[foxtrotxray]

I'm not really trying to toot my own Mini horn, but I suddenly got worried when I spoke to my sales guy at the dealership...

Moxie (BRG, of course..) is 19 months old now. I have just over 72000 (72k) miles (~116000 kilometers) on it. It went in for its Inspection II this past Februrary - it was the dealer's first. At 70k, I got my brake pads changed.

I spoke to my salesguy back then, and he said that it wouldn't bring in that much in trade-in if I wanted to get a new one.

Which, got me scared right there. I mean, I motor - obviously. I can say now (not that I'm proud of it, or worried) that I owe more on it that Iit's probably worth.

So, opinoins?

Should I seriously consider trading it in for a newer model? Or keep Moxie until she just can't motor anymore? I'm 'fraid that if I don't do any trade-in now, I probably won't be able to do it in the future, and make it worth anything. Now, I don't NEED to trade it in, in fact, I'd be happy driving Moxie until the tranny falls out.

Thoughts? Should I try and curtail my Motoring activities? SHould I continue as I am? Should I tell Moxie she needs to go back to the dealer? Just looking for advice..

Me.

[WENZOR007]

if all is well, keep the oil changed and drive the weels off the sucker! why get rid of something you obviously love?!

[foxtrotxray]

Quote: Originally Posted by WENZOR007

if all is well, keep the oil changed and drive the weels off the sucker! why get rid of something you obviously love?!

Yeah, but how long have you HAD it?
Good point tho. It's one of those 'uncertainty' things, you know? "What if..."

Me.

[jonkudla]

Don't worry about it, just keep driving it as long you like it and it is not overly expensive to maintain. You will at some point get it paid off and that will be even more reason to keep it around.

Sure, re-sale value is always something to consider. But, we each define what we feel is a good deal. Why curb your motoring enjoyment / lifestyle just for the sake of getting an extra $1000 or $2000 when you finally do sell it?

I once knew a guy who bought the car of his dreams but then ended up taking public transit to work mainly for the purpose of not racking up the miles. Perhaps that makes sense to some people but not to me..

[stryder]

Have you run its value on edmunds.com? Besides the obvious that trading it in will mess up the value totally, I'd actually think still, at 72K you're probably not upside down on your loan. In any case, if you plan on driving the car that much, just enjoy it as others have said. You're still getting a great deal for the enjoyment you get for every mile motored, so don't worry too much.

[foxtrotxray]

Quote: Originally Posted by jonkudla

Don't worry about it, just keep driving it as long you like it and it is not overly expensive to maintain. You will at some point get it paid off and that will be even more reason to keep it around.

Sure, re-sale value is always something to consider. But, we each define what we feel is a good deal. Why curb your motoring enjoyment / lifestyle just for the sake of getting an extra $1000 or $2000 when you finally do sell it?

I once knew a guy who bought the car of his dreams but then ended up taking public transit to work mainly for the purpose of not racking up the miles. Perhaps that makes sense to some people but not to me..

True, true. Thanks for the words of wisdom. I don't understand that either, and much, much prefer driving over anything else - even WITH the petrol price increases.

Sometimes I look at my Odometer, and just stop. It's habit, you know?

Mike.

[foxtrotxray]

Quote: Originally Posted by stryder

Have you run its value on edmunds.com? Besides the obvious that trading it in will mess up the value totally, I'd actually think still, at 72K you're probably not upside down on your loan. In any case, if you plan on driving the car that much, just enjoy it as others have said. You're still getting a great deal for the enjoyment you get for every mile motored, so don't worry too much.

Huh! Thanks for that site. It's not as low as I had thought. (That's a plus, even if I DON'T plan to trade it in/sell it.) And yes, I have had a heck of alot of fun in it, and am NOT sorry I got it in the least.

I just got finished with the Dragon's Tail (not part of the outing; I found the road by accident!) and had a blast on it. I look forward to running that again, as well as half-a-million other roads out there.

What my Mini DOES need is.. A bath.
Me.

[gone_motoring]

Quote: Originally Posted by foxtrotxray

True, true. Thanks for the words of wisdom. I don't understand that either, and much, much prefer driving over anything else - even WITH the petrol price increases.

Sometimes I look at my Odometer, and just stop. It's habit, you know?

Mike.

Just a habit??? 1000 miles a week!
I hope you have a long commute or are on the road a lot for business....if not......you're addicted!!

[foxtrotxray]

!
Well, it all started when I first picked up Moxie. I headed west. From Atlanta, Georgia to Eugene, Oregon. A total of ~3200 miles. Then, of course, I had to drive BACK.
Unfortunately, my commute's only 30 miles. And I don't travel for work. So, yeah.. I guess I'm addicted. But I can stop! Anytime I want to!
(What really helps is my custom head unit. 1800 songs at the touch of a button. Makes time fly..) :P

Me.

[scooterboy]

If you love the car, drive it til it dies!

I have a long commute, so I put about 30K per year on a vehicle. A few years of commuting, and it's worth nothing on a trade-in or private sale. So I just take care of it the best I can and when I get a new car I sell my old one to a niece or nephew who needs one.

Had my last car (Honda Del Sol) for 9 years and sold it for $1500 to my nephew when I got the MINI. It still looked good when he got it. It had 270K miles on it then, and he's added more!

Some like a new car every few years and that's ok too. If not for my commute, I'd probably do the same. But I do get attached to my cars, and none more than the MINI.

[dansmini]

That is a LOT of miles, but if that is what you do for fun, it is probably cheap fun compared to playing golf or other expensive hobbies. Besides, life is too short to worry about mileage on a car. As long as you love the car, drive it.

[foxtrotxray]

Mmm.. listening to everybody, I have to agree. My worried are completely unnecessary. I'm going to keep the Mini until I can get the odometer to roll-over. (Can it? It's computerized now!)
Considering the miles, mine is still in pretty darn good shape (funny - I am on the original windshield. My boss has only 30k on hers, and she's on her 3rd!) )

Thanks, all. I'm going out and motoring!

[Rob.]

I'd keep it till to falls apart, unless you fancy a change?
Definitely looks like you enjoy driving

[stryder]

I think you'd need 1,000,000 miles for it to roll over, and even if it does, I don't know what it'd do. Certainly you've already noticed the numbers 'rolling' is very anti-climactic. Anyway, good you've decided you're ok with your motoring, you really should be at peace over it.

[foxtrotxray]

Quote: Originally Posted by Silver and Black

I'd keep it till to falls apart, unless you fancy a change?
Definitely looks like you enjoy driving

The only change I wouldn't mind would be getting that really nifty Purple Haze/Black-Eye Purple color. I'm still drooling over it. BUT! There is NOTHING WRONG with BRG. You know I spent a good $150 to replace my chrome grill (remember, MC, not MCS) with a painted grill, matching the body color? :P

Quote: Originally Posted by stryder

I think you'd need 1,000,000 miles for it to roll over, and even if it does, I don't know what it'd do. Certainly you've already noticed the numbers 'rolling' is very anti-climactic. Anyway, good you've decided you're ok with your motoring, you really should be at peace over it.

Well, this is interesting. Wouldn't we run into a problem BEFORE that? Because the computer stores actual distances in KILOMETERS, not Miles. It just does the conversion to miles for the display. So, in theory, when we hit 621,371 miles, that's when whatever happens will happen.

Me.

[stryder]

Never thought about the 621,371 problem... I wonder if anyone with a BMW with similar electronics (I have no idea which ones that would be) has gotten that far, I'd like to think they had, even if it took 2 or three engines. In any event, perhaps you're on track to be the first to do it with a MINI? Sounds like a plan.

Otherwise, I'd say why not call or email MINIUSA and see what they say? It seems like the perfect random question to make them answer, and maybe they won't give you the usual canned response.

[foxtrotxray]

Quote: Originally Posted by stryder

Otherwise, I'd say why not call or email MINIUSA and see what they say? It seems like the perfect random question to make them answer, and maybe they won't give you the usual canned response.

That is a very, very good Idea. In fact, I'm sending it now, with a little flavor thrown in. I'm curious as to the answer I get back. I'll post it here when they reply..:

Quote:

Hello!
Having a Mini with many many miles on it already (72k Miles in 18 months!), something occured to me the other day, and I was wondering if anyone over there in the Engineering Department could answer this...:

Since the Mini does not have an old-fashioned number-flipping odometer, what would happen if the odometer had to 'roll over'? Obviously, the Mini keeps track of Motoring trip in Kilometers, and there's only room for 6 digits on the Speedo. So that means that a US driver, like me, has until about 621,371 miles until the eventual roll-over. That leaves me with about 549,371 miles until I can find out for muself. I'm not sure I can wait that long. (At an average of 4k miles a month, I have just over 11 years to find out.)

Can anyone over there shed some light on this roll-over issue?

Many thanks!
Mike.

[foxtrotxray]

Well, this is the first answer I got back from them, early this afternoon:

Quote:

Congratulations on your MINI and welcome to the family! I must admit that you have me stumped on this one! I've forwarded your e-mail to the corporate office for further assistance. I'll be in touch as soon as I hear back from them. Thank you in advance for your patience while I do some research.

So, I'll see.

Me.

[stryder]

I didn't actually expect them to know it off the top of their head, but good they're forwarding for info. I'll stay tuned to find out.

[ruthie]

Just relax and enjoy the ride.