Get her what she wants with the exception of the OEM NAV. I recommend the Garmin 2610 or 2620, which can be used in either MINI! I love mine, and no more fumbling with maps or reading mapquest printouts! You can program it to have a British accent, too!

You can find one for about $600, which is about half the price of the OEM. Think about it! It's really a wonderful unit!


Clover

 

[QUOTE=Wagnbat]Weigh in your professional opinions here.

2 years until I'm up for orders to move to somewhere (anywhere. Could be seattle, germany, hawaii, SoCal... Anywhere), and 2 years before I have the option to get out of the Navy.QUOTE]

If you do get another MINI for her will you be able to ship both MINI's to your new over seas base?

No. Then you'd have to either store one or sell.

Art

 

One more option:

MC Convertible: CVT auto transmission and Nav = $25k exactly!

But its still not a MCSCA with all the options, but it is still the same price as your's. . .

 

I didn't have my own car while I was in high school, and I didn't get a car while I was in college...and I graduated *** laude from both. I got married right out of college and we managed to live for about 3 years with one car. When we finally needed a second car, it was used. Most of the cars I've driven have been used or my husband's hand-me-downs. Finally, after 37 years of marriage, I bought myself a new car...the first car that I picked out just for myself. So I'm taken back a bit by the pouting "that's what I want" attitude. I love my MINI, but if buying it put me in major debt, I never would have bought it. Most of us need cars for transportation and want them for entirely different reasons.

How sweet it must be to just say "I want" and have all your dreams come true! Please, someone with the money to spend this way, adopt me so I can get all the toys I want when I want them too! I'll even do windows!

 

Get the girl what she wants...that's what I did for my wife! Similar to your situation we have no kids and my wife also got the bug for a MINI of her own once we attended several MINI events. She too wants nothing other than an MCSC with an automatic. Being that we are on the west coast she was placed on the waiting list back in April, the order was just submitted to MINI last week and we can expect arrival of her MINI by the end of October.


Once that happens her Passat will be sold to her mother and we will be a two MINI family!

 

Lots of good inputs here.

She built another Mini online last night, and it came to 32k. I took the laptop from her, rebuilt it as an MCCA with sport and premium packages only, and it was about 26-27k. I gave her back the laptop, and she didn't notice that it wasn't an S, so I asked her to verify the spec. She said everything looked good, but was puzzled why I was able to drop about 5k. I pointed out it wasn't an S, and didn't have everything she wanted. She then got bitter and didn't want to play build the mini anymore.

I asked "What's the big deal? 10 seconds ago you said it looked good." He reply "You and all the other Mini people are always talking about how good the S is, and I want one too."

I do want to get her the car, but I don't want to spend 34k on a car that starts at 17k. Especially one she won't use much (1 mile to and from work), and one she probably won't take care of. And she wants a convertible, but she never drives anywhere. I'm still finding it very hard to justify.

Maybe the Miata isn't such a bad idea. I'd be a whole lot more flexible if she was willing to go with a spec closer to 25k...

 

Does she just want it because you have one? Is she being realistic?



Art

 

I'll say it again. Your response should be "Honey, if this is what you want, then save your money and go for it." All the people saying "Yeah, get her what she wants because that's what I did" probably didn't do it on active duty pay with a wife making what sounds like a fairly meager wage herself.

 

Not to mention, I love my Mini to death, but for $32k I could think of better cars for the money. A LOT better.*



*Just my opinion, flames won't change that.

 

We did just what you described, BUT, I used money I saved myself for my downpayment, and I pay the payments out of my money, not his, and my husband is on active duty...

 

That puts you at the top in my book. Both parents are retired military, and I well remember the days when they struggled to afford big purchases. So, that you saved yourself, and budgeted for it, I imagine you have a high respect for your car.

 

Spoiling the woman is nice. SPOILING her, on the other hand...

Funny, my wife has been pinging me about a MINI convertible as well. My response is similar to those above - "I'd LOVE it if you went out and bought a MINI convertible!"

I'd have to agree that $34K for a 'nice to have' is way over the top. If she wants a convertible, the Miata is an awesome option (I've got two.:smile: ) Not too many autos out there, however.
For a 1 mile commute, I'd say buy her a nice bike.

Has she even driven an S vs. a Cooper? If she's not going to use the power, that's just throwing money away. Your money. I've dealt with the car envy thing - it's not pretty, but there are way more cost effective means for her to feel taken care of. Fortunately (or not!:smile: ) my wife drives a stick, so if she feels the need, I let her take a miata out for a spin.
You mentioned that you're concerned that she wouldn't take care of it. Big red flag there. I bought my beloved a Legacy GT to replace her POS 20 year old Sentra. She raves about the car, loves to drive it, how nice it is, etc. And it sits there, filthy. Definitely a point of contention at times. Trust me, the "I bought it, the least you can do is take care of it" line gets no traction at all. (I just washed it this weekend - I couldn't bear to see it looking like crap.) So if you do buy it, know that you're taking on the care and feeding as well.

That's my $2.00 worth. :smile:

 

For 25k you can wait a couple months and get the NEW miata, with supposedly more HP than the turbo MSM version. Or save even more and get a slightly older one. I'd like to drive an MCC/MCSC, but the miata is SUCH a fun car. Make her test drive one, if only for me :smile:

I wanted an S because i heard so many good things about it (and my famous electric blue rant) But i'm so in love with my hardtop cooper. Granted, it's a 5spd... but i didn't mind the automatic cooper at all, having never driven a manual before it. She can't have everything she wants... unless she wants to pay for it too. Sounds like she's tried getting her way more than once...

 

OK, I'm going to say something that will make me seem like such girl...

It surprises me sometimes with so many women that want convertibles. Many of these women spend some time on their hair in the morning and want it to look just right all day, but that means that they can never put down the top on the 'vert. So, what's the point in having a convertible? When I bought my car, I had several people ask me why I didn't get a convertible and I told them the truth, "it messes up my hair" I have gone for more than one ride in our friend's BMW M Roadster. Its a great car, but everytime I get out of it I have to spend 20 minutes combing my hair out and I can never manage to keep anything on my head to prevent the muss and I don't think of myself as a particularly girlie girl. Has your wife thought about this? How often will she actually use a convertible as a convertible? Otherwise, why should she get to spend more money on her car than yours?

 

But like such a practical girl, Manda!

I think wag's gal is very lucky he's so anxious to please her! A new S to drive one mile to work may seem silly now, but when he is reassigned, she may need to commute a longer distance. Besides, he'll have TWO MINIs to play with......


Clover

 

''

Please tell me your joking when you said its "your money" In this day and age, isn't that just a little bit chauvinistic? Your certainly entitled to say that but aren't marriages usually "OUR MONEY?"

maybe not ... maybe I am way to old. Just checking

Don't want to start a "marriage" war ... just want to know if your really serious or joking because its hard to tell.

 

On days i wanted my top down, i wore a pony tail. I never wore a hat, and most females thought i was crazy for not.

Besides, the windblown look is something to brag about to non vert owners

 

I'm with you, during times when I've made more or my spouse had brought home more it was always considered our money. Barring financial difficulties I would always want my SO to have whatever car with whatever configurations that made them happy. Now if only we could become rich enough for that McLaren F1

PS: Regarding the whole 'vert thing - they are lots of fun and I've enjoyed them when I had them as loaners, but the sun damage to my skin aspects along with the dirt and exhaust of other cars in your face thing has kept me from owning one so far...

 

I think in context, YOUR MONEY could still be taken as money belonging to the both of you.

If you and I shared a $5 bill, it would be our money. If someone referred to the $5 it would be their money or 'your' money referring to the group.

And I'd like to point something out. I make more than 2.5x what she makes, and thats not barebones what my dilemma is about. If that was so, and my Mini was 25k, then she'd be limited to spending 10k on a car. That's not what I'm saying.

Money is an issue. If it wasn't, none of us would work. And I'm not talking housewives, because that is a job in itself, and deserves credit as such.

I'm talking buying a car, that is nearly double what you make in a year, just because you 'want' it. If she made the same amount I do, it would still be a money issue, because she'd still be spending $17000 in options.

Is it an ego thing? Maybe a little, but so little it's negligible. If her car were $2k~3k more, then eh... But 9k? C'mon now. And with the types of stuff she's getting and won't use, it is a bit like Rowland said 'throwing our money away'. /shrug

I made an spreadsheet and I'm going to try to hammer her again tonight... The spreadsheet has a goal of 25k, but I'm willing to go over that, I just don't want her to know that, because that tosses out my negotation tools. And I do sincerely believe she'd be happy with a base MCC & nothing on it if she gave it a chance... Just as she was before she realized I removed the 'S' from the package to save a few thousand. But she's being abnormally 'greedy' with this for some reason...

Here's the sheet:
http://mappage.net/wagntools/mini_tools.htm (requires microsoft office xp)

P.S. Oh. And I don't know if this hurts or helps my cause.... But if she doesn't get a Mini, the other car she wants is a Mercedes SLK convertible.

 

I "want" a Ferrari. I "want" a new Shelby Cobra. I know I will never get a Ferrari (unless lotto hits), so we all need to have reasonable expectations. That said ... there is something to be said for the other side, which if your are on the far side of 40, is ...

LIFE IS TO SHORT.... ENJOY it while you can.

This is kind of like the old Spartan saying " Eat, Drink and be Merry , because Tomorrow we die"

Simply put, be thankful for what you can have today because who knows what tomorrow brings ...

Not sure what you mean by this but if she's not going to use it, then dont buy it. Things like heated seats and GPS are luxaries. Forget about them. You can always buy a GPS when you can afford it. As to the HP argument and not using it, thats BS.

Normally, I think my wife drives sedately (except when corning or stopping). She doesn't go crazy rarely shifting over 4500 while doing normal, routine things like going to the store. Does that mean she can't use the HP ... BS. She knows very well anytime she wants she can accelarate away ... its way to easy to be doing 80 and not even realizing it.

Peace ...

 

I wasn't joking, but money issues depend on the situation. It's up to the couple to decide, but in this case Wag made reference to salary differential*. I'm all for equity, but in this case the partner seems to be looking for complete satisfaction (i.e. $34K MINI), not equity ($25K MINI.)

It's not about chauvinism, it's about parity/equity. If my wife had/made a bunch of money, could I go by a 911 Carerra because I wanted one? It works both ways. It's always easier to spend someone else's money. Just ask the government.

*Salary differential is a tough one. If both work 40 hrs but get paid differently, I'd call it even. But if one makes more because they WORK more, they should get some differential benefit of their additional labor (all else equal, i.e. DINKS sharing home labor.) It's what seperates capitalism from communism.

 

My wife shares that philosophy. My response, "Ok, then I'm going to drive like I'm going to die tomorrow." She changed her mind. :smile:

As for HP, then everyone should spring for a JCW, 'cause you can always use more horsepower... We make tradeoffs in life - far too many to discuss here.

P.S. Chow, will you adopt me?

 

So wives are communists and husbands are capitalists? Bwahahahahaaa! And I want to meet a DINK couple where the man shares the home labor!

Granted, I do know a few house-husbands, but they are a rarity!



Clover

 

I didn't say that - I know many women who make more than the men in their households. And a few house husbands as well.:smile:

 

As to the Cabrio vs. Hardtop comparison, here's my 2c:

My 2nd Car was a 1990 Chrysler LeBarron Convertible. It was sweet for the first couple months. But when you can only afford to have one car as your daily driver, you start to get very irritated by the unescapable loudness of a convirtible after a while. Especially in the winter when it takes longer to warm up, and even more so on a long road trip where your ears start to beg for mercy from the endless thundering wind. The irritation is amplified even more when some dousche-bag slashes your top to get in and steal your CDs... but that's a different story.

I'd say, from my experience with both, if you can afford to own 2 cars, having one as a convertible would be great! But if not, a hard-top with a sunroof is the way to go!

If this cabrio is going to be the only car she has access to, be prepared for her to want to borrow your car for longer trips, or to hear her complain about being cold in the winter (cold weather package would fix that though...).

Since you haven't brought up the lack of money as an issue, I'm guessing you can afford to spend the extra, but simply don't want to, given the feeling that it would be wasted on unused extras. Perhaps, in making your decision, the convertible could be considered "our convertible" as opposed to "her car?". Surely that would help justify splurging on the supercharger?