Mike J

Well, we are just passing a milestone - my oldest just completed her degree (double major in computer science and english) and will be moving from Vancouver to Mountain View to work at Google full time in mid-October. YAHH - the first one off the payroll!

I made a deal with her in Gr. 11 -> if she got a full-ride scholarship at a University, I will buy her a Mini. Well, darn it, she actually did that and maintained it with a good GPA, so we will be buying her favourite car (not, not a 993 - that is the younger one) when she moves down.

Given I live in Vancouver, finding a good car, purchasing it, and all the logistics of that (like title assurance, etc) in California are unknown to me, so I thought I would ask some of my buddies on the list for help.

Our contribution is $15K, she may contribute a bit more for a sweet car. She can drive a standard, but I doubt she needs an S (I suggested that and my wife comes back with "thats YOUR choice, not hers" - and she is right! )

So, a few questions:

- what were the best years? (I have an idea but thought I would ask). She likes the standard coupes
- anyone know of a good used Mini they can vouch for in the SF area? She would like one with colour, like green, blue, not black or white.
- would it be better to deal with a dealer or reputable show than craigslist and private deals ?
- where would be the best place for a PPI and to have it serviced (given she does not know cars, and I am quite far away)
- what would be the best company to insure the car? (She is 22, driving for over 5 years, no accidents and zero traffic violations) (Google might have a discount program - we need to look at that).

and so on. Help is always appreciated!

Cheers,

Mike

bobboinski

Mike, I recently had a good experience with Geico. While on vacation our rental car was hit in a parking lot by a local. Geico didn't argue, handled everything and were incredibly polite to boot. We don't use Geico but I was impressed by their service.

tanger

FWIW, she may want to wait on buying a car if she is living in the city. My sister also works for Google, they have a pretty sweet bus (w wifi) that picks up at several locations in the city and drives down to Mountainview. My sister has a car, but rarely ever uses it (parking is a complete PIA). Lots of good transportation options (Uber, Getaround, etc.) that "almost" negate the need for a car.

That being said, i would never be without a car but just something to consider.

eddie_993

I recommend autotrader.com or craigslist to find one. I wanted one of those things years ago and remember that the first 1 or 2 years are to stay away from but I do not recall exactly why.

I personally hate buying from dealers. Craigslist is a hit and miss but you will find many owners on there with full docs. If not, that's why I recommended autotrader, usually better stock to be found.

Can't help you with a mechanic, though, as I'm not from there.

samsnead

Hi Mike,

Congrats on your daughters achievements.

I just went through the process of searching for a Mini as a DD several months ago.

I live in the NYC area, and the roads can be quite rough so I opted for the justa Mini(non S). It is geared quite aggressively so around town it is quite fun, but gutless on the highway and being a 5 speed revs quite high.

I personally like the earlier styling, so I purchased a 2006 with 50k miles for just over $10k from a Mini dealer. Car was relatively clean and it seems like a lot fo car for the money.

When I was looking, there were a lot of options for $15k. Many of these cars were low miles, and in speaking with the owners it seems as though they are quite popular with the 60+ crowd. They seem to purchase the car and end up selling a few years later since they barely drive them.

Having just been to the bay area, there are a lot of Minis in the area, so I am sure that you will not have a problem finding a nice example for $15k. If she is to look at the 1st gen 2003-2006, avoid the automatics since they are quite problematic.

Good luck!

007DT

Congrats to your daughter!!

Rennlist seller here. I've purchased a GZt3 from and an all around good guy to buy from. Obviously a cherry and somewhat rare mini FS in Rlist classified section.

https://rennlist.com/forums/vehicle-...-included.html

pirahna

We bought my wife's Clubman S at MINI of Concord and had a great experience.

asofine

As a Vancouverite who once lived in the Bay Area (working in Mountain View) and had plenty of Googler friends: your daughter probably won't need a car if she's living in SF. Transportation to/from the office can (/should) be done exclusively via Google's buses, and owning a car in SF is a royal pain in the butt. I would highly recommend she spend a few weeks/months living in SF before deciding whether to purchase a car.

pirahna

If living in SF itself sure there might not be any need for a car. If living in Mountain View I would definitely want a car.

David A

Check out theses classifieds and if I can help, please let me know.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...cat.php?cat=20

firesm

That car is:

- almost $30K
- white
- and in Bellevue, Wa

Chris V

Mike- here is some hopefully helpful info...

Personally, I'd buy from a private party over a dealer because the dealers are just recycling the trade-ins and auction cars for premium amounts.

If your budget is $15k, then you're realistically looking at a car priced at $13k in order to have enough left over for sales tax and DMV registration. Tax runs about 9%

There are a lot (over 200) used minis on CL in the San Francisco Bay Area in the $9k to $13k range...like this low mileage yellow one:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/4017186959.html


There is a good indie mid-way between san francisco and mountain view that can give you info on years or models to stay away from. I suggest you call and tell them what you're looking for and they can give you some good advice. They also offer PPI service. http://www.hollandcarcare.com/

Make sure that the SELLER provides a smog certificate, you can't get the car registered without it. If the seller doesn't want to go thought the hassle of providing it then walk.

Mike J

Thanks, seeing great info!

As far as needing a car or not, she has interned for two summers at Google already, and knows the ropes for the bus system, etc. If you get a place near the Google bus routes, you can certainly get to work to and fro, but regardless, to go shopping or travel on the weekend, she will definitely need a car. The valley is typical spread out malls with lousy bus service, so getting groceries is tough using the bus. She did that for 8 months.

She had decided not to live in SF city at this time, the commute is too long. On her first summer, she was in bicycle range, but after a few crashes (one major) she stopped doing that.

So the car would most likely not for commuting to work, but for shopping and weekend travel.

Keep er coming.

Cheers,

Mike

RonCT

Great story and so familiar. Surprised my daughter with something like this as well, but during college as she was taking taxis everywhere, bumming rides, etc. (and to places like mentoring for city youth). She came home for Christmas break and she asked "where's dad" and my wife said "he's in the garage working on something". She opened the door and screamed and nearly passed out. I had to explain many times that she earned the car through her hard work over so many years (and saved me a fortune in tuition). Repeated the scream / pass-out when she started packing the wagon to go back and I said "why aren't you packing the Mini?!?" - she didn't think she could take it back with her.

After checking out dozens of prospects I ended up with the dealer route on a 3 year old CPO car, meaning it had 3 more years of warranty service (still covered now). I went with the S (it's what they had that checked out perfectly) and negotiated a great price (sales guy slipped and said "make an offer, it's going to auction on Saturday" - I said "tell your manager I'll pay auction and save you the transportation cost and risk" - they didn't think I meant it and on Friday night got the call and the number came down another $2k to fair auction price). To do it over again, I'd avoid the S and stick with the regular as that has a spare and runs on regular tires. It's a fun enough car and doesn't need the turbo (not for her anyway). She drives stick as well.

Sunroof and heated seats were really the only "must have" items for our climate.

Amazing how much you can load in with the seats down. Pretty fun / practical if you can believe that.

I like CarGurus, Autotrader, Cars.com, and the dealer network. Sometimes I try aol autos as that tries to strip from other sources.

Seattle Mini has a 2009 base in green with white roof, sunroof, manual, $15k price and 35k miles. Not sure if it's CPO but that's a negotiated item (coverage to 2016 would be nice).

Good luck and congratulations!!!

NC TRACKRAT

IMHO, the 2005-2006 MINI Cooper S (R53) Coupes are the ones to get. Better gear ratios, more dependable, more options (LSD, Chrono Gauge Package are desireable). Well-cared-for, low mileage ones are difficult to find but worth the hunt. The 2006 MINI GP (only 415 in the U.S.) is a hoot and as much fun as a 993 (and they have heated seats, too!). The standard MINI (non-S) is a slug compared to the S.
Many MINI's here (Great Forum, too):
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...e/cars/search/