Performance and driving pleasure.
I bought my Mini because I love to drive and I wanted a practice everyday driver that was fun to drive. I wanted a car that I could take to the Track on the weekend and drive to work on Monday. I am also a slight techno junkie so I like all the cool stuff my car has like NAV, Bluetooth, Iphone integration and comfort access.

 

I got my MINI because of GM (General Motors). I had a SAAB 9-3 lease which was coming due and with no option to lease another SAAB (since GMAC no longer leases) I started to look elsewhere.

I would have NEVER considered a MINI had it not been for that. Also, the feel of the steering and connection to the road (love the very firm ride) is like nothing else I've driven... really sold me on the car.

 

I got my MINI because it is a great car to drive , looks unique, and has great mileage, I see the future and it has $5.00 gas written all over it ( current economy notwithstanding) before that I drove a VW Jetta also a very nice car at the time.

 

While in Germany, my beater car died an ugly and frustrating death (expensive computer problems.) I wanted a new car, and bummed around test driving whatever sparked my interest, and it happened that a Volvo dealer was next door to a BMW/MINI dealer, so...I test drove one (by myself! on the AUTOBAHN!!) and I was hooked. That was 2004, and since I HAD to have one NOW, the earliest I could get one was three months if I would settle for a demo model. I got a BRG/W one from Italy - and I was totally and completely smitten. Then my husband was home on R&R leave and wanted to "upgrade" his 2004 BMW since we thought we'd be in Europe for a few more years - and LOANDBEHOLD! The 2007 MINI Turbo models had just entered production, so.... SHows you how creative I was. My '07 MCS was almost identical to my '04 MCS; but to my defense they're both beautiful!!! Husband made me sell my '04 though. Said I had too many cars in too many countries. But my love for the MINI continues with my '07. I won't ever be without a MINI again.

Anyway: I haven't seen this poster for a while, but he's very eloquent - so...yeah, what HE said.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ng-mini-2.html

 

x, I had a similar confluence of random circumstance that led to the procurement of my '07 Cooper. My daughter had a fender bender in the beater she was driving (ran great, looked not-so-great). Anyway it was totalled, and during my lecture to her around the implications of her mishap (obligatory for parents) it dawned on my that I could bump up the schedule for getting my new Cooper by giving her my '03 Cooper. Suddenly the clouds parted and the sun shone through. She was happy, I was happy....but I still ultimately had to buy a Civic for her younger brother to drive.

 

What a GREAT idea! I realllllly wish I could have kept my '04. But at least I sold it to another MINI devotee.

 

I traded in my Mazda RX-8 because of the terrible MPG. The MCS was the perfect fit for me. I'm usually the only person in the car, it gets great gas mileage, and the performance outmatched my RX-8. Win/win, I've loved it since day one.

 

I have wanted a Mini Cooper ever since I saw the original Italian Job movie where they used Minis to rob a bank.



I loved watching them zoom through the tunnels.

Of course I never had the time or energy for one (let alone the money) but now that I have hit middle age I felt it was time to spend some on myself.

And what a great decision. I love driving it around Northern Virginia but never really noticed the scads of people who don't seem to know how to drive or appear to be afraid of driving. Speed up a little, grandma!

 

I have liked the look of the Mini for a few years (when I really started noticing them). Last year I started the process to replace my fine 97 Ford Contour that has been my daily driver for the best part of its life. I drove a Jetta and thought that I was going to buy it, so started saving up. On my birthday I decided I wanted to have some fun and go test drive cars I would not be buying in the foreseeable future. My first stop that day was the Mini dealer, and it turned out to be my only stop. Fun car, just took me awhile to get into the position to purchase one.

 

I got my MINI because I had to. It's been on my bucket list since '69.

I'm not ready to go yet, so I'll keep on enjoying Zippeee! (or her subsequent incarnations) until I can't put the key in the slot.

 

Class envy?

When we were not vacationing in our summer home in New England, my Dad was doing his job as a Dental Surgeon in Jersey putting faces back together in Emergency Rooms before we had manditory seat belts and air bags.

He didnt believe in passing on the wealth as much as he believe in passing on life lessons and know how so you wouldnt depend on "passed on money."

He just believed in not spoiling us with huge things like cars.....instead allowing us to experience the appreciation of hard work and the rewards.
My post had nothing to do with "Class Envy" What a dope.....

 

Got a Masters and now im working everyday...Not fun to sit in traffic in a 1990 Mustang GT w poor poor AC, and then also have to drive in snow with no ABS, airbags, high rear gears, and usually crappy heat.

This car is quicker anyway

When I went to get a new car I was set on a GTI. Test drove an 05S used and decided to go visit the mini dealer before the VW dealer... ordered one shortly after testing both

 

Got my MINI Cooper Clubman because:

1. Was able to build EXACTLY what I wanted and wanted something very different than what I had [Had a Nissan Murano].
2. Getting Kick-*** gas mileage with great performance.
3. Feel like a "kid" when I drive it; the Handling ROCKS!
4. The BOYS love it!
5. Liked that it is very unique and a "one of a kind"......
6. Bluetooth and iPod is perfect for me.
8. Love at first site!

 

Same here. Even 5 weeks later I still hurry to get ready for the day so I can go drive my MINI. Sadly my school is like 3 minutes away so my time there and back just isn't fulfilling. The great thing is when I go visit my girlfriend (Hour and a half drive) or go see friends (30 minute-1 hour drive depending on how much lead happens to be in my right foot that day) I enjoy every second of it, like slowly nursing a nice cup of Dr. Pepper.

 

My sentiments exactly!

After starting work at 12 and saving $2000 by the time I was 16, I borrowed $1800 from my parents and bought a brand new 1977 Toyota pickup for $3800. My parents could have easily bought that for me. Now, with the means to buy myself and my kids dozens of brand new Mini's, I instead bought them a used Honda and used Toyota when they turned 16, which they pay to operate, maintain, and insure. They both worked during college and both graduated debt free last year and are still driving their first cars (100k+ miles). I just bought my first Mini last week -- I traded my 01 X5 for a used 03 BRG MC. I saw my first Mini in 2002, months after buying a brand new MR2. I've wanted one ever since. I'm considering a new Mini in the next year or two, but I'm not sure I can part with my 03 now.

 

Because my old one was kind of difficult to drive like this:

 

I had a 2003 Blazer Xtreme that was starting to have issues with it and it was starting to cost more to fix it than it was worth. I had made some money in the stock market and figured I'd get a new car. I must have drove 50 different vehicles before deciding on the MINI. I didn't really need anything large since 99% of the time it is just me in the car and this was back when fuel was expensive so a 40mpg Cooper sounded like the ticket.

 

I had sat in a MINI at the Chicago Auto Show a couple of years back, LOVED it, looked at the price and said to myself, "I could never afford a MINI." (looking back, I realized I was sitting in a fully loaded, sport, convertible priced at almost $40k)

I was looking for a new car last spring and wasn't thrilled with any particular maker/model in my price range. I kept thinking about the MINI and decided to look online. I played around with the build/configurator on the MINI website, saw the Oxy Blue color, saw how reasonable the price really was and became obsessed!!!!

I think I went home with a MINI just a few weeks later!!!!

 

I didn't even get my license until I was in my last semester of college, so I was 22 at the time. My parents gave me their 1994 Saturn SL2 because they both had newer Saturns. I drove that for a few years (it was an "oil guzzler!"), until I leased my first car in 2005 (a new Saturn ION). My ION's had enough issues to be pretty irritating (trunk button's fuse went bad within a month, engine shut off in the middle of a turn...something about the internal computer had to be replaced, CD player only works sometimes, had to have ignition switch replaced recently, etc.), and I was always interested in the Mini. I just never thought I could afford a Mini until I visited the miniusa.com site and was surprised by how affordable they are!

I still don't have my Mini, but I'm saving for a down payment. My ION's lease is up in July, so I might order my new Cooper around the middle of May. I just need an affordable, safe car with more power that I can drive "spiritedly" on the weekends! The Mini is a perfect fit. Can't wait to own one!

 

I think I was persuaded by Mini's ad campaign initially. I remember cool ads in the Rolling Stone shortly after the car came out, which is weird because I didn't buy mine until at least 4 years later. I was done with SUVs after 2 straight loaded Jeep GCs. I tried to like the new Mustang (my first car was a '68) but couldn't. Looked good drove bad. I saw more Mini ads. I got into looking at the config and lurked here too. Then I went to a "rally" in Scottsdale at the dealership after I called to schedule a test drive. I still hadn't even been in one of the cars and didn't know anyone who had one. I viewed a bunch of cars and talked to folks at the rally, scheduled a test drive the next day and came home with one. It never takes me long to make a car decision. The Mini reminded me a lot of an 88 BMW 325is that I bought new before the SUVs. Loved that car to drive. That was before they got bigger. I bet it was similar in size to the 128s now. In both cars you feel like your left front foot is almost touching the wheel. In the SUV you were never sure the wheels were in contact with the road!

 

I didn't even mean to buy mine. I went car shipping with a buddy of mine and we test drove a Cooper and Cooper S. I was sold. As soon as my old lease was up i went back to get my Cooper S.

 

My parents are the same. The only significant "gifts" they think is worth giving are:

1.) Travel

2.) Education

Travel, because you can never visit a place again--it will always be different, and by the time I have money to travel myself, it'll be a whole different world to explore. And, education for obvious reasons... though, I've managed to pay for that myself.

 

I got one to **** my buddies off...

 

Said this before but out of all the "new" cars around the MINI was the only car that felt like it had a soul. And therefore the only car I wanted to buy.

 

love at first sight! plus i was in germany, small roads, small parkhaus + die autobahn and it's unique!