Why in the world am I even thinking about a used mini Cooper? Well, I'm tired of driving a 3/4 ton pickup and finding parking places. I would just as soon park this trailer towing truck for when I actually tow a trailer. Which is so rare.

We're testing a 2019 mini Cooper at work and it is impressive. We have it on a chassis dyno and it runs 3500 rpm 61.5 mph for 24 hours continuous without complaint. So far we've done nine days of this testing, racking up 13K miles.

Would a 6'4" old man fit in the Paceman? Who knows? I have driven a mini Cooper, manual, and I remember fitting in it to my surprise.

This one is AWD, auto, turbo, grey, and very affordable. Less than 100K miles.

I've checked www.iihs.org and the crash test results are amazing for such a small car.

What am I overlooking?

nor sure on the 19's, but the 13's they (paceman) was just a bigger Hardtop S,

same motor, more body, and AWD

you should have no issues on fit, since they are bigger,

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Would a 6'4" old man fit in the Paceman? Who knows?
...

What am I overlooking?

Whether or not they'll be able to cut you OUT of one.

Paceman is like a 2 door Countryman, IIRC. I'm 6'0" & fit in a Cooper just fine. Just have to remove the legs of anyone doomed to sit behind me

I'm actually looking at a Cooper as well, should know more this week.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
... What am I overlooking?...

It's a 10 year old British built, german designed car. $ per mile to keep it running well will likely be painful.

Proceed with extreme caution and allocate a generous allowance for repairs. FWIW: nearly 4 years and 40k miles of a min '08 3-series CPO; ASIDE from the cost of the car and insurance; cost of ownership worked out to ~$0.10 per mile. I would assume a '14 mini to be about the same

I am 6'1" and I used to drive an Austin Mini(100% free of BMW parts) when I lived in Europe. New ones are roomy compared to that. If I had to commute again I would think about getting a new one.

DO NOT BUY A MINI WITHOUT A MINI FACTORY EXTENDED WARRANTY.

We had a 2008 MINI, just the standard one, no S. We bought it in 2009 as a former dealer loaner and it was certified with the MINI warranty to 100,000 miles or something. It was a really fun car and worked great living in St. Louis as far as street parking and having a small alley garage. It had gremlins here and there but things got real interesting around 2011-2012.

A lady pulled out in front of us between stopped traffic in 2011 and I hit her front wheel area in a T-bone doing 30mph or so. Airbags went off. I'm 6'3" 190ish pounds then and had no problems fitting in it but the drivers seat would be all the way back touching the rear seat. My knee still hit the dash a bit in the accident. Insurance didn't total it, new airbags, bumper, fenders, hood, seatbelts, and sunroof because the airbag overpressure blew it off its track (which finally fixed it as they could never adjust it right and it would have wind noise).

About a year later I get a check engine light getting close to end of warranty. I forgot what that was, but it resulted in A BRAND NEW ENGINE. While doing that, they determined there was ATF IN THE BODY WIRING HARNESS. So MINI authorized them to completely tear apart the car and put a new wiring harness in. This resulted in everything they touched having some new warranty, but they hadn't touched the transmission, so it would now be out of warranty. I sold it 3rd party to someone before that took a dump on me.

The dealership printed out the cost of the repairs, it cost way more than what the car was worth, I have no idea why MINI just didn't buy it from us but I think the repairs just kept snowballing and they figured they were already $x,xxx.xx into it. We also had free loaners for the months the car was in the shop.

I had a Mini Cooper S for two years but the cost of ownership proved to be too high for me and it got traded in. Fun, great handling and quick little car for sure but the cost of oil changes and tires were very expensive and major repairs were hair-raisingly high.

Proceed with caution knowing this.

Thanks SF!

I’ll keep looking for a Camry or equivalent.

The 2014 would have the later, revised Prince engine [N18]. More reliable than the earlier ones, like Steve's above [N14], which had a habit of eating timing chains IIRC.
2014 would also be middle on the model run, 2012-16, I believe. They're definitely unique, and I'd guess probably the lowest production numbers of the BMW/Mini models.

I wouldn't write it off completely, but would for sure go into it knowing it'll likely be a bit more maintenance intensive than a similar year Camry/Accord, but a lot more fun.

You know, my response on looking for a Camry reminded me of why I would even think about such a car. I need fun. I need passion. I need performance. I need a car to take on the Bourbon Trail. I need a car that makes me live with minimal luggage and maximum spontaneity. The Camry won't give me any of this.

At over 60 years young, it's about time for increased risk and reward.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
You know, my response on looking for a Camry reminded me of why I would even think about such a car. I need fun. I need passion. I need performance. I need a car to take on the Bourbon Trail. I need a car that makes me live with minimal luggage and maximum spontaneity. The Camry won't give me any of this.

At over 60 years young, it's about time for increased risk and reward.

I might be right behind you in a less exciting variant in a couple weeks.

I've also been reading a lot on here:
https://www.northamericanmotor...eneration-minis-184/
No Paceman subforum, but most should be similar to the Countryman I think.

Edit: They have a separate Paceman/Countryman section
https://www.northamericanmotor...countryman-2010-354/

In my loaners I drove a Clubman for awhile and a Countryman for awhile. I don't think they had the Paceman then, but if they did, we never received one. I wasn't really a fan of the Clubman or Countryman. They added more space, yes, but really started packing on the pounds and you lost alot of what the MINI was about, a small, peppy car. You absolutely had to have an S in the Clubman or Countryman or they were woefully underpowered for what the MINI was trying to be as a "sporty" car.

We had a 2015 Honda sedan V6 that we replaced with a 2017 Honda sedan V6 that we still have. Its not small and go kart-like as a MINI is, but its faster 0-60, alot more reliable, a lot more functional, and probably safer. Its not a MINI though, so I understand where you are coming from. You will get alot more attention driving a MINI than a Honda or Toyota.

They are problematic. I would look for a lower mileage used Honda Fit for a commuter. Dry reliable, fuel efficient, low cost to insure and maintain.

2013 Countryman S 6 speed. It’s a blast. Used one owner, no warranty. Still worth it. I haven’t driven an automatic, and Alaska really doesn’t have bad commutes, so manual all the way.

They don’t sell manuals in the US any more, and the newest bodies are pretty chubby and Un-Mini.

ETA: other than expected tires, oil changes, and bulbs, it’s been trouble free.

Oh yeah, 6’2” and plenty of head and leg room. But don’t be too fat.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: onegeek,

quote:

Originally posted by Scuba Steve Sig:
DO NOT BUY A MINI WITHOUT A MINI FACTORY EXTENDED WARRANTY.

That was just about my position, before I saw my wife be so happy she was almost ecstatic after her first drive in the Countryman.

“You want to buy a used BMW, with no warranty?!?” were my exact words before the test drive.

“Okay, we’ll take it.” was what came out of my mouth after the drive.

quote:

Originally posted by onegeek:
They don’t sell manuals in the US any more, and the newest bodies are pretty chubby and Un-Mini.

They brought the manual back this year! But I do agree, they aren't so Mini anymore, especially the Countryman.

Subaru WRX ? new\
Honda Civic R

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
Subaru WRX ? new\
Honda Civic R

Might be outside of the 'very affordable' point of the OP.
That said, I wouldn't turn down a CTR if I were in that market [and could find one without ADM].

quote:

Originally posted by onegeek:

quote:

Originally posted by Scuba Steve Sig:
DO NOT BUY A MINI WITHOUT A MINI FACTORY EXTENDED WARRANTY.

That was just about my position, before I saw my wife be so happy she was almost ecstatic after her first drive in the Countryman.

“You want to buy a used BMW, with no warranty?!?” were my exact words before the test drive.

“Okay, we’ll take it.” was what came out of my mouth after the drive.

My wife was the same way, ours even matched her purse! (And she isn't one who would usually be that way). She really liked that car. I was driving a 2008 Impala LTZ at the time and it was alot more fun to drive the MINI.

MINI of St. Louis left alot to be desired regarding competency. They couldn't get the sunroof to close correctly after several trips and they fixed an undercarriage noise by "lubricating the fuel tank straps." MINI of Des Moines was far better, it helped that my wife had gone to high school in the Quad Cities area with the service advisor though.

You will be on a first name basis with the service department with these cars.