Can I avoid Mini?

[anonymous-user]

Hi. New to pistonheads but looking for a little advice about the potential purchase of a 2-3 year old Mini. I'm after something that's a little more fun to drive than my current car and a Mini is a contender. Probably a relatively basic one with the 1.5 turbo petrol engine. I'm just looking for a fun little car but the wokey-cokey imagery & corporate BS portrayed on Mini's website is a real turn-off to me.

If I buy a used Mini, can a decent (non-specialist) independent service & repair it without issue, or is there 'Mini only' software and tooling required to maintain it properly?

[anonymous-user]

Thanks. I'm looking to buy around 3 yrs old & would like my local sole-trader garage to maintain it as I trust him more than the main dealers. I'm happy with the handwritten invoice he'll give me so not fussed about uploading service records to BMW/Mini but will this mean constant dash-lights on every time I get in the car or is there a way to self-reset service reminders on 2020-on Minis?

I tried a couple of reg-numbers on Mini's servicing website & with 'environmental charge' & 'standard scope' even a basic oil/filter change was over £300. That's the sort of wallet gouging that really turns me off the brand. That & the whole 20-something non-binary trans people they love to depict on their website. Seems they're just trying far too hard to be on-board with the 'current thing'.

https://www.mini.co.uk/en_GB/home/owners/service-w...

[anonymous-user]

bearman68 said:

Service nags can be switched off using OBD stuff. There is a lot of aftermarket software that will be able to do this, but there are also services available that can use the MINI diagnostic website services to do everything that MINI could anyway, and sometimes more. For example, these services can be used to security programme used electronic security modules like a body control, which is something MINI would never do.
Very few reasons to go to the manufacturer for servicing.

So basically if I'm following you right, there's nothing special about a Mini that a decent indy shouldn't be able to deal with? It's just another car to them, same as all the rest?

I ask because £300 at a main dealer for an oil & oil filter change on little city car would otherwise indicate some mystical super-duper technical features and specialized tooling requirements that only Mini's best of the best elite mechanics are trained to deal with.

Incidentally, I presume OPF is a petrol engined particulate filter? Anyone know if the 2019-on Mini 1.5 turbo has this and does it cause any issues? Also wondered what LCI was however the internet seems to suggest it's just some wky BMW speak for a facelift?

The more I read online about Minis, the more I'm being put off buying one. Corporate BS and 'consumer lifestyle products' aren't really my thing but my kids are keen for me to get something a little less embarassing than my '13 reg Jazz.

[anonymous-user]

Stopped by Mini on my way home to arrange a test drive for next week. Will see what I make of the car and then decide. Hoping for a fun little go-kart and a bit of character and hoping it's not as bland as most of BMW's other products seem to be.

[anonymous-user]

Canon_Fodder said:

OP I'm afraid to say that everything is likely to seem bland after the style and excitement of your Honda Jazz

Every family needs a cheap reliable shopping trolley that you don't care about if it picks up a car-park scrape or one of the kids gets crayon on the seats! Husband used to be a panel beater in his family's business, specializing in BMW & Mercedes so he/we have driven a lot of them and I'm not a fan, even of the M5 he had for a while. I've had a Golf GTi (boring), an MX5 (boring), an Impreza turbo (quick but very very dull). On the other hand I LOVE sporty Hondas. None of the above could even come close to the Prelude 2.2 vtec or the CRX I owned so I know what I like when I drive it even if others can't see the attraction. I've recently sold my motorcycle (which was the fun toy) and I know no car can compare, but am hoping a Mini might be a fun little halfway house.

[anonymous-user]

Had my test drive and have ruled it out. It was 'fun' in the way that a ride on the waltzer is fun compared to a ride on the merry go round but it left me feeling flat. Husband had a good nose at one in the showroom while I was on the test drive and reckoned it's nowhere near as well engineered as my Jazz, and my daughter thinks I should keep the Jazz as "it's a better car". Didn't help that many of the cars on their forecourt had scabby wheels and more wear + tear than I would have expected. Ex rentals maybe as there were many Yorkshire registered ones (seems common with BMW/Mini. Is their fleet office based there?). The wheels on my old Jazz are undamaged. How have all those 2-3 year old Minis been treated when their wheels are wrecked.
Guess I'll just have to find something else to waste my money on now.

[anonymous-user]

nickfrog said:

What are you going to do next?

Keep the Jazz for the time being. It might be boring white goods (it is white as well!) but it's like a dependable friend that never lets me down. I'm quite attached to it and as its value isn't that high, we actually contemplated storing it in our garage instead of trading it in as I'm sure the Mini (had we bought one) would probably end up being traded back in for another Jazz or similar in a couple of years time anyway. Another motorcycle is a possibility as I had a good group of friends I rode with regularly but the standard of driving, drug driving & phone use out there worries me more now than it has ever done. Two kids is also an important consideration. But at present I think I'll hold on to the Jazz & use some of the car change money to book a family holiday to Florida. We're likely to be moving house some time this year anyway so changing car isn't a priority.