anyone recomend a mini cooper??

[robdanob6]

what are your opinions on mini coopers..im due to buy my second ever car and have my eye on a cooper 02 plate for £5,800 with 58,000 miles on the clock.
do you think this is a good deal or am i being mugged off.it seems reasonably priced from what ive seen on the net but im not really clued up on prices.
help!!!

[scoobydude]

The German Mini holds it's own in the used market like pretty much nothing else in it's class. It's especialy noticeable if the car is still under its TLC agreement. They are fairly good but the earlier cars did have a few problems with the seat adjusters.

[Fastra]

Just scrolling through autotrader now show me that doesn't seem to be a bad price, although there are a few examples of perhaps better:


2003 MINI COOPER 1.6 3dr Pepper Pack! *28,800 miles* None Smoker!

Price:
£6,000

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MINI...


2003 MINI COOPER - 67k
Price:
£5500

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MINI...


2003 MINI COOPER - 55k
Price:
£5500

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MINI...


2002 MINI COOPER - 57k
Price:
£5295

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MINI...

Edited by Fastra on Tuesday 2nd June 17:44

[Fastra]

double post..!

Edited by Fastra on Tuesday 2nd June 17:41

[rinker]

Nice cars, my misses had one for 3 years but my god are they slow.

[Fastra]

rinker said:

Nice cars, my misses had one for 3 years but my god are they slow.

Compared to...?

[robdanob6]

fastra cheers for the links..the low milage £6000 cooper is a great deal.
and to rinker ive always felt mini coopers held their own fairly well in terms of speed..especially the accelleration.

[Mat Hammond]

I think all the Mini's are good value secondhand. I got the wife this S for £6000 a couple of months ago. It's been brilliant, but I think a Cooper is 90% as good.



My wife had this Cooper before and it lost £750 over 2 years.



Both have been very reliable and I find them a hoot as they seem to grip so so well.

[Wacky Racer]

Mrs WR has just sold a year old top specced Cooper "S" because she found it a bit small for her needs (boot space for shopping)....nice car but:-

Very hard ride on bumpy roads

Don't let ANYONE tell you Mini's don't depreciate...they do like any other car when fairly new...

I expect a used one around £5k will hold it's value pretty well........


Plus points, Smart, fun to drive and pretty fast....140mph

[rinker]

Fastra,
compared to a fiesta Diesel

[okgo]

Wacky Racer said:

Mrs WR has just sold a year old top specced Cooper "S" because she found it a bit small for her needs (boot space for shopping)....nice car but:-

Very hard ride on bumpy roads

Don't let ANYONE tell you Mini's don't depreciate...they do like any other car when fairly new...

I expect a used one around £5k will hold it's value pretty well........


Plus points, Smart, fun to drive and pretty fast....140mph

Just don't be the mug to buy a new/nearly new one that's specced to the hilt

[Wacky Racer]

okgo said:

Wacky Racer said:

Mrs WR has just sold a year old top specced Cooper "S" because she found it a bit small for her needs (boot space for shopping)....nice car but:-

Very hard ride on bumpy roads

Don't let ANYONE tell you Mini's don't depreciate...they do like any other car when fairly new...

I expect a used one around £5k will hold it's value pretty well........


Plus points, Smart, fun to drive and pretty fast....140mph

Just don't be the mug to buy a new/nearly new one that's specced to the hilt

Now you tell me...........

[Hairspray]

I WANT ONE!!!

I'm learning to drive in one, and it is truly fantastic. Makes my car feel slow, sluggish, and like a boat to drive. I would trade mine in for one tomorrow, but they're still about £1000 too much for my budget!

[blank]

rinker said:

Fastra,
compared to a fiesta Diesel

Are you joking?

Cooper S MINIs are quick, and standard Coopers are quick enough and in some ways more fun to drive (the new turbo Cooper S torque steers like a biatch).


What diesel Fiesta?

I drove a Fiesta ST (supposedly 150bhp) and it felt marginally quicker than a MINI Cooper, nowhere near a Cooper S.

[Accelebrate]

I bought a 2007 Cooper at the end of January from a MINI main dealer. It's a complete hoot to drive and is pretty brisk, I've certainly not had any issues with keeping up with small diesels. I think the biggest merit for me is the handling, I've not driven another 'normal' shopping spec car which can go round corners with so little fuss at such silly speeds. It's also comfy and quiet on a long run.

Oddly, looking at some private adds on PH there seem to be a lot of Coopers of the same age with lower specs and higher mileage for considerably more than I paid at a main dealers five months ago, so hopefully it'll hold most of its value whilst I own it.

However, I'm not sure I'd personally go for an older MINI with high(ish) miles if it didn't come with at least 12 months full warranty. I know that as an example BMW want the best part of £1500 to repair a faulty sunroof.

[robdanob6]

so would you recommend going for one without a sunroof then lol..£1500 seems a bit steep even for bmw.

[Debaser]

Good fun, chuckable little car - you'll have a laugh driving one. The ride is so bad it's funny though.

[Accelebrate]

It was more just an example of ridiculous repair costs, I suspect BMW know how to overcharge for just about any job and part you can think of.

You don't have to use BMW though, it might be worth researching independent specialists in your area before you decide one way or another. I guess the point I was trying to make is that affording to buy a car is only half the story financially. The good news is your tax and fuel bill should be pretty reasonable, and I personally found my insurance to be surprisingly cheap.

As for the sunroof, it is apparently pricey to repair, but potentially worth it just for the last few days alone.



EDIT - As for the ride, I've found the following:

15" wheels, normal tyres - spot on!
16" wheels, runflats - firm, but easy enough to live with, does do odd things when braking or accelerating hard at times though.
17" wheels, low profile runflats - very very firm, crashes over bumps.
18" wheels, low profile runflats - more of the above.

Edited by Accelebrate on Tuesday 2nd June 20:08

[blank]

Debaser said:

Good fun, chuckable little car - you'll have a laugh driving one. The ride is so bad it's funny though.

No worse than any other BMW.

[okgo]

16 inch wheels with normal tyres, and its a dream.

I recently put this combo on my car (09 plate works) and it was a different car to the crashy, unpredictable, torque steering, camber hugging run-flats..