Ownership Experience - Audi TT/Mini Cooper S

[campbell]

Interesting, Iain. We had discounted the 3.2 v6 as a thirsty, front-heavy barge. How much better is it than a 225? Or is it just the DSG box that shines?

[woody]

Guy next to me at work has the v6, suggests it is V thirsty. Quite a few issues with it over the years too but nothing that major.

[H8OAG]

I have owned both the 225 and the V6.

225 is plenty quick and returns 31mpg all day long

V6 is a bit more fun aurally......and more torque
I could never get any more than 22mpg (9mpg on track)
DSG box is fab and does give you a reasonable chunk of engine braking
The sump is very exposed with low ground clearance

Both cars suffer from lack of pedal if driven hard

Cannot recall any other major quirks

[campbell]

Cheers guys!

[graeme]

Had a R53 JCW which joined in on a few SE runs/camps. It's a great fun car. Power steering pump was noisy so I replaced it before it failed. New clutch was £1000+ at an indy because it's a massive job. Nothing else gave even the slightest trouble.

Other than that, it was excellent fun. Tyres matter. Ditch the runflats immediately (but remember to leave a can of tyre foam in the boot so your wife doesn't get stuck ). I had Toyos on in the summer, and Sottozeros in the winter, which were excellent. I rallyed it over the back roads to work in proper snow many times, and it was great. Tons of fun!

Mini has a lot more room in it than a TT. I don't fit in a TT at all, but had headroom to spare in the Mini.

Only got rid of it because kids came along. Great car.

If you get a JCW, change the air filter. The front strut brace has to come off to get the airbox lid off, so it never gets done, even by main dealer servicing.

[campbell]

Our kids would fit nicely in a mini again now. Always liked your JCW, G.

B-)

[KennyT]

I've had a 2004 R53 Cooper S and a 2003 TT 225, below is a link to the TT for sale ad from last year, pay attention to the list of maintenance I did, add to that also a Power Steering pump I had to do after I wrote the advert...
http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... =7&t=41282

The Mini we owned from 21k to about 50k and had no major issues, usual ball joints, bushes and ARB droplinks but nothing big until I sold it to Stevoraith- think the problem was electrical he mentioned, there was also a noisy power steering pump but that had been noisy for about 3 years.

If I were to choose between the two I would take the Mini, more fun and engaging to drive, more practical as you can use the back seats if needed, back seats folded down there is reasonable space and height whereas the TT bootlid slopes and boot floor is high so even with the seats down the space is limited.
Winter capability of the Mini was fine with Winter tyres.
Ride quality in the Mini was stiff even after replacing runflats with Kuhmos but not unbearable, TT was more comfortable but still had sports suspension and 18” wheels so by no means a barge.
Interior quality was the biggest difference, the TT interior was outstanding and a very nice place to sit but did have a few rattles. The Mini was a cheaper feel and creaked but again not unbearable, I believe the facelifted R53 Mini interior is better quality as the big dash panel is 3 piece compared to 5 in the older car.
Spec wise there is not much between them but many more Mini’s will have Cruise control than TT’s, in the TT it had to be retro fitted. Sat Nav isn’t an option in TT but possible in the Mini. Almost all TT will have heated leather, Most Minis will have leather but not all heated. Pano roof in the Mini is nice although a potential bill if the motor goes.

I enjoyed driving the TT on a long motorway run but the Mini everywhere else. I hated the power delivery of the TT turbocharged engine, the steering wheel was too big and not direct enough. The Mini used to return low 30’s mpg whereas the TT was lucky to reach 25mpg.

In summary, the TT was a more comfortable cruiser, but if you want a comfortable cruiser buy a Golf which has none of the impracticality.
The Mini was more fun, practical and in my experience reliable.

My tip, go for a 2004 onward R53 Cooper S, they will have the better quality interior and generally higher spec than the earlier cars so better chance of cruise control and heated leather, Change away from runflats if not already done.

[graeme]

Good points on spec there.

On the Mini, having either Sat nav (useless and outdated) or Chrono pack will move the speedo up to the steering column instead of the giant retro speedo in the center. Much better layout I think.

If you can find half-leather, go for that, as full leather gets very stretched and saggy (you'll see this in most adverts). I don't think there were any Cooper S specials which had the quilted stitching like Campbell's Cooper, as I noticed that solved the saggyness issue too.

[alicrozier]

I had a drive in a Quattro Sport in the day, loved the interior and may be a fair bet to hold value. Still drives like a TT though.

I've driven a few Cooper S and Nicola had an R56 Cooper, people rave about the 'fun' handling but it was just annoying in my view and also had compromised ride quality. Mid corner bumps in particular were 'fun' as the bouncy rear end tried to spit you into the undergrowth.

Similar vintage Golf GTi runs rings around both in terms of handling fun, ride quality and can take dogs/bikes etc.
Pay a wee bit more for an Edition 30?

[campbell]

Good points on spec there.

On the Mini, having either Sat nav (useless and outdated) or Chrono pack will move the speedo up to the steering column instead of the giant retro speedo in the center. Much better layout I think.

If you can find half-leather, go for that, as full leather gets very stretched and saggy (you'll see this in most adverts). I don't think there were any Cooper S specials which had the quilted stitching like Campbell's Cooper, as I noticed that solved the saggyness issue too.

Our Cooper was a Park Lane special. Take a look at its S equivalent, the Checkmate, this may have custom leather too.

We loved our Park Lane. Kids outgrew it and we had to sell but ironically now that their legs are longer and fold nearer an adult's leg geometry, they'd fit fine again. Hm. Got me thinking...!

[Stevoraith]

Agree with Kenny about going for a facelift R53 (54 plate on).
The big electrical gremlin I had with mine (dodgy plug on the throttle body which cost £1500 to sort at a specialist!) was sorted for the facelift cars.
Exhausts are another expensive part so if a potential purchase has had a replacement that's a good thing.
Kenny replaced the front section (from cat up to and including the first silencer) and I'm sure it was around £400 at BMW.
The rear section went a couple of years later (second silencer box and tailpipes) and it was nearly the same again for a pattern part at a specialist. If you need a new exhaust just bite the bullet and get a full stainless system.

Power steering pump is a known weakness but they always sound like they're about to give up. The reason I was convinced mine was going was because there's a cooling fan for it which you can see under the engine. Mine had gone and according to the forums when that stops working it's only a matter of time before the pump packs in.

I sold mine to a neighbor and a year later he's still not had any issues!

My previous post sounded like I didn't like mine but I really really did. If you could find one with a relatively squeak free interior you'll have a cracking wee car.

[douglasgdmw]

The BMW went back last Monday, must admit that it was quite a pleasant experience with the only issue that they noted being 2 front alloy wheels. I do not know yet whether BMW will be charging us for repair but at £51 per wheel it was certainly cheaper getting BMW to do it than anyone else.

We were down to 1 car and after even a week it was a major hassle and especially annoying for Sandra when I had to be at the airport for a 5:30 flight

Had a test drive in a VW Golf GTi on Saturday (2006 with 56k miles). Really enjoyed the car on the Suntrap road test route (similar to MMC one). However the car had the extra slippy leather seats (valet guy went to town) and there were a lot of niggles that I would need to sort out: steering wheel all marked (very strange), single mismatched tyre and alloys kerbed. As it was a CDW, they were not willing to budge on the price and reckoned it would take another £1k for Craig to get the car up to scratch.

Then went back to the original plan, noticed an ad for a very, very low mileage TT 225 (25k miles) but at £7,800 (http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 9308279647) it was too close to Quattro Sport money and the guy was not willing to budge down what I thought it was worth (£7k). However we had a pleasant chat about Scotland, Harley's and the car.

So after missing out on so many TT's this week it was getting a bit disappointing. However spotted a dealer had a 225 TT in Red with Black interior which was a 1 lady DR owner car with 59k miles. So after chatting to the dealer decided on a price and hopefully going down to Wales on Friday to pick it up.

George

[mwmackenzie]

£7800 for a 2000 TT with the older style interior and service history showing it's not been serviced in the past 3 years and missed a service in 2010? That to me would be concourse money and that's not a concours car! I've see less cracks on seats of cars with double the miles, I think he'll have that car for a long time lol. They do look splendid in red especially Missano Red Pearl, good luck

[tut]

Was going to sell Verian's Audi TT 225 Roadster that I bought her in 2004 as a present from Gareth's mum, as it is only used now when Clare and Jamie comes home on holiday. It has been through the family and the bodywork needs some TLC but it goes like a bullet as I had it professionally re-mapped to 275hp.

However I love driving it especially with the top down, and when you put your foot down in 2,3,4 the back end steps out, so it is an alternative to N3 and the Volvo when I am not tracking. Not really any point in selling it though as it would go for peanuts but drives like new.

tut

[douglasgdmw]

goes like a bullet as I had it professionally re-mapped to 275hp.

Tut,

Who did you get to re-map the car? Was it the Revo Stage 1 map that I have heard of on the forums?

George