7/7/06

MCSa as a Daily Driver

It has been about 15 months (well, actually 14mo, 22d but who's counting) of ownership of my MCSa. Everything has been acting as normal, knock on wood, and I couldn't be happier. I currently use my MINI as a weekend, pleasure vehicle while I rely on my '02 malibu for my grunt work. Now before you go off on my daily driver, let me just say that it gets the job done. I have owned it since new and had absolutely zero problems, which is more than most can say about any car. Even my MINI has been at the dealer for a couple of reasons albeit minor issues.But I can't help but wonder how much longer that streak will last. Eventually I will have to get another daily driver to get me to and from work. This is where my current MINI comes in. Probably the biggest reason why I chose the MCSa was because of my daily commute, about 20 miles each way local. Not to mention that I could use a lot of practice on a manual to get up to speed so to speak.So recently I had an opportunity take my MINI to work and park her in the "company garage" while my boss was on vacation. I jumped at the chance to drive my MCSa and I had a blast. I found myself looking forward to the drive in the mornings while before I couldn't get it over with fast enough. I was able to zip in and out of traffic with authority all while not being a idiot and attracting unwanted road rage or the common speed trap. It was all about driving smarter and getting out of the way of those city busses and road hazards. All in all, it was fun.The major reason why I don't drive my MINI into work everyday is because I would then have to park it on the street durring the day, and with all the rowdy school kids passing through, I would go nuts worring about any potential vandelism. No thanks.So, a few years from now I could definitely see myself driving my MINI on a daily basis if I could find a safe spot for her to park. Then its on to my next "pleasure" vehicle... a newer turbo MINI, I presume, a manual at that.

6 comments:

Randy said...

Agreed. A major concern over my daily commute is (and was) a safe place to park my MINI.

I opted to park the MINI in the back 40 (so to speak) and then purchased a Wi-Fi webcam to be able to keep an eye on it from my desk :lol:

DanC said...

Great Idea! Keeping an eye on your MINI is never a bad thing. Perhaps I'll look into it for the future.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

My '03 Cooper is my daily driver. It's gonna hit 89K by this weekend. It's been to Chicago and back home (to SoCal), not to mention the three AMVIVs, trips to photograph the Fireball/MINI USA dragster in Phoenix several times, and many other jaunts up to Central and Northern Cal. On top of this, L.A. traffic!
My poor MINI is on its third Midlands tranny and second clutch, yet still bulldogging all over the place.
You can imagine the road knicks! Additionally, I work in a "high-crime" area and have a 2ft-long key scratch. All this no longer bothers me. Besides . . . "chicks dig scars!"

DanC said...

You're a lot stronger than I am, Juan, that's for sure! I barely hit 9k miles last week, and I'm starting to see some rock chips in the bonnet!.. but nothing significant. I figure once I get another car to baby,(in a few years perhaps) then I will be at a level where the battle scars won't bother me as much. But for now, she likes to stay nice and clean! "chicks dig shiny cars too" ;-)

Anonymous said...

What's with all the typos on this section?

DanC said...

give me a break, i have fat fingers!