caseyctsv Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Ok sold the truck and my daughter wants a Mini Cooper. I have always secretly wanted one but could never have one as "my" car so this would be convenient. I will stay away from the auto as they seem problematic. Any other issues? This one will be a 2002 to 2006. I found a 2005 with 130k miles but it is a one owner,no accidents, and ALL scheduled service records. I would prefer 75-80k miles but this will just get 5-7k miles per year for the next 4 or 5 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Oh and yes I know the better answer is Toyota, Honda, blah blah blah. She is like me and prefers "unique" vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Casey, do a search as I drove a non-S Cooper and did a review on it. Was surprised how much I hated it. My only comment about the first-gens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Always wanted one as well, keep looking for one price crackhead cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Casey, do a search as I drove a non-S Cooper and did a review on it. Was surprised how much I hated it. My only comment about the first-gens. I drove 2 non-S ones and thought it was pretty nice though VERY slow.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRD2BDF Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 I drove 2 non-S ones and thought it was pretty nice though VERY slow.... The nice thing about the non-S, you can keep them floored through turns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 A first gen non-SC (R50) w/ manual trans is pretty much bulletproof...simple to work on, and although quite slow as others have mentioned, they could be a lot of fun to toss around in autoX. Obviously the 'S' (R53) model is WAY more fun, but then you get to deal with all the Supercharger reliability and potential problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 I had an 06 S that I beat on for a year. Drove it from south Florida to Philly tonColumbus regularly. Was a great drivers car. They are quite roomy on the inside. I actually miss that car. Good mpg as well. Front strut towers mushroom. Check to make sure that isn't happening. Engine mounts break. Stay far away from the cvt tranny in the non s. The manual in s and non s are getrag and bulletproof. The auto tranny in the S is a VF unit and is stout. Um those are te main points. Would make a great car for your daughter b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltboostin Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Just find an manual S- save the trouble and boredom in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewtoys Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Just find an manual S- save the trouble and boredom in the long run. Resale is better too. I was going to get a new one for a daily beater, but too pricey. Ended up with another Abarth, not sure your budget but those are cheap new too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltboostin Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Resale is better too. I was going to get a new one for a daily beater, but too pricey. Ended up with another Abarth, not sure your budget but those are cheap new too. The Mini feels 100 times larger than the Fiat interior wise, and the S feels like a "car" when you toss it around (I attribute to much larger wheels.tires/suspension. The Fiat feels like an oversized Little Tikes cart. Its odd how different they drive really. No idea on price and resale between the 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewtoys Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 The Mini feels 100 times larger than the Fiat interior wise, and the S feels like a "car" when you toss it around (I attribute to much larger wheels.tires/suspension. The Fiat feels like an oversized Little Tikes cart. Its odd how different they drive really. No idea on price and resale between the 2. The Fiat driver and pass seat are actually roomy, the rest of the car is tiny. My abarth to me feels tighter than the mini, and more tossable through corners. It's a very good car on tight technically roads, I've trashed the stock Pirellis at like 6k miles. Alot fun for under 20k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Alex- Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 You've already driven one, so you know you like them. I've heard 100k is the magic number for them to turn into lemons, honestly can't remember why though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3NN3TT Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Resale is better too. I was going to get a new one for a daily beater, but too pricey. Ended up with another Abarth, not sure your budget but those are cheap new too. Same here - was going to pick up the Cooper and it sold about 30 minutes before we arrived. Ended up with an Abarth instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 The problem with the Minis, outside of known issues like the CVT, is ownership. SOOOOO many of them are owned by middle aged women who wouldn't know proper preventive maintenance if it fucked them in the ass. IMO you want one that you personally know was properly maintained. Here's how the typical life cycle of a MINI goes: Owner #1) 0-36k miles. Leases the MINI, takes good care of it because maintenance is included in warranty. Lease ends, they start a new lease, MINI goes on the used lot. Owner #2) 36k-115k miles. A younger or middle-aged woman who, as I said before, has only heard of "preventive maintenance" when in a drunken stupor at Thanksgiving when her father and brothers are arguing over which car they like more. Decides to get rid of the car after years of ownership due to just about everything on the car being broken or needing replacement soon, and she has not done the maintenance regularly. Probably used conventional oil and 87 octane the entire time. Owner #3) 115k+ miles. This poor person. They had no idea what they were getting into. They don't deserve it, but this car will be their downfall. They bought it because it was cute, cheap, and cute. Little did they know it needs double its value in repairs already. They'll be digging out of this hole for a while. Don't be owner #3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Are these really that maintenance proned? And do people really do much preventative maintenace of regular drivers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 I dont think the ones the OP is referencing are....the turbo ones yes. Tensioner and drive chain problems...bad carbon buildup problems. Those fit Alex's description well. I was owner #1 in that case. Warranty was up at 50K. Ditched it at 51K. Even with the SC ones...you gotta be on point with maintenance... religious oil changes, plugs, proper octane...all stuff superchargers like. Just to keep it all lubed and happy. Then again a supercharged car isnt exactly a run-of-the-mill grocery getter. May say the same for a SC Xterra ect. Again, I dont think we were discussing them...just the N/A ones was my take on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toph6888 Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 My girlfriend got an 09 cooper s wtih the turbo, and its a blast to drive. I'm 6'3", and I still have plenty of headroom and I don't even have the seat all the way back to drive it, only issue is I wish there was a little more shoulder room. Like others have said, the car will be kinda cheap on the interior, but its nice if you take car of it. Oil changes aren't that big of a deal, but she just took it in to be changed and they said the oil pan gasket needs to be replaced at 42k miles, and from what I read online its a pretty common occurence. We looked at a lot of minis before hand, and if you are gonna get an S, get the turbo over the supercharger. The turbo comes to life a lot better and is an easier car to drive, I thought all the supercharged ones had really crappy clutches. The 07+ cooper s are DI (I can't remember if the regular ones are DI) and because of this, carbon buildup in the exhaust runners I believe is a common occurence and needs to be cleaned out around every 50k it seems. Also, you will need a thin wall socket to do the spark plugs. For the driving experience, I think they are great cars, they look great, people driving them typically tend to wave so its a comfortable car community to get into. Every car is going to have its quirks and being a BMW baby, thats pretty much maintenance. I do all my own labor on my cars and hers, and its easy to work on, so I'm not too worried about a lot of the stuff as it comes up. I just am not looking forward to when she needs a clutch and it will be $700 for the flywheel/clutch setup just for parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 I dont think the ones the OP is referencing are....the turbo ones yes. Tensioner and drive chain problems...bad carbon buildup problems. Those fit Alex's description well. I was owner #1 in that case. Warranty was up at 50K. Ditched it at 51K. Even with the SC ones...you gotta be on point with maintenance... religious oil changes, plugs, proper octane...all stuff superchargers like. Just to keep it all lubed and happy. Then again a supercharged car isnt exactly a run-of-the-mill grocery getter. May say the same for a SC Xterra ect. Again, I dont think we were discussing them...just the N/A ones was my take on it. Everything you've said has been my experience, as a car salesman, with them. The S models that get traded in here usually go straight to the wholesale lot; waaaay too much reconditioning to be done. The N/A ones are usually good and we sell them unless they're CVT. Have never heard a horror story from anyone that bought one of them from us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRD2BDF Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 How do you typically clean carbon buildup? Does the ol' Italian tuneup still apply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 The problem with the Minis, outside of known issues like the CVT, is ownership. SOOOOO many of them are owned by middle aged women who wouldn't know proper preventive maintenance if it fucked them in the ass. IMO you want one that you personally know was properly maintained. Here's how the typical life cycle of a MINI goes: Owner #1) 0-36k miles. Leases the MINI, takes good care of it because maintenance is included in warranty. Lease ends, they start a new lease, MINI goes on the used lot. Owner #2) 36k-115k miles. A younger or middle-aged woman who, as I said before, has only heard of "preventive maintenance" when in a drunken stupor at Thanksgiving when her father and brothers are arguing over which car they like more. Decides to get rid of the car after years of ownership due to just about everything on the car being broken or needing replacement soon, and she has not done the maintenance regularly. Probably used conventional oil and 87 octane the entire time. Owner #3) 115k+ miles. This poor person. They had no idea what they were getting into. They don't deserve it, but this car will be their downfall. They bought it because it was cute, cheap, and cute. Little did they know it needs double its value in repairs already. They'll be digging out of this hole for a while. Don't be owner #3. This times infinity, especially with VW Beetles. I've talked to girls who own them.. one didn't know what the fuck an oil change is, another tried putting diesel fuel in hers and called the gas station stupid because the nozzle didn't fit (she sprayed it into the hole anyways and was fucked later), and another just generally drove hers into an early grave. When asked why they bought such a stupid little car, they all gave the "cute" answer. Stupid whores. Mini. Not even once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleguy Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 What about a Vibe GT? 6-Speed, high revving, and reliable. Christian really likes his and the 2zz engine with Toyota everything else is damn near bulletproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I will completely disagree about the turbo ones being better then the superchargers. I had a supercharger and my best friend had a turbo. I hated driving her turbo. I loved my supercharger. It fits the chassis so much better. Speaking of maintenance, I didn't do anything to mine. Nothing not even an oil change. It never skipped a beat. I tried to blow it up and couldnt. Yes the interiors are very cheap but who cares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeverMaker Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 What about a Vibe GT? 6-Speed, high revving, and reliable. Christian really likes his and the 2zz engine with Toyota everything else is damn near bulletproof. Not quirkly/girly/unique/70s truck enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Not quirkly/girly/unique/70s truck enough. Yup - funny thing is my other daughter has an 05 Vibe and it is a great vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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