Buying a MINI Cooper S Facelift model
Discussion
Hi Everyone
I dont normally post on here but I do browse the classifieds weekly and Ihave done for years. I am on the verge of my 25th birthday and after driving my Toyota Corolla 2002 1.6 for about 7 years I am ready for a change. I have come to the decision that I want to try and get a Mini Cooper S facelift model for £10000.
I know there arent many in that price range but I am willing to wait to find the right spec at the right price but I just wanted to ask the experts on the forum about anything I should look out for when buying a facelift cooper s or any alternative car options that people would recommend for my budget. Ideally I want a sporty model and I have already looked at Audi A3's, BMW 1 series and Golf GTI's however the high mileage for the age of car I am after is off putting. As I probably wont change the car for another 5 years or so I really want to stay below 40,000 miles if I can.
Any advise would be really gratefully recieved as this really is a big decision for me and having never brought a car before a little bit daunting that I am going to buy a car thats just going to break down all the time!!!
I dont normally post on here but I do browse the classifieds weekly and Ihave done for years. I am on the verge of my 25th birthday and after driving my Toyota Corolla 2002 1.6 for about 7 years I am ready for a change. I have come to the decision that I want to try and get a Mini Cooper S facelift model for £10000.
I know there arent many in that price range but I am willing to wait to find the right spec at the right price but I just wanted to ask the experts on the forum about anything I should look out for when buying a facelift cooper s or any alternative car options that people would recommend for my budget. Ideally I want a sporty model and I have already looked at Audi A3's, BMW 1 series and Golf GTI's however the high mileage for the age of car I am after is off putting. As I probably wont change the car for another 5 years or so I really want to stay below 40,000 miles if I can.
Any advise would be really gratefully recieved as this really is a big decision for me and having never brought a car before a little bit daunting that I am going to buy a car thats just going to break down all the time!!!
Thanks for the links and information. It doesnt have to be a hatch, however I dont have kids or plan on having any and rarely have people in the back of my car. Plus I dont want to drive a huge car around (I guess that means I do want a hatch lol).
Although my budget is about 10k I want as much as I can for my money, If i need to hold on to get a R56 with a reasonable spec then that is what I will have to do..... it may be that I can find some more money as the months go on.
If anyone has any more advice please let me know. I know that on alot of message boards you get a lot of requests from people who arent bothered to look for themselves, I am I just want to seek advice from those who will know more than me.
I have already picked my older brother brain regarding finance and getting money for my current car lol.
Thanks again
Although my budget is about 10k I want as much as I can for my money, If i need to hold on to get a R56 with a reasonable spec then that is what I will have to do..... it may be that I can find some more money as the months go on.
If anyone has any more advice please let me know. I know that on alot of message boards you get a lot of requests from people who arent bothered to look for themselves, I am I just want to seek advice from those who will know more than me.
I have already picked my older brother brain regarding finance and getting money for my current car lol.
Thanks again
R56 model improved the interior packaging, and greatly improved the mpg.
I had two R53s and hatch and a convertible, both averaged c33 mpg on my run to work. The R56 my missus owns ups that to near 40 mpg in "normal" driving. Use the loud pedal and that reduces by c3 mpg at worst.
I'm not trying to plug a possible sale, but her car will be up for sale soon, as I have recently acquired a company car with a role change in my company.
It's a 2007/57 plate (Sept 2007) with 50k miles on the clock, FSH, recent full service + rear brakes. It has the Chilli pack, full leather, web-spoke alloys plus some other bits. It's Chilli Red / black with black stripes and JCW grille.
As the TLC has been used there is also the option of extending it to TLC XL which gives service coverage upto 80k miles.
Thinking around £9950
Let me know if you're interested and I'll pm you once I get an advert up around Whitsun.
The deal onemcs got was pretty good IMHO
I had two R53s and hatch and a convertible, both averaged c33 mpg on my run to work. The R56 my missus owns ups that to near 40 mpg in "normal" driving. Use the loud pedal and that reduces by c3 mpg at worst.
I'm not trying to plug a possible sale, but her car will be up for sale soon, as I have recently acquired a company car with a role change in my company.
It's a 2007/57 plate (Sept 2007) with 50k miles on the clock, FSH, recent full service + rear brakes. It has the Chilli pack, full leather, web-spoke alloys plus some other bits. It's Chilli Red / black with black stripes and JCW grille.
As the TLC has been used there is also the option of extending it to TLC XL which gives service coverage upto 80k miles.
Thinking around £9950
Let me know if you're interested and I'll pm you once I get an advert up around Whitsun.
The deal onemcs got was pretty good IMHO
Edited by wobert on Tuesday 19th April 20:44
I am currently in liason with the owner of this car.......
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2426043.htm
What do you all think? Low mileage which is appealing! Would the TLC pack be extended over to me if I brought the car? Also does Aircon come standard? If not I need to ask if this has it as I cant manage without lol.
Thanks for all the advice guys
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2426043.htm
What do you all think? Low mileage which is appealing! Would the TLC pack be extended over to me if I brought the car? Also does Aircon come standard? If not I need to ask if this has it as I cant manage without lol.
Thanks for all the advice guys
mnemo2002 said:
I am currently in liason with the owner of this car.......
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2426043.htm
What do you all think? Low mileage which is appealing! Would the TLC pack be extended over to me if I brought the car? Also does Aircon come standard? If not I need to ask if this has it as I cant manage without lol.
Thanks for all the advice guys
It doesn't say if it has the chilli pack which is unusual, most of the ones I looked at had it. Not sure if aircon is standard or not. Seems a good price though for such low mileage.http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2426043.htm
What do you all think? Low mileage which is appealing! Would the TLC pack be extended over to me if I brought the car? Also does Aircon come standard? If not I need to ask if this has it as I cant manage without lol.
Thanks for all the advice guys
mnemo2002 said:
I am currently in liason with the owner of this car.......
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2426043.htm
What do you all think? Low mileage which is appealing! Would the TLC pack be extended over to me if I brought the car? Also does Aircon come standard? If not I need to ask if this has it as I cant manage without lol.
Thanks for all the advice guys
It doesn't appear to thave the Chilli pack, no a/c, 2-spoke wheel, full cloth interior, pics of the front should show the headlamp wahers for the xenon headlights.http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2426043.htm
What do you all think? Low mileage which is appealing! Would the TLC pack be extended over to me if I brought the car? Also does Aircon come standard? If not I need to ask if this has it as I cant manage without lol.
Thanks for all the advice guys
Non-Chilli pack cars, are not seen as great for s/h value when coming to p/x. Something like 95% of MCS's have Chilli. Back in the early noughties, a Chilli car would command c£1.5k more than without, I would think the same could be said today. On a premium brand it must have a/c!
From personal experience I had a R53 with a/c but no chilli pack.....it was virtually unsaleable at 2 yrs old and 30k miles. I've since bought two other MINIs and simply wouldn't consider one without.
Not wishing to push our own car, but, for another £500 you would end up with a car, six months newer, with Chilli pack, full leather and split rim alloys, albeit with 25k miles more.
The TLC is transferable and can be extended upto 80k miles.
MINIs tend to be very spec sensitive, and personally I would go for a better spec car, but with a few more miles on it.
Edited by wobert on Friday 22 April 20:32
Thanks for the reply, the owner of the car I posted a link to has reduced the price by another £500 bringing it to £8,999. Not a bad price but I have A/C in my current car which is almost ten years old.... I would feel like taking a backwards step without it! I think a chili pack is something I need, at least the air con!!
To make matters worse my engine light came on, on my own car today - bloody typical I havet had a problem with it since I had the car - 8 years and now the engine service light is on. Does anyone know if this is normally a serious thing or will I not know till I take it in to the toyota garage? Its a 52 plate Corolla 1.6 VVTI if that makes any difference.
To make matters worse my engine light came on, on my own car today - bloody typical I havet had a problem with it since I had the car - 8 years and now the engine service light is on. Does anyone know if this is normally a serious thing or will I not know till I take it in to the toyota garage? Its a 52 plate Corolla 1.6 VVTI if that makes any difference.
First time posting on this forum. I'm thinking of changing my golf gti edition 30 for a cooper S to get some cashback and lower running costs.
I've found a 56 plate (turbo not supercharge model) 37k mileage S with all the extras - heated screen, seats, sunroof, nav, chilli, vision packs, MFSW, etc for £12.5k at a main dealer. Is this priced a little high or does the full spec justify this?
Also, this model has the lower co2/improved mpg, but..... Do the earliest turbo charged engines have lower mpg figures than later ones?
Some ads are quoting circa 31mpg urban and 40 combined for this 56 plate whereas the later 57 onwards are quoted as having 35mpg urban and 45 combined?
I'm confused!
I've found a 56 plate (turbo not supercharge model) 37k mileage S with all the extras - heated screen, seats, sunroof, nav, chilli, vision packs, MFSW, etc for £12.5k at a main dealer. Is this priced a little high or does the full spec justify this?
Also, this model has the lower co2/improved mpg, but..... Do the earliest turbo charged engines have lower mpg figures than later ones?
Some ads are quoting circa 31mpg urban and 40 combined for this 56 plate whereas the later 57 onwards are quoted as having 35mpg urban and 45 combined?
I'm confused!
mnemo2002 said:
To make matters worse my engine light came on, on my own car today - bloody typical I havet had a problem with it since I had the car - 8 years and now the engine service light is on. Does anyone know if this is normally a serious thing or will I not know till I take it in to the toyota garage? Its a 52 plate Corolla 1.6 VVTI if that makes any difference.
The light says something is wrong with the engine or a sensor most likely however there are probably 20 sensors so we could guess its all of them... You will need to connect an OBD2 to the car and find the problem. The garage normally charge an hours labour but any garage can do it not just toyota. Or for less then £50 you can by a hand held scanner which can be very useful Gassing Station | New MINIs | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff