I was in the same situation.

I found a low mileage Jeep Cherokee Limited. (2000 w/ 50k)
Decent mileage, 4x4, decent capacity, can tow, not a boring ride, and they last.
Leather, heated seats, full & part time 4x.
Not always easy to find but right in the price range.
Has been a GREAT daily driver.

 

although jeeps don't get grt gas mileage...they do last forever...I have owned a ton of them for my daily driver...found a '97 wrangler 350 V-8 conversion, but they want too much...12K...6k would be plenty,, but it was a grt conversion...but there are a ton of them from 5K up....

 

The trouble with Jeeps right now is the weather. No one will cut a deal on a 4WD with all this snow on the ground.

I am looking at Mini Cooper S's though. There's a nice on in Connecticut for $8k. But that's a long drive to see if it's worth it.

 

I can look for you around here....I turn in mine in July and looking for me an older one for a dailey driver....should give up the police work in July if all goes well....but, who knows....anyway...I will keep my eye out for you, but you are worse than my wife, going from one car to another....lol

 

Hmmm... Chevy Cobalt SS with 23,000 miles for $13k...
Still a fart-can, but at least it has some horsepower and some options...


Ugh. If the SRT-6 was just better in the snow, I'd buy another one!

 

buy an NA stick, put on some good snow tires....and there you go...it could even be a roadster for summer...best of both worlds...you have an SRT...don't need 2....did I just say that....lol

 

Well, it's a done deal. I am the proud new owner of a Mini Cooper S, blue with white bonnet stripes. I'd rather have had red, but I got a really good deal. I can pick it up on Monday. I'll try to post a pic.

It's funny, in the price range I was trying to meet, there weren't any good cars. Everything that even came close to fitting the bill made me cringe for at least one reason. Then I figured out that I could put more money down than I thought, which opened up some better cars.

I spent all day today (and most of the evenings this week, scouring the internet, & test driving cars. I tried a Scion tC, a Cobalt, Cobalt SS, VW Rabbit, VW GTI, and even a Jeep Liberty. In each one, I was non-nonplussed. Then I sat in a Mini Cooper S and got excited. Then I drove it and I was really excited. It was almost the same feeling I had when I bought my SRT-6. That's when I knew that I needed to spend the extra money and buy the Mini. What's 2 grand between friends? LOL! Thankfully Uncle Sam will be sending me 2 grand in a few weeks, so it should balance out in the end. Thank God I don't have to drive something I'll hate! I was starting to get really depressed about it!

 

Here you go Tom. I know you will need some performence parts for your mini cooper!
MINI Cooper - MINI Cooper Parts and Accessories - Mini Mania - new.MiniMania.com

 

Thanks Beaner. You rock! That site has a bunch of stuff for me to waste my money on - errrr I mean for me to invest in.

 

well, Tommy since you went British on us...you won't need the 1980 L82 Cherry Red Corvette my friend is selling...new paint, tires, wheels...all the interior parts...etc for $5K...interior parts need to be installed yet....but everything is there. I have photos, but not digital photos...we will have to take some digitals. If interested, contact me for phone numbers, and we'll have to figure something out on photos...

 

Thanks Doc, but I don't have room for a third car. Damn. I need to build a bigger garage.

On the up side, though, that site Beaner posted has supercharger pulley upgrades for $139!! It's good to have a car that is a little more popular than the Crossfire. With numbers come discounts! LOL

 

British?? Minis are made by Bring More Wallet...

 

LOL, you're not kidding about the Bring More Wallet. Fortunately, the Mini crowd is a little different than the BMW crowd. Even so, they will option / gadget / accessorize you to death - or at least the death of your wallet.

Here's an example of how Crossfire owners and Mini owners differ:
Undie 500 Women's Boy Brief > Undie 500 - Motoring for a Cause! > MINIBee's Motoring Merchandise



Yes, that's right. Women's underwear with Mini logos on them.

Hmmm... I'm gonna have to join a Mini car club. The dating possibilities could be interesting.

 

I like the Mini Tom. I have one, and they are a lot of fun to drive, have a great following, and many, many aftermarket parts and support.

 

Congrats on becoming a "Mini" owner Tom. Driving to work in one of those should be alot of fun.
I hope we don't lose you like we did former forum member AeroBlue, (when he replaced his Crossfire with a Mini).
I guess the key word is "replaced" since you still have your 6. But who knows, maybe you'll decide ya really don't need a 11 sec. car anymore. I did.

 

Tom, here's a forum I belong to. A lot of information there.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/

 

 

Congratulations Tom, should be a fun car... just don't get caught throwing your cigarette butts out the window like someone else who shall remain nameless
Now that you got something, the bargains will come out of the woodwork

 

LMAO.....litter bug

 

Reformed Litterbug, I am sure