Does anyone here own a Mini?

[angib]

Many people feel that bigger is safer and that doesn't seem to hold true with regards crash testing.

But it does hold true, generally, in real-life two-vehicle crashes. If a heavy vehicle and a light vehicle collide, the heavy vehicle will push the light vehicle - if say they were both doing 30mph, the heavy vehicle will experience a 20mph collision and the light one will experience a 40mph collision.

Regular cars are indeed often the best designed vehicles for surviving crashes at a certain test speed, but a poor vehicle crashing at 20mph is probably still a better place to be than a good vehicle crashing at 40mph.

A US federal agency (NHTSA, I think, but I can't find the report now) does publish actual crash data which confirms that heavy SUV, pickups and minivans not only have higher survival rates in two-vehicle crashes, but they also reduce the survival rate of the other vehicle.

So the heavy SUV, truck or van is buying protection for its occupants - and also increasing the risk to the occupants of lighter vehicles.

Andrew

[Gary and Cheri]

I will not question that in a crash between a heavy vehicle vs a light vehicle, that generally the light vehicle is at a disavantage. Not all crashes though involve two vehicles. It could be as much as 50% that are single vehicle crashes at which point the heavy car will suffer more damage. I believe that the testing is done on each vehicle against a barrier at a specific speed. Lighter vehicles do just do better at a specific speed. As I said before, if a pickup and a light car are hit by a semi the result is going to be the same.

If you are serious about your driving and safety and you are concerned about the cost of gas you will be enviromentally responsible by buying the light vehicle and installing a full roll cage and wear a helmet, fire proof suit and full 6 point racing harness. We all see the race car that hits the wall at 200 mph and the driver walks away. It is bogus to say that you need a big car to be safe. We as a population are just incapable of spending the money and suffering the inconvenience that proven and accessable safety equipment can provide today.

I am just as guilty as the next person in wanting to not be inconvenienced by not installing all that safety equipment in my current cars. Hope I never regret it.

Gary

[Kevin A]

Several posts were removed from this thread tonight. Here's a reminder to keep the discussions civil. Personal opinions and factual information is welcome in this type discussion, misguided assumptions/personal attacks towards fellow posters are not.

[Gage]

And I haven't said a thing. Been to busy laughing at some of the knowlege that has been shown by some. Think about it.

In the beginning, didn't Bruce ask "DOES ANYONE HERE OWN A MINI"?

[Creamcracker]

Several posts were removed from this thread tonight. Here's a reminder to keep the discussions civil. Personal opinions and factual information is welcome in this type discussion, misguided assumptions/personal attacks towards fellow posters are not.

Thanks Kevin. Bruce think of the Mini as though it were Dr. Who's TARDIS, small on the outside, BIG on the inside, it'll take you on adventures through time and space! and everyone will want to come for the ride.
Philip

[reo-ron]

Our good friends have an"s" with manual trans and we both just returned from a 1700 mile trip to the Gulf coast. He drove the speed limit +5-10 MPH and averaged 29.9 MPG on the entire trip on Preminum fuel . I drove the same trip in my TDI VW Bug with 5 speed and averaged 45.3 MPG on diesel. I've driven his car several times on road trips and it's a blast to drive BUT it does ride more like a sports car and can get a little old after 6-7 hours of Interstate. If you by one ,then you need to live near a dealership!!! The service work and even maintenance is a pain to DIY. My buddy is an A&P aircraft mechanic and long time hot rod/custom car builder and he is often frustrated by the Dealer only mentality of the Mini"culture" . In Oklahoma there is only one dealer ship in the state! It's a little over 100 miles from here and thats a long way to get your oil change and warranty check up. The BMW dealer will NOT do Mini work.
Just my 2cents worth
REO-Ron

[PapaGene]

I have a 2003 MINI Cooper S, 70,000 miles purchased in 12/2002 and pull a 4X10 Hunter Shadow Tear Drop. We went to factory in Idaho to pick up TD and stopped at Minden, Nebr for ITG on way home to Tulsa, Ok. I am 76 years young, owned an independent VW Repair shop for 27 Years. Have owned all sorts of cars since I am a car nut. I have enjoyed owning and driving this car more than any car I ever owned. Very confortable to drive on long trips, both front seats have many adjustments. Grani has back trouble but can ride long hours on our trips.
Special Tire issue: They come with runflat tires like a lot ot other cars but are not necessary so most people change to regular tires at replacement time and carry a pressurized can of "fix a flat".
Dealer Only issue: There are independent MINI shops around, many are as well equipped as the dealer with tools and diagnostic equipment.
Accident issue: They have been tested as one of the safest cars. We have known of several that have been in serious accidents (cars were total losses) but have not heard of any serious injuries to drivers or passengers. Since the cars are so maneuverable you can avert a lot of accidents. Through the local and national forums we correspond with a lot of MINI owners. Speaking of forums, go to www.miniusa.com and you can build your MINI with the,color, equipment and options that you want. Go to the dealer and order that car, price shown on the website is the price you will pay. No discounts. Will take about eight weeks for delivery. Factory will keep you informed when your baby is born, when it reaches the dock, what ship it is traveling on from England, how many brothers and sisters it is traveling with, when it reaches the states and the dealer. Since everybody pays the same price for the new car, the used cars hold their resale value very well.
The MINI owners are much like the Tear Drop owners, is like a big family. They have MINI get togethers, local or state meetings for meals together, tours through interesting scenery or roads with twisty curves. Also national events like an earlier poster stated the MTTS, MINI Takes The States, started in California, ended in East Coast. MINI owners could particpate in any leg or the whole trip. We met them in St Louis, Mo for evening program, breakfast and pictures under the Arch next morning, traveled to Indianapolis, Ind, spent rest of day at the Indy 500 facilities and museum, then drove on the track. Had some 550 MINI's there. MINI USA was picking up the tab for the eats, admission fees etc. We go to the MITM (MINIS In The Mountains) at Copper Mountain every year. A lot of out friends are going to Las Vegas for a MINI meeting their next week.
My son, Jon has a 2004 MINI Cooper S which he tows a 4x8 Yoder Toter. He went with us to Idaho to pickup our Hunter. He kept up with us when I got to dicing with a Honda Sedan on a crooked section of the highway. We were cruising at 72MPH, passing the Honda in the curves and then the Honda would blast past us on the straightaways.
Our cars ar 1.6 L with superchargers. The 2007 and Clubman in the S model are still 1.6 L but have turbochargers. They have a few more HP and get a little better MPG. We have not been out any expensive repairs. We both enter Autocross events (timed events, laid out with rubber pylons on larger parking lots). About our only expense has been replacing tires that we have worn out.
Sorry this has gotten so long but tried to answer some of the points that have been expressed.

Gene

[MSG Hall]

thanks guys!

and thanks Gene, I do appreciate it! I can't build or see the mini my wife built because that portion of the site is blocked over here in Iraq. the dealership is 124 miles away from us and that is a concern. in a couple of years I will be retiring and the area I am going has a dealer with in 50 or so miles. that isn't much, being in the service, we are used to traveling.

I am looking forward to visiting the dealer when I get home. My wife will have to make the final decision then. thanks again!

[edlfrey]

I just wanted to add my bit on the service issue. I had all routine service performed by a local independent authorized BMW garage; no problems, good service but payed BMW prices. I took my MINI 200 miles one way, passing up a dealer that I did not like, to have warranty work performed. The distance may or may not be an issue depending on the number of warranty issues that you may have (luck of the draw) and your personal time constraints.

[PapaGene]

On the warranty, 5 years or 50,000 miles, however for the first 30,000 miles everything is covered except for gasoline. You can change your own oil and filter to keep from driving that 124 miles, just record it and use a synthetic oil. I prefer AMSOIL products because they have a warranty that if a dealer refuses to honor something because you have used Amsoil, they will take care of it and then handle it with the dealer or the manufacturer. Just make the dealer put it in writing.
The Clubman is about 9 inches longer, has more leg room in rear seat and can carry more luggage. There has been a third door added on the passenger side for easier access to rear seat. Engine, transmission and suspension are the same so it still has the famous go-cart handling that makes it so much fun to drive on twisty roads.
Bruce if your wife has made up a MINI from the website have her print it out and mail it to you. If you will e-mail me your mailing address I will have a brochure mailed to you. I am not associated with BMW or a MINI dealership as nearest dealer is 120 miles away but know people in the Okla Dealership, one of dealers in Chicago and also Denver Colo.
Also if you can log onto www.mc2magazine.com which is the web page for the MC2 Magazine that is devoted to MINI's.
An interesting test was run a couple years ago testing crash worthiness.
They crashed a MINI with a Ford 150 Pickup at 45MPH about 1/4 contact headon. Dummy in MINI could have walked away, Dummy in Pickup had to be cut out of truck. Back in the late 60's I was selling the VW bug and people were worried about the small car. But it was like the MINI, you could knock it around but very hard to crush it. Kinda like a cardboard box, much easier to crush a large box than a small one.
Bruce if you have any detailed questions you can e-mail me and I will try to answer them.
Gene