Mini Owners Thread (Was:Who here owns a Mini?)
- Thread starter ScoobyDoo69
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Man of Honour
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- 14 Aug 2005
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- York
The wheel arches are wider than the corners of the car, something my wife hasn't worked out in 5years of ownership.. other than that has been a good fun to drive car.
Man of Honour
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- 21 Nov 2004
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What did you buy? Let us know how you get on.
Love mine! Does exactly what I need. Would like AWD though.
Currently waiting for a couple of smart repairs on the insurance that came with it, but no appointments so far, so curious to see how I get on or whether I just need to complain and cancel it.
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I had the same insurance through mini?
Very impressed with the service I had, stored up all the damage and gave it to them in one go. The guy that did it even found extra ones to do. Stone chips on the bonnet they don't guarantee as invisible but tbh I wasn't expecting them to do much more than tidy them up.
Noticed a couple more yesterday I need to get them to do.
Man of Honour
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I got the appointment text, there were no appointments available and it told me it’s alerted the team, so we’ll see what happens next. I have the usual end of door chips and a bumper scuff. Their reviews are good, so I’m curious to see what happens next. On principle it seemed like a good thing to have on purchase. I grabbed the wheel and tyre cover too.
Great looking car. What colour is that?
Almost certainly - however @[TW]Fox was telling me it was rather pricey for the JCW
My daughter owns one that I paid for. Just got through its MOT (09 plate) but it has started to burn oil and an engine rebuild will cost £3000. And as it has done 110000 miles it is no longer on the Autotrader guide so dealers arent interested for a trade in. Looks like "we" will be buying another next year.
Assuming it's not just anything relatively simple like PCV needing replacement?
I'm looking at joining the Mini family. Realistically I need a car to drive around London (short journeys, probably at most half an hour), and the occasional trip out of London back to my parents' or for a long weekend somewhere, maybe once every 6 weeks.
I'm therefore hoping to spend no more than £6k or so, although can stretch that for good reason.
My understanding is that the most reliable Mini going is the 2014> Cooper S 2.0. Is that right? Obviously that'll be towards the higher end of my price range. I want something fun to drive, but equally given how I'll be using it I'm not likely to make the most of that engine a lot of the time.
So my questions are:
- For my use case, how much less fun will the Mini Cooper (not S) 1.5 be (and will it be much less smooth on a motorway)?
- How much less reliable is the Cooper (not S) 1.5?
And any other cars I should be considering? I'd like something reasonably reliable, but also not horribly dull. It'll only be for me and my partner, so I can live with 2 seats if there's something decent out there on that basis. I keep coming back to the BMW 1 Series, the Cooper (S), or possibly a TT. An MX5 would be fun, but apparently with rust and reliability the age I'd be looking at isn't a great idea.
Thanks!
Edit: Chucking a few examples in for comment from anyone feeling especially helpful!
1.5 Cooper D - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509256618243
2.0 Cooper S (don't love the colour but beggars can't be choosers) - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509186449385
I'm therefore hoping to spend no more than £6k or so, although can stretch that for good reason.
My understanding is that the most reliable Mini going is the 2014> Cooper S 2.0. Is that right? Obviously that'll be towards the higher end of my price range. I want something fun to drive, but equally given how I'll be using it I'm not likely to make the most of that engine a lot of the time.
So my questions are:
- For my use case, how much less fun will the Mini Cooper (not S) 1.5 be (and will it be much less smooth on a motorway)?
- How much less reliable is the Cooper (not S) 1.5?
And any other cars I should be considering? I'd like something reasonably reliable, but also not horribly dull. It'll only be for me and my partner, so I can live with 2 seats if there's something decent out there on that basis. I keep coming back to the BMW 1 Series, the Cooper (S), or possibly a TT. An MX5 would be fun, but apparently with rust and reliability the age I'd be looking at isn't a great idea.
Thanks!
Edit: Chucking a few examples in for comment from anyone feeling especially helpful!
1.5 Cooper D - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509256618243
2.0 Cooper S (don't love the colour but beggars can't be choosers) - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509186449385
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2014 is the F56 Model, and generally yes they are more reliable, however they are also more complicated (as generally have a bit more tech etc)
I drive the older R56 Cooper, but also own a F60 Countryman Cooper S. Honestly I find the Cooper more fun overall as it's got enough power to be fun, but not so much that you're constantly thinking about losing your license.
The Cooper S (both my Countryman, an F56 courtesy car, and my previous R56 Cooper S) constantly urge you to drive faster, and it's too tempting - especially the F56 they are a lot more refined, so easy to hit license losing speeds without realising. The majority of fun in a Mini comes in the twisty bits (and roundabouts) anyway - anyone can drive fast in a straight line!
The Cooper should be no different on a Motorway (in fact might actually be a bit more comfortable if it has smaller wheels) etc, but I will say the F56 is a lot smoother and more relaxing on long drives than the earlier R56.
Shouldn't be much difference. The 1.5 Petrol is essentially very similar engine to the 2.0 just with a cylinder less (as it was designed as a modular engine - which also includes the 6 cylinder in BMWs)
Aside from the black wheels, same colour scheme as my R56 Cooper - I wasn't sure on the colour when I got mine, but it's absolutely grown on me - looks much better in person than photos.