Re: [doc] "new" new cars

[Mike Sumner <mikebmw316@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fair enough, you are after all entitled to your opinion.
 
However, having driven about 5 different Minis (including the new cabrio) I found all of them had an irritating fault which consisted of the accelrator making a harsh clicking sound when you pushed it to the floor, and the same when you let your foot off it.
 
I expect better from a car that starts at £10,500 and you don't even get a rev counter on the basic model.  Hardly impressive spec.
 
And as for the BMW after sales package, I know all about this as I drive an E36 Coupe which gets far more looks than the Minis I drove round in when it was being serviced.
 
Regards,
 
Mike Sumner - 178
1999 BMW E36 Coupe


Darren Cunningham <darren.cunningham@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Mike,

I'm going to have to get involved here and defend the Mini as I drive 
one everyday...

There's been a lot of hype about them for a simple reason - they are 
bloody good cars as long as you accept them for what they are - a small 
stylish city car.

All cars have to be considered on their own merits and everyone will 
have a different opinion - my opinion is that the Mini is a great car 
that's fun to drive on twisty backroads, is very comfortable on long 
journeys, a brilliant car for driving in city centres and gets a lot of 
admiring looks. I would say that if you regularly need to carry big 
loads/lots of people then it's probably not the car for you as it 
clearly wasn't designed for that. Having said that, I have had 2 
basketball players in the back of mine both over 6'4" and they were 
reasonably comfortable... and before you ask, yes I was able to sit in 
the front and drive the car :-)

You may consider that it's bad value but if you look at depreciation, 
the Mini holds its value much better than most small cars - probably 
because of all the "hairdressers and yuppies that drive them" (I'm a 
mechanical engineering student btw). When I was thinking about changing 
my car (for another Mini) last summer, I got a part-exchange value from 
the dealer of £12,000 for it - a drop of only £2,000 over 2 years. 
There's also a great backup service from BMW - Europe-wide recovery, 
24hr BMW Emergency Assist as well as the TLC servicing package (5 yrs / 
50k miles) for a hundred quid.

I'm sure that there's a lot of people who consider the Delorean's crap 
without having lived with one.....

Darren
1982 Delorean RHD
2002 Mini One


Mike Sumner wrote:

>I don't doubt there's a reason for it but having driven quite a lot of different cars I can't help but get involved when someone mentions a car that I consider to be crap.
> 
>Obviously it's just my opinion but I think the new Mini is one of the most over-rated over-hyped cars in recent years.
> 
>There are better cars than the new Mini at far more reasonable prices these days but try telling the hairdressers and yuppies that drive them.
>Regards,
> 
>Mike Sumner - 178
>1999 BMW E36 Coupe
>
>
>Lloyd Bonson <lloyd_bonson@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>"The reason being that most of the cars length has gone on the bonnet, 
>because the front's not much better and the boot is nothing more than a 
>rear-mounted glove box."
>
>That'll be the need to comply with American crash protection regulations for 
>you!!
>
>  
>
>>From: Mike Sumner <mikebmw316@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>>Reply-To: doc-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>To: doc-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>Subject: Re: [doc] "new" new cars
>>Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 19:09:22 +0100 (BST)
>>
>>Not trying to stir things up but having sat in the back of a BMW Mini (and 
>>not being particularly tall) I have to say that you'd do well to seat 4 
>>adults.  The rear leg room is an absolute joke.
>>
>>The reason being that most of the cars length has gone on the bonnet, 
>>because the front's not much better and the boot is nothing more than a 
>>rear-mounted glove box.
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>>Mike Sumner - 178
>>1999 BMW E36 Coupe
>>
>>
>>Troy Knight <dmc.knight@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>BMW mini's are small practical and can seat 4 adults, the insurance I'm not 
>>too sure about but I hear a Renault Cleo is pretty good to insure.
>>
>>Yur Pal
>>Troy
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>  From: Mike Green
>>  To: doc-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>  Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 7:58 PM
>>  Subject: [doc] "new" new cars
>>
>>
>>  All this talk of rover shutting down, leaves me in consideration of
>>  what car to get next. I used to live a stones throw from the
>>  longbridge plant, and a lot of my school mates could well be out of
>>  work very soon!
>>
>>  Currently I have a 5 year old hyundai accent which has served me well,
>>  but its time to change, and so I need a little bit of advice if
>>  possible from what seem to be a mostly clued up bunch of motor heads
>>  ;)
>>
>>  so what do i go for guys (and gals) ? I need something that can take a
>>  fair whack of miles, up to 25k a year, be economical, safe and sturdy,
>>  no more than a 1.5l or less than a 1.3, low insurance group (my accent
>>  is group 4 and my premium is still an anal fisting), comfortably fit 4
>>  adults and most importantly be in the low end price bracket.. so
>>  around 8 or 9 k
>>
>>  I would spend that towards a delorean if it was practical... but it
>>  just isnt, for quite a few of my ideal car checklist
>>
>>  so what should i go for... or shall i just go and buy a brand new 
>>accent?
>>
>>
>>  Mike
>>  427
>>  VINLESS
>>
>>  --
>>  ------------------------------------
>>  Mike Green
>>  Software architect
>>
>>
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