Well, my wife and kids talked me into buying a new mini.. So on January 2nd, I heeded their advice and bought one. I think it may be the best car I've ever owned. My only concern.. I'm using it for work. My commute is 55 miles each way, to work. While I know the mini is capable, it breaks my heart having to "rack up the miles" and I worry about all those little "dings" from the other cars and trucks on the turnpike. And yet, it is definitely the sweetest drive that I've had to work in many years.

So I was wondering, are there any other commuters out there. It seems that most of the owners on the list are low mileage people (of course, I may be wrong).

One other question... in my new mini's cargo area I found the netting which I figured out how to attach. However, I also found a plastic piece, about the size of a license plate, along with mounting screws. My question, does anyone know if it is indeed a license plate holder or is it some sort of cargo area shelf?

Anyway, its good to be part of a great communiity of fellow Mini owners..

Thanks.

Doug

 

Congrats and welcome!!!

Can't answer your question regarding commuters as I (thankfully) don't have one. I'm sure the MINI is up to anything though.

The plastic piece you found is likely the front license plate holder. My MINI came with it in the cargo area as well since my state doesn't require front license plates. Now that you mention it, I have no idea what I ever did with mine...

Happy Motoring

 

Congrats. I'd say enjoy the commute and don't worry about it. It isn't necessarily the miles that puts the dings in. I commute on the internet and my MINI already has some dings. One ding in the door, and a scratched up a wheel. The wheel damage happened last night when I didn't see a boulder that had rolled into the street. I clipped it on a right turn.

 

Congrats on the new "ride". . . I wouldn't worry about the inevitable "dings, chings etc" that come with miles.

For me it's the more miles, the more smiles!

 

Oh and one very positive aspect is you should be done with break-in with no time!

That said, might wanna spring for the extended warranty if you know you're gonna be putting a lot of miles on it.

 

I drive mine to Manhattan, I work nights though so the traffic is not so bad. I just have to drive slowly when I'm in the city with all the potholes. But it makes going to work and going home fun!

 

Commuter all the way here!!! Hey, if you have to drive, you might as well enjoy it in one of the most capable commuter cars on the planet!! And yes, that is a front plate holder...do you need a front plate where you live??

 

I always wonder about these types of questions. It's a car, meant for one purpose. Assuming highway miles, you're looking at about 22,000 a year. If you maintain the car and keep an eye on the oil levels....etc, there is no reason why you can't get many years of service out of this car, no to mention the pure fun of driving 110 miles a day in it.

Most of us sleep in our cars anyway, so what's the problem?

 

PS: My brother lives up in Mountain Top. Jacob's Ladder St.

 

I think I nearly broke in Nic on the ride home from the dealership! (250+ mi) I commute daily from my home to the school where I work, and it's approximately 90 mi per day. This is part of the reason why my partner decided to get his MINI ahead of time (was going to wait until next summer), so we could split mileage and keep it a little lower and within the warranty period for as long as possible. Of course, that was only one of the reasons he got his early - driving around with me for a month didn't help matters!

I'll echo what others have said. Don't worry about the commute, just enjoy it. Dings and scratches are all part of owning a car, and besides, most insurance companies take care of them (as long as there aren't too many or they aren't too big) for little to no cost.

Welcome to the world of MINI!

 

300 miles per week in my MCS!

 

Congratulations, Doug. I use my MINI for a commuter as well. When we brought the car home, it was 30 miles one way. Early December, they moved us to a new building and cut the commute in half.

We do use the car for "motoring" on the weekends. Best of both worlds.

 

We're putting on just under 1,000 miles per week with most coming from communting- so far, my only ding was right close to home on a personal trip. :(

Just like you, we got the Mini to enjoy the drive- To us, it's more than worth the cost of the miles to skip out on some frustration, and the small size (for parking downtown) and gas mileage is a nice icing on the cake.

The plastic bit that was left in my trunk was the front and rear license plate holders.

 

I appreciate the replies.. Yeah, I'm not going to worry about the mileage. I told my son yesterday, this is the coolest car I have ever owned. I actually look forward to the daily commute !

 

That's the spirit. I NEVER looked forward to my drives to work and home (or just about anywhere else) before my Mini. Now I am ready to go anywhere as long as I am awake and sober.

 

If you have to spend time in the car any way why not in a car you enjoy?

 

There's two ways a Mini Cooper looks great.
1) modded and fussed-over, babied and waxed.
2) modded and thrashed, driven hard and maintained.

I'm of the latter persuasion. 15,000 miles on Arthur in 5 months.
No trailer queens in my family. My vehicles work for a living.

 

I have a 160 R/T commute in my mini 4 days / week. I am at over 7K after 10 weeks. I love my mini for the commute. The most fun I have ever had driving to work!

 

Have you commuters ever seen a roadrage event with somebody driving a fun car?
Nope.
It's the people in the Buicks, Ford Probes, MiniVans, and SUV's. If everybody drove a fun car there'd be no war.

There comes a point in every SUV owner's life where they say, "what was I thinking?" It's usually after a trip to the gas station.

 

RIP my '92 Probe, it survived 270,000 miles and a week's worth of severe beating when it was stolen Christmas Eve of 2006. I would say it was a fun car, but then, maybe it's because I was having fun causing road-rage?

Everybody has their bad days or makes mistakes, but I do try to be extra careful now that I've got the Mini.

 

I noticed since buying my mini that I find myself with a cleaning cloth much more often than not. If I get a little bug spatter on the windshield, I will spray and wipe the debris off. I also love to wash her and keep her sparkling clean. The rims collect dust and need constant TLC. I think of it as a labor of Love. My wife thinks I'm crazy. I don't fawn over her new suburban like that. Then again, the sub is NOT a mini!

 

I traded my Z4 BMW in for my MCS '07 and have had more fun driving my Mini in my daily commute of 115 miles. It's also great as a "mini-SUV" because of all the stuff I can load in it. Just enjoy the ride as your fellow drivers look with envy.

 

Same here!!! Gotta keep my MINI clean. Having it dirty kills me. :impatient

 

Or a trip on the interstate. RIP my Jeep GC! I've clayed/waxed mine twice already and agree with the guy who finds himself with a microfiber cloth and a bottle of quick detailer in his hands many evenings in the garage.

 

I've had my Mini for 1 week now.

I'm a pretty serious commuter. I do about 120 miles per day on my commute (63 miles each way), all highway. I'm actually disappointed when I have to get out of the car.

When I get home I'm horrified by the road spray and dirt on it...especially on the back of the car (it seems to collect there).

Larry