Wife wants a Mini
Discussion
We are looking for a second card and willing to spend £1500-2500.
The amount of cars that we have called up asking for more information and being told there is no service history for the past 5 or so years is ridiculous.
The price range puts us into 2007-2009 cars.
She is quite set on them otherwise I’d be looking at a car myself and she would use the Fiesta but I don’t know what car id like for the budget.
Mondeo ST TDCis appeal to me as I had one for 5 years / they’re well specced but it didn’t half throw some bills at me in that time.
Has anyone had experience with the 2007 era Minis?
Cheers
The amount of cars that we have called up asking for more information and being told there is no service history for the past 5 or so years is ridiculous.
The price range puts us into 2007-2009 cars.
She is quite set on them otherwise I’d be looking at a car myself and she would use the Fiesta but I don’t know what car id like for the budget.
Mondeo ST TDCis appeal to me as I had one for 5 years / they’re well specced but it didn’t half throw some bills at me in that time.
Has anyone had experience with the 2007 era Minis?
Cheers
I had* a 2006 Cooper S, my mum had a 2004 One and has a 2009 Clubman, wife's stepdad has had three (bought from co-part and fixed up), all have had issues, not the most reliable and parts are expensive, great fun little cars not what i would be choosing just for a run-about.
My 2006 Cooper S had 90k on it and was basically scrap, as above part prices are daft.
My 2006 Cooper S had 90k on it and was basically scrap, as above part prices are daft.
Edited by Lord.Vader on Monday 6th January 13:56
Don't know much about regular mini one of that era but that money will get you a decent R53 (pre 2006 model before they started using s
te Peugeot engines). I've been running one as a daily for the last 18 months and it's been utterly reliable only needing a £20 track rod end for it's last MOT with zero advisories. Parts are cheap as chips and it's great fun to drive. Downsides are it's got a hell of a thirst, road tax is mental and it's not exactly a comfy motorway car (anyone that buys one for that purpose deserves what they get).
te Peugeot engines). I've been running one as a daily for the last 18 months and it's been utterly reliable only needing a £20 track rod end for it's last MOT with zero advisories. Parts are cheap as chips and it's great fun to drive. Downsides are it's got a hell of a thirst, road tax is mental and it's not exactly a comfy motorway car (anyone that buys one for that purpose deserves what they get).Another vote for the R50. They're a doddle to work on if you do need parts and they're all cheap. Avoid the £300 snotters and everything in Liquid Yellow seems to attract premiums. I suggest an R50 Cooper. See if you can get one with the facelift steering wheel, a glove compartment and air con. The pre-facelift steering wheel is ugly, the shelf in place of the glove compartment isn't great and air con is a wonderful thing.
You have the option of the Chrysler engined cars or the BMW/PSA Prince engine.
In your bracket that puts you with the BMW engine, its great if you have a low mile example, then you get things going wrong like the VANOS (amazingly a BMW part), the timing chain and tensioner (again, a BMW designed part), coil packs (BMW...), the Direct Injection means you also get a build up of carbon behind the valves, costs a couple of hundred quid to sort out (walnut blasting).
Avoid the early turbo charged units (N14) as these also add the extra High Pressure Fuel Pump experience to the fray (a BMW designed part again... with a hefty price tag to boot).
On the PSA side of things, due to the DI, the valve stem's are not as strong as they should be, they can with age, get oil bypassing them.
The 1.6ltr dervs were a PSA unit, pretty reliable if you look at them, injector seals are the biggest issue and avoid cars with poor service history as the oil galley's get blocked up, they need to be serviced spot on the mileage or before to keep them running well.
Basically unless you want the diesel (good engine) avoid the BMW unit and go with the Chrysler unit, it has its problems but no where near as many as the later petrol engines.
In your bracket that puts you with the BMW engine, its great if you have a low mile example, then you get things going wrong like the VANOS (amazingly a BMW part), the timing chain and tensioner (again, a BMW designed part), coil packs (BMW...), the Direct Injection means you also get a build up of carbon behind the valves, costs a couple of hundred quid to sort out (walnut blasting).
Avoid the early turbo charged units (N14) as these also add the extra High Pressure Fuel Pump experience to the fray (a BMW designed part again... with a hefty price tag to boot).
On the PSA side of things, due to the DI, the valve stem's are not as strong as they should be, they can with age, get oil bypassing them.
The 1.6ltr dervs were a PSA unit, pretty reliable if you look at them, injector seals are the biggest issue and avoid cars with poor service history as the oil galley's get blocked up, they need to be serviced spot on the mileage or before to keep them running well.
Basically unless you want the diesel (good engine) avoid the BMW unit and go with the Chrysler unit, it has its problems but no where near as many as the later petrol engines.
Thanks all for the information!
We’ve called a lot today who haven’t serviced the calls regularly. Ridiculous really.
It’s strange that a lot are dealers and not private. I’m guessing they get part x’d because parts go wrong, dealers offer them a cheap offer for a scrap car and then the dealer does them up and sells them to the next female.
I’ve viewed a couple today too and the price they ask for the condition is madness.
We’ve called a lot today who haven’t serviced the calls regularly. Ridiculous really.
It’s strange that a lot are dealers and not private. I’m guessing they get part x’d because parts go wrong, dealers offer them a cheap offer for a scrap car and then the dealer does them up and sells them to the next female.
I’ve viewed a couple today too and the price they ask for the condition is madness.
Ran a 2009 "R56" MINI Cooper for 3 years and 30,000 miles, great little car, lots of character and really fun. Didn't feel that slow either, revvy, quite willing and a nice slick 6-speeder. The only thing that it needed in that time was a new rear wiper, as the teeth broke on the motor. Very economical too, with 400+ miles easily achievable on a 50 litre tank. There are some caveats though. The boot is miniscule, the ride can be bone-jarringly firm and the frameless windows can be a pain in cold weather. especially if you wash the car. I had to bring it into a heated workshop a few times as they would drop when you opened the doors but then not come back up to seal. It did it occasionally in warmer weather too but you can reset them yourself.
I would still be driving it but unfortunately it developed an erratic idle at 75k and seemed to be running rough/rich at idle but drove fine once rolling. I spent a lot of money changing the plugs, a cracked cranckase breather hose, replacing the crankcase ventilation hose (quite an expensive part as it is integrated into the valve cover) and replacing the VANOS solenoids but sadly to no avail. Also had the intake valves checked for carbon buildup. It was off the road for about a month trying to get it sorted, it was still driveable but I didn't want to wreck the new plugs. A disappointing end because up to that point it was a fantastic, reliable little car and although I fancied the Cooper S, I went for the NA Cooper because I had heard that generally they were more reliable.
In a mk7.5 Golf now, which is objectively better in almost every measurable way but I do still miss the sense of fun of the MINI and I struggle to get more than about 300 miles out of a tank in the Golf (1.4 TSI).
My wife also owned a 2009 Fiat 500 for 3.5 years from new, no issues with that and it was also quite a fun, characterful little car but didn't handle as well as the MINI IMHO.
If I were to go for another MINI, I would probably go with a first-gen R53 Cooper S with the supercharger. By all accounts quite a tough little engine, if a little juicy for the performance. The latest gen cars are probably pretty decent too but obviously above budget and have lost something stylistically for me.
I would still be driving it but unfortunately it developed an erratic idle at 75k and seemed to be running rough/rich at idle but drove fine once rolling. I spent a lot of money changing the plugs, a cracked cranckase breather hose, replacing the crankcase ventilation hose (quite an expensive part as it is integrated into the valve cover) and replacing the VANOS solenoids but sadly to no avail. Also had the intake valves checked for carbon buildup. It was off the road for about a month trying to get it sorted, it was still driveable but I didn't want to wreck the new plugs. A disappointing end because up to that point it was a fantastic, reliable little car and although I fancied the Cooper S, I went for the NA Cooper because I had heard that generally they were more reliable.
In a mk7.5 Golf now, which is objectively better in almost every measurable way but I do still miss the sense of fun of the MINI and I struggle to get more than about 300 miles out of a tank in the Golf (1.4 TSI).
My wife also owned a 2009 Fiat 500 for 3.5 years from new, no issues with that and it was also quite a fun, characterful little car but didn't handle as well as the MINI IMHO.
If I were to go for another MINI, I would probably go with a first-gen R53 Cooper S with the supercharger. By all accounts quite a tough little engine, if a little juicy for the performance. The latest gen cars are probably pretty decent too but obviously above budget and have lost something stylistically for me.
Edited by white_goodman on Monday 6th January 19:47
Its not just Minis that don't get serviced, the same applies to lots of other cars and they usually end up in garages when they break and the owners think an oil change will fix them.
The R50 is more of a Mini than anything else BMW built however the R56 is a little less raw and a better day to day car. But they can cost a few quid to run
The R50 is more of a Mini than anything else BMW built however the R56 is a little less raw and a better day to day car. But they can cost a few quid to run
Mrs Tidy bought a new Mini One in 2003, then replaced it with the new R56 Cooper in December 2006 which she still has!
She's never had any major problems with it other than the ECU for the traction Control dying shortly after the warranty expired. At least BMW made a contribution towards that. Mind you it's still only done just over 50K miles!
She got a 5 year Service Pack for £100 when she bought it and they let her extend it for another 3 years after that, but she has to pay now.
When we still lived together I used to love driving it - it handled really well. We're still on speaking terms, and I 've told her if she ever parts with it I'd like 1st option on it.
I'm not sure they are that problematic, but then I only have experience of one.
I think they got stop/start in 2008 - it's worth turning that off if my experience of it in a 1 Series is anything to go by. Battery died after 4 years and starter motor after 6.
She's never had any major problems with it other than the ECU for the traction Control dying shortly after the warranty expired. At least BMW made a contribution towards that. Mind you it's still only done just over 50K miles!
She got a 5 year Service Pack for £100 when she bought it and they let her extend it for another 3 years after that, but she has to pay now.
When we still lived together I used to love driving it - it handled really well. We're still on speaking terms, and I 've told her if she ever parts with it I'd like 1st option on it.
I'm not sure they are that problematic, but then I only have experience of one.
I think they got stop/start in 2008 - it's worth turning that off if my experience of it in a 1 Series is anything to go by. Battery died after 4 years and starter motor after 6.
We’ve had an R55 Clubman from new in 2007, after a couple of R50/R53 models. Unfortunately we chose the Cooper D that came with the PSA 1.6 engine and that has been by far the most unreliable part of the car after 12 years and 80000 miles. Issues have included leaking sump, leaking exhaust/turbo joint (since day 1) and corroded timing belt tensioner early causing noise early in its life. Aside from the engine we had corrosion on one of the rear doors when quite new, and we are now up to two door lock modules in the last year but otherwise it has been reliable. Still on the original battery, despite start/stop!
The R55/56 platform is generally better screwed together than the earlier MINIs and more comfortable to sit in if you have longer legs due to the reach adjustable steering column. But you can’t beat the sense of occasion when driving a supercharged R53 Cooper S!
Chris
The R55/56 platform is generally better screwed together than the earlier MINIs and more comfortable to sit in if you have longer legs due to the reach adjustable steering column. But you can’t beat the sense of occasion when driving a supercharged R53 Cooper S!
Chris
Different experience here it seems then.
My wife has just moved on her Mini 1.4 First (2009) to her sister to learn to drive in.
In the 135,000 miles she covered in it (I know, don't know how she did it), all it needed was a couple of coil packs, other than knocky suspension it was a brilliant car, will miss driving it.
The little 1.4 PSA engine (I believe) likes a drink of oil, so keep that topped up and dumped every 8/9k all was well.
My wife has just moved on her Mini 1.4 First (2009) to her sister to learn to drive in.
In the 135,000 miles she covered in it (I know, don't know how she did it), all it needed was a couple of coil packs, other than knocky suspension it was a brilliant car, will miss driving it.
The little 1.4 PSA engine (I believe) likes a drink of oil, so keep that topped up and dumped every 8/9k all was well.
The very earliest cars were pretty pants reliability wise but rev LCI cars seemed much better in my experience.
My pre-LCI Cooper S was a car that I loved despite it being a bit of a turd (new steering rack, track rod ends, clutch and immobiliser) in six months. My LCI One on the other hand was super reliable needing only a replacement clock.
The R56 cars seem a bit hit and miss. Two friends had them, one sufferer with the death rattle on his S whereas the other S was fine but plagued by silly niggles.
My pre-LCI Cooper S was a car that I loved despite it being a bit of a turd (new steering rack, track rod ends, clutch and immobiliser) in six months. My LCI One on the other hand was super reliable needing only a replacement clock.
The R56 cars seem a bit hit and miss. Two friends had them, one sufferer with the death rattle on his S whereas the other S was fine but plagued by silly niggles.
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