[deano_54321]

Hi Folks!

Just wondered what you opinion was on this?? - Also may make you think?

I have owned a Mini Cooper for 3 years, ans covered 50,000 miles in it. This seems to have seriously hampered the re-sale/part ex price on it (I only got £8,000 p/x for it).

So, I am soon to collect my new Mini Cabrio in the next few weeks, and was considering buying a little small engine run-around to get me to work and back, which will knock around 7,000 miles p/a off my Mini usage. The cost of this insurance-wise would be about £250, so about £5 a week. I figure that I will SAVE that (£5) by running on a 1.1l engine.

By the way, AA car insurance were BRILLIANT for second car insurance with 0 NCB, great discount!! Try em out!

Ok, I understand that I will have to maintain the second car, but maintenance will be less so on my Mini, and when you take into consideration price of run-flats etc there has to be a saving there too?

Anyway after all this is taken into consideration, there is also the matter of parking it at work every day and having some pr#!k open their door into it and putting a big dent in the side - Ok this can happen anywhere but parking it at work every day increases the chances of that big time.

Every time I weigh it up I think its worth it,

So what do you guys think?

I've added a poll to make it a little more interesting!

Regards,

Deano

[eddie_DV52_CCZ]

seems silly to me. you go to work what 5 times a week? 10 trips. what you going to use the mini for? shopping and weekends and bank holidays?

soon you will be saying scrap the mini....

If money is an issue why not just go for a car with +60mpg. save about £20-40 a week.

£1520 a year.... Citreon C2 maybe. under £10,000. about £8k less than ur mini will be. you will be quids in.

do that for 5 years. save money on insurance too.

i recon using todays prices you could save about £20000 in 5 years. then you can buy 2 minis!

think about it. thats an extra years wages in 5 years time just because you bought a c2 over a mini.

OMG i have just seen how much i can save.

[supercharged]

I see your point but if you want to go on that then you could move into a very small house in some dodgey area and save even more money - but in the end you're paying for enjoyment, comfort, and safety and I suppose that list could go on.

If you really like your MINI and you don't want the value to decrease at the rate that it will and you plan on keeping it quite a while then I don't think it's the worst idea.

The bonus is, if you drive a well below average car everyday, driving your MINI on the weekends will feel like absolute bliss. I went on holiday recently and hired an entry level car and when I came back and drove my MCS I felt like I had died and gone to Heaven!

[Eric B]

I see your point but I bought my MINI to drive not for what I could get in trade for it so I would not consider getting a second car. All depends on what you are looking for in a car.

[Widgey]

owned a Mini Cooper for 3 years, and covered 50,000 miles in it. This seems to have seriously hampered the re-sale/part ex price on it (I only got £8,000 p/x for it).

Hmmm...8,000 P/X?
You ran it for 3 years and got upto 60% back on what you paid for it.
That sounds pretty good to me.
MINI residual values are strong but they're not guaranteed/cast-in-stone.
If I sell mine/PX it in 2006 as is likely, I'm expecting 6K.
That's more than a 50% return after 4 years for me.
I'll settle for that, thank you very much.
What do other's think?

[BigGerald]

Let's get real here. A weekend driver Mini? Crazy! You're not driving a new 911 here, you're driving a Cooper (or as my girlfriend calls it, the MINI Pooper ) Don't get me wrong - I love my Mini... but it's a $20,000 car. Not much more than your average economy sized car. It is meant to be a daily driver, not a weekend treat.

And really, will the amount of money you get from lowering the depreciation on the Mini offset the costs of buying another vehicle? I wouldn't think so.

And most importantly, why on earth would you ever sell your Mini?!!?

[Ady]

Makes a lot of sense to me, i am looking around for a cheap classic mini for the run to work. Sofar in the last 12 months in our "secure" works carpark some ****** has keyed the car down both sides in one incident and another time a dent has appeared in the tailgate. I'm just waiting for the next bit of damamge, although i believe the dent was an accident based on where it is, i just cant afford the keep getting my pride and joy damaged in such a way.

Ady

[zyo]

Stick with the car you want and get the enjoyment,if its resale you concerned about then flog it privateley,you would probably have got another £1000.You can't live your life worrying about people messing up your car because thats letting them win.I know how annoying it can be when someone dents or scratches your car,on both the MINIs i've had other people have put the little dings and scratches on it and not me,i've just had an annoying one this last couple of weeks by my drivers door handle,but i'm damn sure it won't stop me driving it and make me wrap it in cottonwool.You are paying a premium for a small car out of your hard earned so get your moneys worth out of it and drive it at every opportunity.Good luck with the purchase ,hope all goes well.

[ADE90J]

I bought a MINI to save using my classic Mini Cooper S. Best of both worlds

[deano_54321]

Ohh I'm getting a bit of rap here!!

Some good points though, which is why this site is so great!!

I wish that some of the people who agree with me on the poll would post a comment though - I'm getting slaughtered here!!

Seriously though, I think some people are missing my point a little! (although probably down to the way I explained my post)

I'm not so bothered about the actual resale value of my new MINI, but more so how it will look in 3 years time. The mini I have now really has been run into the ground over the past 3 years and well used (I think too well), which means I have stone chips all over the front (I use the motorway daily to get to work )

Furthermore, as with most work places, the parking spaces are tiny, which means careless peoplr just open thier doors into my car, which has left 3 or 4 horrible dents in the sides.

So my 3 year old MINI now has been through the wars, and I put most of that to driving to work in it. And lets face it driving to work for most of us is just a part of the job! (same way every day, not the greatest of driving pleasure!)

I do like to get out and about every day after work, so the MINI would still get very good use.

I still want my MINI Cabrio to look almost new in 3 yrs, which is very possible. I don't expect it to stay new forever, but I think a bit og TLC (not the pack! ) wouldn't go amiss.

One final point and comment before I go - I DO think that the Mini is a pristine car,depending on how you spec it, and who you are. My Cabrio, is costing me £18,500, and its probably the best car I will ever own (I don't wish to persue my career to much further!) I see this as being my dream car.

In a few years who knows what they will be worth if kept in good condition!?

Thanks for all your thoughts!

[usaaus]

I have a second car, a rusty 'beater' because I live in the Northern US and as well as I think my new MINI could handle the snow, I just hate the idea of all that salt trashing it in the first couple of years, but you can be I'll drive the MINI until the first snow fall, (November?) and get her out again in March/April. I may even drive her on those sharp, cold, clear, and sunny winter days.

[justbob]

I'm considering the same deal, i.e., pick up a beater Honda Civic for daily driving and bad weather in the winter, keep the MINI for the rest of the time. But, I have not run the numbers. It seems to be more of an emotional thing.

BTW, the MC is a HOOT in the snow--just make sure you get an underbody wash.

[jimmyt]

I run a second car - my Classic Mini. As its only 1275cc I get reduced road tax and I also managed to get it on a classic car insurance policy thats limited mileage and includes commuting for under £250 a year.
As an alternative you could try and find a cheap 2nd hand MINI One D your second car.

[The Peanut]

Beastie loves his Cooper to bits and couldn't bear to part with him. He's done 42,000 in two and half years and thats sharing the mileage with a low mileage T reg clio that we also have (this was meant to be The Elfs car but she never passed her test) so I agree that a second car has its benefits.

He drives it all over the place to Mini runs and the like and as a treat to work, South of France once or twice a year (thats 3,000 miles round trip). Some peeps might think it wierd but high mileage is high maintenance and tyres and brakes get costly

[Themikanic]

Geez, I never realised how lucky I am, I live 80Km from my capital city (Melbourne) and I live / work a 5 minute walk from the railway station at both ends of the journey. I get a fastish, up to 140KPH ride to work whilst I read / sleep, depending on if it's morning or evening and my pride & joy is tucked up in a locked garage.
I never park on the street anywhere & I ride a bicycle / walk to the shops. No wonder I feel like I'm in a new car when I go out on the weekends.
BTW I've had my car for 9 months and I'm up to 16,000 Km so I do drive it too
Mike in Australia.

[MiniSMan]

Great Post ! Heres my 2 Cents since i was 17 i have always bought and driven used cars my first was a 1978 Toyota Celica My second was a 1985 Mazda RX-7GSL-SE then for a few months i had a Suzuki Samurai ( fun open top jeep type car , but was a snail no power what so ever . My very first ever brand new car i bought was a 1998 Honda Civic Hatchback .i paid it off after 5 years then i fell in love when i first saw the Mini in Cape Cod on vacation with friends . From that point on i had to have one so i bought one .I regard the Mini as truly a special car to be taken care of no matter what . When i got the Mini a parking spot in my apt building garage became open . Its awsome to garage my Mini from the elements i want to keep it as new as possible ,so thats why i kept my 98 Honda Civic with 130,000 miles . its my crappy weather mobile . if u can afford it i think its great to have a second car. The Mini is not just another car its very unique and i feel it should be treated that way . It sounds crazy but I'm sure u folks know what i mean

[BigGerald]

Quote: Originally Posted by deano_54321

I'm not so bothered about the actual resale value of my new MINI, but more so how it will look in 3 years time.

I guess I didn't really understand why you wanted the second driver. But now that I do, I have the perfect solution.
Keep the 3 year old beat up Mini as the everyday driver. Keep the Mini Convert under wraps and drive it at night and on the weekends. It's the best of both worlds!

[deano_54321]

Quote: Originally Posted by BigGerald

I guess I didn't really understand why you wanted the second driver. But now that I do, I have the perfect solution.
Keep the 3 year old beat up Mini as the everyday driver. Keep the Mini Convert under wraps and drive it at night and on the weekends. It's the best of both worlds!

Very Tempting! although I need to trade my other Mini in, but a great point!

Just looking for any old doss about car to be honest. And might buy a "Mini One D" in the future!!

[Gr8Dain]

I chose the "don't give a crap" option since it was up there.

But seriously, we have 4 cars for two drivers. I am sick. I know. My 69 GTO is 'under resoration' in the garage for now. My wife drives the MINI to work daily. I drive the A4 to work daily. My Ford Bronco sits until I need it. Come winter though, the MINI won't see any foul weather and I will drive the truck and the wife will drive the Audi.

I know the MINI can take it, but my wife wants an AWD vehicle for the winter. Therefore, she gets the A4 (quattro).

I understand where you are coming from, but you get used to all of those door dings Really you do (I keep telling myself in an effort to convince me). Looking at my A4 saddens me. There used to be some **** who parked next to me and hit his door against my car EVERY day. I was glad when he left. I hate small parking spots

Dain

wow. Looky there. I learn something new every day. I did not know that you could not say ar$e. is that a bad word? I hear it over here as a better alternative to *****.

[deano_54321]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gr8Dain

I chose the "don't give a crap" option since it was up there.

But seriously, we have 4 cars for two drivers. I am sick. I know. My 69 GTO is 'under resoration' in the garage for now. My wife drives the MINI to work daily. I drive the A4 to work daily. My Ford Bronco sits until I need it. Come winter though, the MINI won't see any foul weather and I will drive the truck and the wife will drive the Audi.

I know the MINI can take it, but my wife wants an AWD vehicle for the winter. Therefore, she gets the A4 (quattro).

I understand where you are coming from, but you get used to all of those door dings Really you do (I keep telling myself in an effort to convince me). Looking at my A4 saddens me. There used to be some **** who parked next to me and hit his door against my car EVERY day. I was glad when he left. I hate small parking spots

Dain

wow. Looky there. I learn something new every day. I did not know that you could not say ar$e. is that a bad word? I hear it over here as a better alternative to *****.

Its not a bad word but you know what us toffy nosed brits are like! Stiff upper lip and all!