Ownership Experience - Audi TT/Mini Cooper S

[douglasgdmw]

Doing a bit of man maths as we currently have the 335D Xdrive Tourer which is basically being used by Sandra as a commuting vehicle (was meant as dog transport but we tend to use the Defender for that now).

Was thinking of getting Sandra something a little more fun for the commute and the BMW M2 came up as a possibility but the waiting list is about 2 years which means we can't just chop the 3 in for the M2 plus it would be good to save a bit of money before we get another serious performance car.

Anyway my thought were to get either a:
Audi TT Quattro Coupe Mk1
Mini R53 Cooper S

Reckon we would be doing around 10k per year and the thoughts are to keep the car for the winter/bad weather if we order the M2.

Done a bit of reading and reckon that we would probably go Audi TT 225 as the V6 is more nose heavy and were very unlikely to get one without the DSG box.

Budget would be around £4-6k so we would probably be able to get a good selection of low mileage cars.

Any ownership experience welcome (and hairdresser comments)

George

[Jeremy]

Cheaper to lease a M4 Douglas, that's where my money would go.

Surprised there is a 2 year waiting list for the M2 ?!

Regards,

Jeremy

[pjlarge]

If you can get away with only 2 seats I've got a Kingfisher Blue Mk1 TT Roadster 225 which I'm going to sell shortly - full history, had the cambelt, water pump and a whole raft of other stuff sorted just after I bought it. Both the TT and the Cooper are good cars, both small and both lack boot space. Cheap motoring though

Phil.

[pshanks76]

Avoid the wait and go for an M240i instead???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[douglasgdmw]

If you can get away with only 2 seats I've got a Kingfisher Blue Mk1 TT Roadster 225 which I'm going to sell shortly.

Phil,

We have completely discounted the Roadster as we will also use it to take the 2 dogs on longer journeys.

Admit both cars are not cavenous but we should manage 2 working cocker spaniels in either car for the small numbet of occurrences.

George

[douglasgdmw]

Avoid the wait and go for an M240i instead???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

I know the 240 is out soon but was looking for something a little bit more special.

George

[douglasgdmw]

Cheaper to lease a M4 Douglas, that's where my money go

Know they are discounting the M4 due to the over subscription of the M2 but dont really need a 3 size car and all I have read is the the M4/3 is not quite as nice an overall package as the M2

[woody]

Add a potential alternative, looked at an m135i, decided I didn't want to spend that much on it and bought an e81 130i recently. Lots of car for the money, mine was a chunk more than your budget but there's plenty out there at £6k. Quite smitten with it and we both prefer it to the later been mini cooper (non s) we've had from new.

[Stevoraith]

Kenny T's wife has had both so he'd be able to give you a good comparison.

I bought the R53 Cooper S from her in similar circumstances to you (I.e moving from something more expensive while hoping to get a bit more fun).
It didn't disappoint in the fun department. Absolutely great little car to chuck down a country road. Just the right amount of power that you can go full pelt most of the time and perfectly spaced pedals which begged me to re-learn the art of heel-and-toe. I'd go as far as to say it's the most fun car I've owned for on-road driving (although my garage history isn't a patch on yours!).
Quality wise I expected BMW levels of fit and finish but it wasn't that good. It had tons of squeaks and rattles and a VERY stiff ride.
It was also very reliable for the most part... but the couple of occasions it did go wrong were VERY expensive. I'm talking four figure bills on a car worth £4K. Thank heaven for AA p&l cover....

I also drove her TT (mkI 225 coupe) a number of times. It's far more grown up. Interior still high quality and attractive, even by today's standards. 225bhp means it's quick enough. Again expensive bills when things go wrong though as Kenny could testify.
I never drove it on anything other than motorway so can't comment on how much fun it is.

I'd say both are good choices but the TT is probably a better choice unless fun is your number one priority.
I fell out of love with my Mini every winter when I couldn't drive it 'properly' and then fell back in love when the roads dried up again.

[kerryxeg]

I had a 2007 cooper s. A great drive but it had 3 very common problems in 2 1/2 years all expensive to fix. New clutch, timing chain guide broke, fuel pump had to be replaced. I wouldn't have another, it's just not designed to be maintained. If you do make sure it has some warranty.

I've had a few audits with the tt 225 engine, no problems. There was a recall for the injectors, not sure if txt engines were affected.

[mwmackenzie]

Stu Pollock had a V6 TT for a while so I assume he liked it? We had an R53 Cooper S and it was fun but I never got to exploit it properly as my first spirited run resulted in smoking brakes and a loss of peddal, the handling wasn't very confident inspiring but I put that down to the ditch finder tyres the PO had fitted, as it was the wifes car I didn't bother uprating the brakes or tyres but I never really gelled with the car, sounded great though and went reasonably well, certainly not the elise substitute I hoped for, my plan was buy it for her and use it for runs and track days but I just left it as hers .

[woody]

I had a 2007 cooper s. A great drive but it had 3 very common problems in 2 1/2 years all expensive to fix. New clutch, timing chain guide broke, fuel pump had to be replaced. I wouldn't have another, it's just not designed to be maintained. If you do make sure it has some warranty.

The mini George is looking at is the older car with the Chrysler engine, completely different from the BMW/PSA engine in the 2006 on cars and much more reliable.

[Stu160]

I had a 3.2 tt , as Mark said. Never noticed it being heavy at the front at all. Fantastic road car, very quick, and very safe. Also good in the winter snow, made a great snow plough. Well put together as too. Yhe noise of the V6 and the DSG i found made it a fun car to drive.

Stu

[rawsco]

I had an r53 cooper S chilli pack a number of years ago and I'd put it as the best handling/fun car I've had other than the exige. It was a total banzai little car so adjustable with a lovely balance. Mine had a limited slip diff too which was an expensive option new and rarely taken so hard to find. It wasn't without problems tho. Dual mass flywheel went, power steering rack went. Numerous electrical faults. Wheel bearing. All covered in the 12 month used car warranty but i got rid of it after that ran out. Personally I'd go with the mini, I've driven a couple of TTs and found them quite dull and under streery with the exception of the newer models which initially feel quite good at 7 or 8 tenths but unravel a bit when pushed harder. The mini however loved tightening its nose on a lift and got a bit waggy on the way into a bend all without any snappy surprises.

Edit, what about a Renaultsport Clio? That's where id probably go, nearly did during the winter.

[tut]

I bought Verian an S1 TT 225 Roadster in 2004 and we still have it. It has been around the family with the kids several times and has survived well, I had it mapped to 275hp and though I won't try and dissect the handling as I am more seat of the pants, it had no problem staying with the Elises on a fast road run when I used it.

I tracked it at KH a couple of times and the first car that actually passed me was Scotty's Exige. The boys also took it on for Tut Towers, so it has earned its living. I was about to sell it as it is really only used by Clare now when she is back on holiday, but she goes to Luxembourg in August and we now have the Motability car. The engine has never missed a beat and the acceleration is real kick in the back, so together with an electric hood it makes a good alternative to an Elise on a nice day.

tut