When I stopped by the Smart dealership last Monday, I tried to take the key to one of the demo Smart cars (accidentally) and the salesman snatched it back, joking that the car was no orphan. I knew I couldn't adopt it. I couldn't even get one of the model cars, for crap sakes. I left the Smart dealership disheartened that it would be another year before a Smart car might make it to my driveway. The blizzard swirled around me as I trudged back to my van. With the horrible weather, I knew the freeway would be crawling.
I drove across the street to the BMW dealership to wait out the blizzard. I'd already scored a free cup of tea at Smart, and I thought BMW might have Starbucks or something even better. I was right. I arrived in the middle of the Midnight Madness promotion. A coffee barista and a DJ were setting up their equipment amidst all the German sedans in the middle of the showroom.
I clomped in the front doors, stomping the snow off my Sorel boots. The corduroy jacket I bought on clearance down at the Red Wing Mall felt hot against my neck. The BMW dealership has premium heaters. The snow melted off the rubber part of my boots in seconds.
I got my cup of coffee and climbed the stairs to the second level to kill some time looking at the new Mini Coopers. The tiny hoods sparkled under the showroom lights. The alloy wheels gleamed. A salesperson came over to offer me a test drive. I thought, what the heck, I might as well take one for a spin. He pulled around a black and yellow bumblebee-like demo car to the side door of the dealership. I hopped it, put in gear, and took it for a spin in the snow.
I tried to drive it off the road a couple of times and the electronic stability control took over, keeping the car firmly on the street. I slammed on the brakes really hard to test the ABS at a four way stop. My Echo would have flown through the stop sign, but the Mini made a little clunking sound as the ABS engaged and then it stopped. Dead. Like I was on dry pavement. What a proficient little car.
So, all it took was a test drive and I was hooked. I called my hubby on my mobile phone and told him I had a BMW for him. He likes them quite a bit, even though I grossly mock BMWs as giant yuppie-mobiles. After my husband arrived at the dealership and fortified himself at the Red Bull bar (another Midnight Madness promotion), we took a little black and silver Mini out for a spin.
I bought it. Impulsively.
Well, a bit impulsively. I scored an awesome discount since I adopted an orphan Mini that someone else ordered and never picked up. Plus, the latest issue of Consumer Reports gave it the highest ratings possible. (If you're a cheapskate like me, Consumer Reports is akin to the consumer bible.) CNET ranked the Mini up with the glorious Audi TT and a bunch of expensive Mercedes that cost more than a really nice mobile home. Yeah, a new Mercedes or a new home in the trailer park? What do you think I'd choose?
So a little after 12:00 AM on April 1st, a Mini Cooper accompanied me home. I was forced to leave my conversion van in the BMW parking lot overnight, since my hubby drove his trusty Ford up to the dealership. But everything turned out okay in the end. We picked up my beloved conversion van the next day. Right now it's parked out in the drive behind the Mini.
Okay, just in case a few of you still think I reported buying a BMW just as an April Fool's Joke - here's a video to prove it. Shot right here in Farmington - Check out Mary reporting live from the garage:
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Congratulations Mary! I love Minis, currently saving up for a Mini Clubman. Love the racing stripes on your new toy :)
ReplyDeleteGrats!
ReplyDeleteWow, a mini. I always thought about getting one of those as well, but the fast and furious version, not the slow and serious. Lots of history in that style of car! Grats again!
Dan
Josh - the Clubman is very cool. I love how the back doors swing open like the back doors on my conversion van. This is a very clever design for loading cargo easily. I hope you find the perfect Clubman. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the racing stripes too. I love cars with stickers on them, and the bigger, the better.
Dan - Thanks for the congrats. The turbo Mini version is out there for you fast and furious type drivers. I bet you'd make it up to work a bit faster. The turbo would tear up Highway 52. :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks really good and I hear they are a blast to drive but owner friends say its efficiency isn't much to write home about. I've seen two Smarts on the road in only one week and my estimator said March of 09 for mine to come in. Maybe by then crude will be trading at $150/bbl (crude prices have broken records every other day in the last month or so and is now sitting on the threshold of $120/bbl, so it doesn't seem like a far fetched prediction) and I won't feel so dumb for waiting. In the mean time, I'll keep riding my Triumph motorbike.
ReplyDeleteI've averaged 31.9 miles per gallon for the past 1400 miles in the Mini. Around two-thirds of the miles were city driving, since I usually leave the stop-and-go jumble on the freeway and drive on side streets to work. The gas mileage seems acceptable for the quick acceleration and nice handling. The Smart is a much slower accelerator, but I've seen reports of 41+ miles per gallon on the Smart forums. I am still on the waiting list for a Smart. I might just get the Smart when it comes available and give the Mini to my husband to drive, since his car is at 170k and 14 years of age.
ReplyDelete