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BMW Mini, wife wants one, your thoughts and help?


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Posted

As title, just wondering what folks on here thought of them and if anybody has any experience of them.

Also if anyone has one for sale pm please.

Not too fussed about high spec as its only for her.[;)]

Posted

I've had two CooperS since they came out.  Great to drive like a go kart, good to service £100 i think for 5 years free servicing (I think you can get 10 years now for extra £).  Fuel wise driven hard it's not much better than a scoob.  05 facelift models drive better with LSD as standard.  Used to be rarer so retention value is not quite as good as it used to be - but still very good.

Doesn't have space for most prams or kiddies car seats.

Buy private as they nearly all will have FSH and waranties etc.

 

pm me if you want specific advice.

Posted

can give ya any info ya want about em, kinda know em inside and out.

Ten reasons NOT to own one

1. Rattles

2. Gearbox is made of Chocolate in earlier ( <05 MY)

3. Clutches are made of thinner chocolate

4. Rear brakes have some " issues"

5. Seats have "issues"

6. Water ingress , comes with free sprinkler system when it rains

7. Electrics .......... em well aye uh ....... they have a wee prob or 6

8. PAS noisy and other probs

9. RUN FLAT TYRES

10. Seriously you should hear the rattles [;)]

Reasons to own a mini

1 and only 1 ................. they are seriously good fun

 

Posted

ive always fancied a coopers ,  cheers spooks put me right of them now

not what you would expect from bmw though

Posted
  Quote

ive always fancied a coopers ,  cheers spooks put me right of them now

not what you would expect from bmw though

Thats the thing they aint a BMW, totally different brand with differing brand values etc . Dont get me wrong I see all the faults with them and dont live with them so I do tend to paint a poor picture, I have no doubt there are loads out there with no probs at all ........................... must be at least one [;)]

Posted

Personally I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole, Coz when it comes to Minis I'm old school....

Only had a test drive of the first coopers out, and I wasn't really impressed, the winscreen was too far away, the clocks and dials are in the wrong place, I couldn't get a feel for the size of the car at all, which made me HATE it...

only good impression I got from that inital drive, was that I liked the feel of the engine and the gearbox, but bearing in mind I was driving a ford at the time, whilst awaiting my (proper) mini to get back on the road....

Posted
  Quote

can give ya any info ya want about em, kinda know em inside and out.

Ten reasons NOT to own one

1. Rattles

2. Gearbox is made of Chocolate in earlier ( <05 MY)

3. Clutches are made of thinner chocolate

4. Rear brakes have some " issues"

5. Seats have "issues"

6. Water ingress , comes with free sprinkler system when it rains

7. Electrics .......... em well aye uh ....... they have a wee prob or 6

8. PAS noisy and other probs

9. RUN FLAT TYRES

10. Seriously you should hear the rattles [;)]

Reasons to own a mini

1 and only 1 ................. they are seriously good fun

 

 

Agree with the rattles to some extent.  Most of mine went away when I got the rear boot latch changed under warranty.  There is a list of known issues on the forums at www.mini2.com

I didn't experience any of problems 2-7 with either of my CooperS's.  I guess I was lucky.

Agree with 8 and 9.  Runflats are expensive and not that much grip and harsh ride (Although with the run flats BMW did fix 2 punctures FOC).  Please note Harry Fairburn (previously good reputation) has apparently been bought by Arnold Clark.....

I'm a traditional mini fan too.  I see them as different target audiences but both are serious fun.  I've had mini's since I was 17 (including an all steel swiftune race spec engine 1380cc that put out 120bhp at the wheels).  I still have one of the last production carb coopers.

Posted

Thanks for all the well informed replies guys ( and Spooks!!) Mrs Corsa is still nipping my head re the Mini.may contact a few of you via PM if thats ok to have a chat.

Once again thank you.

 

Davie

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