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My daughter is now driving a nicer car than I think I've ever owned.
But, she'll be paying for it, so it gives her incentive to find a good job once she graduates college next month.
ghulet: thanks for the kind words .. she's a good kid, but a little unfocused on her career goals. In this day and age, for someone to graduate college in 4 years borders on amazing, in my mind. And, she changed majors twice (zoology > biology > creative writing) in that time.
She'll be living at home for the forseeable future, however.
Yes, the color of the vehicle is called "Pure Silver".
Any other guesses?
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron - 2017 911 C4S - 2025 BRZ - 2025 MB GLE450e - 2024 Genesis GV60 - 2019 Cayman
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
A Mini Cooper hardtop, equipped with the following options:
Pure Silver metallic paint
Cold Weather package (power folding mirrors, heated mirrors and washer jets, heated seats)
Steptronic Automatic (6-speed)
Sport seats
Bluetooth & USB / iPod adapter
Warning - long post ahead.
We'll pick up the story on Friday ... at that time, I thought we decided to get the Kia Forte EX and had a verbal quote for $15,150 + $499 dealer handling.
Daughter seems hesitant about the whole thing, since she would be making the majority of the payments. Come to find out that it's not the payments, per se, that bothers her, its the choice of vehicle mom and I have settled on. Her comment was that "If I'm going to be making payments, it should be on a vehicle I want".
So, while I'm out delivering pizzas, the girls go online and poke around on the Mini website and look at local inventory. There are three that catch their eye:
1) Pepper White
2) Pure Silver
3) Dark Silver
All are equipped slightly different, but are close to each other in price. They request more information, and the dealer calls them. They decide that we'll go to the dealership on Saturday to review, drive and make a deal.
We've now jumped from a $15K car to one that is just over $20K, so the trade in situation shifts a bit. We decide that instead of trading in the ION with 35K miles and get maybe $1500-2000 in equity, we'll trade in the L300 with 95K miles and get more.
We head to the dealer on Saturday with both the ION and L300 (just in case). Girls decide on the Pure Silver, so the consultant lets us take a test drive alone. Spent 45 minutes with the car - both mom and daughter drive it and are gaga over the features. Everybody fits nicely, good visibility, decent acceleration (though with 3 of us in the car, 118HP and an automatic, it's a bit of an uphill battle).
Bottom line is we got $3K for the L300 in trade (given that it needs the timing belt / water pump replaced, I was OK with that trade number), and we kicked in another grand on top of that. We added both an extended warranty and prepaid maintenance - don't bash me on that, it was for peace of mind for the daughter. For the next 7 years, she's only responsible for tires and a $50 deductible for any warranty work beyond the 4/50 standard warranty. The payment is still reasonable enough for her to handle, and we (daughter and I) qualified for 3.75% interest from the CU.
Daughter loves her new car - the salesmen took great care of us and the experience was very similar to those we'd had at the Saturn dealerships in the past. They treated us with respect, and the daughter was taken through the vehicle with a fine-toothed comb, so much so that they synched her cell phone with the Bluetooth and ensured that everything worked before leaving the dealership.
I'm now driving the ION -- yes, it has the nasty problem of the engine shutting off randomly, but since I'll only use it in town to deliver pizzas and run errands, I think I can live with that. Plus, I'll get better mileage than with the L300, so my running costs should decrease. But, with only 35K on the clock, I shouldn't need to do much other than routine maintenance for a while. The OEM tires are still in good shape, and I've convinced the wife to add some alloy wheels to it. The only feature I'm giving up is leather and heated seats, but that's no big deal.
Guess my membership has been renewed for now. I'm still planning on getting some sort of toy, however, in the next few years. This dealership also has a BMW store, so I might go that direction.
Different color but otherwise similar equipment...
Best of luck!
- Ray
She loves, loves, loves it....
It also doesn't have the gol-darned run flats, which I'm very pleased with - tires seem to run between $85-100 each, which is an expense she can save up for.
It is small, however .. not very much space for cargo, which means we'll have to go up to Ft. Collins in May and help bring her dorm room contents home.
And, FWIW, the wife saw a Hot Chocolate colored S convertible and was drooling all over it. Good thing she needs both 4 doors and some ground clearance / AWD based on where and what she does for work.
Then, unfortunately, I mentioned the new Countryman to her.
Uh-oh.
Perhaps we'll switch from being an all-Saturn family to an all-Mini family over the next decade.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
So you end up with the crap car now? Somehow that doesn't seem fair. You should do something about that, and I don't mean get some alloy wheels (which seems like a total waste at this point to deliver pizzzas with!)
But, at least you don't have to worry about your daughter while you wait for GM to figure out a fix on the ion.
Probably though you will save quite a bit not having to pay for repair and upkeep on the L300. plus gas.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Yeah, I noticed that in michaelll's stories he always end up with the short end of the stick...
I was visiting in-laws yesterday. My SIL is driving an 04 Ody with 200K+ on the clock. Her husband tools around town in an old Probe. Their older daughter has a 10 Honda Fit while the younger one has a 99 Camry in great shape. What's wrong with this picture?.....
Of course I have the oldest car in our fleet but it's a convertible so that doesn't count.
Although he does drive the Acura TL while I get the Accord, but I do get spotted 5 years and 100K miles. Plus, I actually like driving the Accord better overall (although I don't mind tooling around some days in the TL, since both are sitting here for my driving pleasure, since he can't have it at school).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I've been driving the ION for a few days now, and have to say it isn't all that bad of an appliance. Since I use it only for pizza deliveries and other in-town errands, it serves those needs nicely. Its got all the power goodies, plus ABS/TC and a sunroof, so I'm really not giving up that much over the L300. Plus, as noted, smaller gas and maintenance costs. No, its not as smooth or powerful as the L300, but I probably won't miss that too much.
I talked with the dealer today and they have a work order in place to swap out my aftermarket stereo in the L300 with the OEM unit, but things are hectic as the Auto Show starts Wednesday here in Denver. We go to the dealer on Friday to have the clear bra installed.
stick - I don't think that the daughter opened the sunroof more than a half-dozen times is the nearly 4 years she drove the ION, so not having it on the Mini isn't that big of a loss to her. We wanted to keep options (and price) reasonable.
The dealer had, oh, probably 40-50 cars on the lot - a nice mix of hardtops, convertibles and Clubmans, both base and S models. One leftover 2009 - BRG with automatic - that they wanted about $20K for. I think there were a few JCW's in stock as well.
Yes, both the wife and the daughter are well aware that the next vehicle we get will be my toy ... may not happen for a year or two, but I'm already planning. Since the ION will be around for winter / pizza duty, I can get whatever I want, within budget, for nice weather.
Mustang GT 'vert? (heck, an '11 Mustang V6 would probably suffice, with 300HP)
CPO 3-series coupe / 'vert?
CPO Z4?
Mini S 'vert?
The possibilities, while not endless, are certainly bountiful.
Ah, the pleasure of the search. Until then, I'll live vicariously through y'all. And, hopefully, get to drive the Mini at least once a year when it needs an oil change.
And from what I read in the reviews, the V6 is absolutely the way I would go.
then again, I am definitely a 340 or Z28 instead of a big block type!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
But I digress......Car Psych 101 now over.
I like the sunroof, but not having a solid cover inside really bothers me.. Those mesh coverings let in too much heat in the summer time..
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You might ask a dealer service manager if they know of known problems with crank position sensor on the car.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Yeah, I'd heard that about the Minis. That's why I'm not fretting over the lack of a sunroof in Westin (yes, her Mini already has a name ... bonus points if you can identify the origin).
I would get the solid roof and put the Union Jack on it!
In the showroom, they show all the options, one of which is a Maple Leaf for Canada. Daughter would like to get that!
Regarding the ION problem - for other vehicles that will 'drop dead' while just running down the highway, a known cause is bad 'crank position sensor'. And yes, these are come-and-go problems. After failing, the car will crank right back up, and it seems to happen so quickly that there is no check engine code set.
You might ask a dealer service manager if they know of known problems with crank position sensor on the car.
Thanks for the suggestion, bolivar. I may take that up with the Saturn service folks should I experience the problem again.
Mark156
I wouldn't know; I haven't driven it yet. :sick:
Yep, that's exactly what happened with my 2000 Intrepid. It started acting up in March of 2008. At first it was a very rare occurrence, but it got worse as time went by. And once it cut out on a sharp exit ramp. And a heavy-ish FWD car with rack-and-pinion and no power steering is a lot worse to fight with than a heavy RWD car with the old-style recirculating ball steering...and I've had plenty of experience with those failing on me!
My car never did set off any codes, but finally it got to the point that it refused to start and left me stranded at work. I left it overnight, and the next afternoon tried to start it up. It would turn over but wouldn't fire up. I turned the key on and off a few times, and where the digital odometer is, the numbers were replaced with "dOnE". On most of the older K-based Mopars, if you turned the ignition on-off a few times, the check engine light would flash in accordance to trouble codes it had stored, so I wonder if this was a more updated version of that?
Well, I turned the key one more time, it fired right up, and I took it straight to the mechanic. He replaced both the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors, to the tune of about $522, and it never acted up again.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
I know it is a British baby name meaning west town. Thats all I got.
Congrats on the new Mini. Make sure you get to drive it more than once a year. I have test driven a few stick versions and they are neat little cars.
I know it is a British baby name meaning west town. Thats all I got.
Nope, it's named after a character on a TV show ....
And, yes, I'm hoping to get a chance to drive it, though with the automatic I'm sure some of the fun will have been edited out.
Same holds true for the Passat CC.
Yeah, the visbility out of those is compromised...maybe it's just something to live with, especially on a car with parktronic. Cars with good visibility seem to be a dying breed. Even my W210 is better in that regard than many new cars.
We were also comparing the MINI to the VW New Beetle we owned about 10 years ago - modern interpretations of classic motoring icons. One major difference was that the NB had awful visibility around the A-pillars.
One other note - the first part of the test drive had the daughter driving, me riding shotgun and the wife in the rear seat. Wife is not usually happy in the back seat of a two-door car, but the amount of glass mitigated that claustrophobic feeling she normally gets.
My Forester has outstanding visibility, probably the best I'll ever have in a car. The x3 is pretty good, but not as good as the Forester.
One thing I notice is that BMWs, especially the older one, really had large windows. If you look at the older 6 series, it has a nice large rear window, which had to help with lane changes (I can't say for sure, having never owned one).
I'm getting ready to figure out my next car, and have to eliminate a lot of great looking cars because they have tiny windows, or swoopy shapes that cause nasty blind spots!
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I assume the transmission hump get in the way with the CLS, but the Passat CC is front wheel drive in standard form.Would the AWD mechanicals take up as much space as just rwd?
Fintail, the listing does have a make an offer selection. I bet he takes an offer at 10% less. Anymore than that I bet he lets the auction continue.
I'd offer that guy the price for a normal non-AMG CLS with those miles, which is in the region of 30K or so...and even then I dont think I'd do it.
My fintail, with its thin pillars and wraparound glass, has the best visibility of any car I have owned. It is so easy to park.
To get a tall greenhouse these days you would have to go to a SUV. Even most wagons have short glass areas.
My parents owned a '72 220D for a while ... that, too, had great visibility.
I suspect that nowadays, the focus on safety has forced designers to increase pillar thickness and allow for side and curtain air bags.
But, the downside is that weight goes up.
One car that I'm going to test drive is a 2006-2008 Mercedes CLK (coupe). I like how there's no pillar whatsoever between the driver and rear window. That must lead to a real airy feeling, and decent visibility. Anybody try one of those? I find the prices appealing due to typical steep luxury car depreciation.