Last week's melodrama surrounding the "older" of our two 1996 Chevrolet Camaro's had my wife and me on the brink of shopping for something to replace it. What makes shopping for a new car challenging is that I don't want just something but something special. The only way to do that and be really happy with our purchase is for us to drive every vehicle we're interested in. It's a time-consuming process but when the time comes we'll only have to worry about color and options on what we want. However, walking into dealerships to only take test drives is easier said than done. Today's blog is as much about a couple of 2015 Mini Coopers as it is about how difficult it is to simply test drive cars with no intention of actually buying them.
Out on a fairly busy I-480 south of downtown Cleveland you'd never know this very substantial feeling little car only had a three-cylinder engine - this thing can really go. The engine is turbocharged and at 1.5 liters this "three" is cylinder for cylinder not a "small" motor. Still, three cylinders. What's more, it handled like a slot car and had brakes to die for. Despite lacking a power seat, it was very comfortable and the interior was luxurious. Quite a car. Again, despite being a three cylinder.
As good as the orange Cooper was, my wife loved the color, this silver white Cooper "S" was even better. Thanks to a turbocharged 2.0 liter inline four-cylinder engine and a 17-inch wheel and tire package, it was as screaming a high-performance car as I've ever driven. Granted, I was doing suburban driving and was not on a race track but around town where most driving is done, you'd be hard-pressed to want for more than what a Mini Cooper S has to offer. If that sounds like cheesy ad copy so be it; this is a great car. And my wife was over the top in love with it as well. Score.
After the second test drive, my wife didn't drive the S in the interest of saving time, we then faced the challenge of getting out of the dealership. What ensured was a near hour long beat down with our very accommodating but super aggressive sales kid. Remember that my wife and I had absolutely no plans what-so-ever to buy a car last weekend and our jaunt to the Mini dealership was nothing more than research based. It also sucked up some time on a shoot-me-hot Saturday afternoon before we had dinner and went to the movies. Back and forth and back and forth he went between us and his sales manager carving a hundred bucks off here, fifty there to the point where the terms were ridiculously good. To make matters worse we had no rebuttal other than "we need to sleep on it". I almost pulled the trigger on it, it's not like we don't need a new car for crying out loud but this would bring my fleet to six, but my cooler head prevailed.
Bottom line is the only time car dealerships will let you test a car is if you fain actual interest in buying something. Otherwise you're a time suck not to mention a liability. Test drives are, though, an essential part of the car buying process and I recommend you take the car out for as long as you want and don't be concerned about keeping the salesperson cooped up in the back seat for extended periods of time. It's part of their job.
We eventually did get out of there and we could see how frustrated our sales kid and his sales manager were with us. Sorry, guys. We had a plate of enchiladas and a movie to get to. If anything, when the time does come, we are going to buy a 2015 vintage Mini Cooper S hopefully in volcanic orange. Oh, and my phone just went off again - it's the Mini dealership wondering if we're still interested in the car. We most certainly are but not right now.
With our budget at no more than $20,000, hoping to spend less, and wanting no vehicle with more than 30,000 miles on it, again, preferably less, our options are fairly limited. Especially if I want something "special"; my wife claims she'd be happy with something that was just reliable. Her tune changed after I got her behind the wheel of this "volcanic orange" Mini Cooper.
I've heard great things about Mini's since BMW took them over from The Rover Group back in 2000. Prior to that, I didn't take them seriously as real cars. I thought they were ugly, weird and they reeked of that awful Brit arrogance. Incidentally, Mini's have been around since 1959 and are as commonplace "over there" as bad teeth.
I'd never considered one of these before last weekend believing they were too expensive. Strangely enough, they popped up through my filters during one of my myriad cars.com searches. Mini Cooper's are pricey - when they're new. Their resale value is not what you'd think it would be especially considering they're defacto BMW's. This very nicely equipped 2015 Cooper with just 20,000 miles on it has an asking price of $14,999. A comparable 2015 V-6 Mustang is going to be a at least a grand more if not two grand more; same for a Camaro. Dodge Challenger's are even more. Why? Not sure. When this little car was new it stickered for north of $35,000. Kid you not, mate.
On paper, this car makes no sense what-so-ever. It's so small, so cute, so, so...girlie. It has a three-cylinder engine too making it seem all the more golf cart like to me. This was going to be a short test drive. So I thought.
On paper, this car makes no sense what-so-ever. It's so small, so cute, so, so...girlie. It has a three-cylinder engine too making it seem all the more golf cart like to me. This was going to be a short test drive. So I thought.
Out on a fairly busy I-480 south of downtown Cleveland you'd never know this very substantial feeling little car only had a three-cylinder engine - this thing can really go. The engine is turbocharged and at 1.5 liters this "three" is cylinder for cylinder not a "small" motor. Still, three cylinders. What's more, it handled like a slot car and had brakes to die for. Despite lacking a power seat, it was very comfortable and the interior was luxurious. Quite a car. Again, despite being a three cylinder.
Bottom line is the only time car dealerships will let you test a car is if you fain actual interest in buying something. Otherwise you're a time suck not to mention a liability. Test drives are, though, an essential part of the car buying process and I recommend you take the car out for as long as you want and don't be concerned about keeping the salesperson cooped up in the back seat for extended periods of time. It's part of their job.
We eventually did get out of there and we could see how frustrated our sales kid and his sales manager were with us. Sorry, guys. We had a plate of enchiladas and a movie to get to. If anything, when the time does come, we are going to buy a 2015 vintage Mini Cooper S hopefully in volcanic orange. Oh, and my phone just went off again - it's the Mini dealership wondering if we're still interested in the car. We most certainly are but not right now.
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