Josh Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 The girlfriend is thinking about getting a Mini. Probably around a 2006 one with a maximum of 60k miles. What are peoples' opinions of them? I know they're supposed to be great to drive and I've had a quick look around the net, but I'd like real-world experience from (ex)owners. Any help/thoughts are appreciated, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Great to drive? They're slow, crashy and horrible. Never really been a fan. Speedo's in the wrong place, switches are awkward and make you take your eyes off the road for ages just to open the frickin' window, the parts are expensive, horrible to work on, prone to PAS pumps failing, just generally hideous. If it's something you're gonna drive I'd steer clear, but if it's solely for your missus and it's a brilliant car as long as it's pretty, crack on. My mum wants one and i threatened to disown her. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 Great to drive? They're slow, crashy and horrible. Never really been a fan. Speedo's in the wrong place, switches are awkward and make you take your eyes off the road for ages just to open the frickin' window, the parts are expensive, horrible to work on, prone to PAS pumps failing, just generally hideous. If it's something you're gonna drive I'd steer clear, but if it's solely for your missus and it's a brilliant car as long as it's pretty, crack on. My mum wants one and i threatened to disown her. Lol Fair point. Don't really know much about them, but she wants something new and has always liked Minis. Thanks for your input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I am selling my missus one (convertible, supercharged, 46K)... Yes speedo is in wrong place, but there is a digital speed read out in front of you. The switches are a bit painful and the car is a bit small. When we bought it, we had always known that we would only keep it for 6 months as the missus was waiting for the Range Rover Evoques to come out... they have... she has ordered one... mini is for sale. In all honesty they rattle a bit, but they are quite nice to drive, not fast, but nippy... great for town driving, etc. For big motorway miles, I would consider something else. Oh and its pretty good on fuel compared to my cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Sorry they stopped making the mini before 2006... Otherwise I'd say go look for a pre Rover cooper they handle really really well Friend had a horrible imitation mini, I agree the pas pump whine is awful and somehow it was the most oversteer happy fwd car I've ever been in - may have been something to do with being Janspeed's courtesy car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Sorry they stopped making the mini before 2006... Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky49 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Horrible. I was meant to have my sisters Cooper S for a month and after 6 days I went and hired a car because I couldn't stand the thing. I definately wouldn't buy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 All these opinions won't matter though, because she will buy the car purely on the basis she likes the look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 All these opinions won't matter though, because she will buy the car purely on the basis she likes the look Not a chance Thanks fellas. I'll let her know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagman Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Cooper S - The wheels are at the corners with little overhang , this leads to very good handling despite the previous comments , runflat tyres are too hard on the sidewalls so non runflats improve the ride and coilovers again improve the situation , rear antiroll bar stiffer again improves further - PAS pumps need cleaning every couple of years ,the facelift car post 04 removed many of the early problems . clutch changes are expensive and lengthy ,the gearbox (getrag 6 speed - are very strong ) Fuel consumption is poor due the charger,but they are easily tuned , simple pulley change will see over 200 bhp ,and heads, cam,manifold etc nearer 280 -300 depending on budget They have a lot of headroom ,so tall people can easily fit in ,resale is still good although dropping now ,much like all juicy cars , well appointed interior spec for a small car ,sat nav ,sunroof ,and a host of options are available . Rust is seldom an issue ,but wheel bearings and front suspension and bushes now getting worn /damaged through poor driving parts are reasonable and can be sourced second hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanchan Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I think my girlfriends '07 Mini must be completely different from everyone else's then because I love driving it round town. It's small, nippy, handles like it's on rails and brings a smile to your face when driving it enthusiastically! Yes the speedo's in an odd location but it only takes about 2 minutes to get used to it and it may rattle in a few places but I tend not to notice. My only gripe is I don't like the clutch and can't change gear particularly smoothly in it We drive it ~70 miles to visit the gf's folks frequently and despite the firm ride it's comfortable - it did start to get tiresome after 250 to visit my folks, but we usually take the Supra for that trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyRog Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Jen loved her Yellow Mini, but it was unreliable and gutless Even she thought it was under powered and felt really heavy A mixture of these problem meant we got rid of it, I did give her the option to buy the Supercharged version when we were looking this time, but she declined it Think that says it all really, she really did love the colour and looks of it, but everything else put her off As said they rattle, the powersteering is a major issue, (ours gave up with no indication) I was doing 40mph onto a big roundabout at the end of a Dual carriageway and as a turned in it just gave up on me and the steering goes rock hard, if Jen had been driving she would of crashed for sure. The build quality is very poor, bolsters on the seats wear quickly and the plastics feel very cheap Find the new shape Mini owners club and have a look around at the faults they list, the same issues come up regularly and Mini have not done any recalls to sort them out. There have been numerous accidents due to powersteering lose, but BMW won't do a recall because they don't have to unless there has been a fatality. I for one will never buy a BMW for this reason alone, a company that won't do a full recall on a fault that is causing accidents because the law says they don't have to is not getting my money in any way This information was gained through the owners club when we had the Mini and I did lots of research due to our near miss with the powersteering failure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandan Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 My parents have a 2002 Cooper S Works and I love driving it. The runflat tyres are horrendous and make the car feel hard, jittery and uncomfortable - once you take those off it transforms the ride and becomes an excellent machine IMO. Cornering grip is great in wet and dry, handling is precise and predictable, seats are comfy and Ilike the simple but kind of funky interior style. Downsides - steering wheel material doesn't last forever, PAS pumps can fail apparently but (touch wood) no problems yet, boot space is terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Thanks again all. After looking for common faults on the owners club forums, it looks like the power steering pumps are prone to failing without warning resulting in a few people mounting the pavement or going into oncoming lanes. I read that the problem was due to be resolved around 2007/8 but nothing saying this was definitely done. Looks like I'll have to keep looking around on the forums and possibly get in touch with a BMW dealer and see how honest they are about it. It does seem if it goes and the car's had full BMW service history and is less than 6 years old, they may give a "goodwill" gesture and pay half the costs of fitting a new PAS pump. I think safety comes first though. Thanks a lot for your help again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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