A mini on a £2,000 budget?

JustAnotherSaver

Not the olllllllllllllllllld mini but one around a 51 plate.

My wife is on the lookout for a new car. Ideally she'd have a mini but her budget is £2k at the very tops.
Again, i know she'd be able to get a 'better' one for more money but as i said, £2k is her top marker.


I know you can pick up minis for under £2k but are they likely to be more hassle than they're worth or should they still be ok for that?

Are they generally reliable things or will she be more likely parking it in the garage most days? I don't know a thing about minis to be honest.

facade

At that age you could be buying a lot of trouble.

Minis are known for expensive steering faults- the power steering pump is underneath and very vulnerable to corrosion from road dirt.
The coopers burn oil like it is going out of fashion, and can empty the sump in 3000 miles, then they partially seize, get topped up and sold on.
The electrics are fragile, warning lights appear at random, the central locking fails, and the wires to the abs pump chafe through at the pump and need repair causing abs failure.
The interior squeaks & rattles.

They are made by BMW, spares cost an arm & a leg, and they are massively overpriced.

Best avoided at that age/price.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Not the olllllllllllllllllld mini but one around a 51 plate.

My wife is on the lookout for a new car. Ideally she'd have a mini but her budget is £2k at the very tops.
Again, i know she'd be able to get a 'better' one for more money but as i said, £2k is her top marker.


I know you can pick up minis for under £2k but are they likely to be more hassle than they're worth or should they still be ok for that?

Are they generally reliable things or will she be more likely parking it in the garage most days? I don't know a thing about minis to be honest.

see your budget, save double that for maintenance and costs to run it per year if you end up with a ailing and failing Mini.

loskie

Even to change a headlight bulb requires removal of the front bumper. Not a cheap 10 min job.
I would avoid at this price point.

Hintza

Get her to save her pennies until she can afford a decent one in the meantime buy something that is a lot younger and potentially less hassle.

albionrovers

Japanese all the way

bigjl

Biggest issue in an early Mini would be the Gearbox.

Early ones had a Rover sourced box, shoes how much input BMW probably really had in the new Mini really.

Lets not forget that ZF make the troublesome Power Steering pump so it was not a cheap cut price job.

In all honesty most older Minis have had the pump changed by now.

The other issue is the owners, the new Mini has always attracted the kind of owner that sees maintenance as an option, not unlike Daewoo.

If you find a nice one with low miles and lots of history, including bills for a gearbox and PAS pump then you will likely be fine.

Buy a turd with no history which has been run on a shoestring then you wil have bought an awful lot of expensive pain.

Owners forums are a good place for information, perhaps have a look for a Mini forum that relates to the new Mini.

Marktheshark

albionrovers wrote: »

Japanese all the way

Except Nissans which are Renaults with badges.

burlington6

Agree with most on here. Bought my daughter a 2004 mini with that Rover gearbox. Shocking build quality. Bad electrics, power steering failed, no fith gear, seat collapsed.....never ending. Buy a yaris instead

BeenThroughItAll

Can't completely blame Rover for the gearbox, to be fair. It was originally designed by PSA Group.

captainawsome

loskie wrote: »

Even to change a headlight bulb requires removal of the front bumper. Not a cheap 10 min job.
I would avoid at this price point.

The headlights are in the bonnet and lift up when the bonnet does? If your mechanics taking the bumper off to change a headlight bulb - you need a new mechanic