to bad the US, king of all SUV countries, doesn't get the Smarts. i'm not exactly sure, so don't quote me on this, but europe and japan have these small cars b/c of the lack of space. don't they also have fewer accidents then we do?? we must be doing something wrong

 

Oh you guys don't get them? There's a bunch already around Calgary...I wonder why Canada gets them...?

 

Yeah in most european countries its A LOT harder to get a driver's license than in North America...that's probably partially to blame for how much we suck at driving

 

not to mention it's EXPENSIVE to get a license elsewhere around the world...

 

guys.. leave the guy alone.. he wants to get a Mini... more power to him.

One thing I'm curious about is how the heel does your car need a new clutch already????

 

This thread needs a whaaaambulance!

 

My brother owns a mini cooper S. He's getting around 26mpg driving hard. He's looking to trade it in for a mini s convertible which are getting 31mpg..
I drove his car. It was fun to drive and peppy because it was so light. I wouldn't buy anything other than an S tho. W/O that supercharger, damn it's weak.

 

I have a MINI Cooper 1.6 115ps (not the S) and it is a great car!!
I use it for city driving and it is the best car to do the job
the 8, on the other hand, is in its own class...

 

i've done some earlier John Cooper WORKS kits and i must say, for $7000, it's not worth it at all.

all it basically consists of his a better flowing head, bigger supercharger (same size pulley, i think), injectors, air box, catback exhaust, and reprogramming of the DME (computer). i think you get a whopping 40 hp. and you really don't feel any difference. maybe a small amount in the midrange.

there are some other companies out there that offer better hp figures.

 

It'll be here next year. I've seen several on the road already, imported from Canada I presume. In Dallas, SUV country, of all places.

As for on-topic, this guy must owe money on his car as he's worried about getting enough to get out from under it. So I'm betting he owes a pretty good chunk. Trading in a car that you're likely to lose several thousand dollars on to save $30/week on gas is just plain stupid.

If you lose $4,000 on the trade (which wouldn't be unheard of at all) it will take you 3 years to pay that difference off.

And how does someone who puts "every penny they make" into an $80/week gas bill afford an RX-8?

 

well
good luck
its all good

My 8 still makes me smile

the mini is just not my style

 

Heed this thread as a warning to all those that decide to trade in their 8 for whatever reason

 

 

wow...this rx-8 board is really something. Everytime a member leaves to get another car, you all jump down his throat. Can you say "INSECURITY"? Why not wish him luck? He never put down the Rx-8, he just stated the experience he had with it.

Same thing happened here as to the thread regarding someone moving over to a C5, an S2000 or a 350z. I'll bet we'll still see complaints if someone decided to upgrade to a Ferrari or something.

 

Trading the car is one thing - but giving bad excuses is what brings this out in people.

Saying he can't afford the gas money on a $30k car, blaming dents and such, saying the car is less safe than a Mini, etc...all lead to owners being somewhat defensive because it's sorry excuses like this that pollute this site.

If he had simply said "The RX8 is not for me, I think I'll try my luck with a different car", he would have had far less replies.

 

He said the mini was safer than the RX-8. Still waiting to hear the reasoning....that's my only qualm.

 

oh geez...

 

eh the mini is nice, but my friends is in the shop more than my FD (and any rotorhead knows thats an assload) but most all of it is coverd by MINI... BMW is just really good about that stuff

not to menton he was one of the first people to get one, so its probably finiky

p.s. he has 25k on it and is on his second clutch, just somthing to think about

 

1/4 mile in 14.8??.....ok....unless I missed that article, I just looked at saw the mini-s listed at 15.2-15.8 in the 1/4??...not even close to 14.8?

Car and driver had it here

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

not even close to 14.8?.....

 

did notice after 40miles they got it down to 15.2 in the 1/4....not bad

 

tranny/clutch issues have a lot to do with the driver aswell dont blame it all on mazda

 

I agree people are being a little hard on him, but he's got a bit of a history on here for this type of thing, so he had to expect it was coming.

 

You can buy a LOT of gas for the hit you're going to take on the trade.

If that's what you want...by all means go for it. I wish you luck.

My friend has a Mini that has been nothing but troubles for him.....

 

Some questions:

1. Why is everyone so upset that he wants to trade in his car? It isn't like he's trading in YOUR car...

2. Why does he feel the need to post about trading in his car? If he wants feedback about the mini, couldn't he maybe post in a less inflammatory manner?

3. Has he done a cost analysis of gas savings vs increased payments? At this point in the life of his car, he could be very deep in the tub and the payments might be exceptionally high, outweighing the decreased gas costs.

4. Again, why is everyone so upset? The 8 isn't for everyone... don't we all know this?

Anyway, this is what I was going to say when I initially read his post:

"Good luck on the mini... You might want to make sure that you'll actually be saving money with the trade, though..."

 

people aren't upset, more like annoyed by his constant whining that no one wants to hear...