A few of weeks ago I decided to lease a Mini. Er, a Mini Cooper. As in the car, not an Apple – the Mac mini was two weeks ago, not four! A bunch of people – mostly friends and family from the east coast – have asked me why I’m even considering a Mini. Especially when they hear I’ve ordered the base trim and not the sporty-focused S model, after all the fuss I made over the 6-speed transmission of the speed Jetta GLI that I currently have.
The short answer is pretty short: look at the picture to the right and keep in mind that the Mini is the exact same width as my Jeep.
And so when people ask me “why a Mini?” I say “why not?” My brother-in-law has warned me that it’s a Chick Car much like the Rabbit Convertible, Cabrio, and New Beetle Convertible are, but I say that it’s not so. Not out here anyway. The only Mini dealership in the northwest is about 30 miles from Seattle yet I see at least four a day. Sometimes more. They’re freakin’ everywhere with men and women drivers, straight and gay alike. [FWIW, I truly believe in the Chick Car, as listed above – I just don’t think it applies to the Mini, or at least not in the northwest. Check it out, though, when you drive: every Cabrio is either a woman or a woman’s bf.]
Millage? That “gas panic”? Nah. I mean it’s OK on the Mini. It’s a smaller car, sure, but it’s not a hybrid or a mini-engine model. It’s still a car. Just with a tiny back seat and almost no trunk. And a kick ass Geeky dashboard.
Power? Yeah, this takes a hit from what I’m used to. The GLI has been the fastest car I’ve ever owned. Might even be the fastest car I’ll ever own. I looked at the new GLI. Too expensive and still assembled in Mexico; I’ve had bad luck with the latter and I’m trying to lower my payments so the former is a problem. So I looked at the GTI. Longer than the Mini which is a nice to have and it is a 6-speed… but it’s more expensive than the Mini and frankly I don’t like my local dealer. I say to the dude “Oh yeah, my Pop has been in the [car] business since the late 70’s so we can talk plainly” and they try to charge me $650 over MSRP. Riiiiiight. Nice move there, jackass: you just lost my business! He followed me out the door with “well, we can tighten those numbers up too!” Bah. As for another dealer, I wasn’t overly impressed with the GTI’s lines: it looks OK but there’s a huge blind spot on the driver’s left caused by a tapered window and large side column. Makes the dealer a moot issue in this case.
Size? The above picture says it all. I love my Jeep because it’s small. Great thing for parking out here, as is the case above – the H2 was already parked docked beached there. The Mini is the exact same width as the Jeep and is a little less than a foot shorter in length. *meep meep!* It’s also fun to drive. The flip side to this is moving stuff. I bought a new stereo stand this weekend at Target. Slipped right into the Jetta. Would never fit in the Jeep which means it will never fit in the Mini. Does this bother me? A little, but I had to quantify it… why should I buy a car that I drive 200-270 days outta the year for the 2-3 times I buy something big or 2-3 times I might have more than two people in the car? Yeah, exactly… it doesn’t make sense to me either, yet I always seem to do that. “Oh what if I have to move something?” or “What if I have to drive people somewhere?” has kept me in a sedan for the last two cars over the last five years – time for a change.
Other cars? Test drove the Acura RSX. Not only did it make me yawn but it’s being discontinued for the ’07 model year. Honda Accord? Good in the price range but, well… I’ll still test drive it, but it’s just a car. Sounds odd, I know, but it’s hard to explain. The rest of the car makers have been slacking: they’re making a lot of SUV’s, CUV’s, LUV’s, AUV’s and whatever else is not a car but still an UV these days. Trucks too. So the field has shrunk from years ago, and the lease ends this year.
Pricing? I’ve given up on putting leather in cars. At least for this lease. It’ll be an experiment, to be sure, this “leatherette” stuff, but jeez… leather is expensive and as much as I like it because it holds up better than cloth, this may be the middle ground. Like I said, it’s worth a [three year] shot. Anyway, it brings the pricing down. And on that, the S trim of the Cooper was about $4K more, but I still test drove it. It sounded meaner but it didn’t have all that much more power than the base model… it certainly didn’t bring it up to the power of the GLI and that put an end to that. I’d go the extra cash if it was but I don’t want to spend more and not be at the same level I am now. I skipped it.
Other stuff… my mom doesn’t like the idea, calling it a coffin on wheels. While my first reaction was “fine, don’t drive in it then! :P” I reminded her that a) it goes slower than my current car and b) it has as many if not more airbags than my current car. Certainly got more safety features than the Jeep. Which earned me a commentary on why I shouldn’t drive without doors this summer.
Availability would be a problem, since the lead time is 6-8 months, but my lease isn’t up until Oct/Nov, so that’s OK for me. The car options are hard to keep straight – there’s too many! – but the web site helps with that. And the [quasi-]local dealer has been great to work with – no pressure because the car sells itself and they’re the nearest dealer in 150 miles… sorta takes all the games outta it.
I think it’s the way to go, but I’ve still got 2-3 months to change my mind and test drive new 2007 models as they appear – this weekend should include a quick spin in a Honda but I don’t think it’ll change my mind any…
We’ll see.
Nah, the Mini really isn’t a chick car. VW’s are for fags though. I’ve already confirmed this with at least 3 gay guys I know. They all had VW’s (2 beetles,1 golf). And they even used the term “fag cars”.
And why can’t you change the radio? They’re should be adapter kits for it. I had to buy one for my RX-7. They’re not all that hard to install.
Um. Radio stuff, you mean the adapter thing? They offer an aux jack right in the glove compartment… dealer installed. Since it’s a lease, I don’t wanna drop in my own hardware or my own stuff… they get weird about stuff like that on the return. I wouldn’t mind the built-in Sirius radio but not at $600.
Gotcha, they always overcharge for the stereos. There is no such thing as a factory stero worth 600 bucks. If it can scrub my balls on the way to work, then I would consider droping $600 on it. Until then, I scrub my own balls, and install my own stereo.
What’s worse is that it’s dealer installed :) I can appreciate $200 for factory, plus $100-150 for the Sirius add on but $500 + labor? pftftft. Commonplace tho, given how dealers work.
I remember when you had a red Acura Integra. How many cars have you gone through since then?
Two Acuras and two VW’s, I think. :)
So what if it is a ‘chick’ car?? Anyone that knows you know you’re a manly man. I currently drive the BMW 5 series and have come to the conclusion that I purchased a *%@*ing lemon. Purchased it new in ’04’…put little over 15,000 miles on it and I’ve spent over 3,000 already in repairs. I am seriously thinking of buying a Mini or the Audi TT… those are both very cute cars… maybe I shouldn’t go for ‘cute’ but I’m a chick.
Val, that you??? Wild :)
Anyway, where’d you get that BMW, eh? I might know someone that could possibly help.
As it is, the tricky thing is that first year cars are always the most risky. So much so that I almost cancelled the Mini order when I found out that I’d be in line for an ’07. That’d be fine but they’re making a bunch of changes in ’07 – first year model stuff. As it turns out I’m getting an ’06, which suits me fine. Latest info says it should be in WA for Sept.
As to the Mini and the TT, they can be cute… OR they can have the look that they’re about to gobble the road up :D
Just found your blog (searching google for Barrier Audi car wash). Saw a few interesting things that we have in common.
1. VW (for better or worse). I drive a GTI (my 2nd MKIV) and my wife drives a MKV Jetta. Love ’em both.
2. Rush. I went through your archives and saw a few Rush posts. I’m a HUGE Rush fan and am really looking forward to the Replay X3 release (Exit Stage Left/Through The Camera Eye/Grace Under Pressure live videos on DVD!).
3. Musician. I saw on one of your posts that you’re a jack-of-all-trades (sort of). I’m not, but I do play bass in a local band.
4. Geek. I, too, am a geek. Though I don’t work at Microsoft, my brother does and I’m in the computer industry as well.
5. Video games. What can I say? I’ll go home tonight, fire up the PC and work on finishing Half-Life 2 for the second time to prepare for the expansion pack. Then it’s off to the PS2 for some MLB06: The Show. And if I have time, maybe a DVD viewing before bed.
Anyway, not to sound like a stalker or anything, but so far I’m enjoying your posts and especially reading about you “discovering” the great PacNW (as someone who’s lived here since 1977).
Cheers!
Ah, tis not stalking until you knock on my front door. And props if you could find that :)
Yep, huge Rush fan for almost 20 years now. Was fun to grow up as they changed genre – should be interesting to see if they plop a live YYZ on Exit – if I remember correctly that was originally only available on LaserDisc. Bastards, for that.
Geeks are everywhere, too – I was Geek long before I moved out here. Long before it was chic, too… hm. tis all good!
Tis’ me…checking up on ya. I purchased the car from a dealer in Hartford near the Expo center…I have a few offers to buy it…some better than others.
The only good thing about video games is that it’s a good distraction for when I need to sneak my shopping bags in the house. I would really like to know if there is a age where it all stops. If the house was on fire he would grab the PS2 first then his collection of games…this came directly from him.
o.O
The only reason I play games is to piss people off.
Ah, OK – I have a contact at BMW dealership but that’s way out west from you… not much help there, sorry. As for the PS2, let it burn! I wouldn’t even save my Xbox and that’s green and limited edition. I’d save the 360 tho, unless that started the fire in the first place… Hm.
Sure’n ya do, Anna :)
Pretty much. I seem to be really good at it too. >.