Additional Reasons For Picking A Certain Toad

[FL-JOE]

When we originally went full time we needed a certain size and weight vehicle to fit into our enclosed trailer. The trailer did not have a side escape door so the width of the vehicle was limited. Mini Coopers were one of the brands that fit the requirements with several of their models.

One of the things we did not consider was parts availability if the vehicle was ever wrecked. Last summer while camped in SD we sustained over $14,000 in hail damage. Most of the repair was completed in central Illinois but the replacement hood came in damaged. The replacement hood was coming from Germany and we only had 2 more weeks in the area. So that part of the repair was put off until reaching SW Florida this winter.

Even down here where there are a lot of Mini dealerships it has taken over 10 days to get a hood. I just got a call from the body shop and they are finally ready for us to bring it back in so the repairs can finally be made.

Needless to say if you were in a wreck and the vehicle was not drivable you could be in a bind depending on what part of the country you were located in. We will be trading off our Mini prior to leaving Florida this year. Parts availability will be high on our priority list.

 

[Gizmo]

Had a friend buy an Aluminum DRW Ford truck pulling his fifth wheel and it was one the first aluminum trucks off the line. A month later it was hit in the side of the bed and took out the rear wheel well and bed. There no replacement parts in the supply chain and all the production was going to Ford to build new trucks. It took 3 months to get all the parts they needed to repair the truck. The sad part was he had his 5er in KOA that didn't have space for it stay there and he ended signing a year lease on storage area and hiring someone move there.

 

[MapNerd]

Super late to this thread but how are you going to or how did you decide which vehicles would have good parts availability @FL-JOE? Just because a vehicle is a domestic brand doesn’t necessarily mean the availability is better. I’m just wondering how you did or would get the information to make an informed choice of brand? Also, certain models within a single brand are likely to have different levels of parts availability.

 

[FL-JOE]

Super late to this thread but how are you going to or how did you decide which vehicles would have good parts availability @FL-JOE? Just because a vehicle is a domestic brand doesn’t necessarily mean the availability is better. I’m just wondering how you did or would get the information to make an informed choice of brand? Also, certain models within a single brand are likely to have different levels of parts availability.

You are correct, owning a domestic brand does not mean that parts would be available easily or even available in this country. With the Mini Cooper Clubman it was a make/model that is assembled outside of the country. In addition there are not millions of them produced each year and sold in the U.S.

When trading we considered size/weight, safety ratings, standard warranty, and model history along with making sure what we purchased was a popular make/model sold in the U.S. After narrowing the field down to 3 makes we then test drove and made the final decision.