Ok, it's hereinafter referred to as bmw.

It's not just Watford Gap; the M62 corridor is a f cukpig too.

There are isolated areas of emptiness in North Herts or most of Scotland, for example.

 

in 1997 i got from Nottingham to Iver heath in about 70 minutes

i doubt you could do that in a veyron these days unless you travelled at 2am?

 

sounds about right, based on where I am at the moment

unfortunately I want a few bits extra that aren't in the Chili pack so it's north of £18K

the new engine is very good - lots of mid-range grunt and impossible to detect it's a diesel once over walking speeds

at idle the noise is pretty well suppressed

you can detect the extra nose-heaviness but it doesn't have a negative impact on the ride or handling

I am now building up to a nice migraine doing the sums on keeping mine vs trading in

with all the associated variables...

at the moment it looks a better bet to keep the One till 2011 because the short term depreciation is at its worst

we'll see, courtesy of Excel

 

WON'T!

 

It has gone. I buy everyday cars based on what I need and I don't need the MINI and it's particular attributes now.

10 months, 17,000 miles, didn't even get to the first service.

Delivered over 40mpg in that time and zero road tax and cheap insurance.

Nothing needed fixing so it never saw a dealer.

I managed to get it through the time I owned it without putting a serious mark on it, so it looked new when it went.

Best of all, due to the timing of purchase and it also being £2K subsidised by an on-its-lags-scrappage car, depreciation was a princely £1K.

It was cracking little car, but not suited to long trips.

The firm suspension meant it was hilarious to punt about for short blats but any longer and the jarring would get to you.

To be fair, it would be OK on long, boring drives, but in those circumstances, it's nice to have something more cosseting.

If you drove it at legal speeds, 50mpg was possible and it was more than powerful enough for most drivers.

The other thing that sealed its fate was that I've started some new businesses that mean I have to carry more stuff, and sometimes people. The MINI carrying capacity is fine for a shopping car or for one passenger, but three or four people and anything else is to be avoided.

When I bought it, I thought I'd pass it on to my other half, but she never really liked it (too small, too few doors).

It will be a good buy for the next owner and I'd recommend owning one - but check what you need before you buy.

 

So what's it been replaced with?
And how are things on the "something wicked" front?

 

New beater search should be completed today. Requirements were 40mpg, auto, comfortable, spacious, easy to service, four/five door, hatch or estate, toys, up to the value of the outgoing MINI and suitable to pass on to swmbo idc. See if you can guess.

I have £XXK sitting in a start up business finance fund which I really shouldn't spend...something wicked would scratch an itch but I'm very focussed on these new ventures and am in the middle of a major tender

If all goes well with those anything is possible so I can wait

I'd like to talk to you about one of the businesses when you are next around - let me know when you are about