Hey everyone

I have a mucho important question and I'd love some opinions...
I have an 04 MCS that's going to be off warranty next March. I graduate college next May, which means I'm going to be spending all my money paying off loans. (as a side note for all of you who are going to tell me I should be so lucky my parents bought me a car, etc. I BOUGHT IT myself and paid it off in the years I took off between HS and college, thankyouverymuch. )
Anyway, I'm thinking of selling and trading down for a cheap upkeep civic or something similar. I'm not looking forward to having to buy $250 tires and taking care of every little annoying problem that up to now I've been bugging the dealership about and getting fixed for free. I dread the day the window motors stop working again. God knows how much they cost...
So, what do you think?
And as for a cheap upkeep car, any suggestions? I was thinking a used civic or accord. I'd hate to not buy German (the last car was a used A4) but I'm sick of paying ridiculous ammounts of money (as I said, used A4) and do not want to have to do so with the Mini.

thanks guys!
Christina

 

Keep it. You'll regret selling it.

 

you very well may be right... Let's see what people off warranty have to say about their upkeep costs...

 

so how many years was that, exactly?

if it's paid off, id just keep it. it's probably cheaper and won't lose money.

otherwise, get a nice deal on a Mazda3. cheap reliable car, cheap insurance,
excellent deal. civic are nice, i have a new one. cheap reliable car, not
as cheap in insurance, great deal.

don't get a used car...defeats the purpose.

 

Here's my thought:

You are graduating college, so you're going to have less money, but way more time.

So, I'd say learn how to do almost all the repairs yourself. Get the Bently manual... ask around on NAM if something goes wrong... most of the cost of fixing a MINI is the labor costs.

I'm finding it more and more amazing how easy DIY things are in the MINI, aside from the cramped space to work in.

 

Yes tires cost money, but it costs money for tires on any car so I don't buy that excuse. I've been out of warranty a year. The only thing I've done that MINI didn't pay for so far was a brake job and your next car will have to have one of those also so I'm still not getting your logic for selling.

I guess it comes down to you just want an old Honda. So buy an old Honda. See ya.

 

You sound sensible and grounded. For you to even consider selling the mini is a step that most of these forum folks wouldnt consider.

Personally i have paid for all my cars and have owned quite a few in the past years. Based on your claims that the car is due for some maintenance costs, shortening warranty life as such I believe its probably a good time to trade in or sell for something more affordable. The MINI has a great resale value so you should be able to recoop much of your investment.

Personally i would recommend test driving the toyota yaris. I recently drove one for a day and really was impressed beyond my expectations for a small car. It drives solid and actually feels heavy like a germanesque car. If you are looking for a sensible car, definitely consider that.

I feel the civic is a bit overpriced in the market and the looks really are a bit of a fad to me. We see many of these in NYC and frankly I only like the Si (based on the larger wheels and lower profile)... but that can be said for most cars really now. I havent driven the 06 civic yet but i believe it should be safer and more stable than any of the prior years.

You'd be hard pressed to have problems with a honda generally speaking but one can never tell if your in the aftermarket. good luck in whatever yo uconsider. Glad to see someone being sensible here.

 

Upkeep costs are not that much. Tires once a year (at least for me cause I drive alot ) and oil changes (done myself, so pretty cheap).

Thats been it.

Nik

 

Thanks for the responses... Sndwave, I don't really see why you're getting snippy about it. I think most people know that German cars are more expensive to repair in general. In any case that's certainly what I've found, having both an Integra and an A4 (and knowing others with similar cars). And yes, tires cost money on any car, but I think that $250/tire is a bit outrageous (if I keep her, she'll be getting some 15" rims without runflats). There's really no need to get angry at someone for trying to be practical.
Thank you, acitydweller, for the suggestions. If I do this I'll definitely check out the Yaris. And thanks everyone else for the info.
Oh and while I'm at it, am I correct in thinking that the 15" holies will in fact fit on a MCS without problems?

 

You might as well keep it. The upkeep costs are lower than getting another car, even if you do get a cheapy... and you other car won't be as fun!

I graduated college last year and have been lucky to have had a 'loaner' car from my parents (actually it's my old car that I half paid for before going to college!) for just about a year before I get my MINI in September. Of course, I would love not to have a car payment, but it's not much of an option! I am attacking my credit card debt hard right now (which will be gone in December! Yippee!) so then I'll only have my loan payments and the car payment as 'debt'. Basically, the money I'm using per month to pay off my credit cards right now will pay for my MINI payment, so it's not much extra than I'm currently spending (the extra cost of insurance will be the only additional cost). I will then begin cracking down on my student loans, but I was lucky and got them locked in at 3.75% before they went up last year... Also, the interest is deductible on student loans...

 

Agreed. Switch to non RF's, Ive been getting my Toyo Proxies for around $100 each.

Nik

 

The holies will fit just fine - though you can get near stock size non runflats for the Slites for $88 from Tire Rack (Goodyear GS-D1, IIRC), and you don't sacrifice the handling as you would with the tall Continentals (stock on the holies.) I'm concerned with the maint/repair costs as well, but I haven't heard a ridiculous amount of either having to be done on a regular basis.
You WILL save money on a cheaper car though. Tough call.
On the other hand, after college you'll actually be MAKING money instead of mostly spending it, so it depends on your field and salary potential.

 

Most everyone has given good advice and you have to decide which way to go although it sounds like you're leaning towards getting rid of your free and clear MINI. That car, aside from being a GREAT car, can be a classic. How you feel about it now, I GUARANTEE you, is going to be different than how you will feel about it when you get older and here's why: I'm 55 years old. When I was 20, ( yeah, yeah, save the Gramps bit because I don't have any grandkids ;<D) my Dad helped me buy (I paid it off) a 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 383 Magnum, Hurst 4 speed with the big T shifter. It was a screaming, solid rocket booster, kick a$$ monster. Chicks...oh yeahhh! Well I owned it a couple years, got used to it and took it for granted. I was on my own then and things got a little tight but it was paid for and gas was about 40 cents per gallon so as long as I didn't have to fix it, it was all good. Well, in 1973 or so, the alternator ( or generator I can't remember which) went out and it needed brakes (big ole drum type). It needed 2 or 3 hundred bucks worth of work. That was a lot of $ then and I didn't have a lot but I was young and immature and Hey, I'll sell it and have some pocket money, yeah! I could have saved up and kept it up but I didn't because I figured I could get a cheepo and have some spending $, yeah! I sold it for $1100. Cool!!! Well, it didn't take long to start kicking my own a$$ and I haven't stopped since. You know how much I'd like to have a 69 beep-beep right now? I was young, dumb and full... well, you know and you'd think I would have learned my lesson but in about 1976, I bought a 70 Dodge Challenger, 383 Mag, Hurst 4 ect. Got a good deal. Well guess what? Same routine; owned it a couple of years, smoked a lot of tires, got a lot of , well, you know and then the starter went out. Sold it to my roommate for a few hundred $ and got an el cheepo for rainy days when i didn't want to run my 900 Kawasaki and get wet. I was 28. I knew what I was doing. Well, now I'm 55 and I didn't know shinola. Do you know what I'd give to have either or better yet, both of those cars NOW? Damnnnn!
The point is, Think about it! You're young. Short term is the only thing you know. There will be a long term! Think about it!

 

Personally, I'm going to keep my MINI and hang the cost simply because I like the car. I do hope it won't cost an arm and a leg to maintain, of course, but I've found that even Hondas can get pricey if they've not been properly maintained. So....I'll be properly maintaining the 'ol MINI for the forseeable future.

It is somewhat uncharted territory, isn't it, this post-warranty realm...so I can understand being a bit spooked by the whole thing.

Try to pick up some 15" wheels somewhere and standard tires....that removes the extra cost of run-flats. I've always had this combo and tires never were a cause for financial concern.

 

Decisions, decisions... those of you who say I'll regret selling her are probably right. At the moment I'm thinking I'd better keep her. Some smaller rims and non runflats will be my first goal. Why smaller rims, you ask? I spend my time between NY and Maine, both places having horrible roads. I already destroyed an s-lite last year in an unavoidable GIANT pothole, so I figure some higher profile tires on smaller rims would be good. Plus I like the look of more traditional smaller wheels like the holies and these sweet OZ WRC guys. I'm not usually big on the white, but I'm a total sucker for anything WRC... even though MINI doesn't run...sigh.
Anyway, you think there'd be a big handling difference going from the slites to 15 inchers?

 

Probably better for everyday motoring in many regards. Lighter wheels tend to help overall handling a lot....car feels more nimble. As for tires, all-season tires offer a more comfortable ride on a daily driver, but are less potent when pushing it at the track. That said, I do drive a Cooper and the standard 15" setup is a good match for normal Cooper power outputs.

 

What a nice guy! And a "coordinator" no less.

regards,
Red

 

How about selling your current MCS and getting a brand new but more moderately optioned Cooper? I bet you could make that an almost even swap, have another 4 years of warranty and still enjoy driving a MINI every day.

 

Now that is a great idea! I know, I just did it. An 03 MCS for an 06 MCS.

regards,
Red

 

Me three! Er... Six? (note: mine is currently on the boat somewhere, due approx. 2-3 weeks)

 

I'd say keep the MINI, as sndwave pointed out, any car is going to have normal upkeep costs, and that will almost always end up being far less than buying a new vehicle. The MINI is the first car I've ever had with a warranty, I learned car upkeep on 10 year old cars that if neglected stopped working. From my experiance I've learned that the best way to avoid costly repairs is to be **** about routine maintence, that means oil changes a few hundred miles short of every 3k, clean filters, proper tire pressures, check your brake pads for wear every few months instead of wait for the light to come on. In the end you don't have to pay more than $100 at a time if you learn to do the simple jobs yourself, or if you find you have the spare cash and are short on time let someone else take care of it for you.

Now that doesn't mean some things just won't fail over time, mange your budget right and have a little extra for the car fund each month so when you do have to get a set of tires, or a window motor goes out; you will have the money on hand to afford the fix.

I know working on a car the first few times can be intimidating, but if you do the reasearch and know what it is you're doing before you turn a wrench the process runs much smoother, so like what was mentioned before invest in a shop manual, a socket set and some jacks (total cost less than $200, and if you don't need service right now it can be spread out over time) and read through the how tos listed on the site (oil change, brakes, etc.) There's lots of little things you can do to minimize cost, but I know that even including labor out of warranty (only a few short weeks away for my baby 05) a MINI is still much cheaper to maintain than a Toyota Camry, and a whole heck of a lot more fun to drvie.

Hope this helps, do let us know how everything turns out; remember the community here can help you. I know there are some of us here on NAM, if you buy them lunch they'll be more than happy to spend an afternoon helping you working on your car, or even do the work for you.

 

You must have some seriously huge loans if all your money will be going to it.

If you like your MCS I'd suggest thinking about getting an extended warranty

 

So if you sell it are you going to buy a brand new "something else" free and clear or will you have a monthly payment of some amount?
If you are going to end up with a payment, then you could easily just keep the MINI and set aside 1/2 of what the new payment would be every month and have an accrual account for car maintenance. This is what I have done when I finished my payments on my last few cars, I had plenty of money for emergency repairs if I needed it and at the end of every year I put what I didn't use into savings. I never spent anywhere near what I was putting away.
Regardless, I'd say keep the MINI. One of my good friends is still driving the white convertable VW Bug her dad bought her when she left for college. It still suits her and is just a cool car with alot of character. Especially since she is the original owner. Her daughter left for college last year and granddad bought her a white convertable VW Beetle, hopefully she'll keep it just like her mom.
Keep the MINI and stay on top of maintenance and all should be good!
Annette

 

Your Mini-Camry comparison intrigues me. I've done tune ups on our 00 Camry. I haven't tried oil changes or brake jobs yet. Do you have specific examples of how the mini was cheaper for you?

I'm about to trade my 93 Saturn in on an 06 MCS. I know there is no way that a mini will be cheaper to maintain than my Saturn has been...once the warranty expires. But I got my wife to OK the mini and there's no looking back now.