Well, I'm proud of myself. I happened by a used car dealership and wound up taking a very serious look at the car I covet, a Mini Cooper. This particular Cooper was an S with the stick, sunroof and the bonnet stripes that I absolutely hate. The very first thing I checked out was the back seat, and there is indeed enough room for a forward facing child seat, which is a good thing. Next was the driver's seat, specifically the driving position, which at first was terrible, I couldn't see anything but the visor when looking straigh ahead, but after adjusting the seat hight I got a good line of sight. Then came the drive, totally amazing, I had forgotten what its like to drive a car that doesn't have the world's most inept, retarded clutch. Basically, I fell in love and was offered a pretty good deal on my trade-in to boot. So did I pull the trigger? Nope. I was able to control myself, to think of the higher purchase price, insurance premiums and maintenance costs of the supercharger, and to consider the black leather and giant sunroof with its opaque shade in the middle of summer. I also really hate those f@#king bonnet stripes, even worse on this particular car since they were the checkered ones, not solid white or black. So there you have it, I was tempted and able to show restraint. Alas, tomorrow is another day, and there is another dealership with a yellow Cooper thats calling my name....

Not to mention if you get hit from behind it won't matter that your kid is in a car seat or not, there is not much protection if you get hit from behind. I do hope you mean hood stripes, I don't know many people in Springfield, MO, that call them Bonnet Stripes. UK yes, Springfield, MO, No. :rotflmao:

Edited June 2, 200718 yr by Pontiac Custom-S

Come on... How many times have you seen me fall in love with a car and not buy it?

Come on... How many times have you seen me fall in love with a car and not buy it?

1,351,893?

And they're bonnet stripes, dammit! I can kinda get away with it since my mom lives in England.

1,351,893?

And they're bonnet stripes, dammit! I can kinda get away with it since my mom lives in England.

You mean your mum, right?

I love Mini Coopers. It would have been hard.

So those Bonnet Stripes are Ugly? Come on that is the Pride of the Union Jack and its vehicles.

The Mini Cooper S is a fun vehicle. Bravo for resisting. I do not like its Fisher Price mimicking controls.

What petrol grade does it use? :AH-HA_wink:

The only 2 things that would not make me buy that car would be the sunroof and the bonnet stripes (hood stripes if you prefer ).

I'm planning on buying a kayak in the coming weeks, which would necessitate some sort of roof rack or carrying device on any car I own, and I'm pretty sure a Cooper would look hella-awkward with a kayak on top, plus I'm not sure I would be able to get the Mini accessory roof rack on a car equipped with the big-ass sunroof. From just looking at it, my bike carrier will barely fit on the hatch, which would also look odd.

Sounds like you could use an HHR, Satty.

I saw one in Amethyst yesterday and still love how it looks in that color. But right now, if I unload the Fusion, its for a Mini, the small size (10 inches shorter than an Aveo 5) and excellent economy and handling have me hooked. Now if Chevy offered a genuine 3-door, shorter wheelbase HHR I would definitely consider it.

I wouldn't be too surprised to see something like that from Chevy in the next few years.

Give me the Trax or the Groove with a decent interior and 120hp and we're good. I'll be a good boy and at least wait to try out an Astra before making a move.

Give me the Trax or the Groove with a decent interior and 120hp and we're good. I'll be a good boy and at least wait to try out an Astra before making a move.

Astra looks great but I would imagine the Mini is a better handler.

I think everyone here knows I have as much willpower from

buying a car I desire and CAN afford as a lioness in Africa

has in terms of stopping itself from devouring a Gazzele when

it has not eaten in two weeks.

I mean I'm pretty much broke and yet I drag home a B-body

wagon with 65% of a transmission and try ti justify this as

responsible behavior.

I think everyone here knows I have as much willpower from

buying a car I desire and CAN afford as a lioness in Africa

has in terms of stopping itself from devouring a Gazzele when

it has not eaten in two weeks.

I mean I'm pretty much broke and yet I drag home a B-body

wagon with 65% of a transmission and try ti justify this as

responsible behavior.

That will pretty much stop once those child support payments kick in.

I have no will power. I have bought all my vehicles on impulse. I just can't stop myself

If I had the money, I would not have the willpower (but then that probably goes for most of us)

If I had the money, I would not have the willpower (but then that probably goes for most of us)

*nods*

Indeed.

I've had to say "no" a few too many times more than I'd like to admit ... but, such is life.

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Finding out the hard way what freedom means" ... Baillie and the Boys ... 'Wilder Days'

Willpower. Do not have it. I am up to my eyeballs restoring a 1957 Buick wagon right now, and can tell you honestly that I am still looking for a car that I can drive right NOW. Have a tempting offer on a '56 Bel Air. Still want my '86 Berlinetta Camaro with digital dash. It scares me to think what it would be like if I had disposable income...how many cars will I own!!

As for the Mini Cooper S...I would love one. But I will never EVER put my kids in one. Their heads are on the back window!! The proposition of getting hit is too scary for me to have them in there. Same went for our New Beetle. Great little car. No way was I letting my kids ride in it any more. Gas Mileage be damned!

You know the kayak I mentioned above? For now I'm keeping the Fusion, and am still afraid it'll be awkward to get the kayak on and off of it. Plus, I want to get one of these sometime later this year or next year, so a roof rack isn't feasible. That brings me to crappy van shopping. I'm talking things in the $3-500 range, in that range I've found a few running, barely presentable Aerostars and Caravans and the like. One that I'm interested in is a $250 first gen Voyager with a good motor but the tranny only has first hear (a bad transmission from Chrysler? shocking!) and a decent body/interior. Considering I'm going to take the rear seats out and throw a wet kayak and dirty bike in it, it seems perfect, as long as I can get a new transmission. The same place (an extremely shady dealership on the wrong side of town with a large selection of beaters) has an older Ford Ranger that started up and sounded good but has a flat tire and no spare, so I couldn't cruise it around the lot, its a stick so replacing the whole tranny wont be an issue (hopefully) but the clutch may be. The Ranger is $100 more than the Voyager, but I'd rather have the enclosed security of a van.

I'm sure you can find a tranny for cheap.

Satty-what about an older work Van?

A guy who used to work for me had a 91 Chevy Cargo van (in white) and he put all his bike and hockey stuff in there.

I think he picked it up for like 950 or something like that...though it had 190k on it.

He likes it a lot, and plans to drop a new engine in the van when it blow up....

I'd consider, actually prefer, a full size fan, easier to work on and generally cheaper, just a bit tough to get ahold of, seems they get run into the ground then go straight to the junkyard. Gotta go with what I can get my hands on. SUVs and trucks are pricier than vans, minivans and station wagons, and I dont want to put too much money into something that will only get a few hundred miles a year.

Beater wagons are great! I'd definitely go that route.

That will pretty much stop once those child support payments kick in.

My financial situation IS in the process of getting complicated but

if I can not afford to buy an occassional $412 beater wagon than

I will be pretty much f%$*ed. So far I've been semi-successful at

keeping things on an even keel with Marcia. I keep reminding her

that if not for me for Sofia's sake we need to be reasonable.

My financial situation IS in the process of getting complicated but

if I can not afford to buy an occassional $412 beater wagon than

I will be pretty much f%$*ed. So far I've been semi-successful at

keeping things on an even keel with Marcia. I keep reminding her

that if not for me for Sofia's sake we need to be reasonable.

Well I hope it works out for you 68, but seen it to many times, things like this seem to get nastier as time goes on. I hope it doesn't for all involved. Peace!

If I could find a Celebrity wagon or a Country Squire or something of that ilk, I'd be all over it, because lets face it, they'll run forever with minimal investment, which would be nice for something that will barely be used.

I have absolutely no willpower for cars now. I was offered another Lesabre T-Type in an email sent to me and I want to buy it. A white 89 T-Type with 226k kms and almost no rust. The seller is also including almost enough T-Type parts to build another vehicle. He still hasn't gotten back to me with pics and a price but he needs to go car shopping first I believe. He responded to an ad before i bought my T and would like someone like me to buy it who knows how rare they are and would take care of it. My T-Type is clean today though. Got all water spots off of the car. I also bought an FM transmitter for my Ipod so it will play through the original stereo. It works perfect. I would rather keep the original cassette w/ equalizer lol than buy a new CD player. I don't have any CDs anymore anyways. All of my music is on my Ipod.

I'm practicing a lot of willpower now as far as cars... I just don't want a car payment, but I've got the new car itch.. maybe in 6-12 months. I'm also in the process of leaving a job that I've been at almost 5 years, leaving a stable, good salaried job for a contract that looks to be more fun (and pay more also).

I sent an entire years worth of savings into Mutual Funds/RRSP's/Stock... so without too much money burning a hole in my pocket, I have plenty of willpower.

The only vehicles that appeal to me, and I can afford are later-year, 3rd Gen, F-Bodies... but I'd rather save for that new Camaro, or a used GTO.