Cheap Mini Cooper daily!
Discussion
I was in the lookout for a new (used) daily.
Had to be cheap, reasonably practical and able to get me to work and back without breaking down, or breaking the bank.
Somehow a Mini Cooper arrived on my shortlist, I've never had one before so I thought I'd give one a go, I looked at a few and they were either overpriced for what they were, or shed money and actual sheds.
Then I saw this on eBay, a 2005 Mini Cooper with 116k, it was about 40 miles away which is my absolute limit for travelling as I refuse to travel miles and miles just to see a badly described pos.
I dropped a message and spoke to the seller who seemed like a decent bloke so I arranged to go down and see it.
I was happy when I got there as it was fairly well described and in really good condition with two keys (I know) service history and almost a years MOT.
Interior was half leather, stereo is a standard CD player, wheels had been recently refurbed with good tyres, everything works and it was pretty clean with no damage. It even had half a tank of fuel in it!
It was up for £1,500, I managed to nab it for £1,250 which is pretty good value imo, a new one is more than ten times that. As I'm not a mini geek when I bought this I couldn't tell the difference between old and new without looking at the plate
I can now though.
The drive home was fairly uneventful as I didn't have a clue where I was going because I was following my wife, power seemed adequate all gears selected nice and easy and it went really well considering.
I've had it about a month now and has been faultless on my daily commute, does alright for fuel too, with an indicated 42-47mpg per journey.
Plenty of power for the road, my speed demon days are behind me, never thought I'd say that 115bhp would do me fine
Anyway, some pics...
Even fits in the garage
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/JFnIqHP9.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/OJCazPiB" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/OJCazPiB.jpg)
Plans are basically to keep it in good condition, I might do a couple of subtle mods but not for power as I already said it has enough for what I use the car for, it definitely needs a modern stereo, I don't own any cd's!
Had to be cheap, reasonably practical and able to get me to work and back without breaking down, or breaking the bank.
Somehow a Mini Cooper arrived on my shortlist, I've never had one before so I thought I'd give one a go, I looked at a few and they were either overpriced for what they were, or shed money and actual sheds.
Then I saw this on eBay, a 2005 Mini Cooper with 116k, it was about 40 miles away which is my absolute limit for travelling as I refuse to travel miles and miles just to see a badly described pos.
I dropped a message and spoke to the seller who seemed like a decent bloke so I arranged to go down and see it.
I was happy when I got there as it was fairly well described and in really good condition with two keys (I know) service history and almost a years MOT.
Interior was half leather, stereo is a standard CD player, wheels had been recently refurbed with good tyres, everything works and it was pretty clean with no damage. It even had half a tank of fuel in it!
It was up for £1,500, I managed to nab it for £1,250 which is pretty good value imo, a new one is more than ten times that. As I'm not a mini geek when I bought this I couldn't tell the difference between old and new without looking at the plate
I can now though.The drive home was fairly uneventful as I didn't have a clue where I was going because I was following my wife, power seemed adequate all gears selected nice and easy and it went really well considering.
I've had it about a month now and has been faultless on my daily commute, does alright for fuel too, with an indicated 42-47mpg per journey.
Plenty of power for the road, my speed demon days are behind me, never thought I'd say that 115bhp would do me fine
Anyway, some pics...
Even fits in the garage
Plans are basically to keep it in good condition, I might do a couple of subtle mods but not for power as I already said it has enough for what I use the car for, it definitely needs a modern stereo, I don't own any cd's!
Braintax said:
That's a great looking car and sounds a real bargain at that price too. Nice cars with a lot of character.
Thanks, it's a nice little car, I was never really interested in them before, but I can now see why they're so popular.A lot of car for the money nowadays too.
Always nice to get the book pack
DailyHack said:
Yeah they are decent cars - my other half has a poverty spec 1.4 First 59 plate, it's a hoot to drive, bit knocky @120k now and drinks oil like nothing I have ever seen - but it's still rocking.
I try and use it at w/e, makes a change from my heavy tank 3er touring.
Well I use this mon-fri and my wife has the Cayenne, am I doing this right? I try and use it at w/e, makes a change from my heavy tank 3er touring.
It's the complete opposite to the big Porsche, the R50 mini was actually seen as big when it first came out, but could never be described as a tank, although some of the new ones could!
pteron said:
I just picked up a similar age Cooper S in red too. One owner from new, every toy they did including an LSD. It's a hoot. Shame about the fuel consumption though, probably half of what you're getting, but that supercharger whine when you put your foot down is quite addictive!
I do like the look of a Cooper S, it's a shame that the nice ones were out of reach as I was after a cheap reliable daily, the ones in budget were rough and I didn't really want to gamble.
They're great little cars IMHO!
Mrs Tidy bought a new R50 One in 2003, then got invited to the R56 launch at the local dealer. So of course an R56 Cooper got ordered in Red with black roof and bonnet stripes, and enough extras to add 50% to the list price.
She collected it on Xmas Eve 2006, so a nice present to herself - but as she still has it I suppose it was worth it! Still only on 56K miles and the OBC is still showing a 40+ mpg average.
Then a couple of years ago my sister wanted one (she must have been so jealous for years) and I found her a red 06 plate Cooper that she still has.
They just drive so well!
Mrs Tidy bought a new R50 One in 2003, then got invited to the R56 launch at the local dealer. So of course an R56 Cooper got ordered in Red with black roof and bonnet stripes, and enough extras to add 50% to the list price.
She collected it on Xmas Eve 2006, so a nice present to herself - but as she still has it I suppose it was worth it! Still only on 56K miles and the OBC is still showing a 40+ mpg average. Then a couple of years ago my sister wanted one (she must have been so jealous for years) and I found her a red 06 plate Cooper that she still has.
They just drive so well!
Great cars!
I’ve got one of these that I used to run as my daily it’s on around 140k miles now & other then the midlands gearbox s
tting itself (but being repairable) around 10k ago it was a reliable car!
I used to work in Euxton & drive it from Liverpool everyday... It’s sitting in the garden I’m going to put it back on the road again soon though as I miss driving it.
I’ve noticed yours is a facelift but has the pre facelift rear bumper
I’ve got one of these that I used to run as my daily it’s on around 140k miles now & other then the midlands gearbox s
tting itself (but being repairable) around 10k ago it was a reliable car! I used to work in Euxton & drive it from Liverpool everyday... It’s sitting in the garden I’m going to put it back on the road again soon though as I miss driving it.
I’ve noticed yours is a facelift but has the pre facelift rear bumper
Good to see I'm not the only one.......
In a desperate attempt to persuade Mrs LFB that she didn't need to use the Range for dotting about doing local things, I treated her to this last Valentines day!
A '55 plate standard Cooper found lurking in the classifieds with sub 80,000 miles and also less than £2k. Since then, sailed through MoT and cheap as chips for a service.
Has become a firm family friend, we've never had one before, could never really understand why they were so popular but we do now!
In a desperate attempt to persuade Mrs LFB that she didn't need to use the Range for dotting about doing local things, I treated her to this last Valentines day!
A '55 plate standard Cooper found lurking in the classifieds with sub 80,000 miles and also less than £2k. Since then, sailed through MoT and cheap as chips for a service.
Has become a firm family friend, we've never had one before, could never really understand why they were so popular but we do now!
My Girlfriend used to have a black 2005 Mini Cooper, with John Cooper Works bodykit (which actually looked quite good). It was a fun little thing to drive, and surprisingly practical! She now has a 2011 Mini Countryman Cooper S All4, which is very nice but is no where near as fun, and it likes oil...
loves a drink and can have a temper but it's a keeper.. evoke strange feelings 
Got a real soft spot for these, the first BMW Mini design was so right, particularly in light of how ugly it has become over the successive changes. I had a nearly new Cooper S convertible about 12/13 years ago and have been searching for another Cooper S recently, hopefully will get one at some point.
I’ve just got a very early immaculate Cooper myself with lowish miles and 11months mot with all of the option boxes ticked for the grand sum of £350.
I’ve got it sorned at the moment as it has a few issues such as a leak which I’ve now fixed and a wet BC1 unit which I’ve now replaced for £15 so I just need to get it reprogrammed now to fix the central locking and even the leather seats are like new which is quite rare on a mini.
If you need the mod cons such as Bluetooth and handsfree have you thought of fitting a parrot kit (Mk1 9100) as the original stereo sounds quite good and it looks like yours is a boost rather than a wave so it’s not a cheap unit and the parrot can be retrofitted without drilling holes.
I recently got one for free out of an old Peugeot which was being scrapped and the adapter kits for a mini can be had for £5 on eBay and secondhand they are quite cheap.
I love the R50 and this one is the 4th I’ve bought but all the others have been for friends and family so it’s nice to get a good one for myself.
I still don’t know when I’m going to get to drive it as I’ve also got 3 old BMWs which rarely get used much.
I’m going to change the wheels though as I prefer the smaller 15inch wheels on our potholed roads and I’ve never been a fan of run flats.
I’ve got it sorned at the moment as it has a few issues such as a leak which I’ve now fixed and a wet BC1 unit which I’ve now replaced for £15 so I just need to get it reprogrammed now to fix the central locking and even the leather seats are like new which is quite rare on a mini.
If you need the mod cons such as Bluetooth and handsfree have you thought of fitting a parrot kit (Mk1 9100) as the original stereo sounds quite good and it looks like yours is a boost rather than a wave so it’s not a cheap unit and the parrot can be retrofitted without drilling holes.
I recently got one for free out of an old Peugeot which was being scrapped and the adapter kits for a mini can be had for £5 on eBay and secondhand they are quite cheap.
I love the R50 and this one is the 4th I’ve bought but all the others have been for friends and family so it’s nice to get a good one for myself.
I still don’t know when I’m going to get to drive it as I’ve also got 3 old BMWs which rarely get used much.
I’m going to change the wheels though as I prefer the smaller 15inch wheels on our potholed roads and I’ve never been a fan of run flats.
Edited by Vince70 on Sunday 13th January 21:59
Edited by Vince70 on Sunday 13th January 22:01
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