F56 Mini questions

[ChrisH72]

After several months of going round the houses I think I’ve settled on the idea of a Mini. It’s a car I’ve always liked but never owned and it’s different enough to my current car (fiesta ST) to make it worth changing.

Question is which one? So I’m looking for any advice and owner opinions.

Budget is around my car plus 10k. I’ll ask for part ex price when the time comes but I’m fairly sure it won’t be great. I’m in a position to buy a car then sell mine for hopefully around 8k so total budget is 18k. I could go more but would rather not and I’m happy to go a bit less but it has to feel like an upgrade from the Ford.

The variation in spec with the Mini is typical BMW with barely any two being the same. Much of it doesn’t bother me but I would like the big screen with Nav and also heated seats as I’ve used them a lot in mine and would miss them. Not sure if these things were part of a pack or something. Oh and it must be manual.

I’m quite interested in the 2018 facelift Cooper S sport. Like the black track spoke wheels and most do seem to have heated seats. Here’s a local one I plan to see tomorrow if it’s available.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303105...

I’d like to drive that one but probably not buy. Miles are a bit high and I think it’s a bit over on price. Terrible photos without even having been washed which puts me off. But it’s at the local Mini dealer so a test drive should be easy enough. They also have a JCW.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210251...

I’m not interested in that as it’s low spec and not keen on colour but it’d be interesting to compare.

A JCW is also quite tempting but I have reservations. On the plus side I love how they look with the 18’s and the seats are very nice. I’d happily go a bit older and have noticed they start around 15k. Not easy to find with heated seats and the rest but something like this looks okay.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303235...

Or maybe this but it’s a bit further away.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303024...

I’ve been told the ride is very poor on 18’s with runflats. How would that compare to a mk7 ST?
My old E92 was on runflats and I never had a problem with them so I’m not too sure it bothers me. I am aware that you can get a JCW on 17 track spokes but they all seem to be low spec without the proper seats and hardly any with heated seats I really want.

So a JCW or a facelift Cooper S Sport. Any thoughts welcome.

[ChrisH72]

Excellent thanks for that Toolslinger.

I'm happy with the ST performance wise and a cooper s is on a par so should be fine. I wonder if the extra power of the JCW would be all that noticeable day to day?

Still undecided on the infotainment. My ST3 has Nav but I never use it. In the 3 years I've had it I've never even bothered to connect my phone. Tech doesn't interest me much in cars, in fact I only really listen to radio and that's about it. Our main family car has no screen at all so if we need Nav we just use a phone mount which is fine by me. The main issue I have is I don't want to end up with a car that's hard to sell if it doesn't have the screen.

Never heard about the adaptive dampers.

If the ride is no worse than my ST then that's fine for me.

[ChrisH72]

twokcc said:

Damper control is available on coopers -hers one very rare order and cheaper than what you are lookinf for

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302094...

It’s certainly a decent spec and low mileage. Service history looks good but I can’t get an MOT check as the reg on the tag in the cup holder doesn’t seem to work. Downsides are 5 owners, I’m not too keen on those wheels and thunder grey always looks like primer to me. Usually I like grey but it needs to be a nice shiny metallic.

The other issue I have is that my Fiesta is a 66 plate and apart from having fairly high miles (78k) is very well sorted. Paying an extra 5k for a 14 plate Mini feels a bit wrong. Sounds silly but it is what it is. Psychologically I’d rather have a car from 2017 onwards so it at least feels like an upgrade. Unless of course it’s a really lovely JCW in which case slightly older is okay.

Should be able to get to the local dealership today which will help.

[ChrisH72]

What is visual boost?

I've noticed that not all cars with the big screen have Nav. To be honest I'm not really sure what you get. Must admit it's a lot simpler looking at Fiestas, just pick the ST3 which has everything and it's job done. Except performance pack I guess, even that's a faff but nothing like the Mini.

I went to Sytner Mini this morning. They have their used stock lined up outside but no sign of the cars I'd seen listed on AT. Mostly autos and some absolute fantasy sticker prices. I've never felt comfortable with the big posh dealerships and as nobody approached me I left it.

On my way home I passed a small garage that I've bought from before. They had an E class convertible out the front which is a car I've considered in the past so I stopped for a look. Great little place who are happy for you to take unaccompanied test drives as long as you hand over your license. Sun was our so why not? I took a wafty drive in a 350cdi and it was very nice indeed. Much as I enjoyed the drive it did confirm to me that I really do want a small manual and that actually a convertible isn't necessary. It's good to rule things out and I much preferred driving home in my ST.

So the next plan is to visit a car supermarket where I can hopefully drive a JCW. There's this one not far away.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023020840...

Love the colour. Like the price too. No heated seats sadly and no Nav although I don't think Nav is a deal breaker for me. Can't get there until Friday and I don't want to be leaving deposits on cars I probably won't buy. Luckily they have 3 JCW'S so I'll calk them Thursday pm and see what's available to try.

[ChrisH72]

Hmmm yes I'd forgotten about BMW running costs. I did get burned with my 3 series out of warranty so I would really want to be covered.

The Fiesta has cost me very little in 3 years. Most I've spent was a couple of hundred quid on discs and pads. I imagine those JCW brakes cost a bit more.

[ChrisH72]

This one looks quite good although not my favourite colour I must admit.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022093002...

They're few and far between that tick all the boxes so might take some time.

[ChrisH72]

Thanks for that Nick.

I like red, and think it suits the Mini well. I'm leaning more towards the 17 inch black track spoke wheels with non run flats.

The warranty thing does bother me having been caught out by BMW in the past. Having said that I'm not sure a warranty would have helped all that much with the issues I had.

Is it wise to stay with approved used or just find one with a full history? I was planning to have it serviced and maintained by a local indy anyway so that may not make a difference.

I can take my time with this, no rush to buy any old car. I still find it really annoying that so few have heated seats. I'd have thought it was a must when speccing the car from new unless it was a really expensive option?

[ChrisH72]

I like this one.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023021743...

But it's absolutely top of budget and an awfully long way away from me.

[ChrisH72]

Great info thanks guys.

I'm hoping the ride with 17s and normal tyres will be fine especially when compared with my mk7 ST. Might miss some of the ST fun factor but I think I'm ready for a change. I'll need to get my head around prices as to me it still feels like 20k should be getting a brand new car! But the Mini is actually no worse than the competition with comparable mk8 ST3's being similarly priced anyway.

[ChrisH72]

Sounds okay to me really. I do love my ST but things I would change are the ride and interior quality. A mini would provide enough fun I'm sure, and with 230bhp I'd guess the JCW feels a bit quicker in a straight line.

I'm away from tomorrow so will look when back. There's a place nearby which has quite a few nice minis although there not franchise approved. I'll find a link to their site.

[ChrisH72]

https://www.macsonscars.co.uk/page/used/cars/0/66/...

There we go.

Cars seem maybe a bit overpriced? Hard to tell.

What's good is that its only 20 mins away from me and they have a few different ones to look at. So it may be possible to try a jcw on 17's and 18's as well as maybe just a cooper s. The one I like most is the black 69 plate but at 22k it really is getting a bit much. Low miles though. Trouble is 22k is getting a bit close to a brand new i20N and I'm sure I can get a decent mini for under 20k.

[ChrisH72]

That comes with a nicely offensive numberplate for when you've just overtaken someone haha!!

[ChrisH72]

Any thoughts on this one...?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023031753...

A bit higher on mileage but not too much of an issue for me as I only do about 4k a year.

[ChrisH72]

Hadn't noticed that it didn't have them.

It is a bit frustrating that the spec varies so much. Of course parking sensors or a rear camera aren't necessary on a small car but I've been used to having them as standard on my Fiesta. Today I drove my in laws Seat Ibiza which they have on loan whilst their car is in for an insurance repair. I had to reverse it out of a tight spot and found it irritating that there were no sensors. In fact it was lucky that I even twigged it didn't have them.

I'd probably rather buy a car on 17s than mess about getting new wheels and selling old ones. But I think I ought to drive both to feel the difference.

Yesterday I was reading a top gear shootout between the JCW, mk8 ST and the i20N. They gave the Mini a bit of a pasting. I'll drive a mk8 ST to make my own mind up. They certainly have the advantage that the ST3 just comes with everything on it as standard so it's only a matter of finding one with performance pack. But it seems the Mini is a slightly different kind of car which may suit my needs very well. And they are cool looking things. The i20N is just a bit too new and expensive for me, besides which all the tech stuff doesn't do much for me personally.

[ChrisH72]

Looking at the LCI Cooper S sport, it seems that a great many of them come with heated seats, rear sensors, big screen as well as having the track spoke wheels as standard. Much cheaper than the JCW too so I think I'll try one out. Brakes can't be that bad surely? I don't tend to be that hard on brakes and won't be going on track.

If buying approved used, is it a good idea to have services carried out by main dealer to preserve value? I noticed Nick mentioned Amber services, does that mean service carried out by an indy?

[ChrisH72]

Also slightly confused about LCI.

I thought you could tell LCI by the union Jack rear lights. But the Cooper S only seems to be LCI from 68 plate when it became classic, sport or exclusive. But I've see quite a few 18 plate JCWs like the one I linked which have the LCI rear lights. Did the JCW get a face-lift earlier?

[ChrisH72]

The spec reads well on that Nick thanks. I'll be interested to see if that sells quickly. Still away on hols at the moment and also quite a distance but it shows they do come up.

I could go and see the Solihull one if it's still available when I'm back and my Local Sytner has a Cooper S sport to try. There's that Macsons place nearby too which seem to have a lot of Minis.

[ChrisH72]

I'm afraid this kind of thing annoys me with many private sellers.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021112499...

Nice car but 24k??

Poor set of photos too.

[ChrisH72]

Do you mind me asking how much a new one was?

Some I've seen listed are 40k!

[ChrisH72]

Thanks for sharing that.

I think I'm still aiming at up to 20k. Need to drive a few with different wheels and maybe even an auto. Then I think it'll be a case of jumping on the right one when it comes. The black one I linked is gone so there's still plenty of demand.