I love my mini. I really do. A lot. It gets awesome gas mileage (try 38 mpg yesterday), it handles great, it has a sexy body. I've been told to modify my mini if i want more power/better sound...but...

I think i want a different car now. Maybe a new silver automatic v6 mustang.

HA.

Ok, for real... the more time i spend with someone's S, the more i want that supercharger whine. I wouldn't mind a throaty intake on my cooper, or even a nice muffler. But i wasn't so sure about owning a Cooper all along (since we should know i love EB S's), and spending time with S's isn't helping. I wanted to keep my mini stock for this very reason. I want an S.

I have some issues though:
-i drive about 60-80 miles per day, so the gas mileage is somewhat important to me.
-my dad is co-signed on my mini b/c i had no credit. he said last night (yes, i walked in the door coming home from the dragon and said i want an S) the new mini will be in MY name only, so i need to make sure i can get it on my credit, and see what my rates will be. (do you think only 7 months of car payments+2 months of cell phone would get me in a 20k car by myself? with a somewhat decent rate... eek)
-i'm being kicked out on my own when i turn 21... i need to save up, so i don't want my car payment to change too much.
-i'm totally in love with the 02-04's. the only thing i like about the 05's are the burbly exhaust... but that's not enough to convince me to get one.
-it's hard to find a used mini with the options i want. there are just too many combinations. All i want are sunroof, all dark interior, POSSIBLY xenons, POSSIBLY fogs, but definitely heated seats. It was a pleasant surprise to feel my butt get warm in a few mini's this weekend, and i want that for my own. I really want cloth seats, but it's so hard to find.


The pluses!!:
-insurance will go down if i get 02-03. Not by much, but it WILL go down. I just quoted
-i'm trying hard not to modify. atleast with an S, i'll already have more done to it than a cooper.
-I WANT THAT WHINE!
-if i do modify, tons of stuff to do on it. Hello Alta.
-i want another loud car. my miata was REALLY loud, and it never got old. Maybe i will modify it some
-i might be able to keep up with people accelerating

I'm going to give it time. Figure out if that's really what i want to do, since i've only been driving 3 years and have already had 3 cars... but the ENTIRE time i've been driving, the MINI (S) has been the car i wanted (i got my license in december of 02). It's just been a matter of affording it. I'm going to see if i can test some local's mini's out and see how much i really like it compared to my mini, since the dealership is stingy about people being under 21 test driving.

So my next concern is how much do you think an 04 Cooper with just the spoiler, sunroof, and 16" 5 spokes would get? I just hit 31,300 miles this morning. I drive like a grandma, and it's had all it's services done, maintenance kept up. Has an itty ding on the fender from the dealership... which i'll gladly have PDR'd before selling. otherwise it's great.

I'm still not absolutely positive i want to move on to an S yet. Debating it hard, though. I just know ever since i sold my miata i've missed it a lot, and i'm sure that'll happen with the Cooper... But atleast i'd be moving on from one MINI to another.

HELPPPPPPP :impatient

 

From what I see you need to shop around. I just went to WWW.KBB.com and in my zip code and private party value was 18,900. How many Coopers are in your area for sell? How much do you own on it? Have you tried talking to a finance company to see if they would finance you? What is your credit score? When was the last time you checked your credit report? You can go to WwW.annualcreditreport.com and get one free report from each of the three main reporting agency each year. So if you get one from one agency, and wait four months and get one from one of the other two and four month later get one from the last one, you could get one free credit report every four months. Just start crunching numbers. See what you can afford. Talk to your credit union, you have joined a credit union havent you, and see what they will finance you for. Sorry to ramble but if you want the Whine you just have to see were you stand. The credit thing is a good thing to keep an eye on just so you know where you stand.

 

Going from a Short Bus to a Bump-S? Schweet.

 

SB --

have you actually ever ridden a 02-04 and 05-06 S back to back? The different gearing makes a world of a difference. The first time I drove an 03 S, I could not believe the different effects of the gearing on the engine performance.

®

 

You want to know the realy reason why I wanted to take the Short Bus for a spin? I had missed my CVT Yellow on Yellow Cooper.. I needed to bring back some memories since ihad the chance..

 

IMHO, it seems that you need to be very honest with yourself about where you are in life and what your priorities are. There will always be more cars to buy and more things to spend money on. If you get an S now, what happens when the '07 comes out with a turbo and more power in stock form and the cool "wooosh" of a wastegate? You'll want it. What if you pinch yourself with car payments to the point that you can't do some other really cool things that present themselves? Maybe a chance to travel? Maybe something else.

I have succumb to the desire to get an S. I really like it. I love the additional power. It didn't pinch me financially, but I still miss a number of things about the MC - gas mileage among them. S's are great - but they are not necessarily the pinnacle of all things MINI. You can be quite happy with a Cooper. Look at DiD for instance.

Just be honest - and realistic - with yourself. That is the best advice I know to give. Hope it helps!

 

Bump-S... i love it! hahaha

I do have a credit union... i'll check with them. Right now i'm using Suntrust, but my interest rate is great thanks to my dad's awesome score. I'll check into that soon.

the only S i've driven was an 05. Maybe i should try an 02-04... cause i LOVED how the 05 drove :/ i forgot they changed the gearing... and i was just talking about that last week. Idiot. I'll just have to ask around and see if anyone will let me take a spin

KBB has stated my value was pretty high for a while... but i don't know if someone would actually PAY that much for mine. I've found some pretty good deals on mini's in the past few months, but i keep telling myself not to look cause i'll want to trade up.

I have trouble moving on from the Short Bus title. And the LY gets noticed all over the place... but i want a black so i can pink it out I'm not a yellow person. Bright attention craving mini fits me, but i just can't feel the yellow.

 

Yeah, the '07 with the turbo will get better mileage than the current S. That said, I've been able to get 37 mpg a couple times while driving nearly all highway in my '02 MCS. The '05 gearing will hurt mileage a bit so unless you want a supercharger, wait and see what the '07 brings.

 

You made some awesome points. My dad actually said the same things. I dont want to strap myself down with car payments (and my insurance isn't all that pretty right now) but all i do is drive. Cars are my favorite hobby, and i love getting time to myself just driving around all over the place. I don't buy anything but food (and i usually just eat at home anyways), gas, and pay for my car/cell phone/insurance. THAT'S why i don't mind going for the car i really want. I shouldn't get anything i don't need, and i know i'm young and there will be plenty of time to get it later... but since 3-4 hours everyday outside of work is driving, i want a car i really enjoy alot. I enjoy what my mini has to offer... it's an awesome car, and i'm lucky to have it right now. But if i can find an S for about the same price i paid for mine, with lower insurance with the power i've almost talked myself into paying for on my mini...

 

So go look around for your new S. If you find one you like you maybe able to get it for around what yours is worth.

 

....errrrr.
Does that make me old?
Or just wise for my age?
Or just a wise-a$$?



< turns and walks away quietly with head down, pondering. >

 

There's some great advice in there.

TSB: my '06 MC shows up in three weeks. At that point my '02 MCS will be up for sale. I haven't set a price yet, but figure somewhere around $17k give or take.

 

I will give you $20 bucks and a Slim Jim.

 

Just for S&Gs have you taken TSB to a dealer and see what they will give you for it?

 

I haven't decided exactly the color i want... i may even go for a PW... but i'm leaning hard towards black.

I'm a little shaken up... was passing a highway exit and a cab didnt check his blind spot, came right for me. I ALWAYS assume someone won't check and will just shove over, so i was able to use the mini's awesome handling to jump over to the next lane.

it was nice seeing everyone elses mouths dropped.

and a block behind that at the other highway exit was where my accident was

BACK on topic... i can't stop thinking about whether or not i want to do it/should do it. Even saw one of my good friends at lunch and had to ramble on to him about it. His roommate was with him and spoke up saying "the best sound in the world is a supercharger whine" then gave the sound effects and pretended he was driving it. He said if i get one, to take him out in it. They're not helping haha

 

At your age, you should also be thinking about building up savings and perhaps opening a roth IRA account for retirement. The younger you start building up your financial future, the better.

 

Would you be referring to Slim Jim A, B, or C?

A.



B.


C.

 

A. Is it a deal I have a $20 bill burning a hole in my pocket.

 

I gotta go in for service this week, i'll ask while i'm there, haha. The service guy knows who i am everytime i walk in... not many 12 y/o's with MINI's. I'm curious to see what they WOULD offer. Especially since they can't hold mini's in their lots. I'd also like to see what i could get private party. If the offers good, i might just trade up while i can still get a pretty penny for my mini.

And work has a retirement plan... that i'm not eligible for til next year. I'm going to use that. I'm trying to save on my own for now, and i'm really good about it. 10 more months til i'm 21...eek!

EB S whooshed past me on my way back to work just now.. then a little HB cooper poked along behind it I want the S!

 

Thats a good deal, just about what i paid for mine.

how many miles, Dave?

 

I love my S, no doubt...

but just a reminder to cruch the numbers VERY carefully SB... you may be able to afford it now, but paying rent/mortgage takes a huge chunk out of your income, and since you said you have to move out at 21... you have to take that into consideration!

 

Driving like a grandma would seem to conflict with the need for an "S"?

I'd recommend making a CD inside someone's Cooper S, then play it in your CD player when you need the supercharger whine really bad.

Also, it appears that within less than a year you'll need something different than the supercharger whine.....maybe the turbo whooosh of the 07 MINI, both the Cooper and the Cooper S will be turbocharged.

In summary, if the bucks don't matter get the S and sell or trade it in a year or so for whatever you want next. Having a different car every year or so is fun, I wish I could afford to do that.

 

I have to agree with C4. Just because all you pay for now is your car, food, and a cell phone, that doesn't mean you should compromise your savings ability just to get an even nicer car. There's plenty else that you'll want money for a few years down the road, and you already have a car that 99% of 20-year-olds would kill for. I would take advantage of the good financial discipline that you seem to have, and instead of buying an S, accelerate your payments on your MC and pay it off sooner. Think of it this way - if you're constantly moving from car payment to car payment to car payment, and never let yourself pay a car off, you're locking yourself into paying all that interest every year, and that's a bad habit to get into. True, 90% of people don't save a dime before their 30th birthday, but that doesn't mean that they feel good about it when they realize the opportunity they've squandered.

I say, chill out, reevaluate what you have and what you need, and enjoy the ride in other people's Ss when you get them.

 

While you may not be able to get into work's 401K, you CAN open a Roth IRA anytime you have taxable income. I've had one for 2 years now (since 20) Now, I've got my 401k going too.

 

Does it do any help, if I say the supercharger's whine is nothing special?!
I am very obsess about cars also, since I like love driving. When I just out of college, I am on my first job. At that time I am thinking about trading my current Audi A4 to an S4.. I can really afford the payment on that trade, however that will lead me to $0 saving. At that time I was struggled like you, having an A4 and want to traded it to the S4. Later on I choose not to... I am glad that I didn't made that trade, otherwise I don't have the money for my 1st house (I am on my 2nd house).... There are lots of things in your life may happen, it is always better so save it up for any future expense. If you just barely made it for a used MCS, you better not to do the trade.