[HarryHBMCC]

In some ways, perhaps the junker car sends the wrong message. Crash it, doesn't matter, will just cost $100 to fix it. Perhaps with a shiny new MINI Cooper S, he'll be really careful.

I was a very careful driver as a teen. It wasn't until I had to do a daily commute that I turned into an impatient commuter.

Harry

[goin440]

If your smart about driving, go for the Cooper. The MCS might give you the tendancy to accumulate tickets. Bad thing to do for an early driver. Plus, the Cooper will allow you to spec out to your liking, whereas the MCS would be pretty much base stock.

Get something you want. At 15, you could drive it all through high school and even college. That is atleast 4-8 years

[nickworld]

No substitute for experience though (he said, saddling back up the age/new car horse)...

At the time I thought I was the best driver in the world, but looking back I drove like a hooligan! Hampshire's lanes were only safe again when I buggered off to uni.

Thank god my car was underpowered and let you know early on where its limits were - I dread to think what I would have been like if I'd had a proper grown up machine!

Still a Cooper S is pretty far from the 360 Modena that Chris the ginger knob Evans bought Billie Piper for her 17th. Imagine passing your test straight into that...

Nope. I'm not jealous at all, me.

[badboyzbadboyz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nathant

Hell0 again
I have made up my mind, and I am going to get the MINI Cooper S, with enough options.
Just to answer some of your concerns:

1.) I said "first off of the green light", meaning I like to accelerate. Not to speed and to weave through traffic. I have lost people really close to me because of speeding.(I was not the driver, a friend was the one who speeding, and I was not the one in the car just in case you take it the wrong way)

2.) I am planning to pay my parents every penny back when I start to make money.

Anyway, I can not blame you for some of your assumptions most males are that way, that is why my insurance is so high .

Thanks for your responces, some how they comvieced my parents to get me the MINI
Thanks Nathan

Also Thanks to GMINI03 and DeniseK

So let me get this cleared up. You are 15 and from what is said above you have driven a car before ? What crazy country do you live in, America I'm gonna assume for now. In England you have to be 17 before you can drive and I think that is too young.
Also you say about assumptions most males are racers at a young age, well if you are not then why are you going for the Cooper S ? All the S has is more speed. The list of disadvantages of that car are so much more than advantages for someone your age. Insurance companies will be laughing all the way to the bank and not to mention fuel consumption.
I think it is a crazy world if 15 year olds are allowed on the roads. May sound patronising but you are too young, even though you won't think you are. I'm nearly 20 and when I passed at 17 I couldn't believe it was legal for me to drive. At 15, well need I say more.
I would def say if you are getting a MINI get the Cooper. You are too young for an S, and if you believe you are not a "typical young boy racer" why are you buying the more expensive, faster car ? I must say I somewhat doubt you are buying the S to make sure you stick to speed limits and drive sensibly at 15.

[Spy Car]

Sorry, I still think it shows incredibly bad judgement to purchase a Cooper S for a 16 years old. Very, very unwise.

Nathant, I hope you possess more maturity than your parents. I would hate to see you or anyone else get hurt by the temptation to drive this car to the limits (and believe me it is very tempting). I can understand the thrill of driving a MCS at your age, but this is too much car for an inexperienced driver.

Your insurance company is going to think the same thing I'm afraid--just wait till you see the quote .

[Nathant]

Quote: Originally Posted by badboyzbadboyz

So let me get this cleared up. You are 15 and from what is said above you have driven a car before ? What crazy country do you live in, America I'm gonna assume for now. In England you have to be 17 before you can drive and I think that is too young.
Also you say about assumptions most males are racers at a young age, well if you are not then why are you going for the Cooper S ? All the S has is more speed. The list of disadvantages of that car are so much more than advantages for someone your age. Insurance companies will be laughing all the way to the bank and not to mention fuel consumption.
I think it is a crazy world if 15 year olds are allowed on the roads. May sound patronising but you are too young, even though you won't think you are. I'm nearly 20 and when I passed at 17 I couldn't believe it was legal for me to drive. At 15, well need I say more.
I would def say if you are getting a MINI get the Cooper. You are too young for an S, and if you believe you are not a "typical young boy racer" why are you buying the more expensive, faster car ? I must say I somewhat doubt you are buying the S to make sure you stick to speed limits and drive sensibly at 15.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are right, I do live in Amercia. You could call it crazy, I can not argue aginst that. You do make a good point, the insurance quote will be the detirmining factor. I do like the stye of the S (the hood scoop, centered tail pipes, mesh type grills), but I guess I can get a Aero Kit with the Cooper, and it will look about the same. Where I live, you can drive with your parents at 14, and drive by your self at 16. Even the most "skilled driver" can get in a crash, it is statictics, no matter what the age is. A 50yd person can also have a craving for power, they may have a 300 horsepower Cadalliac, but i does not mean they are going to use it all, just some high revs to get up to speed. I just like to have it when I need it, but I will be sure to take a test drive over Spring Break to detirmine fo myself. As for your last sentence, I agree, for young, middle, and old drivers.. The same should apply.

Thanks again for you thoughts, it does shine some light on the overall picture

Nathan

[MarkW19]

Let's get this into perspective - if you know how to drive it (what gears to select for the right speed/maximum acceleration/revs etc.) - then the Cooper is a "performance" car. It's fast. The S just happens to be [a bit] faster. It's still too fast IMHO for a totally new [young] driver - and the S is just stupid. Hence the insurance quotes you'll get. The difference in speed isn't worth that much more in insurance costs, $ for $. I'm tempted to drive my Cooper fast, and of course I do; but over the years driving I've learnt when it's appropriate to drive fast and have some "fun". You learn this by making mistakes, but don't make those mistakes in an expensive, fast, sporty car that someone else has bought you. You're right, it doesn't matter what age you are. Wisdom comes with experience, not age.

Sadly, you have neither.

Get the cooper.

:-)

[badboyzbadboyz]

Quote: Originally Posted by MarkW19

Wisdom comes with experience, not age.

Sadly, you have neither.

Get the cooper.

:-)

I couldn't agree more

[ghost]

Nathan, I can relate, so you may want to read this a couple times for it to soak in.

I am 17. I'll turn 18 in seven days. I'm not going to go to a party and smoke every thing possible, I don't do that stuff.

My first car was a beater. It was a 1990 Volkswagen Golf (Mk2 for you VDubbers) 4-Door Hatchback. Thank god it was a 5-speed. I paid for it in cash ($1500), and off I went. I would hit barrels, cones, small rodents in that thing, and not care. Then it broke down. Two weeks later broke down again. Two weeks later, again. This went on for three months continuously, until the accident. A woman pulled out in front of me as I travelled 45mph down a three-lane (center two-way turn lane) road. Bam! Car dead, my head bruised, my back in pain. I got $3500 from her insurance company, and absolutely blew the money on crap. I should've given it to my parents, considering my dad gave me his '99 Ranger to drive until he bought a new vehicle for himself. Lesson: Get a beater.

So when my dad gave me his truck, I decided it would be good for him to see me taking impeccable care of it. I wash it weekly (if not more), and wax it monthly. You'll hardly ever see it dirty. It's for sale now, and i'll be giving most of the profit (it's paid off) to my dad. The rest will be paid back later, because I need it for college tuition.

Now, I am trying to decide if the MC/MCS is for me. I'm looking at up to 10 different vehicles, doing tons of research on safety and reliability. At it's current condition, i'll have to drive 35 miles each way for it to sit in a (guarded, very safe, away from dorms) parking lot for two hours so I can come flying back on the intrastate. If I get a car that is NA, it will be kept for up to about 12-13 years for my son/daughter to beat up on. I know what kind of beating first cars go through. I saw stains in the Golf I had no clue how they got there, sometimes ended up being chocolate or barbeque sauce.

I know you may be rolling your eyes to people saying you need a beater for your first, and they're right. Especially if those moronic high school students go opening their doors into yours without thinking.

Andrew

[hocndoc]

Sounds exactly like my first accident at 17 yo. Unfortunately, it was the *only* family car.

Quote: Originally Posted by jacobsen1

Also, whatever you get, BE CAREFUL. I know from experience. I totalled a car one month to the day from getting my license. It was my fault, but I was not doing anything to push it. I was inexperienced, and drifted a hair too far to the right and hit the curb. Well what should have been a blown tire turned into a telephone pole into the front right corner thanks to the very small streets here in Newport RI. I was going the exact speed limit, being as careful as I could, but I just drifted slightly right and BANG, all done..... Nothing will ruin your new found freedom of driving like that! Also I was "lucky" enough to just have my first new car totalled due to an idiot not paying attention. They turned left at a green light. I was coming the other way, but they "Didn't see me!" Well that totalled another car completely unavoidable and not my fault.

I am sharing this with you to help you realize that you must be careful. Not matter how good any of us drive, we all make mistakes. Hopefully yours will be in places without consequences, unlike mine, and that you can steer clear of others mistakes.

Good Luck, and enjoy!

Ben

[Bullett]

I think you are very lucky to even consider a new car.

I have to say though putting a kid in a powerful car is not always a bad idea. Inever had a beater I got to drive the family car. Which were vriously quite powerful machines. It taught me how to handle a car with grunt but with the added advantage that if the crash didn't kill me my father would I therefore looked after it and didn't (ok very rarely) got into situations I shouldn't have.

Insurance will be hideous, and its for a reason 18-25 males are the most likely to have an expensive accident.

[Drachenmini]

Well, I am 20 years old and the Mini is my second car having owned and driven my grandfather's 13 year old Ford Granada 2.0GL for the first year of holding my driving license.

In all honesty the Mini is a very sensible car for someone as a first car if your family can afford it. Speaking from my own experience of owning a Mini in the UK, I know for a fact that I spend a lot less on running costs over the course of ownership than friends of mine who own older cars, such as Fiat Puntos, Ford Escorts, [insert typical student car here].

As an example, the Mini is insurance group 5 in the UK which is amazing considering its a 1.6 litre engine. I pay less for my fully comp insurance than my friend who drives a Fiat Punto.

Don't let anyone convince you otherwise Nathan, just go for it. The Mini is a fantastic car to own and by far the coolest car a young driver can have.

Regards,

DM

[MarkW19]

Quote: Originally Posted by Drachenmini

Well, I am 20 years old and the Mini is my second car having owned and driven my grandfather's 13 year old Ford Granada 2.0GL for the first year of holding my driving license.

In all honesty the Mini is a very sensible car for someone as a first car if your family can afford it. Speaking from my own experience of owning a Mini in the UK, I know for a fact that I spend a lot less on running costs over the course of ownership than friends of mine who own older cars, such as Fiat Puntos, Ford Escorts, [insert typical student car here].

As an example, the Mini is insurance group 5 in the UK which is amazing considering its a 1.6 litre engine. I pay less for my fully comp insurance than my friend who drives a Fiat Punto.

Don't let anyone convince you otherwise Nathan, just go for it. The Mini is a fantastic car to own and by far the coolest car a young driver can have.

Regards,

DM

The MINI One may be insurance group 5, but as Nathan lives in the US, the choice is between the Cooper or the Cooper S. The Cooper being 8 and the S being 15. Still not much though for a car of this power.

Great engine really - you can drive it quietly/refined/relaxing if you want by changing down up to 4.5k, but if you want it to be an agressive, fun, performance car, keep it 4.5 - 7k. And good economy as well, when drived reasonably sensibly

The MINI is great at handling as we all know, so it's ability (depending on driver's ability) to get out of sticky situations is second to none, but as far as Cooper V S goes, I'd say the S was OTT for a brand new, young driver.