It’s been nearly eight years (and 141,000+ miles) since I purchased the MINI and today was the day to purchase a replacement. Since I’m all about austerity these days, I threw out the $28,000 black-on-black MINI I built online and went with a $17,650 Honda Fit Sport instead.

It’s a Milano Red 2012 edition with 5-speed manual transmission and no other options. Gas mileage should be around 34 for me on my weekly commute and I’ll get to use the cheapest gas again now, so I should save a fair amount of money in that department.

I went back to Buerkle Honda in St. Paul this time, where we purchased our CR-V and second Civic. Our old fleet sales person must have retired long ago, so I talked to the first salesperson who saw me, Josh Helgeson. He’s only been there five months, but he was great to work with and comes highly recommended if you are looking for a Honda (call him direct at 651-490-6639).

It’s not as flashy as a new MINI, but I think this car will work out just fine for now: two extra doors, more room for the kids, decent iPod integration and ten cup holders, while also retaining A/C, cruise control, remote entry and power windows.

Kid one was trying to convince me to put the MINI in storage until she gets her license, but I think I will clean it up and see what sort of offers I can get. It still runs fine and only has a few relatively minor issues (passenger side power window, service engine light won’t go off, rusty muffler casing, etc.). Ping me if you are interested.