i agree..steup up to the plate buy my car and for Clint....he must be watching too much american idol.....Randy is getting to him...."your my DOG.......your doing a good job DOG".......

 

That's dawg, and Clint you're too rich to be urban...

 

so i guess your going to SP Jon?

 

i gotta vote for the SC, the minis are quick little cars for what they are, but the lexus is going to be so much more fun to zip around in

 

Buy the mini if it fits your lifestyle and you do not have to take long trips
Sure, the Lexus is " better" but life is too short to drive the same car twice!

 

Take the sc400 and a 98 model for $18,900 is a good price if everything is up to par, dealers in my area would still be asking a lot more for a 98 model. give the mini's a couple of years to see what can be expected of them reliability wise and then see if you made the right choice at least w/ the lex you know what your getting.

 

Take the SC.

The Cooper is WAY too small. Imagine that thing vs an Escalade or Yukon?
You have the money to choose, so think about your safety.

 

Hmmm, what are your priorities. Do you want to row the gears in a go kart like car or have a premium sport coupe? From what I have been reading the Cooper S is going to have some mod kits out that will push it to 200 or more hp. And they are pretty good SCCA racers. If autocrossing or going to the track is one of your ambitions or hobbies the S might be a better choice. The teething pains so far haven't been too bad in the Mini with the exception of the windshield. They seem to be a little delicate. And the build quality is no where near a Lexus. But then again, the SC is a premium luxury car and was rather expensive when it was new. So far, the mini has the highest residual value of any car. But it is a tad small but not much smaller then a civic or corolla and it did well in crash tests. Since you've had a SC400 before you already know what advantages are.

And how important is it to have a car that's new? I don't know how long the wait is for the mini in your neck of the woods but here in Norcal the rumor is that if you want to pay MSRP on a cooper S you will have to wait a year to buy one. Or pay more and buy it today or in the next few months. So if you need a car now you might need to skip a MCS.

The price you mentioned for the SC400 sounds real good. You might want to buy it and just drive it until you decide if a mini is you want.

One reason not to buy a mini is that women think it's a cute car. We are going to buy one because that's one of the few cars my wife likes(besides our Lexus).

 

I was driving today and I saw a silver Aston Matrin Vantage V-12. The Aston owner was looking at my car, as many people do since it looks like some kind of heretofore unkown sport version of the SC400 (OEM looking upgrades and L-tuned wheels will do that for ya). I thought to myself, would I want that car in place of my car? The first thing that came into my mind is "how much would maintenance be on that thing?" I personally know nothing of Aston ownership aside from what the body shell looks like and the numbers posted by the car in car magazines.

The strangest feeling occurs when I'm in my car.. I don't feel envious of the owners of cars like that on the road. I can't help but think that the car isn't all that much better than mine.

 

Just drove a MCS today and it was fun. It's not a luxury car but it sure is a handler and it has more room up front that it looks like it should have. The year wait was confirmed so by next summer I should have one.

Jerry_Supra, have you test drove the MCS yet? What was your impression?

 

If you buy the Mini give me the ad info, I'll buy the SC.