So I will be car shopping first of next year. I've been bouncing back and forth between a G35 Coupe or a MINI S. Either car would work for me and I like them both. The MINI has much more personality than the G (not to mention it's $10,000 cheaper) but my wife can't see spending $30k on a "little" car.

Anyone else dealt with this from your significant other who ended up buying the MINI? How did it turn out? My wife "wouldn't be caught dead in a mini van", but loves our Sienna now, so I'm hoping the same would happen with a MINI (although she will rarely drive it as it will be my daily driver).

Thanks and Happy Holidays.

 

Refuse to grocery shop anywhere but bulk warehouse stores on the premise that you will no longer pay for "little" things. Perhaps she'll catch on?

 

Tell her it's only little on the outside, Once you get into a MINI you would be amazed on how much room you have. It might be little but it has the highest resale value of ANY CAR IN THE USA. If it's what you want get it, everytime i drive the car it puts a smile on my face. There isn't a person on here that would tell you it doesn't.

 

think of it this way, you're paying more for a smaller car, meaning that more attention was paid to every little detail, and it shows in the mini. SO much more personality than a G, and just about as much useable space inside, save trunk space. . .

 

Plus, don't say it is a $30 K car - always quote the base price in conversations, and then ask her what options she wants after she bites :-)

 

The one thing I think may help you. Take her for a test drive and let her drive during this time. All it took was one drive and my wife was hooked.
Hope all works out for you. Getting a MINI has been the best experience in car buying I have ever had, from ordering to delivery.
Good luck.

- KP

 

Tell her to sell all her jewelry since it seems silly to spend that much money on "little rocks"

I'm so glad that my wife is as obsessed about her MINI as I am about mine!

 

mabye you could also go with the cheaper Mini cooper(non-S)

 

Quality, not quantity. Ask her since when are vehicles sold by the pound?

 

Dude....get the G35 Coupe.

 

First, take her for a ride in a Mini. Let her test drive one. End of argurment.

 

In terms of price: You could easily hit the $40k mark if you got the convertible and the JCW package. My MCSCa was $36k, the dealer installed options brought it to around $38k, and I've already done a bunch of modifications that push it over $40k. Yes, that's expensive for a little car. I had a 2002 330i that cost around $45k and the Z4 that the MINI is replacing was around $50k.

But the MINI is a hell of a lot more responsive and fun than a 3 series. And a little more practical than a Z4. (although I miss RWD)

It's kinda like buying a laptop computer. It costs as much or more than a regular computer because they had to work so hard to make everything smaller to fit. But they also generally pay more attention to the small details since you look at and interact with all the parts of a laptop, where you don't really look at a desktop computer's case.

Have you test driven a 3 series coupe? If I needed something a little bigger than a MINI I'd have gotten one of those over an Infiniti. As you might have guessed I'm a big BMW fan. If BMW hadn't build this MINI I probably wouldn't have bought it. But I also don't think that any other manufacturer could have made the MINI this good.

 

Let her test drive...that will intoxicate her and she will become putty in your hands.

That's what my husband did to me and now I get to drive MINI everyday.... ahhhhhhh....

 

So how big does a car have to be once you get into the $150k range? I guess if you buy any exotic car you're not getting a very good price for the pound.

 

Well, as a female, the line about paying so much money for 'small diamonds' would really shut ME up...

 

yah, i too was going to say.... $$$ for that little rock?!

or $$$ for this handbag?!!

kenchan's wallet got a little lighter this christmas.

 

That's the truth. I drove one someone had as a loaner. I had this goofy grin on my face and I have no idea why.... I must have been motoring and didn't realize it.

 

Thanks for the input. She isn't into diamonds and she says size doesn't matter (who's laughing?). :D She thinks they are cute and the one she sat in impressed her how big it was inside. She'll definitely test drive it with me.

I'm researching them and there seems to be an issue with oil burning requiring engine replacement. I take what I read on the forums with a grain of salt, but it is definitely something I want to check out further before I spend $40k on a car. The G35 would be nice, but the extra $10k would be nicer.... The MINI I built on the MINI site was about $28k.

Blasphemy!

Thank you again for your replies.

 

And why eat at a nice restaurant when you could get much more food for your money at Old Country Buffet?

 

mines a 04, no burning motor oil on mine. i use Mobil1 on a
nissan generic oil filter.

 

yah, like just get a Hyundai. it's a better deal. it's the same thing...
has 4 tires, one steering wheel, but it also comes with a FREE yes
FREE spare tire!

 

She would say that...... and mean it. She's very frugal. This will be an uphill battle. How are MINI's on hills? :D

 

they go real fast down hill... so does Hyundai's!

 

Are you on G35driver?

Seems to be a late '05 and early '06 issue. The bad engines were burning over a quart of oil every 1000 miles. If it was less than a quart or 999 miles, Infinity wouldn't cover it.

BTW- Checked out your MINI page. With the exception of perhaps white stripes instead of black, it looks like exactly the MINI I would want to put together.

 

yep, that's the same kenchan.