Normally on buying a new car I would be looking to trade it in around the time it's paid for 3-4 years But when I buy my first MINI I plan on keeping it longer, at least 6-7 years .

 

Until I buy the next one.


Serious answer however is probably what you'd like. Mine, I plan to drive the wheels off of it. It won't be worth much when it moves on to the next person. After a 4-5 year payout (it's a 60 month loan but we pay extra), I'll probably have 4-5 years of no payments. My wife's however is a different story. She drives a lot in her job situation. She's almost at 60K and we're looking at ordering her a new '09 in Jan/Feb time frame. Two factors in her situation. She needs reliablility. Second, with the depreciation rate she puts on a MINI, at around 65K miles, there's not much equity left (we put down $10K on her car). So the idea is sell it before it goes upside down and suck up the fact that it's costing us about $5000-$6000/year in depreciation. Until she moves on from this job, she's not going to be able to view the payment structure differently.

 

Until the 4/50K factory warranty expires then on to a new one.

Besides I have heard horror stories of how expensive parts and repairs are on these cars once the factory warranty expires.

 

I'll probably keep mine until something better comes along....which could be quite a wait. If MINI produces a more efficient model or city car, I could do that...but I would not rule out a 2-seater either. As of now, a MINI is the very best fit for me.....so good in fact it will be hard to beat, but we'll see.

 

How long I keep a car depends on two factors, reliability and maintenance costs. I had an Infiniti G20 sedan, kept it over eight years. I had a Dodge Neon (don't ask!), kept it less than three years. As for my Clubman, I'll just have to wait and see, but so far, so good.

 

I'm kinda with mysticturner...until the next one comes around! When I bought my '04 MCS, I figured I'd have it forever. Then MINI came out with the turbo version and, HOW could I pass THAT up when I was living within SECONDS of the German autobahn!?!?! Sadly, I ended up selling my '04 although I would have loved to keep it. It just looked identical to my '07 (what can I say, I like what i like.) I've had my truck for almost ten years, so...the "next" MINI will just depend on what tempts me. I just know I'll never be without another MINI for the rest of my life.

 

I have enjoyed >20 years each from the last two autos (see Gallery) and expect to do a lot better with my MINI.

 

Generally if I like a car I keep it a long time. The longest I've had a car is 17 years, the shortest is 2 years. Usually when a new model comes out of the brand I am driving there is not a huge difference so will just keep driving what I have now.

This may be the reason I have never bought the same model or brand twice.

 

My lease run out in March of 2010, not sure if i am going to buy it out and keep it or just re-lease another one.

 

I plan on keeping this '07 MC indefinitely since it's paid for and is past it's warranty period(problem free and running strong).I managed to find a replacement engine from a doner MINI so once this one dies I'll just do what I've done with all my past cars and replace the internals.I do have a 10 year old sister who loves it and will need some wheels in a few years.

 

I plan on keeping my MINI until it becomes too expensive to maintain. If it's cheaper to buy a new MINI than to fix it (which will be in many years, hopefully), then I'll take on a new car, MINI or not.

That's my philosophy... my first car was a 1992 Mazda Protege, and it just died mysteriously a few months ago. This brand-new beast should last a bit longer than the 2 1/2 years I owned the Protege (my "high-school" sweetheart... I loved that car.)

 

Just like my M Coupe - Til death do us part

 

We generally keep vehicles 5 years, have an 01 Durango currently that we've had almost 3 years now. Would love to sell it, but we need a second vehicle for Dump, GW runs and the Dogs.

Molly however is a permanent fixture in our Family and she is not going anywhere. Love her to pieces and wanting to keep her forever, less wheels and all!! Well maybe not, but you get the picture.

 

That's a good question. Over the past few years, I've acquired the reputation of being a fickle car person. I've traded out of cars on average about every eighteen months! However, I would like to think that this, my first MINI is different.

I think it's a good fit for me. I've never given so much thought to my car purchase as I've given this one, so I may actually keep this car until it's paid off, something I've never done!

The idea of parting with my car anytime soon seems unlikely. Nearly every day, I marvel at what a great little car it is and how happy I am with my purchase. Just yesterday, in fact, I was thrilled by how well the car handled in the rain and how effectively the rain sensor in my windshield dictated the wipe rate. Little things like that make owning the car a real pleasure!

 

Until it stops putting this stupid grin on my face.

That could be due to end-of-lifespan maintenance (cost/time) or because I've found something I like driving more.

 

2 yrs.

 

Until it's paid off, so 6 years or left, then I'll go up to an "S" model

 

Hopefully forever

 

I'm generally good for 150-160K miles. I expect my MINI to hold up that long. I have read of others in the previous generation who got plenty of miles with little problem After that many miles, the maintenance starts to outstrip the cost of a new car note once you factor in the cost of downtime while your mechanic works on it. I've driven Hondas (1984 CRX), Toyotas (1978 Celica) and Mazdas (1992 MX-3) for that long. With regular oil changes, this one should be no different.

 

Same here.

We swapped the first two when the included servicing was running out. We got extended servicing for the next 2, so Tristan's good until 2011 which should be just about the time the MkIII is due out. Shawn's good until 2014.

We'll consider the matter then.

 

FOREVER!!

 

Fo eva eva I will prolly buy another one to drive daily. After I put 20 or 30k in this one to get it like I want it I'll deff need another

 

I got my MINI almost 2 months ago. It replaced the Honda Prelude S that I'd been driving for more than 19 years (and though it's for sale, I still have the Honda - hard to part with it). Now I know that a MINI is not a Honda, so I'm not looking for 19 years, but I do hope for at least 10 years, and 15 would be fantastic. My Phantom is just an MC with not too many options (some pics in my gallery) - done to some extent to help keep the future maintenance cost down. I self-financed the purchase, and plan to have it paid for in 48 months. Then I would expect (hope) to maintain it for between $1000 and $2000 per year. That's a lot less than car payments. It will be interesting to see what happens. Keeping it garaged will help a lot (as it did with the Honda).

 

as long as i possible can

 

Keeping mine until March of 2010, until the lease is up and I get a new one. I would like to buy one, but I just cannot bear the thought what it might cost to fix this car if something goes wrong. I just had it in for some control module that went bad. I bet that bad boy was not cheap.

They also just replaced rotors, brake pads all around and changed fluid. That could not have been cheap either.

These are absolutely fanastic, fun cars to drive and are a huge value for the $$, but they are still BMWs on ithe inside and cost a butt load to maintain and fix.