Can anybody talk me out of buying a Mini Cooper S?

[dr.pepper]

As per the title,

i'm hoping to buy an R53 Cooper S this week and looking at ones that are circa £5k. The car seems to make sense, 160ish bhp, not too heavy and a supercharger assisted soundtrack. It is pig ugly though, but that is not an issue as i am more concerned with how it drives.

So why the thread you ask?

1. There is nothing worse in life than being dissapointed in a car purchase. I would hate to have spent £5k only to realise there is better value out there or that the car just isn't that good. A short test drive doesn't always portray the full picture.

2. Maybe my circle of friends are complete numpties but, none of them has any good to say about a Cooper S. The general response has been to say "Can't you buy something proper for £5k, why you gonna spend £5k on a Mini?" and so on. Desite the ignorance on their part, it does lead to me having some doubts and i am literally scouring through as many "What car" threads as possible to keep my options open.

So with all this ranting done, do you guys have any negative review or feedback regarding the Cooper S?

(i've literally got 20 tabs open with previous what car threads and MCS reviews and am going through them now but would be appreciative of any more insight).

[DanDC5]

Good car but they have a few electrical faults that can be expensive to fix and they're awful on fuel for what they are.

[goffahsez]

Mate of mine has had nothing but problems with his 'works' edition.
Maybe he was just unlucky and got sold a snotter.

Great fun car to drive around in though, go-kart handling as you'd expect and pretty rapid.

[dr.pepper]

DanDC5 said:

Good car but they have a few electrical faults that can be expensive to fix and they're awful on fuel for what they are.

Aaah ok, i know they are qite thirsty but wasn't aware of electrical gremlins. Thanks

[RZ1]

Sold mine a few weeks ago for £3500, was a 53 plate cooper s with 100k. Lovely cars really really good fun to drive but try and get one without the run flats. Not too bad on fuel, managed to get late 20's.
Electrical faults can be a nightmare, but luckily mine was ok. Also in my opinion they look better with a black roof as opposed to the ones with a white roof and white side mirrors.
Try to get one with the chilli pack as this gives you some extra toys, cant remmber exactly what the additional toys are but mine had Xenons, Climate, CD Changer, Harmon Kardon, 2 Tone Leather, Heated seats, Panaramic sunroof, but no cruise control.

This was mine, again in my opinion the perfect colour combo

[jamiebae]

I loved mine, great fun to drive and feels quicker than it is too. They are thirsty (30mpg on a good day) and mine did eat a dual mass flywheel at 70k miles but I'd happily have another one and at £5-6k I'm not sure what else I'd rather have which offers the same combination of practicality, driving fun and (relative) reliability.

[BoRED S2upid]

I had a Cooper not the S and ive also got a Classic Mini. The cooper is small inside I swear there is more room in the Classic, the boot is a joke! as are those run flats. £90 everytime you get a puncture I changed to normal tyres.

[goffahsez]

jamiebae said:

I loved mine, great fun to drive and feels quicker than it is too. They are thirsty (30mpg on a good day) and mine did eat a dual mass flywheel at 70k miles but I'd happily have another one and at £5-6k I'm not sure what else I'd rather have which offers the same combination of practicality, driving fun and (relative) reliability.

CTR? Clio Cup?

[RenesisEvo]

dr.pepper said:

I would hate to have spent £5k only to realise there is better value out there or that the car just isn't that good. A short test drive doesn't always portray the full picture.

I'm currently searching for a 'fun' car in the £5k bracket. There's plenty out there that has a lot more than 160bhp, and without the shortcomings of a MINI (e.g. boot space). Whilst I'm sure a Cooper S is a good drive (I've only experienced an auto really and didn't like it), I just think for the money there are better/more interesting things to consider. It depends on what other criteria you have, e.g. number of seats, boot space, toys, etc.

EDIT: would be useful if I made some suggestions!

Renaultsport Clio or Megane, Honda Civic Type-R, Integra Type-R, BMW E39 530i Sport, MX-5 (of course), Subaru Legacy 3.0R Spec B (great car IMO), Alfa Romeo GT or GTV with a V6, Leon Cupra, Audi TT 1.8T quattro, just to name a few! Get out there and try a few different things before you settle on one car, you never know you might find something you really like.

Edited by RenesisEvo on Monday 28th November 13:47

[900T-R]

BoRED S2upid said:

The cooper is small inside I swear there is more room in the Classic,

Eh? I'm 6'3"ish and I've got room to spare in BMW Minis (have travelled in excess of 300,000 kms in them) in every direction (I actually thought the Coupé was a good idea because I'm carrying about 4" of air above my head in mine - shame about the execution) while a classic Cooper was the only roadworthy car so far I've declined to drive - I couldn't move my feet (and no, they're not that big...).

Both my R50 One and current R56 Cooper have been absolutely trouble free.

[redgriff500]

The only issue I have with Minis is that effectively they are 2 seaters.

And if you can cope with a 2 seater why would you choose a FWD hatch over a RWD coupe / convertible ?

[jamiebae]

goffahsez said:

jamiebae said:

I loved mine, great fun to drive and feels quicker than it is too. They are thirsty (30mpg on a good day) and mine did eat a dual mass flywheel at 70k miles but I'd happily have another one and at £5-6k I'm not sure what else I'd rather have which offers the same combination of practicality, driving fun and (relative) reliability.

CTR? Clio Cup?

Clio isn't in the same league really, the interior is horrid and the driving position is terrible (182 as opposed to 197). Early 197s had a stupid gearbox where 6th is so short they're awful on long journeys. I don't like the CTR personally, too much like a boring hatch with a screaming engine. They can also be painfully expensive to insure and seem to be the number one choice for the type of thief who breaks into a house in the middle of the night and demands the keys.

[nottyash]

jamiebae said:

I loved mine, great fun to drive and feels quicker than it is too. They are thirsty (30mpg on a good day) and mine did eat a dual mass flywheel at 70k miles but I'd happily have another one and at £5-6k I'm not sure what else I'd rather have which offers the same combination of practicality, driving fun and (relative) reliability.

So what other 160/170bhp cars that came out 8 years ago are better than 30mpg? Its not particulary bad.
Our 54 plate 210BHP JCW used to average 31mpg, and that involved spirited driving. I would expect slightly better from a "normal S" maybe yours wasnt right, or you were not driving it right

[joe_90]

jamiebae said:

Clio isn't in the same league really, the interior is horrid and the driving position is terrible (182 as opposed to 197). Early 197s had a stupid gearbox where 6th is so short they're awful on long journeys. I don't like the CTR personally, too much like a boring hatch with a screaming engine. They can also be painfully expensive to insure and seem to be the number one choice for the type of thief who breaks into a house in the middle of the night and demands the keys.

But it does do 40mpg, and is cheapo to run (as in bits to buy etc), and the clios handle wonderfully.

[EV11NED]

I had a 2003 Cooper S which I only kept for about 8 months. Very thirsty, lots of electrical niggles, bone shaker ride and naff all room. Ended up swapping it for a Leon Cupra, which was faster, more comfortable and more reliable as well as better on fuel.

[900T-R]

redgriff500 said:

The only issue I have with Minis is that effectively they are 2 seaters.

And if you can cope with a 2 seater why would you choose a FWD hatch over a RWD coupe / convertible ?

Because you don't - you choose it over a base Golf/Focus/Megane/Leon/whatever as a company car? Even if it were twice as expensive as it is, I don't think there's many employers who'll grant you an Elise...

Realistically, rock solid residuals plus low taxes, modern small car maintenance costs and a real world 40+ mpg places Minis in a whole different category for overall cost than MX5 or even a Clio RS (136 g/km CO2 Cooper S - 195 g/km CO2 Clio, plus it's a Renault...). I wouldn't be able to afford to run my TVR for half the miles that I do in the Mini...

[Caulkhead]

The only real downside to them is you'll look rather metrosexual. If that doesn't bother you I'd go for it.

[redgriff500]

900T-R said:

redgriff500 said:

The only issue I have with Minis is that effectively they are 2 seaters.

And if you can cope with a 2 seater why would you choose a FWD hatch over a RWD coupe / convertible ?

Because you don't - you choose it over a base Golf/Focus/Megane/Leon/whatever as a company car? Even if it were twice as expensive as it is, I don't think there's many employers who'll grant you an Elise...

Realistically, rock solid residuals plus low taxes, modern small car maintenance costs and a real world 40+ mpg places Minis in a whole different category for overall cost than MX5 or even a Clio RS (136 g/km CO2 Cooper S - 195 g/km CO2 Clio, plus it's a Renault...). I wouldn't be able to afford to run my TVR for half the miles that I do in the Mini...

The OP was looking at a £5k one for private purchase though.

[900T-R]

redgriff500 said:

The OP was looking at a £5k one for private purchase though.

Barring an MX5 that lost out in any direct comparison to the Cooper S in contemporary reports - Evo et al - what sort of RWD sports car would you comfortably recommend at that level?

I've driven most cars of that vintage and TBH I can't think of anything between it and an Elise that I'd regard as a step up as a driver's cars - and I'm not sure I'd be brave enough for a £5K Elise...

[5lab]

porsche 944?
bmw 330ci?
bmw m3 (e36)?
nissan 200sx?
early 350z?
boxter?
mx5 turbo?
some sort of mr2 (either a late soft top or some sort of turbo-nutter-job)

all rear wheel drive, fun and 5k