my mid life. The new beast is a Mercedes E350 coupe with very low miles. It seemed heavy at first, but I am getting used to it. The car has the AMG sports appearance package which includes the comfort sport seats...very nice.


So with the MINI.
I miss rowing through the gears..
the supercharger whine..
headroom..
the rough ride..
the tossing around..
and much more.


It simply was time to have a newer car with a warranty.

I do like my new car...but I feel like I lost a friend.


Many thanks to all for your help over the years. I cried enough tears to fill a waterbed.





All will be well.

Best,

Mark

 

 

>Mercedes in Sensible Silver®
>No more Chili Red in that driveway
>under warranty (good call, you'll probably need it)
>No 3rd pedal, no blower whine, cornering is meh, parks like a school bus

The only thing worse than buyers remorse...is sellers remorse. Maybe call the guy back, see if he's having second thoughts as well; might sell it back to you (esp if you $weeten the deal)?

Failing that, you know what to do:

NAM Marketplace R53s because dammit I need one

 

I gotta admit , I went from an 04 s55 amg to my mini and my mini has been sooooooo much better to me.
my GOD the price of those Mercedes parts and then ontop of it that was as far as reliability, the worst car ive ever owned.. hahaha i was glad id gotten t-boned in it exp because I got my mini I have now after..
I'd made an intake for the s55 but it already came with a Brabus tune and exhaust and that next to my 97ss I'd had , it was one of my gest sounding / fastest cars. And 5000lb that thing handled like a car half it's size with its stupid super complicated hydrolic suspension and stuff. And the tune allowed for traction control once turned off to FULLY turn off unlike stock does and hahaha that car could brakestand with the best of them.. lol befor I put on the white amg rims tte stock tires were just down to the wear bars and within 30sec burnout it blew them to the cords..lol , I still hated it..
then I NEVER used all its features like heated n vented seats , the side n back powered curtons and stuff. Only think i really liked was its navigation screen was upgraded with torque plus and it had all the gauge displays on it.
how do your like Mercedes compared to your mini ?

 

Hello all.


Actually, I have no buyers remorse...but I perhaps have a tad of sellers remorse. That emotion is fading, thankfully.

So...after 17 wonderful years of motoring in my sweet MINI..why did I sell??

I have no confidence working on a car myself. Annual costs to properly maintain the MINI were over $5k per year..only to increase, no doubt. I was having some minor issues with plastic parts getting sun damaged..ie radio ****, navigation ****, etc. One side of the rear seat no longer folded down. I had to be careful entering the driver seat, as the underside of the steering column would smudge black on my right pant leg (not good). The power steering reservoir was needing replacement, as the filler lid would no longer open. The newer A/C never worked very well. The rear hatch electronic switch worked sporadically ( I did buy a part from a member..but never installed). The MINI never had a temperature gauge (Navigation). I often wondered if I was overheating whilst waiting for the bridge span to open/close to exit/ enter exit Palm Beach. My BCM occasionally hiccuped resulting in all brake lights to stay on (happened 4-5 times that I know of...upsetting the driver behind me). I was developing rust bubbles around the gas tank ( I fixed this issue 3 years ago..it returned). The body shop told me that the problem was the steel plate behind the fender around the gas filler cap.. he thought that I should not repair (ignore?). The roof antenna was leaking water. The exterior rubber/chrome trim around the side windows was getting soft.

THEN.....


I did something stupid. I hadn't opened the sliding sunroof for years, as I was concerned about the plastic gears or motor failing. This was a mistake. One morning I got brave enough to open...and saw rust on the front edge. The rubber gasket would no longer align around the sunroof. The body shop would need to remove the sunroof, try and fix the rust ($$$).

SO...

I put a for sale sign on it. The first person who inquired tried to offer me less than I would accept...so I raised the price on him (pissing him off). I was going to ask $8K... but he can buy it for $10K (a jerk). An hour later an older gentleman was delighted to pay me $10K....and he didn't even drive the car!!! I was very honest about the defects. He paid in cash.

AND THE NEXT DAY...

A lovely friend came to help cheer me up (mop up my tears), and offered me one of her Palm Beach cars. Either this 2013 E350 coupe with less than 7,000 miles, or an old Bentley Arnage. I took the Benz. As for the price of the Benz, she decided to gift me the car if I would donate the proceeds from the MINI sale to charity. I did. This arrangement was a no brainer. The Benz may not be as fun to drive as the MINI..but it is in perfect shape. I was able to upgrade...I guess?

And my generous friend then gifted me with a Mercedes warranty for 5 years (a lovely gesture)...I bought our lunch.

The Mercedes does drive well, killer a/c, decent sound system, excellent fit and finish, I dig it when all windows are opened (no B pillar), and it gets better gas mileage that the MINI. It is also much quicker in a straight line (not important...but). The exhaust note is nice, too. Oh, and it is a 4MATIC (probably not needed). I also like all of the exterior cameras that help me navigate, the parktronic, lane chase warning, dozens of air bags, etc. It seems very modern to me.

CLOSING..


I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed my MINI experience for 17 years. I will miss the smile on my handsome face every time I cranked the little monster up. Nothing lasts forever.


Many thanks to all of you for this forum. I'll probably continue to read it (out of habit).

Best,

Mark

 

>wall of cope
*cough* just going to leave this here *cough*

 

Hello Daftlad.


I just don't understand your response. Did I overcharge the kind gentleman whom purchased my MINI? Could you elaborate after your cough clears up?

My best,

Mark

 

To each their own. I hope you enjoy the 'upgrade'! I understand the cost of maintenance argument though - if you're not a wrencher, these old BMW's are tough on the wallet.

 

Not at all. Was just trying to steer you back into getting yours back or another one (with some gentle ribbing). BaT has some good ones lately. Good luck and cheers.