So after three and a half years here it's time for me to move on.
picked up the new car three weeks ago and it's the first new car that I am totally thrilled with.

total milage on the box was 118750 I was hoping to hit 120000 before turing the old car in.

Trade value was 6K with the windshield, and cracked bumper cover taking about 1K off of the value.

New mini was 22,500.00 after the discounts for the premium package, and the seat goof up.

Gas milage went from an average of 25 to 37 MPG easily offsetting the cost difference of premium gas.

With my commute being 140 miles round trip a hybrid was the textbook answer however the lack of driving dynamics eliminated them as a choice.

Pics will be up soon

Thank you all for your help
Chris

 

Thanks for sharing. I'm also looking to trade in, 2004 w/ 114k, dealer only wants to offer me 5k. Trying private party, I feel like they're low balling me.

 

Hows the jump from the xb to the mini? I was looking at a few used cooper s's. I'm going from a 2010 xb to and older car for commutes so I'm kind of shopping around. looking at minis, civic si hatch, mazdaspeed protege, mk4 gti

 

dont know about the new minis but the used ones are rated at one of the worst used vehicles to buy... i commute 80 plus a day and average 35+ mpg in my 08 xb, not knocking the mini i am just wouldnt give mine up for anything right now, but that may change.. i attached the article
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/lista...0558&GT1=22021

 

Very good so far for a commuter it's perfect good seats, radio, and engine / trans go together well.

If your not moving a lot of stuff day to day I would say go for it.
Also the base cooper has plenty of power as the strength of mini's is there suspention and lack of weight, However with that said the S was a blast to drive and had an incredible amount of power

 

I was expecting someone to bring this up

in the past 12 years since I have been driving I have had only toyota's

84 Trecel No Problems
97 Corolla No Problems
98 Camry Failed MAF and O2 sensor first day of owning it
98 Camry (not a typo first one was wrecked by DD)
05 Matrix Bad crank bearings traded before failure
06 Rav4 two transfer cases and one transmission before 20K
08 Xb Bad syncros started at 8K, engine stalling issue, oh and the last one was both rear ABS sensors / hubs failed


So my opinion of Toyota's quality is it's not quite as good as it use to be
and there products are boring as h33!. I know they are talking about bringing the FRS out and I hope they do but for me it's too little and to late. beside toyota has been teasing us for years now why would they change now.

 

You'll have fun with the Mini. I actually went the opposite direction. Used to have an 06 Mini S and it was a blast to drive. Unfortunately it had too many problems to keep as a daily for the wife, so we sold it and bought the 08 xB. I really miss the handling and fun to drive but am glad I don't have to keep taking it to the dealership for repair work.