2002-6 Mini Cooper S - any good?
Discussion
I like a fun car in my life. Love my little MGF but it is a bit impractical with the dog.
My wife suggested perhaps a Cooper S with the supercharger as one option.
It's one car I know nothing at all about. All I know is that my old neighbour had one and swapped it for a R32 Golf and regretted it. He loved the Mini.
The car would be for weekends. Something with a bit of poke to chuck around country lanes and the like.
My wife suggested perhaps a Cooper S with the supercharger as one option.
It's one car I know nothing at all about. All I know is that my old neighbour had one and swapped it for a R32 Golf and regretted it. He loved the Mini.
The car would be for weekends. Something with a bit of poke to chuck around country lanes and the like.
wildcat45 said:
I like a fun car in my life. Love my little MGF but it is a bit impractical with the dog.
My wife suggested perhaps a Cooper S with the supercharger as one option.
It's one car I know nothing at all about. All I know is that my old neighbour had one and swapped it for a R32 Golf and regretted it. He loved the Mini.
The car would be for weekends. Something with a bit of poke to chuck around country lanes and the like.
I have an early 2002 model. Great fun, easy to tune and mod if you want to throw a few quid at it. Apart from a broken heater matrix mine has never let me down in over 2 years. Starting to feel it's age with creaks and squeaks from the interior, and had to replace a couple of things....xenon headlight, drivers door lock, but other than that just general consumables and servicing. My wife suggested perhaps a Cooper S with the supercharger as one option.
It's one car I know nothing at all about. All I know is that my old neighbour had one and swapped it for a R32 Golf and regretted it. He loved the Mini.
The car would be for weekends. Something with a bit of poke to chuck around country lanes and the like.
Not sure on your budget but go for a facelift car from 2004 if you can as they fixed some of the niggles from the earlier cars.
Great cars I've had two.
Couple of reasons why I got rid of the last one;
1. The ride is horrendously hard on the standard 17 inch s spokes with run flats
2. Oil consumption!
Other than that they are great. If I was to get another it would be a face lift with a few mods done as standard they aren't that quick.
Couple of reasons why I got rid of the last one;
1. The ride is horrendously hard on the standard 17 inch s spokes with run flats
2. Oil consumption!
Other than that they are great. If I was to get another it would be a face lift with a few mods done as standard they aren't that quick.
Great cars!
Try and get a post 05 model as they have a Teflon coated supercharger and an extra few bhp!
We had ours (55 plate) for 10k miles, a trip to Lemans and a 14% supercharger pulley, bigger intercooler, cooler running plugs, and it was a proper little weapon! Fantastic handling, nimble, grip like crazy (some of the later ones and the JCW came with a simplistic LSD's which are epic out of corners)
Ours didn't use any oil at all contrary to above, wasn't great on fuel though and did start to rust around the rear numberplate light strip thing
They are also known for having clutch release bearing and stewing pump issues, howeve no different to any car over 10 yrs old really...
1320 mini would be a good outfit to talk to...
I would thoroughly recommend it!
Try and get a post 05 model as they have a Teflon coated supercharger and an extra few bhp!
We had ours (55 plate) for 10k miles, a trip to Lemans and a 14% supercharger pulley, bigger intercooler, cooler running plugs, and it was a proper little weapon! Fantastic handling, nimble, grip like crazy (some of the later ones and the JCW came with a simplistic LSD's which are epic out of corners)
Ours didn't use any oil at all contrary to above, wasn't great on fuel though and did start to rust around the rear numberplate light strip thing
They are also known for having clutch release bearing and stewing pump issues, howeve no different to any car over 10 yrs old really...
1320 mini would be a good outfit to talk to...
I would thoroughly recommend it!
I tried one of these a few months ago following a suggestion from SWMBO, and was pleasantly surprised.
Huge fun to drive. Really puts a smile on your face when you fling it around corners. I wasn't expecting that.
Looks really good on the outside (IMHO).
The interior I found harder to get on with. It definitely looks interesting but I also felt that there was a lot of style over substance, and some of the references to Mini heritage ended up compromising it. And I found some of the switches hard to reach, and some of the instruments hard to read. I couldn't see myself doing long journeys in it.
But as a secondary "fun" car it could work really well and I would definitely try one.
Huge fun to drive. Really puts a smile on your face when you fling it around corners. I wasn't expecting that.
Looks really good on the outside (IMHO).
The interior I found harder to get on with. It definitely looks interesting but I also felt that there was a lot of style over substance, and some of the references to Mini heritage ended up compromising it. And I found some of the switches hard to reach, and some of the instruments hard to read. I couldn't see myself doing long journeys in it.
But as a secondary "fun" car it could work really well and I would definitely try one.
jimmy156 said:
Great cars, I love my cooper s, although mine is a 2011 turbo car.
One thing to consider is that unless your dog is very small, they are probably not that much more practical for carrying a pooch then the MGF. You wouldn't get anything bigger than a jack Russell in the boot!
- I've had a big Labrador + Fox terrier in the boot!One thing to consider is that unless your dog is very small, they are probably not that much more practical for carrying a pooch then the MGF. You wouldn't get anything bigger than a jack Russell in the boot!
No problems.
Great cars,
Lovely cammy engine,
Incredible fun over irish backwoods,
Steering is lovely on the mk1,
Great feel, seems far more organic than the later mk2 turbo cars.
Use a little bit of oil,
But we use ours everyday + hard.
Get the chilli pack if you can,
Heated seats etc - climate control.
Great little cars!
Mrs Faxo has had 4 Cooper S', an 02 Supercharged, an 04 facelift supercharged, a 57 turbo, and now a 13 JCW
The supercharged ones used oil as mentioned, but not enough to think there was an issue. We both loved driving them, the supercharger whine is addictive!
The turbo one was a nightmare, constantly coking up and misfiring and a noisey dual mass flywheel at 40k amongst other things. Nicer I terior though
So far the JCW has been faultless, it has the newer engine in though so maybe they've ironed out the faults
I myself am now looking for a 2002- Cooper S due the her getting a Golf R, but the prices are really holding, and there are some dogs on the market!
Make sure it has Chili Pack, which includes 1/2 leather and most noticeably xenon headlights, as you may struggle to resell, and they're all priced around the same with or without the pack
The supercharged ones used oil as mentioned, but not enough to think there was an issue. We both loved driving them, the supercharger whine is addictive!
The turbo one was a nightmare, constantly coking up and misfiring and a noisey dual mass flywheel at 40k amongst other things. Nicer I terior though
So far the JCW has been faultless, it has the newer engine in though so maybe they've ironed out the faults
I myself am now looking for a 2002- Cooper S due the her getting a Golf R, but the prices are really holding, and there are some dogs on the market!
Make sure it has Chili Pack, which includes 1/2 leather and most noticeably xenon headlights, as you may struggle to resell, and they're all priced around the same with or without the pack
Very good little cars, I've had mine nearly a year, it's one of those last of the old school style drivers cars IMHO. Traction control you can turn off, Fruity noise (for a 4 cylinder), and a great response to modifications.
A 15% charger reduction, Stealth/dave F intake, plugs and belt will set you back £300 in parts, and in return you'll get nearly 20lb ft more EVERYWHERE on the dyno graph.
I have yet to do mine but it's on the list.
They look very fresh and modern still IMHO.
Facelift is the one to go for, August 04 onwards.
Shorter ratios, 3 piece dash, different light clusters and a number of other subtleties.
05 on with chilli pack, get a basic LSD.
I avoid sunroofs, but that's a personal thing.
A 15% charger reduction, Stealth/dave F intake, plugs and belt will set you back £300 in parts, and in return you'll get nearly 20lb ft more EVERYWHERE on the dyno graph.
I have yet to do mine but it's on the list.
They look very fresh and modern still IMHO.
Facelift is the one to go for, August 04 onwards.
Shorter ratios, 3 piece dash, different light clusters and a number of other subtleties.
05 on with chilli pack, get a basic LSD.
I avoid sunroofs, but that's a personal thing.
Probably one of the best FWD cars you can buy. I had several of SC cars and they go like stink. Fuel economy is the only reason I no longer have one, as I now drive 100 miles a day. I did 30 plus track days in mine, no mechanical issues. Tuned to about 230bhp too.
2002/03 cars did suffer from power steering failure, as the electrics for the pump were exposed to the elements down underneath the car.
Never noted any oil consumption problems. Put over 100k miles on my two cars.
I might get one as a toy for the weekends and as a backup for daily driver.
2002/03 cars did suffer from power steering failure, as the electrics for the pump were exposed to the elements down underneath the car.
Never noted any oil consumption problems. Put over 100k miles on my two cars.
I might get one as a toy for the weekends and as a backup for daily driver.
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