Daily Driver for 15k miles a year

[jantonio16]

Hi all,

I currently have a 2012 Automatic Mini Cooper S as a daily driver and track toy, however, I've been stacking 56 miles on a daily basis for almost two years now...which is approximately 15k miles a year...plus the two track days. Minis are quite expensive to maintain...already replaced the fuel pump...not fun. But aside from that, I feel that if I keep on stacking miles and going to the track the depreciation is going to be insane and other parts can go kaboom.

So at the moment I'm in a limbo of weather or not I should continue modifying this car and using it on a daily basis or opt out for a Daily Driver and later on a cheap/fun track toy (Citroen Saxo VTS for example). I would still like to drive the track toy occasionally on weekdays/weekends but not EVERY day. What I'm looking at currently is something along these lines:

- Nice interior (MINI quality like)
- Sporty/Good exterior looks
- Small (no need for a SUV or bigger at the moment)
- Good Fuel Economy
- Comfortable
- Reliable

The Daily Driver doesn't need to be fast or anything. I'll use the track toy for that . It just needs to be aesthetically pleasing :P. I'll probably be rotating the Daily every 2 years or so to keep depreciation at a minimum. Also speaking of depreciation, budget is flexible due to points above, however, I was recommended an Audi S3 for example...I feel like stacking 30k miles in two years on an Audi S3 will take a lot of money from what I bought it for :S

P.S. I'm from Chile, so we may or may not have the same cars available locally, but I do like this forum and the feedback people provide! Open to all suggestions!

Thanks in advance!!!

[ZX10R NIN]

This is easy, if they sell them then get a Clio for the track then go and buy a 2-3 year old low mileage Merc/BMW you can find & pile on the miles until you fancy a change.

[jantonio16]

ZX10R NIN said:

This is easy, if they sell them then get a Clio for the track then go and buy a 2-3 year old low mileage Merc/BMW you can find & pile on the miles until you fancy a change.

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately there are no 172s/182s Clios here in Chile ...

And I've thought about the Merc/BMW option you mentioned, do they suffer low rate depreciation with more mileage? Only downside about these brands locally is that maintenance services and replacement parts are really expensive...mostly because the dealerships have like 400% margins on them..

[ZX10R NIN]

Do you have the Mondeo/Fusion with the 2.0/3.5 ecoboost

[crofty1984]

I have a 2010 1.6 diesel Mazda 2 sport for that mileage. Does the job. And is very fking green.

[steve-5snwi]

I wouldn't have thought the mini auto would have been the best thing for track work. However I would buy the cheapest most comfortable thing you can for work and then just buy a track toy. All cars depreciate and the newer they are the more they lose.

Yes you could buy an s3 but if it's worth 25k now it will be worth 12.5 in 3 years and 45,000 miles. You mini could be worth 10k now and in 3 years it would probably be worth 4K so a 6k loss ... Which makes it 6.5k better off.

A £1000 banger will be worth £500 or £200 scrap value in 3 years so even less money to lose. I have no idea how much cars are where you are so my figures could be meaningless.

Oh I have a clubby s and there is no way I would swap it for an s3 unless I was about to give up on life. An m135i would make a nice car but you are back to losing money again.

[jantonio16]

ZX10R NIN said:

Do you have the Mondeo/Fusion with the 2.0/3.5 ecoboost

Not a fan of the fusion to be honest :/

[jantonio16]

steve-5snwi said:

I wouldn't have thought the mini auto would have been the best thing for track work. However I would buy the cheapest most comfortable thing you can for work and then just buy a track toy. All cars depreciate and the newer they are the more they lose.

Yes you could buy an s3 but if it's worth 25k now it will be worth 12.5 in 3 years and 45,000 miles. You mini could be worth 10k now and in 3 years it would probably be worth 4K so a 6k loss ... Which makes it 6.5k better off.

A £1000 banger will be worth £500 or £200 scrap value in 3 years so even less money to lose. I have no idea how much cars are where you are so my figures could be meaningless.

Oh I have a clubby s and there is no way I would swap it for an s3 unless I was about to give up on life. An m135i would make a nice car but you are back to losing money again.

Lol, when I bought the mini going to a track was nowhere near my mind, but found a mini club and got addicted. I would go the cheap route for the daily but to be honest I spend more time on the work commute than attending track events and stuff so a nice interior and aesthetically pleasing would be ideal :P. Also because I'm a beginner I'd probably attend track days 3-4 times a year...with some AutoX in between.

My best option may or may not be leasing the daily and switching it every two years.

[joshcowin]

Guessing you have similar cars to the rest of south america?

Why no a nice spec focus for daily duties?

Or a focus ST for both? (if they sell them there)

Edited by joshcowin on Friday 9th December 10:15

[jantonio16]

joshcowin said:

Guessing you have similar cars to the rest of south america?

Why no a nice spec focus for daily duties?

Or a focus ST for both? (if they sell them there)

Edited by joshcowin on Friday 9th December 10:15

We don't get ST trims over here

[jantonio16]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

We have both petrol and diesel here. Diesel options are a bit more expensive but ideal for the long distances to and from work. My first car was a manual diesel 2001 Citroen Xsara Picasso 100k miles lol...0-100 in 30 minutes hahaha but it was fun and reliable.

Alfa does import to Chile but I know the guy the has the only diesel Mito in Chile lol. Not a fan of the shape of the Mito but I've been looking at the BMW series a lot recently. The models range from 116, 118, 120, 120d, 125i, 135i, 135iM. A lot come with the M kits...which I find hilarious to see a 116M

I hate the hatch, but the more I hate it the more I like it lol. I prefer the 2013+ model for sure though. I may go to a BMW dealership and see what they have in stock for a 1 series. Thanks for the suggestions Tonker...btw what VW diesels do they recommend in this forum? Golf GTDs? Are they really that quick?