Goodbye to my MINI Cooper

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my beloved 2004 MINI Cooper this morning. This was a hard one. I know it's just a car, but I was pretty attached to it. I've had it for over 14-1/5 years, which is a great amount of time, but I'm so sad that her life with me was cut short because of a hit-and-run that happened when she was parked in front of our house.

I heard from my insurance company Friday afternoon. The total estimate to repair my car would have been over $10,000 - well exceeding the actual value of the car. It didn't make any sense to put that kind of money into it, especially given the age.

My little MINI was such a great car - over 14-1/2 years, and just over 70,000 miles. I did routine maintenance on it, but never had to put any money into it beyond that. This little car was everything I hoped it would be when I first bought it.

The guy at the Auto Body shop this morning said that they haven't had any first-generation MINI Coopers in their shop for several years, and that they were pretty amazed when they saw mine.

Here's the thing: I've been obsessed with this car the entire time I had it, and even months before it was ever built! I first decided that I wanted a MINI Cooper back in 2003 - they were fairly new at the time, and weren't available to buy straight from the dealerships. Actually, most dealerships were charging a $2,500 markup just to put in an order for one. I ordered my MINI through East Bay MINI in Pleasanton, who didn't charge a markup, but had a long wait list. I first placed my order in September. Everything about it was built to spec - not just the color, but the color and type of seats (beige/black leather, sports seats), the color of the dash, the color of the interior roof (and exterior roof, for that matter), all of the options, down to the chrome trim on the bumpers.

At the time, MINI had a website that you could sign in and see the timeline of your car being built. My car was built on December 18, 2003. (See, this is how obsessed I was!). I watched online and followed it's progress as it was shipped to Southern CA via the Panama Canal. I took ownership of it on January 31, 2014.

I'm not exaggerating by saying that I've always been thrilled with my MINI the entire time I had it. It was always so much fun to drive, especially in San Francisco. It was the perfect City car, fitting into small parking spots that most other cars wouldn't fit it.

*sigh*. I'm so very bummed that I will no longer have my MINI. (her formal name was MINI Driver, by the way).

RIP MINI Driver. You were a great little car, and I'll miss you.