Well, after careful thought, much lurking, a handful of posts and two test drives, I've ultimately decided the MINI is not the car for me.

Although the demographic for this car is all over the place, at 47, I think I may have lost the willingness to "risk" buying a car so skewed toward the fun side of the fun/practical scale. There are compromises that I just can't make anymore. Too bad, it really is a hypnotic little car.

I think the final straw for me was the durability issue; the newly discovered rust problem in particular. It may seem to many people a small thing, but I live in Pennsylvania where road salt and other corrosive melting agents are a necessary evil. I also keep my cars for more than a few years so any indication of less than robust corrosion resistance is a real worry. Reading reports of hidden rust, after only a few years, from people in warm weather regions is a little scary. (I fear it won't be isolated to those small sections on the door sills.) That was the one thing I just couldn't reason away.

I also come into the new car search with some manufacturer prejudices that are hard for me to resolve. After my miserable 2.5 year experience with a German-designed VW, our last four cars have been Japanese brands (Toyota, Subaru, Acura x2) and we have been extremely happy with those cars. My wife loves her '95 Impreza and she just can't part with it. It also happens to be 100% body rust free after 11 years as a daily driver in this climate. The same is true for my nine year old Integra. We are spoiled by almost freakish reliability.

Best wishes to all of you younger and/or more free-spirited people who enjoy your fun little car. There is simply nothing like the MINI available in the US and I truly understand the appeal - it nearly got me too. I can't imagine what I'll like after having driven this car. But, I've apparently settled into being too cautious and financially conservative. I guess I've become that old fart we all hope we'll never be.

Happy motoring!

 

happy motoring!

 

but the surface rust issue that you refer to isn't much to worry about....

But whatever floats your boat...

Matt

 

Hmm. Well maybe later down the road you can have a little MINI in you driveway. I guess you dont know what your missing. If you did, you have a MINI! lol

As always, Happy Motoring,
William

 

Stop living in denial and get that Mini!

 

Good luck, and Happy motoring

I think they are pretty durable. No rust here .

Nik

 

I spend a huge amount of time on NAM and others, and I've never heard of a "rust issue". Oh well, thank goodness we have a 12 YEAR unlimited mileage RUST WARRANTY... (2003 and earlier 6 year)

 

He'll be back...

 

There is a huge thread about it.

Also the Rust warranty is for outer body perforation, not for surface rust.

Steve

 

When I bought my 03 MC at age 60 I thought about the practical/too old thing for maybe 2 minutes. Bought my CR/W MINI and I love it.

Maybe I've gone past the age where practical matters?

 

I have to agree with you resmini! I'm over 40 with a family. I too worried about the practicality of the MINI, but since it was going to be my commuter and we have two extremely reliable Japanese SUVs I ruled that out as an issue. My international friends laugh at Americas definition of practical cars. I just returned from Brazil this morning and rode in "practical" cars this past week that were one heck of a lot smaller than my MINI.

A "practical" car is all in the eyes of the beholder. After owning the MINI for going on three months I'm surprised how practical it actualy is. We're finding that we use our SUVs less and less in favor of the MINI. I'm also amazed how much we can put in my our MINI. I recently put a friend's wheelchair in the back with the wheels on and his luggage! If that isn't practical what is?

 

I just made the same decision as the original poster 2 years ago. Too old for the reliability risk and with two kids and money not growing on trees I bought a nice Mazda. Two years later, here I am... buying a MINI. I just couldn't resist... the regret was too much each time I saw a MINI go by. But that's me - I couldn't pass up driving such a fun iconic little car after all.

So, I totally get where the OP is coming from. Take care.

 

Dont take out yur dislike for VW's on all german cars. We as well had a VW with problems all over. Now we have a bmw 330 conv. , 325 station wagon, and mercedes sl55 amg and no problems with any. Although, I do have to hand it to the japonese. Our lexus has also had no problems. (we also had one of the first 02 minis and had no problems with it...to bad we sold it in 04)

 

I'm just never going to understand what people are doing so routinely that a MINI won't accomodate... I've "needed" another vehicle exactly one time, and that was just because I was terrified of driving my fairly new MINI offroad for 21 miles (nicks and all that), even though he'd already crossed the country. If I had the same decision to make today, I'd take the MINI in a heartbeat.

Anyway, happy motoring in whatever And try not to think too hard about the fun you could be having...

 

Agreed. With a 12 year warranty (even if it is for perforation), the rust issue should not be a reason to pass on the MINI. If rust is your absolute issue, check out how the MINI is constructed versus each of your Subaru cars: Other than the stupid cellophane tabs that were placed over the un-painted door frame points, the MINI (at least the new ones with the 144 month rust warranty) has state-of-the-art rust protection. As a further note, there is pretty extensive use of salt in the EU for roadway ice abatement in the winter. The cars that are sold in the EU manage to handle the salt pretty well and I am not aware of a different construction for EU and non-EU cars that would indicate a reduced rust resistance.

Sometimes (and this is not a slam against NAM) spending too much time on NAM can twist your perceptions. Before I bought my MCSa, I was wondering about problems with drivability (Yo-Yo chronicles...). I almost passed on the purchase.... But in the end, I decided if I had a car that suffered from the Yo-Yo, then I would just sell it and move on (the market in the S.F. bay area is still very tight, with prices at MSRP or MSRP+ this late into the model lifecycle). I have had a very good ownership experience, with no problems to date. Even if I had the rust problem (and MINI/BMW were to decline to do anything about it), I wouldn't hyperventillate over it. The rust problem is too easy to fix (and fix permanently). For me the car is too much fun to get upset over the current rust problem. I am more frustrated by the lack of a JCW option from the factory for the MCSa. But then again, options exist in the aftermarket for that; so, it is really more of an annoyance than a problem.

But as Dr O says, whatever floats your boat....

 

Well, all I can say is have fun. What car are you getting? If the MINI's not for you, so be it. We want only true enthusiats anyway!

Seriously though, you should at least still lurk the site. Just because you don't have *that* car, doesn't mean you can't be apart of a forum. Heck, I've been a member on a focus forum (www.focaljet.com) and I don't have a focus, and probably never will. That forum is great, and is like family (laugh if you want, but it's true).

I think you fear if you stay, you'll regret NOT getting the MINI!

Good luck with your NON-MINI car, though it'll never be as fun!
-Cody

 

Maybe for his next car he was thinking of being buried in it...Where rust could be an issue? ...I say just live your life and don't sweat the small stuff .

 

Well, I got my first MINI in 2002 for my 50th birthday gift, so the MINI's demographics are all over the place! As for reliability, my MINIs have been awesome, and absolutely fantastic as a road-tripping vehicle every spring. I just got home from my 4th annual 8-week trip in mine. Best wishes, DJA, in your search for a new car. You're too young to be an old fart already! LOL!

 

I'll let you go but you have to add "and thanks for all the fish" to your title.

 

In the short time I've been in this group, it's already apparent how respectful most people are to one another. We've all seen those forums that are cesspools of trolls and mean-spirited gasbags. This really is a good group. Good administration helps keep out the mean people, and the car undoubtedly attracts a more enlightened crowd too.

Thanks again.

David

 

3 MINIs under my belt and no problems to report. This is one of the highest quality cars money can buy in this price range.

 

DJA, would the MINI be your only car? If so, I truly wish you the best. If not, read on ...

I know where you coming from. Having had many Toyotas, you just become used to quality ... the aggravation of warranty work and all the stuff you may read here can make you think. remember though, people tend to complain about the bad things and rarely just say "Oh the car was fine today". But, if you have another car as well, take a second look.

"...at 47, I think I may have lost the willingness to "risk" buying a car so skewed toward the fun side of the fun/practical scale."

Your just a kid! I got a few years on you and to this day, the MINI puts a smile on Both of our faces. True story ... just today my wife said she took the car food shopping, parked the usual far away starting walking to the store and some guy drove up to her and the car and asked her if this was her "toy". She said sure it was, smiled and he said "It sure is cute".

She couldn't wait to tell me that when I got home because it made her day. Priceless ...

Good luck

 

Toyota seems to be experiencing some quality "snafus" of their own as of late....

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/co...ndex+page_news

 

Toyota. From the "What the Hell is the World Coming To?" File, it seems that Toyota, the Japanese car company so obsessed with becoming "America's Car Company" has some 'splainin' to do. Toyota announced yesterday that it was recalling two-thirds of its Prius hybrids sold in the U.S. because of defective parts that could cause a loss of steering control. The recall is a big one - 986,000 Toyotas over ten different models - but it specifically includes 170,000 Prius vehicles in the U.S. We don't know if the company will organize a group hug for all of its Prius owners, or free Starbucks and massages for a year, or whatever - but it's clear that Toyota's drive for world domination is causing it to lose focus, and its vaunted bullet-proof quality image is showing signs of being frayed around the edges. This quality issue is more than just a speed bump for Toyota - it's indicative of a trend that could derail the company's efforts on the way to corporate sainthood. Toyota doesn't stand for performance, safety, "built for drivers," design, or anything else for that matter - it stands for quality. And without that, they're just purveyors of bland, vanilla transportation devices designed to offend as few people as possible. And that's not going to cut it for long, no matter how much they try to wrap their efforts in the flag.

 

Hello David,

It took me three years to make up my mind to buy a MINI & I'm very glad that I did. I'm a bit older than you at 55, but see no drawbacks to MINI ownership. The rust thing has been blow WAY out of proportion. Most cars will have some rust on them given enough time. I bet if you look closely at that Subaru you'll find a spot. I'm not knocking Subaru's, I own & love a Forester XT. Life's too short for boring cars & that about sums up why I bought my MCS. I hope you change your mind. IMO they are great FUN cars.

Good luck & happy motoring in whatever you chose.