Assuming no major issues I plan on keeping my 2006 for a very long time. I like the idea of passing it along to the kids as I have about 10 more years before that happens for the first one and 16 for the second one.

Guess I will be getting new MINI in 2016 and 2022.

 

Funny how there are no dodge/ford/chevy/buick/GM/saturn in the top 10...

 

If any of them were up there I would be very surprised, but no, there at the bottom of the barrel. Although most domestic fans say Consumer Reports is hogwash.

 

What catagory are you refering to? The over-priced, un-relaible import catagory? Mecedes has been a declining brand for the last ten years. Lexus is great, but they're in the comfy car market. But who doesn't want a 50k Camry, right?
With the MINI averaging out at about 21k, you could hardly call it a low end car. It's affordable, but far from cheap. MINI does give you a lot of car (not refering to volume) for the money too. Easily one of the best buys available. Especially now that they've worked out all of the kinks.

 

On that subject, does anyone else think that Hyundai should come up with an alternative brand name like Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, or Nissan/Inifiniti? Some of thier newer cars are pretty nice, they're getting good press, and they're pushing the $30k range, but I still can't think of a Hyundai without remembering the mid-eighties when their big selling point was the fact that they were so inexpensive (how much was the Excel, $5700?)

Scott

 

I rented a Tiberon last year and loved driving it. It will take a new generation of drivers for Hydai to have a good reputation.

 

I have been to Korea several times on business and the Hyundai luxury cars are some of the best I have ridden in. These are the small Limo type cars, i.e. Lincoln Town Car.

That said, Hyundai seems to be learning over the years unlike some American cars.

 

the markets are cruel.

Matt

 

Count me in on that, renting and watching as the market silently implodes. Not a word is said about it in the press compared to the magnitude of the sell-off. Quieter than a hybrid with no gas and a dead battery.

 

Not in LA.

:(

 

Ditto here, have a 5 year-old boy and a little girl who turned 1 today. The 5 year-old is already 4 feet tall, so could be he is too big a kid at 16 to drive the MC.

Meanwhile, if you look only at dollar depreciation instead of percentages, the 1978 Ford Futura probably comes in tops over the past 5 years. Going from near worthless to totally worthless being such a small leap, a buyer couldn't have been out more than 15 bucks in depreciation a year. That's the beauty of American cars, once they have taken the big hit they stabilize slightly and then it's all miles and wear and tear that determine resale. It's what makes a 4 year-old Regal such a great deal and the runner-up to my Mini when I was out looking at cars.

 

Legacy's over here in the safest car for 2006! woohoo for my family wagon.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2006/...x.html?cnn=yes

 

The Mini's a classic. Who cares about depreciation? Appreciation is what it's about!!!

 

I agree for the simple reason that I would much rather have the R53 than the R56, which brings me to my question, can I still order an R53 with all the stuff that I want? Cuz I can't afford one right now, but I don't want an R56 when I get one in June.

 

It's not just domestic fans that think CR is hogwash. of course I don't evaluate my dishwasher the same way I evaluate my car.

Is there anyone like me who could care less if my car was worthless once I owned it? I don't plan on selling it and traditionally I've bought the older cars that were near the end of their life and taken them to their graves. I plan to do the same for the MINI but it will be a much longer road. If I bought my car based purly on resale value I'd probably not have bought a car at all, it's a horrible way to spend money and probably depreciates more after buying and using the first time than anything this side of a tissue.

 

If you get a convertible you can still order an 06 which will be called an 07. If you want a hardtop there will likely be a bunch of 06's still sitting unsold on the lot. Maybe you can get a deal on one on them in June.

 

Of course that all depends on where you live etc... There is a ton of press on it, you just actually have to look for it instead of it being on the top of cnn.com.

I own a house, and even if the market drops I am still better off than renting...