2006 BMW MINI One Seven

[RossF1984]

Having perused the forums for a few weeks thought it would be time to post my current daily...

About 9 months ago I replaced a 2003 1.2 Clio, that had a habit of cutting out when it wanted, with this:

A 2006 BMW MINI One Seven with FSH and 60k on the clock.

I picked her up for what I consider to be a good price and set about titvating...

First up was a good clean and quick engine service (plugs, oil, coolant), also threw in a Pipercross panel filter.

I also had the job of painting the silver ring around the center of the steering wheel as it was heavily scratched and scuffed. After some heavy masking off and much praying the result was suprisingly good. I used an aerosol designed for painting leather, etc. so that it maintained a bit of 'give'. Still looks as good as the day I painted it.




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Time was then soaked up by a house move and then the next repair was provided courtesy of the neighbours gardener... Who kindly flat out denied the fact he had done it, although I physically watched him, and has not been seen since..... W*NKER!



Next jobs on the list was a replacement of the Cam chain tensioner, new Aux. belt tensioner and replacement Aux. belt... With the belt tensioner being a complete pain in the a*se as I only had a 10mm Combi and really needed an offset ring spanner....

I really enjoy driving the car and the go-kart handling just adds to the fun... Also is surprisingly good on fuel!! Perfect for a daily. Not sure what to do next, would like a little more power and am considering a Superchips Bluefin to remove the restriction from the ECU and bump the power to the dizzy heights of the Cooper.... Also maybe some new fast road discs and pads.

Obligatory shot with my other trusty steed.

[steve-5snwi]

Anymore plans for the Mini ?

[RossF1984]

Well having fallen in love with the little thing (reminds me of my first car, '92 Vauxhall Nova SRi) I don't want to get rid but would like to extract as much potential as possible without going silly... Think the most realistic would be to take from the standard ~90bhp to ~130bhp which is still a pretty good gain and also the car is pretty light and chuckable. Also want to keep it as standard looking as possible.

Some may say "Just buy a Cooper S" but I am at the point with this one where I feel I know where I am at and always hate the uncertainty of getting a "new car".

[mx5cl]

I had an identical (except for bonnet stripes) 06 one seven in silver, loved the thing, only regret looking back was not remapping it to cooper power! does the reg begin FH06### per chance?!

[RossF1984]

mx5cl said:

does the reg begin FH06### per chance?!

Unfortunately not, this one begins with LM.

[mx5cl]

RossF1984 said:

mx5cl said:

does the reg begin FH06### per chance?!

Unfortunately not, this one begins with LM.

enjoy they are great little cars, I had a later R56 mini and it didnt have nearly as much character, much stronger brakes though!

[Mr Tidy]

Great cars!

Mrs Tidy had an R53 Mini One, then an R56 Cooper with full leather, Xenons, Harmon Kardon stereo, disco lights, etc. - fantastic car!

But I'd go out of my way to avoid a pre-facelift (i.e. pre 56 plate) model! They aren't nearly as good IMO!

[RossF1984]

Mr Tidy said:

But I'd go out of my way to avoid a pre-facelift (i.e. pre 56 plate) model! They aren't nearly as good IMO!

I heard the exact opposite, steer away from the cars with the PSA engines. I guess it is all based on personal experience however...

I do keep finding myself looking at the JCW Clubman's at the minute , just for a little more added "practicality" Well that's what I tell the Mrs....

[hothead50]

Mr Tidy said:

But I'd go out of my way to avoid a pre-facelift (i.e. pre 56 plate) model! They aren't nearly as good IMO!

Been seriously thinking about R50/R53s - they're cheap as chips now and seem to rapidly becoming first cars like the classic Mini.

Any real gotchas with them though?

[RossF1984]

hothead50 said:

Any real gotchas with them though?

Only common things I have really read about are:

1: PAS Pump going kaput.
2: Apparently the gearbox in the early cars is not the strongest.
3. Leaky rear hi-level brake light, which allows water to pool in the boot. Apparently a manufacturing/assembly fault with the seal. Easy fix by replaceing the whole unit.

Also common (allegedly) is

1: Cam chain tensioner, although think this is more common on the PSA 1.6 lump and not the Tritec. I changed mine "just in case" as it only took about 20 minutes and cost less than £20.

I agree that the brakes could probably be a bit better, considering it has discs all round, but will remedy this when the time comes to change them.

[Darkslider]

hothead50 said:

Been seriously thinking about R50/R53s - they're cheap as chips now and seem to rapidly becoming first cars like the classic Mini.

Any real gotchas with them though?

Isolated example I know, but my ex ran a 52 plate One for a couple of years and it was supremely reliable, comfortable, nice to drive with a fantastic solid, weighted gear change and planted handling. In all that time the glove box catch broke and it needed an exhaust backbox, that was about it. She sold it for a Corsa C which was a couple of years newer under the lure of cheaper running costs, massive mistake IMO it was a lemon in comparison with something going wrong every month or two.

We also sold the Mini after 2 years for almost exactly what we paid for it. The corsa lost half its value over a similar time frame. Says it all really.

I'd have another one in a heartbeat, the early models represent amazing VFM now. Have we had one as SOTW yet?

[hothead50]

RossF1984 said:

1: PAS Pump going kaput.

Yeah, seen this on a few advisories - "leak from" or "leaky steering column". Is it difficult/costly to do yourself?

RossF1984 said:

2: Apparently the gearbox in the early cars is not the strongest.
3. Leaky rear hi-level brake light, which allows water to pool in the boot. Apparently a manufacturing/assembly fault with the seal. Easy fix by replaceing the whole unit.

Also common (allegedly) is

1: Cam chain tensioner, although think this is more common on the PSA 1.6 lump and not the Tritec. I changed mine "just in case" as it only took about 20 minutes and cost less than £20.

Didn't know about these, thanks for heads up.

Darkslider said:

Isolated example I know, but my ex ran a 52 plate One for a couple of years and it was supremely reliable, comfortable, nice to drive with a fantastic solid, weighted gear change and planted handling. In all that time the glove box catch broke and it needed an exhaust backbox, that was about it. She sold it for a Corsa C which was a couple of years newer under the lure of cheaper running costs, massive mistake IMO it was a lemon in comparison with something going wrong every month or two.

Cheaper running costs how? Were you thinking day to day insurance etc or parts/labour?

Darkslider said:

I'd have another one in a heartbeat, the early models represent amazing VFM now. Have we had one as SOTW yet?

I agree, really tidy Coopers for £1k around...

[RossF1984]

hothead50 said:

Yeah, seen this on a few advisories - "leak from" or "leaky steering column". Is it difficult/costly to do yourself?

Because it's electric, not belt driven, the cooling fan wasn't alledgedly up to the job. I have been informed it only affects cars manufactured upto and including 2005. Hopefully most of the cars affected were picked up by BMW after their recall. The job doesn't look too bad, just fiddly from underneath. I have seen pattern part pumps ~£150.

Hopefully I never have to find out......

Edited by RossF1984 on Thursday 9th November 13:34

Edited by RossF1984 on Thursday 9th November 13:35

[jamiebae]

I bought a brand new One Seven at the end of 2005, but in Solar Red. It was a great car and I really enjoyed it, the only reason I changed is I was doing too many miles and had an itch for a sports car so swapped it for a Mondeo and an Elise.

I really enjoyed it, took it to France several times and it was a hoot on twisty roads, I did manage to cook the brakes a few times but other than that had no issues in 18 months and about 30k miles. I think these are the sweet spot of the Mini range actually - the early ones have the weaker Rover gearbox and the R56 versions are more complex and supposedly less reliable too. I had a Cooper S a couple of years later of the same age (a Checkmate) and that was brilliant too but the ride and handling balance with 17" wheels and sport suspension wasn't as sweet as the One on 15s and non-runflats.

[Darkslider]

hothead50 said:

"

Cheaper running costs how? Were you thinking day to day insurance etc or parts/labour?

Insurance wasn't the cheapest on it, I believe it was £190 a year to tax, the Corsa was allegedly better on fuel (it wasn't, the 1.2 engine returned mid 30s at best, similar to the mini but with nowhere near the performance.) And she wanted to free up some cash which I suppose she did by selling the mini for £2.5k and spending 1.5k on the corsa. She didn't know at the time though that thousand pounds was her compensation for the next 2 years of miserable motoring in the dreadful little Vauxhall. It was red as well, and needed hours of machone polishing once a month to keep the faded pink paintwork at bay.

[hothead50]

Darkslider said:

Insurance wasn't the cheapest on it, I believe it was £190 a year to tax, the Corsa was allegedly better on fuel (it wasn't, the 1.2 engine returned mid 30s at best, similar to the mini but with nowhere near the performance.) And she wanted to free up some cash which I suppose she did by selling the mini for £2.5k and spending 1.5k on the corsa. She didn't know at the time though that thousand pounds was her compensation for the next 2 years of miserable motoring in the dreadful little Vauxhall. It was red as well, and needed hours of machone polishing once a month to keep the faded pink paintwork at bay.

Thanks, all good to know. Keep seeing very cheap Chillis etc with all the toys...!

[M1C]

Nice car

I'd be tempted with one of these, or a Cooper. Drove a couple of Coopers years ago (in motor trade)

Drove a Cooper S (2005ish 170ps) several times (my stepmams car)...great fun and addictive supercharger whine...but as someone else said...i think i preferred the less crashy ride of the standard Cooper which i still found to be just about quick enough.

[Darkslider]

hothead50 said:

Darkslider said:

Insurance wasn't the cheapest on it, I believe it was £190 a year to tax, the Corsa was allegedly better on fuel (it wasn't, the 1.2 engine returned mid 30s at best, similar to the mini but with nowhere near the performance.) And she wanted to free up some cash which I suppose she did by selling the mini for £2.5k and spending 1.5k on the corsa. She didn't know at the time though that thousand pounds was her compensation for the next 2 years of miserable motoring in the dreadful little Vauxhall. It was red as well, and needed hours of machone polishing once a month to keep the faded pink paintwork at bay.

Thanks, all good to know. Keep seeing very cheap Chillis etc with all the toys...!

Should have clarified the Vauxhall was red and needed constant machine polishing, that wasn't a negative point for red minis I'm sure their paintwork is better.