anybody have a mini cooper?

May 27, 2018, 10:49 AM

gambit123

dumb question i know. my wife wants one seeing that we did not buy the crap house i figured she could go get one. any pros or cons?

May 27, 2018, 10:56 AM

Skins2881

My Mom has a Cooper Works one for years, maintenance is not cheap, buy the extended bumper to bumper warranty and sell one day/mile before it ends.

May 27, 2018, 11:07 AM

Loaded Round

I bought my daughter one when she started driving.

It was an 09 with 15K miles. Purchased in 11 as a CPO. We lived through 6 years of check engine light hell. Repairs were on par with a BMW as far as cost. 2 months ago, we got a CEL. Estimate was $5100. Car had 70K miles. Would have been worth $6000 if repaired.

Sold it for $1500.

She loved it and it was fun to drive. Major pain in the ass and the worst financial decision I ever made.

May 27, 2018, 11:07 AM

RAMIUS

Yeah, save the money for a house with a solid foundation.

May 27, 2018, 11:10 AM

gambit123

quote:
Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Yeah, save the money for a house with a solid foundation.

this is why i ask you guys stuff like this.

May 27, 2018, 11:20 AM

Birdvol

Buddy of mine bought one back roughly 8 years or so ago and had nothing but problems.

Not reliable.

Maybe, in the interim they've worked out all the bugs, but I wouldn't buy one.

May 27, 2018, 11:25 AM

ensigmatic

I drove one of the originals when I was in Europe around forty years ago. Despite being tall I fit into it quite well. It was a riot to drive. Could park it anywhere.

I sold it to a friend's mother when I left. A year later the back axle broke in half from rust! Luckily it happened in the driveway, while the car was just sitting there, rather than on the road.

They seem to be neat cars, but I would expect maintenance to be expensive.

May 27, 2018, 11:31 AM

Rustpot

I have an 09 turbo with some mods, my daily driver for almost 5 years and now splits time with my truck.

I picked it up used for a good price because it had some body damage repaired, that was July 2012 with ~17,000 miles. It's got 104,000 on it now, just did an 800-mile roadtrip to a conference in Chicago this week.

I love it. It's not for everyone. Maintenance is BMW prices, as said. I didn't like anything else in the same size and price range. The community for the brand is pretty large, with rallys, club events, national road trips, etc being held all over the place.

NC has I think two larger, active Mini clubs. Tarheels I think is the bigger one. Finding a competent, independent garage is a good start, or a dealer that doesn't rip people off. I like the Motor City dealer, but I have my work done at Detroit Tuned performance shop that specializes in Minis. Tarheels should be able to point you in the right direction if you decide to buy one.
http://www.tarheelminis.org/co...e4114b7dc386b99a6766

Minis on the Dragon (MOTD) is a yearly event and one of the biggest US events for Minis. I've done a few closer meets, I plan on doing the Dragon in the next year or two if time and money permit.

I don't know as much about the F-series cars, the latest gen that shares more BMW parts, is bigger, has the dual-scroll turbo and new fancy doo-dads. If you want a real go-kart get a Gen1 supercharged car, you can find well-maintained enthusiast cars with some work on them for well under $10k that might cost similarly to a new one after the service runs out.

If you buy new buy extended warranties and service plans. They are worth it. And change the oil at 5,000 miles, the filter doesn't last the full service interval Mini recommends (12,000 miles I think?).

Edit to add: Cost of ownership for has been about $2,000/year. That includes go-fast parts. If it was just maintenance maybe $3-4,000 over 6 years.

May 27, 2018, 11:41 AM

gambit123

quote:
Originally posted by Rustpot:
I have an 09 turbo with some mods, my daily driver for almost 5 years and now splits time with my truck.

I picked it up used for a good price because it had some body damage repaired, that was July 2012 with ~17,000 miles. It's got 104,000 on it now, just did an 800-mile roadtrip to a conference in Chicago this week.

I love it. It's not for everyone. Maintenance is BMW prices, as said. I didn't like anything else in the same size and price range. The community for the brand is pretty large, with rallys, club events, national road trips, etc being held all over the place.

NC has I think two larger, active Mini clubs. Tarheels I think is the bigger one. Finding a competent, independent garage is a good start, or a dealer that doesn't rip people off. I like the Motor City dealer, but I have my work done at Detroit Tuned performance shop that specializes in Minis. Tarheels should be able to point you in the right direction if you decide to buy one.
http://www.tarheelminis.org/co...e4114b7dc386b99a6766

Minis on the Dragon (MOTD) is a yearly event and one of the biggest US events for Minis. I've done a few closer meets, I plan on doing the Dragon in the next year or two if time and money permit.

I don't know as much about the F-series cars, the latest gen that shares more BMW parts, is bigger, has the dual-scroll turbo and new fancy doo-dads. If you want a real go-kart get a Gen1 supercharged car, you can find well-maintained enthusiast cars with some work on them for well under $10k that might cost similarly to a new one after the service runs out.

If you buy new buy extended warranties and service plans. They are worth it. And change the oil at 5,000 miles, the filter doesn't last the full service interval Mini recommends (12,000 miles I think?).

Edit to add: Cost of ownership for has been about $2,000/year. That includes go-fast parts. If it was just maintenance maybe $3-4,000 over 6 years.

shes looking at a 2011 base model with 42,000 miles. has 100,000 warranty. i told her just to buy a miata but she looked at me like i was stupid.

May 27, 2018, 11:50 AM

Skins2881

quote:
2011 base model

Hell no. Seven year old mini? No way. One buys a mini because they are little go karts with quick engines. If it's not an S or JCW I wouldn't even consider it. If I'm going to trade reliability and maintenance cost for something it better be fun to drive. 125 HP is ridiculously under powered.

May 27, 2018, 11:51 AM

jezsuiz

As for the new ones I can’t say. I have had an 06 S since new. Only problem was a worn out engine mount in 90,000 miles.

May 27, 2018, 11:55 AM

bendable

almost son in law has two,
he really likes them .

brake jobs are really expensive,

May 27, 2018, 11:57 AM

Scuba Steve Sig

We had an '08 that was CPO as a dealer loaner car with the extended warranty. We had half a dozen trips to the dealer to get some gremlins out over a couple years then I t-boned someone who pulled out in front of us. Airbags deployed but only other damage was bumper area parts and I think the hood. Our sunroof had been rattling and the dealer kept lubing it which didn't fix it. The airbag pressure popped the sunroof loose so the whole thing was replaced, fixing that issue. Insurance probably should have totalled it, they paid some $12K to fix a $14K car.

Couple more problem free years of ownership and the check engine light comes on, something to do with vanos or spark plugs. Dealer fixed for the $50 copay, couple more months and it came on again. This time automatic transmission fluid had gotten into the main wiring harness and it needed a new engine. The dealer had the car for 6 weeks and completely gutted the inside to replace all the wiring and put it back together. Had a free loaner car. Not sure what MINI paid, but dealer said the tab in shop hours was something like $18K, more than what the car was worth. We got it back with a 1 year warranty on everything they touched, which was everything but the tranny. We sold it a couple months later for $7,000. Fun car, never own one without a warranty.

May 27, 2018, 12:03 PM

SIG228

quote:
Originally posted by gambit123:
my wife wants one seeing that we did not buy the crap house i figured she could go get one.

Quite possibly the dumbest thing I've read in a long time.

May 27, 2018, 12:08 PM

Johnny 3eagles

Buy the house!

May 27, 2018, 12:14 PM

Birdvol

...and buy a reliable Jap vehicle.

Honda, Toyota, etc.

And remember, every car mfg. will produce lemons and even Jap vehicles go kablooey, just less often.

May 27, 2018, 12:16 PM

hapevo

I deal with automotive repair shop owners daily for my job. The general concensus is to run, not walk, away the MINI.

May 27, 2018, 12:21 PM

TigerDore

Jaguar, Land Rover, Rolls Royce, MG, MINI and Triumph: British carmakers have an amazing ability to create products that carry a lot of panache while being highly unreliable and nightmares to maintain.

.

May 27, 2018, 12:24 PM

ftttu

MINIs were a HUGE part of my life a few years ago. My first one was an '05 hardtop Cooper, the second was an '07 Clubman Cooper, the third was a '10 hardtop Cooper S and the fourth was an '11 hardtop Cooper S.

They have gone through 3 generations so far with different engine manufacturers. If she wants the latest gen, you'll be dealing with similar problems any other BMW product will have.

For those who don't know and may have a care, "MINI" spelled with all caps is the BMW owned company. "Cooper" denotes a performance level of the MINI line and is not a model, but is the lowest performance/trim level marketed in the US.

In other markets, and until this 3rd gen came out, the performance trim levels were "First", "One", "Cooper", Cooper S" and John Cooper Works, with the diesel and the electric somewhere thrown in there.

Also, MINIs were named for their bodies and weren't named until the Clubman was released. That's why you'd see a hardtop badged only as "Cooper", "Cooper S" or "John Cooper Works." The lineup used to be "hardtop" and "convertible" or "cabriolet" before the named models came out. So...each body had its performance/trim level, which in theory, could range from "First" all the way to "John Cooper Works."

So...a "mini cooper" to me is any MINI model with the "Cooper" level performance/trim.

I was on MINI forums hours a night, was a member of 3 mini clubs, attended several MINI runs, and I even attended the HUGE 50th birthday party held at Silverstone Circuit in England in '09. Sadly, MINI USA pissed me off where I sold my last one and will never purchase another BMW/MINI product again. I still admire them up to the 2nd gen, and of course the classics, but I just can't come to like the 3rd gens due to their styling.

Good luck to you and your wife.

May 27, 2018, 12:47 PM

Rustpot

A lot of the bigger issues are one the Gen2 turbo cars, '07-14 or so, I don't recall the exact dates. The Justa Coopers (not an S, not a One, not a diesel, not a JCW, not a clubman/coupe/roadster/countryman/paceman, it's just a Cooper) are a bit more trouble-free since they don't have the turbo stuff to go sideways and I think the high pressure fuel pump wasn't an issue. So it's just the timing chain.

My car has had;

Water pump - warranty

Water pump #2 - warranty as well, this time metal instead of the originally designed plastic

High pressure fuel pump - warranty

Timing chain - warranty

Media blast exhaust valves - $700 or so, it's an issue with the direct injection and exacerbated by shorter runs (<15 minutes) when the engine can't burn off all the junk. I don't think it's an issue outside of the N14 and N18 engines

Front driver strut tower - also about $700, from a pothole

Turbo oil line that was leaking - I think it was $150

Valve cover - another ~$700 ($500 part + labor)

Headlight replaced under warranty when the leveler screw broke free

Brakes and rotors, I want to say this was north of $500, maybe closer to $1000, done once with performance pads, slotted rotors up front, new guide pins, and one aftermarket rotor replaced from warping

New shocks all around, went with an upgraded Koni set, OEm would have cost about $1100, but probably wouldn't happen with just moderate city driving and not really pushing it in corners

Adjustable rear control arms - can't remember the cost, replaced because the original set was bent by a truck driver and my alignment couldn't be set back to neutral, it had a permanent rear camber for a number of years.

Friction plate on the water pump - $200, bearing went bad when the car sat for 9months.

Battery - $200, the car needs to be programmed to a new battery so the system can "un-learn" the changes it makes in voltage management as the battery ages and output drops.

2 windshields - a lot of highway miles and the car profile likes stones, kind of like Jeeps.

Aftermarket mods;

Beefy rear sway

Cold air intake with a ram tunnel on the hood scoop, high flow ducting

Performance exhaust

Oversized intercooler

Swap the diverting valve to a mechanical blowoff valve

A few sets of summer tires

A set of winter tires

17" wheels

Short throw shifter and JCW shift knob

modded the driver seat to have factory adjustable lumbar

A few various electronic setting changes with regards to windows/sunroof and turbo timer

I don't think it was that unreasonable. Some people have it worse, some have it better. I loved the car more than just for transportation. I'd go nuts if I drove a boring car. Some people want an A-to-B car that gives them as little fuss as possible. Some of us want to really enjoy the drive. Sport mode gives a great steering feel and fast throttle response, the pedals are nicely setup, the clutch is pretty light and easy to feel the slip once you get to know it, the car doesn't weigh all that much and is easy to throw around.