Greating to all My wife and I are having a problem deciding on a new car or good used tail dragger. She wants a new Mini S. Red white stripes heated seats all the good stuff. She likes the idea of a nice 911 as well. I need some help from this group of wise men and women to make the call. Any and all help is welcome.

After all it's Friday and I don't want to work today.

Thanks

Steve

That's a tough one.

Mini S or 911?

Depends on the 911.

I'm no help, am I?

Paul

we have a development MiniS at work. nice car, reminds me a lot of my ur-GTI, but of course much more refined.

there is much to be said for a new(er) car with a warranty. a "nice" 911 with comparable appointments will be a lot more expensive than a new Mini, and will come with no warranty.

high-powered front-engine FWD vs high-powered rear engine RWD -- these cars are night-and-day in feel, although in ultimate performance they're not too different.

they can both easily turn into project cars if you let them - many upgrade parts available for both.

any 911 new enough to be considered "nice" by wife standards is going to be well down the path to GT (rather than sports) car and not as nimble, quick, or tossable as a Mini.

I've had one for two years and love it. The gas milage and ability to zip through traffic are wonderful!

I've had my MINI Cooper S since last October, and have almost 10k miles on it. It is my daily driver and I love it. Cruises nicely on the highway, easy to dodge potholes when I'm downtown. Very fun to drive and has pretty good fuel economy. Mine is a 6 spd manual, but I've seen that MINI is now offering an automatic on the S now

Interior acoutrements -- heated seats, panoramic sunroof, "chrono package" (extra gauges for oil press/temp and move the speedo next to the tach on the steering column)...the sport, premium, and comfort packages....

I enjoy the sound of the s'charger when I wind the RPMs up

Since you are choosing between a 911 and a Cooper S, I'll presume you don't need to be carrying around people in a back seat, or hauling big/bulky items.

Mine is Hyper Blue w/Black stripes:

Our Mini is great. It's not the S version, but it still gets up goes okay and handles like a go-cart. Not much luggage room, but it probably has more than a 911. If it was my choice, I'd choose the Mini (especially an S) because of the modern convenience and reliability that I'd want in a daily driver. Besides, it's still a German car - they're made by BMW.

What is the intended use of the car??

I'm not sure what you mean by "nice 911". When I think 911, I think aircooled (1963 to 1989). IMO, they don't make the greatest commuters especially if they have a 915 transmission. They can be very reliable with regular maintenance but I wouldn't want to rely on any 20-30 year old car as a daily driver. Now, a low mileage 993/993/996 would probably make a much better commuter and daily driver.

We are thinking about a middle 80's 911 coupe. My wife loved my 91 C-4. I sold that car 3 years ago. It was the best car I ever owned. It had 151,000 mile on it when it left us. Only trouble was one of the top motors died. Took care of the maintance when needed. The search for a "nice " 911 could take some time but ....I'm a porsche man.

A girl I went to school with said she loved her Mini when the brakes were working. Brake failure is probably pretty rare, though. Right?

QUOTE (sjhowitson @ May 6 2005, 08:35 AM)

We are thinking about a middle 80's 911 coupe. My wife loved my 91 C-4. I sold that car 3 years ago. It was the best car I ever owned. It had 151,000 mile on it when it left us. Only trouble was one of the top motors died. Took care of the maintance when needed. The search for a "nice " 911 could take some time but ....I'm a porsche man.

I'm sure you're aware that the air conditioner in all pre 1990 911's is inadequate if the outside temp is above 80 degrees.

Anyone have a JCW Mini S? Always wanted to know from a non-press source if those are really that much more fun with 40 more HP. I know my 914 sure would be:-) If it's a nice 911 it'd be hard to pass that up for a mini...but as a daily driver I'm sure the mini would be nice.

tough call, going with the 911 you will lose some comfort (ac, harder to drive in traffic ect) but if she's willing to give a little IMO the 911 is a better choice. My only other suggestion is to go drive a R32 if you can find one. For me it's a no brainer over a Mini S.
Ferg.

can you can get a 95 or 96 911 for the same price as a new mini? i had this same dilemma last year when i bought my new car and that's what i was trying to get. ended up with the new car, because we had to put a child seat in back. but driving a newer car is nice and reassuring with a warranty.

I'll throw my 2 cents in. We have 911SC 914 Land Rover Disco and a Mini Cooper S. The Mini is great and it is the only one out of the 4 that gets daily driven. Its lots of fun to drive in the twisties much more comfortable than the other three on highway trips. We have almost 30,000 miles on it and it has only been to the dealer twice for routine maintenance covered by BMW so it has cost us 0 so far other than purchase and insurance. Got on the waiting list early to we paid about $21,000 for our S which is pretty good. Looking at used car adds Minis seem to have held there value well. In fact its a much more practical car than I expected. Front seats are very generous and its had 15 bags of mulch in the back with the seats folded down and since we are comparing it to a 911 three cases of wine fit in the back with the rear seats up.

Nick

QUOTE (JmuRiz @ May 6 2005, 12:53 PM)

Anyone have a JCW Mini S? Always wanted to know from a non-press source if those are really that much more fun with 40 more HP.

our development Mini-S has an overdrive pulley mod, the intake (intercooler) mod and an uprated exhaust that produced the same 30 drive-wheel HP for $1000 as the JCW kit makes for $5000 -- and the JCW kit is *not* a factory package - it's a dealer-installed bit, much like 914 AC.

yes - with yet another 40 HP over the standard Mini-S the car is seriously fun.

i can get you his contact information if you want additional information.

be aware that with a 20% overdrive pulley - if you use the power - the drive belt becomes a pretty frequent maintenance item - buy the available pulley-belt tool...

QUOTE (JmuRiz @ May 6 2005, 12:53 PM)

Anyone have a JCW Mini S? Always wanted to know from a non-press source if those are really that much more fun with 40 more HP. I know my 914 sure would be:-)

When you add the JCW package, you push the total purchase price close to, or over, $30k depending on all your options. I looked briefly at JCW, but decided that if I was going to cross the $30k mark for my new car, I would want more car than what the MINI offered, such as an Infiniti G35, or pre-owned BMW 330Ci w/sport package.

While the extra 40 HP would surely be fun, for daily driving use, I'd rather have that extra $5k in my bank account. However, Rich mentions his mods give the same HP for only $1k (didn't mention anything about JCW suspension mods though)...I could feel a twinge of Dirk Wright's Disease

Is there really such a thing a FWD sports car?

They all remind me of the old powered lawn mowers we had when I was young (long ago).
What ever direction the "drive wheels" were pointing was the direction the machine was to go.

With a RWD car if things get "out of shape" during "spirited driving" I know what to do, with FWD ?

John

QUOTE (Flat VW @ May 6 2005, 01:43 PM)

With a RWD car if things get "out of shape" during "spirited driving" I know what to do, with FWD ? John

Consider how much of your daily commute is driven in a "spirited" manner. Probably 95% of the time you have too much traffic around you to be taking corners at a speed where FWD understeer is going to cause you expensive troubles. And the rest of the time there isn't traffic, there is a pedestrian walking their dog, or potholes, or something else. If you just want to go fast on the highway, a POS Saturn can do that.

For everyday use, FWD satisfies transportation requirements. As to whether a "sports car" can have FWD -- the is more of a philosophical question IMO.

I don't intend to ever drive my Cooper S on a track or for DE/AX -- I have my 914 for this

It seems to me that a 911 is now and has been a good investment....

A mini will probably loose its value faster than a 911 in the long run...

But...it will probably be alot cheaper to maintain.

rich

As mentioned previously, recommend you check out the VW Golf R32 (if you can find one). Its a blast to drive and my wife likes it too since the ride is a little softer and easier to shift than the M3 we used to have. Great mileage on the freeway, but a little thirsty around town.

Hey Tom. That car looks nice. The MINI's go for about $ 25,000 nicely equipped. Is the VW in that range?

Someone should be able to find a low mileage used R32 for $24-26K but since VW only shipped 5,000 to the US in 2004, a new one would likely cost closer to the original sticker of $30-35K, depending on the dealer markup if any.

If interested, the R32 BBS at http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=145 might be a good source for current market

Edit: Out of curiousity I just checked www.cars.com. I was way off, the asking price for the used R32 averages closer to $29-$31K. They appear to be holding their value pretty well but depending on what part of the country you are in, a motivated seller would likely part with his/her car for $26-$28K, just my guess.

Someone should be able to find a low mileage used R32 for $24-26K but since VW only shipped 5,000 to the US in 2004, a new one would likely cost closer to the original sticker of $30-35K, depending on the dealer markup if any.

If interested, the R32 BBS at http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=145 might be a good source for current market data.

A Mini is the only car on the road I actually wave off like a fly... like every other driver does to me..

Minis are for... Londoners.



M

One Word... WRX. Its very fast stock and will kill just about everything out there... Buy a WRX STI and say good-buy to about every car on the road since that car will give all the high end european cars a run for their money... Zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds... I have a VW and will not buy another one. I had a friend who had a GTI and he got rid of that quick. VW are over priced and do not last. I am up to $2,000 in repair parts for the car this year.... Another $2,000 last year.. The 914 is more dependable.. Sorry VW guys, I was a fan...

WRX is just better all around. Get a used one for around $18,000-$20,000. All-wheel drive and 226hp stock.


My 80 cents worth..

BB

Mini S all the way.
Bought an 04 "S" last August for the wife's Daily driver.
Absolutley wonderful car. 34-36 MPG cruisin and Goes like stink when the Super Charger comes on 4500 RPM
Very well balanced handles every bit as good as the teener Rides a lot better!!!! Climate control, sun roof, traction control, leather. Only thing it don't have is Navigation system.

and it rules G-stock SCCA even tho she won't let me race this one. JCW kit with LSD woulda been sweet but for 6Kmore IDONNO That makes it A Street Prepared.

Id choose the mini but here is one to call on ,1989 i think around 80,000 and really nice .Owner passed away about two years ago A friend is selling it for his widow,i think around 19k Ireland engineering 626-359-7674.And for the subaru i agree there nice but at the recent 914 track day at willow i brought two friends along 1970 911s and a 2005 wrx-sti .My buddy in the suby said he was flat out down the straight a could not pull on the 30yr old 911

If I was going to spend $24K on a Mini this is what I would buy:

http://www.gomini.com/fs/1973BobbyCustomVtec.htm

I'm sorry, but that site has one fugly mini on it

Well If I were to buy a Mini for myself it wouldn't be nuthin like the wifes car.

Tell about them delete options. No climate control no sun roof, can I get Recaros for skinny asses like mine? no run flats, no heated seats. Just strip it down to the JCW kit Supercharger and you can keep the sound deadening crap too. Now you got a rocket ship on your hands that will smoke the 911 in every way shape and form. plus get 36 MPG on the way to the track.

I have to agree with nyum96 that the maintinance on the VW would kill you, but if I had the money this could be a fun way to go!

http://motortrend.com/features/performance...112_0401_tuner/

Not a whole lot of <4 second AWD cars out there in the 50-60 grand range

My vote would be for the 911.
But I think buying a NEW car is dumb(depresiation). Cars today are made like paper plates, use it, then toss it, disposable just like everything else. But if you don't plan on keeping the car 5-10 years I wouldn't worry about that though.
My good friend in Denver was about 2.5 seconds away from buying a mini till he found out about the 6 month waiting list.
Good luck

QUOTE (nyum96 @ May 6 2005, 04:29 PM)

One Word... WRX. Its very fast stock and will kill just about everything out there... Buy a WRX STI and say good-buy to about every car on the road since that car will give all the high end european cars a run for their money... Zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds... I have a VW and will not buy another one. I had a friend who had a GTI and he got rid of that quick. VW are over priced and do not last. I am up to $2,000 in repair parts for the car this year.... Another $2,000 last year.. The 914 is more dependable.. Sorry VW guys, I was a fan... WRX is just better all around. Get a used one for around $18,000-$20,000. All-wheel drive and 226hp stock. My 80 cents worth.. BB

The WRX is a great car. I have a good friend that just got a STI, great car, fast, handles well, but man you feel every crack in the road not what I would want for my daily driver. I don't own a mini but I have driven a few thousand miles in a new(well 2003 model) and I loved it. When I need a dialy driver the mini is on my list of cars to check out.

Just sold my 911 after 8 years and lots of maintance and inprovement dollars. I would buy the Mini (reliable, warranty, good resale). I have no interest in ever owning another 911, would go with a 914 (fun factor) or a boxster S.
Regards
Glen