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Comments
I get that Tica's dilemna has more to do with whether to opt for the newer Mini at the end of her current lease. My doubts were just for my knowledge, really
Thanks in advance!
Even at a great resale value, the original buyer/lease owner takes a hit on depreciation. Of course, if you always want the "latest and greatest", then its different, and not really a financial decision at all...
thanks for your comments.
first of all, I apologize, I put 6300 miles on it, not 3600, a dyslexic slip (even though I'm not dyslexic!) Anyway, it's still not very many for a year, I know. But actually, I drive Miniie my Mini nearly every day in NYC, The thing is, most trips are a mile or 2 and if I go from uptown to downtown that might still only be 8 miles roundtips and I only do that on a weekend, maybe once a week max. So it's easy to use your car a lot and not put much mileage on it.
During the summer months I was going out into the country every other weekend andthen I'd put a good 200-300 miles on it. That's how I even got my mileage this high!
I got the Mini mostly for parking in NYC. I was borrowing a friend's old old mercedes prior to getting Minnie and would drive by all these empty slots that only a mini would fit into. (And now, a smart car is looking appealing since Minnie can't get into EVERY space!) But I"d be afraid in a Smart Car on the highway, I think.
Anyway, so I got Mini cuz it's small, relatively good gas, and so darn cute. The lots of airbags convincing me it was sort of safe helped too. I did toy around with the idea of a cheaper Honda but they still are bigger parking wise and have zippo personality.
The reason I'm considering a new one is because I got more features than I wanted, now that I've tested all these features I realized that for the same price almost of buying my current car--21,3000 after the year lease, I could get a brand new 08 with feweer featrures--but the exact and only features I really care about for around the same price, maybe 22K. So for around the same price, with a one year newer car and one more extra year of warranty, it seemed like I should do it.
But I have a big of ecological guilt for treating cars like a new pair of shoes (although people have pointed out that my old Mini won't exactly go to waste as it s likely to get snapped up.)
Also, it's a bit of a hassle, and maybe some wait since I now have 29 days till end of lease (and considering I haven't ordered the new one, unless I get one off the lot, probably will have a good month wait with no car at all.
The check engine light was my only snafu and made me wonder if that is justification for turning in 07 for an 08.
so anyway, I still don't know. I'm going to ahve a long conversation with my boyfriend this weekend about it but any input is always welcome.
thanks!
thanks for your comments.
first of all, I apologize, I put 6300 miles on it, not 3600, a dyslexic slip (even though I'm not dyslexic!) Anyway, it's still not very many for a year, I know. But actually, I drive Miniie my Mini nearly every day in NYC, The thing is, most trips are a mile or 2 and if I go from uptown to downtown that might still only be 8 miles roundtips and I only do that on a weekend, maybe once a week max. So it's easy to use your car a lot and not put much mileage on it.
During the summer months I was going out into the country every other weekend andthen I'd put a good 200-300 miles on it. That's how I even got my mileage this high!
I got the Mini mostly for parking in NYC. I was borrowing a friend's old old mercedes prior to getting Minnie and would drive by all these empty slots that only a mini would fit into. (And now, a smart car is looking appealing since Minnie can't get into EVERY space!) But I"d be afraid in a Smart Car on the highway, I think.
Anyway, so I got Mini cuz it's small, relatively good gas, and so darn cute. The lots of airbags convincing me it was sort of safe helped too. I did toy around with the idea of a cheaper Honda but they still are bigger parking wise and have zippo personality.
The reason I'm considering a new one is because I got more features than I wanted, now that I've tested all these features I realized that for the same price almost of buying my current car--21,3000 after the year lease, I could get a brand new 08 with feweer featrures--but the exact and only features I really care about for around the same price, maybe 22K. So for around the same price, with a one year newer car and one more extra year of warranty, it seemed like I should do it.
But I have a big of ecological guilt for treating cars like a new pair of shoes (although people have pointed out that my old Mini won't exactly go to waste as it s likely to get snapped up.)
Also, it's a bit of a hassle, and maybe some wait since I now have 29 days till end of lease (and considering I haven't ordered the new one, unless I get one off the lot, probably will have a good month wait with no car at all.
The check engine light was my only snafu and made me wonder if that is justification for turning in 07 for an 08.
so anyway, I still don't know. I'm going to ahve a long conversation with my boyfriend this weekend about it but any input is always welcome.
thanks!
Cost for this maintenance was $0. I assume we have to take her in one more time B-4 the warranty runs out, but in the meantime at 35mpg excellent performance when needed how can we complain.
Only thing we did not like was the short life span of the high performance Pirelli tires we just had to replace.
I was offered an extended warranty too last time I was at the dealer but feel like it isn't needed. Although this warranty offered covered everything mechanical except tires.
I wouldn't worry about the ecological concerns.
Now, if I were in your shoes, with your current Mini coming off lease, and the check engine light issue has still not been resolved, and the new one has all the features you want or need at the same cost....... you know where I'm going with this.......I would vote for getting the new one! :shades:
Personally, I don't like lingering problems on a car, especially one that I own, not lease. You don't know whether that check engine light is just the tip of the iceberg.
well I use the car more for daily use, rather than weekend use, so the zipcar thing is not really a good option for me. yes, I could go without, and it looks like I might have to if I turn Minnie in since my lease is up in 3 weeks and I haven't done anything yet to sort my situation out, like order a new one! yes, I could take nyc public transport again (more ecological I know, but such a pain to lug all your crap around!) It's been nice to have my mini be the 2nd walk in closet I don't have in my small NYC apt! Anyway, thanks for all your feedback, I've got to decide in the next week or so. I'm so swamped with work and this isn't a prioriity though.
Buyer Beware!!!
Expect to pay high service bills because car is owned by BMW, famous for ripping off their customers, and high inital purchase price so BMW can recover all the warranty costs for the first 4 years
I guess thats why BMW is increasing its sales volume in the USA each year...everyone wants to pay more for a less reliable and more expensive-to-maintain automobile.
Korean car makers weren't supposed to be as reliable as their Japanese counterparts, but Hyundai is one of the more dependable car makers in the affordable hatchback and sedan niche. Kia backs their cars with one of the longest running warranties.
If you're a "glass is half full" kind of person, you could look at the MINI as a car that offers German reliability and British affordability!
Some of the most probable are...
1- They believe that they have useful information that will assist another vehicle owner...
2- They have a problem that they believe someone may be able to help them solve.
3- They have an axe to grind with a manufacturer, model, or just plain upset by their experiences.
I agree with waterflame in posting 165. Most of us would despise being judged on what our relatives may have done years ago, or for that fact, what we may have done 30 years ago...it simply isn't relevant to today.
To be honest, every auto maker makes a lemon every now and then.
I am quite often amazed by some of the comments made in these forums on occasion by some of the more disgruntled posters.
For instance, some may have the gripe that they had an engine problem at 120 K miles and feel the manufacturer should repair it free. Once and a while, you even see a posting that is so poorly written that I have difficulty seeing how the poster could operate a vehicle.
If you look at the number of postings on ANY vehicle in these forums and compare that to the total number of units produced, you quickly see that, at best, only a miniscule amout of owners are expressing opinions here.
That fact indicates to me that, by in large, most owners are reasonably satisfied with their automobiles. Yes, there are exceptions, as there are to every rule. And, that doesn't mean that there aren't occassional "oh-oh's" that get by the manufacturer. Its a competetive market, and everyone wants to be the first to offer the "latest and greatest".
Some owners do have real problems, even after doing everything correctly and performing all the prescribed maintenance by the manufacturer.
If you want to see what happens to manufacturers that really do consistantly turn out garbage, simply look up "Yugo".
Any comments or suggestions about reliability?
I would appreciate any wisdom from Mini Owners!
She absolutely loves the car...
Thanks.
Since you've owned one before, you know that they are pretty reliable cars. However, you also know that ANY car can give you trouble. I've had two good friends that have owned MINIs (one 05 Cooper S & one 06 Cooper, both manuals) and they had not had any issues outside of normal wear and tear (tires) and oil changes.
And yes, your shop could replace the RF tires.
At that distance every time something breaks you will have two choices, live with it or take a FULL day off of work.
After you factor in the time, now factor in the gas money. On the bright side the scheduled maintanence is every 15k.
Right now for instance I have a lock that does not work to let me out of the car easy and I will just wait 3 more months to take the car in for its regular maitenance rather than make a special trip.
Just calling it the way I see it.
R
also it is time to do my first brake job, Id like to replace the rotors with drilled and slotted and use EBC green stuff pads and replace lines with braided stainless
any thoughts?
Either you must drive with one foot on the brakes or be a mail delivery person.
Just joking, but that is WAY too early to need a brake job!
That's what I thought too. Mind you though, that 20K miles were 100% city, stop and go miles.
You can buy a replacement filter element at any NAPA store or Auto Zone, and the element should come with a replacement o-ring, which you should lightly lubricate before installing.
Be aware, however, that many BMW service techs think the BMW factory recommended oil change intervals on the Mini are a joke, even with synthetic oil. Most techs I know recommend a change at least every 7500 miles using synthetic oil. None recommend non-synthetic oils.
Before BMW started offering its "all service included" policy, it recommended much more frequent oil changes. Good luck!
I am told by my older co workers that this is the way they all use to be years ago.
There are lots of resources on the web for this kind of thing, not so much here at Edmunds. I did the rear brakes on my 05 with this link.
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43438&highlight=bra- ke+pads
You can interpret that in 2 different ways though: Was BMW gouging its customers previously with redundant oil changes, or are they saving money now to the detriment of engine health?
You can interpret that in 2 different ways though: Was BMW gouging its customers previously with redundant oil changes, or are they saving money now to the detriment of engine health?
From the mechanics I have spoken with about this, as well as from my own personal experience in restoring automobiles...the answer would be option "B". Even the Roundel Magazine mechanic's page suggest much more frequent oil changes than recommended by BMW.
Of course, by the time damage is determined...no warranty.
And, since many, many owners drive BMW's as status symbols, mileage is quite often not very high...so many owners will never see the problem.
On my wife's Mini, a factory oil change with filter and synthetic oil is about $80.00...a cheap insurance policy if there ever was one...
It costs me about $100 up here in Canada. I had the oil changed at about 9,500km even though the computer said it was good for another 9,000km. Ours is leased so maybe I was a fool for spending the extra $$, but I figure what the heck, and there is always a chance we may buy it out at the end of the lease. Probably not likely, but you never know!
On most (leather) seats, the part you sit on, is leather. For economic reasons, the "other parts' are synthetic. Hard to tell, far as I can see.
Of course, big-buck cars are ALL leather...
Even if you have not, I would appreciate your thoughts. My 2005 Mini maintenance and mechanical warranties (two separate agreements) are up in March 2009.
I am considering extending either, or both, warranties for another 2 years. They are separate decisions, and are priced separately, so I want to know what you have done or think I should do.
Maintenance warranty covers all routine stuff like oil changes ($200 if bot separately), alignment ($200), tune ups at major milestones ($800), wiper replacement ($100), convertble top alignment ($200), etc. To extend the warranty unitl March 2011, it will cost me $1995.
Mechanical warranty covers everything except the exhaust system, such as engine failure, brakes, transmission, clutch, etc, and that's another $2095.
Where I put about 6k miles per year on vehicle, I figure things are going to wear out slower than the avereage car. But the routine maintenance will still need to be performed. So, I'm thinking of skipping the mechanical and going with the maint warranty extension. What do you think?
Your thoughts?
Thank you!
The point I'm trying to make is that the optimum time for changing oil ought to be related to a number of factors, of which distance travelled is probably one of the least important in most cases. Here is my selection in rough order of importance:
1.Number of cold starts (more condensation in a cold engine)
2.Ambient temperature (how long before warm enough to stop serious condensation)
3.Effectiveness of crank case scavenging (more of that anon)
4.State of wear of the engine (piston blow-by multiplies the problem)
5.Accuracy of carburation during warm-up period (extra [non-permissible content removed] produced)
6.Distance travelled (well, lets get that one out of the way)
If you were clever (or anal) enough, you could probably come up with a really clever formula incorporating all those factors. However, I would give 1, 2, and 3 equal top weighting. Items 1 to 3 have to be taken together since a given number of "cold" starts in the Dakar in summer is not the same as an equal number conducted in Fargo in January. The effect in either case will be modified by how much gas gets past the pistons. What we are really after is the severity and duration of the initial condensation period. All other things being equal, that will give you how much condensate will be produced and I would suggest that more than anything else determines when the oil should be dumped"
good luck
What's holding me back from getting this option is that there is a screen (and it slides I think) under the roof/glass, not a solid piece blocking the total sunlight from the driver.
A couple things about the screen instead of a solid piece:
- does it cause the unacceptable heat in the car on a high-temperature day ( like 75 degrees or above). I live in San Jose (South Bay Area of CA) ?
- does it bother the driver occasionally/frequently because the constant sunlight coming the glass/roof into the car ? or that through-light is minimal enough that it does not bother driver on most Sunny days.
Please give some advice- Thanks much!
Mini Lover ( near future!)