I work in construction and my commute takes me wherever the next contract may be. Since buying my Cooper 4 months ago I have been doing about 85 miles a day in the week, and a few MINI runs at weekends. Was thinking about a One D when I bought but knew unless I could get it up to about 100 bhp I would not be happy. This was possible but then warranty worried me especially with doing high(ish) miles. Did my sums and opted for a Cooper, and had a
JCW sound kit fitted
. Journey to work is part motorway (or car park in the morning
), part fast country / A roads.
For work I have to keep an accurate record of mileage for expenses, tax relief etc. so keep a detailed spreadsheet. To date I have covered 8k (in 14 weeks
) and have had the following results.
Average distance between fill ups = 340 miles (fill her every 4 days, about £45).
Average fuel consumption = 34.7 mpg. I don't flog the car to death but with the sound kit really kicking in at +4500rpm it does see this a few times in a day. I have had 38 mpg on motorway runs.
This works out at 12.8 pence per mile for fuel. Haven't been brave enough to attempt a depreciation calculation though. If the workplace you are traveling to is temporary you are entitled to claim tax relief on the miles you do. To reiterate these figures are an average over 8k miles.
Do an advanced search for threads with TLC in the title only and you will find plenty of threads on the subject of value for money. I have it on mine and think I will take out TLC XL as well, especially with the hourly rate MINI dealers charge these days for service.
Sorry this post is so long but hopefully it gives some proper figures for running a petrol MINI to help with the decision making.
.
Simon