Purchasing a Mini Cooper

burlington6

Isn't the box on the early ones out of a Rover?

burlington6

My daughter had one. Lovely little car but cost a small fortune to maintain.

londonTiger

I drive a golf, but fi i didn't need the big boot I would buy a mini, they're stylish and look modern. The fiestas, cosras, polos show their age.

That's the advantage of taking design cues from classic styling I suppose. They wont feel dated.

facade

Enjoy your new car, do keep an eye on the oil level, coopers don't hold much, and some of them drink oil.

KatieDee

Bought it, drove it home, fell in love all over again!

Only time will tell if it's a good purchase but so far I'm pleased.

Anybody want a lift? Need an excuse to drive it!

J0sephx

Hi.

I own a 2004 R50 Cooper it's great!
4k seems a good price for a nice lower mileage example. Shame about the A/C but it should still put a smile on your face.

You don't really have to worry about gearbox problems on the facelift model. It was mid 2004 that BMW actually replaced the Rover Midlands gearbox for a 5 Speed Getrag gearbox made by themselves. However, this doesn't mean that they're invincible..just more reliable than the Midlands.

I've had my Cooper for over 2 years now. It's my daily driver which is used to get me to Uni and work.

Fuel, costs me around £30 per week. So like what, £120 per month. I do drive quite a lot though. It can be really good on fuel..depends what mood you're in, mine is driven hard sometimes I do admit. Still get about 32mpg average. On a long run it is around 3mpg.

Maintence, I'm quite OCD. Oil/filter change every 6-8k for me 5litres of oil on amazon (Comma) is pretty decent at around 25 quid. Leaves you enough for top ups between too. They do like oil. However, mine doesn't need topping up much.

Problems I've came across over the 2 years. Alternator died £110 quid fitted. I also replaced battery at time too (£60 Bosch battery) and also alternator belt (£25 or something). Replaced HT leads £11 each at BMW.

It'll be a reliable car as long as you look after it. Maintence does cost a bit but you pay BMW prices really. There is loads breaking so just look on eBay and stuff for parts too. Im a student and if I can easily afford the maintence costs you can too! Haha :')

Mines a 2004 (Midland gearbox) which I've looked after and replaced gearbox oil once per year. Smooth as ever *touch wood*

Another tip, swerve those runflats off for normal tyres. Makes the ride a lot better. I went for Uniroyal Rainsport 2's which are great tyres at 70 quid each! Just carry a foam can incase you get a flat. I also carry a tyre pump.

dld2s

"Another tip, swerve those runflats off for normal tyres. Makes the ride a lot better. I went for Uniroyal Rainsport 2's which are great tyres at 70 quid each! Just carry a foam can incase you get a flat. I also carry a tyre pump."

Seem to remember reading somewhere (may have been here?) that it would be best to have a word with your insurance co as some see it as a modification if you change the tyres from run flats, as I say just read about it, dont have personal experience on it? but may be a idea to check just in case?

J0sephx

dld2s wrote: »

Seem to remember reading somewhere (may have been here?) that it would be best to have a word with your insurance co as some see it as a modification if you change the tyres from run flats, as I say just read about it, dont have personal experience on it? but may be a idea to check just in case?

Ah, yeah. I spoken to mine (Admiral) they informed me that it was no problem, and that I would only need to contanct them if changing my alloy wheels to aftermarket ones.

However, it would just be better to confirm this with them.

KatieDee

J0sephx wrote: »

Hi.

Lots of super helpful advice

Thanks for all that Joseph...it's great to hear from a fellow Mini owner. We should start a club

I will definitely look at changing the run flats as it's quite a hard ride with them on! I have had awful luck with tyres in the past though...run flats might be the safest bet for me!

I've just given my little Mini a full health check, including oil (very low) and washer fluid (very low!). I'm hoping this will be all I need but will take it to a garage and have it serviced on payday. Start as I mean to go on!

I've noticed that one of those things that keeps the air in the tyres is missing...scouring the internet to find a replacement but can't for the life of me remember the name of them! Any ideas?

hgotsparkle

I bought a brand new one a few years ago, I actually found it horrible to drive and promptly sold it, for about £4k profit which was good (as the car was £18k).

I see them everywhere which tells you that they're popular, but unfortunately around me, majority of drivers of Minis are rich daddys girls.