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Mini Cooper S

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:18 pm
by CSK_423
Anyone got one, if so what do you think, quality, fuel, value for money ?

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:31 pm
by Mr Momo
Had one, loved it - elise was logical next step

supercharger gave good low end grunt and had plenty of grip - but run flats are too hard

if you get one for a good price have a go - but watch for the odd lemon - new one looks a bit ghey

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:37 pm
by woody
Missus has a cooper, and i drove a few S's before buying the elise.

TBH i was pretty disappointed with the S - the gearing's too long, the ride too hard (worse than the liz on lss), i didn't like the steering etc... Not my idea of i driver's car, and at the time i was driving a 306 rallye.

Having said that, its probably the best car around money wise between tlc and low depreciation.

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:52 pm
by CSK_423
This is really for the other half and would be a bonus for myself to take for a blast whenever I can until I buy a car, started off looking at beetle's it moved onto the cooper now the cooper-S :roll:

I have always liked them but wouldn't buy for my daily use good excuse for the missus to get one :lol:

came across this one, it actually has 36k miles and is now £9995...thoughts ? Although I would prefer the piece of mind buying a cherished mini from BMW.

http://www.smartycars.com/saline/detail ... aler_ID=11

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:02 pm
by simon
Bought a Cooper a few months ago. Wouldn't buy from a stealer, way to overpriced and they won't discount. We got ours privately with around a year manufacturers warranty on it and saved about £2k on what a dealer was wanting.

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:14 pm
by Dominic
Apart from the fact I can't stand the looks of the new mini :evil: , I would not rush to buy one. Renaultsport clio better buy IMHO :drive , but prob less reliable. If you are not driving it too often, then the mini would prob be the best car for the missus, which, let's face it, is a much better buy than a new beetle :oops:

:wink:

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:27 pm
by CSK_423
I'm leaning towards the dealer for 2 reasons, I can trade in the liz and I also have some sort of warranty, obviously depending on where it's purchased from.

dominic yes it is better than a beetle haha

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:26 am
by tut
Scottys ex-girlfriend has an S convertible.

tut

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:53 am
by Derek
We had a Cooper S convertible, but it had a thirst unseen since George Best had a night out with Oliver Reed.

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:54 am
by jj
Are you trying to beat G`s "what car" threads? ..... :roll: :D

I am sure skellyjohn had one that he had done about a million miles in and had lots of probs with - pm him?n

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:02 am
by Lazydonkey
We've got a One D which has now done 30k in 2 and a bit years. Its not been 100% reliable (wheel bearing went and the zaust heatsheild keeps buzzing) and the dealers are a bit so so but I love it.

Its hard to find a car that doesnt feel baggy and horrible after the VX but the MINI feels great. Just make sure you get TLC as IIRC it is now up to five years servicing for nowt.

Oh and even our diesel struggles to better 35 mpg :shock:

Residual values are still incredible too

.....ours will be for sale when the mrs eventually picks her next car :roll:

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:44 am
by The_Rossatron
I second what Mr Donkey says, the Mini is one of the few cars that doesn't feel like a tank after the Elise. Great cars in my opinion, prices will probably drop a bit when the new model comes out which will be in the very near future.

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:00 am
by skellyjohn
Maybe I was just unlucky (twice) but ....

Having owned 8 old shaped minis, I was first in the queue for the new one. So I bought my first cooper on a y plate. 12 warranty repairs and umpteen recalls later, I traded it in for a cooper s. 19 warranty repairs including 4 recovery breakdowns on that one!

The reason I got the s was my friend had one. It had so many recalls that BMW bought it back off him and replaced it with another s. This one was even worse and lasted only 3 months before BMW bought that one back as well.

Would I buy another?

NOPE!

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:28 pm
by Alan
Jesus ill need to show my girlfriend this thread!!

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:28 pm
by CSK_423
jke11y wrote:Are you trying to beat G`s "what car" threads? ..... :roll: :D

I am sure skellyjohn had one that he had done about a million miles in and had lots of probs with - pm him?n
LOL I know it's starting to go that way :oops:

Will be doing a tour of the BMW garages on saturday,we will see what laughable trade in they offer for the liz, I'm playing with the idea of waiting till after xmas unless something jumps out and bites me on sat.