The oil catch can is a great idea. I have had my mini since April '10 and only had to take it in once for the passenger window. It was a little loose. I now have 12,000 miles and no major issues. Glad I skipped the 135i and went with my beast. It rocks.....

 

i love my mini too much to do a 130 plus commute... hell, dayam me if i say it. but i rather drive a Yaris and beat the **** out of it then my beloved MCS....I enjoy my endless drives and long vacations with my Mini, but to drive it daily on a commute...i would hate the car soo fast that ill be begging for another toy to play with. In my opinion. buy a a reliable beater and leave the MCS at home to enjoy later.

 

But, if you are going to be in a car for 130 miles per day, why not in a car as enjoyable to drive as a MINI.

 

If i was going 130miles a day and don't care about the money that goes into maintenance, tires, gas and such... it wouldn't be a Mini, i rather get an M3. It would be much more pleasurable to drive.
But, for us hardworking folks who are smart with their money a beater car makes more sense.

But, I'm not going to tell anyone what to do with their money, it's just a suggestion to consider. I know in my own personal situation I still have my old '94 and 200k miles plus, reliable Civic Hatchback that is just as fun to drive and I don't mind leaving my MCS park at home in the Garage, waiting for me to come home to enjoy.

 

Good girl!!!
Seriously, you need to do what is sensible for your family. Personally I've been driving a MINI since November '05 and wouldn't be without at least one. My husband just ordered a Countryman for himself. He has borrowed El Kabong whenever he could over the last 5+ years and when we recently decided we needed to get him something more fuel efficient I knew exactly where we would be looking. Ironically, El Kabong was totaled just one week after he placed his order, but based on the fact that my daughter and I walked away from a very serious accident, my husband had me back at the MINI dealership and we have ordered MINI #3!
Annette

 

Coworker of mini just had to have a new trannie put in his M3. Did you know thats $14,000 ???

 

Not that I would know, but I guess that any tranny you pick up while high-rolling in an M3 would be likely to command a high premium, due to the high price of their surgical procedures (I'm told that these days, you'd never be able to tell the difference...before hand) and due to the fact that they have some "special abilities". Oh well, to each his own I guess. I know I would never pay extra for a tranny...matter of fact, I much prefer direct drive anyways. And, if I can't find that I just stick to the old stand by: automatic.

 

So, if we don't have a beater car, we're not "hardworking" or we're not "smart with our money"? I don't have a beater car and I drive my Mini everyday, plus 1200 miles roundtrip every other week to where I work. Since I am self-employed, it's all expensed, deducted, etc. and I actually fare better per trip than the actual mileage depreciation. I only work 6 to 8 days per month, so I admit, I may not fall into the "hardworking" part of your assertion.

I never buy a car I do not want to drive everyday. A beater that I do not enjoy driving would not make sense at all to me. 10 years ago, I bought a '00 Civic hatchback which was a great car, fun to drive, good handling. Fun around town, but not so much for an extended drive. The MCS does much better for the 600 miles/per day stuff.

 

Why not buy an 07 JustaCooper with Manual as a third car?

or

Why not buy a used Honda for a third car?

 

I have to agree with DnepreDave. I was extremely disappointed after virtually giving my brand new OEM Continental runflats away and replacing them with non-runflat Yoko ENVigors. Based on what I had read here, I was expecting a big improvement in ride quality. Didn't happen. There's virtually no difference and the Contis were better in heavy rain than the Yokos have proven to be, probably due to having wider grooves. This was a painfully expensive lesson.

So, the advice should now be if you have Conti runflats, wait 'til they wear out before replacement. I assume the "old" advice still applies to "other" runflats that do seriously compromise ride.

DOC

 

I commute about 125 miles round trip to work. I love driving my MCS and couldn't imagine commuting in a car I hate driving. The only downside is obviously the wear and tear but since my ride is 90% highway it's not too bad. Better than driving 10k a year in the city.

I did replace my runflats (Goodyear Assruance) with Blizzaks and the ride has improved 1000%. I've got the Slime spare kit in case of a flat and I won't go back to runflats. I'm looking for a new set wheels for the non winter months but there's no way I'm going back to run flats.

 

I am strting a new job on Monday. I am going from a 60 RT commute to a 100 mile RT. The big difference is my old job was in downtown Cincinnati and ususally takes around 1.25 hours in hevy stop and go traffic. My new job is pretty much non-stop highway just north of Dayton and I can make it in 40 minutes. I've made the drive several times in the interview process and paperwork visits and the drive is so much easier. The biggest change I will make is to do more frequent oil changes. My plans are to make my '08 JCW my "beater" daily driver after I pick up the roadster in 2012. Oh and on the subject of Runflats. I have a slime kit now but willprobably buy a dougneut instead. The runflats DO make a big difference.

 

I would hate to commute in my mini. It rides like garbage, i.e stiff and harsh, radio sucks, interior noise sucks etc etc. Its great for back roads fun, but 100+ miles a day? no thanks, Id buy a cheap civic and leave the mini at home.

 

Wow... a bit harsh sounding... rides like "garbage"?

 

MINIs do tend to lose their charm very quickly when faced with our failing infrastructure's crumbling roads...

 

I completely agree, I can only stand driving my Mini three times a week on my commute to work and then I switch over to my Jeep because the roads here in Honolulu are so bad; the car just wears me out. All the road noise, rattling, torque steer and bouncing around is murder. It would be a different thing if the roads were nice and smooth but my 4X4 Jeep handles the crumbling roads much better.

 

I drive 100 mpd with a justa auto.
Although I hold the CRX in reserve and often drive it 2-3 weeks at a time
mostly to save miles on the MINI. (although I do get a price break both
in mpg, and using regular)

It sounds like you don't do this every day. I say go for it!
You will be happy with the decision.
If you were driving that far every day you should hold out another
cheaper car in reserve so you would not get stuck.

 

Maybe just buy a cheap civic now and enjoy the vtec life. If the MINI is such garbage why have one and complain about it?

 

Sounds like buyers remorse to me. Tell me, did you actually test drive the mini before you bought it? If so, didn't you notice the stiff suspension then?

 

it makes me wonder why some choose to keep the MINI, or gotten one to begin with. Didn't you folks knew what you're getting beforehand?

 

I'm sure everyone has different reasons why they purchased their MINI, but speaking for myself, we purchased the MINI "before" we bought our new home. Long story short, we will probably pay it off 8 months from now and just use it as a weekend car. The new commuter will probably be a 2012 Nissan Versa which is EPA rated at 32/37 for only $11-13K!

 

I had a cheap '10 Honda as a commuter and I decided to bite the bullet and buy what I really wanted - a MINI. When I was buying a new car last June I was deciding between the two and chose to take the "safer" and "more reliable" route with the Honda. And, while those two things might be true, let me tell you... my Honda Fit was BORING. I waited a year to get some equity back in the car, and traded it in for an '11 MINI. I drive a 40 mile commute round trip every day (hoping this changes soon in my search for a new job), but it is 10x more enjoyable to drive than the Honda. Now my commute is mostly smooth highway, so it's not as bad as some roads, and who knows about long term reliability. MINIs seem to be pretty hit or miss in that department. But it's been worth the trade if only in the fact that I find more happiness in driving, and feel like my car finally reflects my personality.

Just my experience anyway!

 

My commute is only 13 miles each way, but I wouldn't hesitate driving my MCS on a longer daily commute if needed. In fact, there are day's I'll go home for lunch just cause it's so much fun driving my MINI.

 

For that kind of commute, I'd get a Golf or Jetta TDI. Or if you want a bigger car, wait a couple of months and you'll be able to get the TDI motor in the new Chattanooga-built Passat. The highway cruising range of the Passat will be over 800 miles. My girl has an '09 Jetta TDI and she averages about 38 mpg overall (with a lot of city driving in the mix), and we average about 42 or thereabouts on trips. The seats are MUCH better than my Mini seats, for overall comfort. Only bummer is the '11 Jetta has been decontented and the bean counters crapped all over the high-quality interior and turned it to crap.

 

D Unit,

I have a base 2008 Versa which my daughter drives. It has electric power steering and a 6-speed super close ratio manual gearbox that is vastly superior to the one in my 2010 Justa. Slickest shifting box I have experienced short of the Hewlands in my Formula Fords. With a 1.8 litre motor, heated electric mirrors, heated rear hatch glass, rear wiper, CD player and AC, it was under $12K! It is quieter, faster, rides better and gets better mileage than the Justa.

However, my very first car was a Mini (1960 Austin 850, acquired when I was 15). I decided my last car would also be a Mini. I'm paying twice as much to drive the Mini than I would for another Versa, but it puts a smile on my face everyday that the Versa could not, even though it really is a better automobile at half the price.

DOC