Who here owns a Mini?

I've had two Mini's to date, one 2003 Cooper S and a 2005 John Cooper Works. Loved both cars but since buying my house a few years ago I sold my JCW and downgraded.

I have regretted selling the JCW and have been wanting another ever since and have recently been in the position where it is feasible to purchase another and have been scouring Autotrader. I had another look at AT this evening to get a feel of the market and it turns out my old JCW has just come up for sale, is it destiny? :o

Only problem is I haven't sold my current car yet.
 
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Owned the first when I was 17, promptly crashed it into the back of a van and bought the second. Miss them a lot, would love to have one as a second car.
 
Hxc said:
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Owned the first when I was 17, promptly crashed it into the back of a van and bought the second. Miss them a lot, would love to have one as a second car.[/QUOTE]

Get it done mate! :D

I think they hold their value really well and will only go up in value in the future. ;)
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I could probably afford it but having 2 cars as a student when I do approx 100 miles a week in total is... needless.
 
Blackhawk47 said:
I'd find an older one and get it tax free. That way if you are not using it you're practically paying nothing to keep it on the road. At the moment my mini costs more than the A1 to tax. :o

How's the MX5 going?
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MX5 is flawless, only non service items were a rocker cover gasket and a fan belt change due to occasional squeeling.... gone through an MOT with zero advisories and still has absolutely zero rust. I love it to bits and I can't decide whether I want to replace it (Z4, 350Z) or just tidy up the few messy bits (laquer fade on the lights, drivers bolster, scuffed wheel arch) and spend a bit on a suspension refresh.
 
I forgot to post specs, the pic makes it look like it could be a tarted up city E:
Rolling shell: Prepared to full Miglia spec by Peter Vickers, rear seat pan/storage bins removed, laminated screen, polycarb windows, steel doors lightened to Miglia spec, front end removed & replaced with removable carbon fibre front end & bonnet. Front bulkhead/parcel shelf removed - new bulkhead & dash fabricated, wrapped around additional bracing bars, fully integrated into Safety Devices bolt in & welded in full cage with further bracing to current Miglia race specifications. Boot floor removed, alu sheeting & foam filled race spec fuel cell with sump & lock, Facet race spec interrupter fuel pump & filter in boot, carbon fibre bootlid. Braided fuel lines & copper braking pipes routed through inside, brake bias adjuster beside gearshift. Gearshift mechanism/quickshift with 2 UV joints fitted inside car. SPA Design firex, electrical control box & special loom, aircraft switches, ignition cutout, start button fitted to passenger side on floor. Instruments: Stack RT 400 tacho with datalogger 0/10k, Racetech Design combined oil pressure/water temp gauge. Sparco rev seat, Sparco steering wheel, Luke harness, Varley Red Rop solid state race battery. Racetech big capacity alloy racing radiator, new 115 comp alternator.

Suspension: front & rear subframes fully seam welded, gussetted, strengthened to Miglia spec., brace bars fitted to front subframe, dampers: TrackSpax at front, Avo at rear, original Ripspeed Hilos, Minispares race rubber cones, KAD adjustable rear camber brackets, custom built rear antiroll bar, KAD rosejointed front lower arms & racespec adjustable tie rods. New Lloyd Hutchinson quickrack.

Brakes: KAD race alloy 4 pot calipers, 7.9in vented discs, carbon metallic pads, Minifin alloy rear drums with Mintex race linings, Goodridge braided hoses front & rear.

Wheels & tyres:
1 x set Revolution alloys 6x10 - Avon CR6ZZ E rated control race tyres.
1 x set custom split rims alloys 7x10 - Dunlop Slicks

Engine/gearbox new May 2006 - Lloyd Hutchinson built

MED supplied head, offset valve race spec No: 1187MED, fitted 37.8mm inets, 31mm exhausts, Iskendarian race double valve springs & caps, Titan 1.5 full roller rockers. Block MED 65400LW 1425cc, A+, full race prepared, offset bored & honed, Omega 11mm dish pistons, new Cooper S rods, relieved & balanced, crank stroked, relieved, wedged, balanced, 4 bolt steel centre main bearing cap. Comp oil pump, Kent 310 scatter pattern billet cam, lightweight race duplex gear, etc, filter head drilled, tapped & bypass plugged, ARP race spec bolts throughout. Lightweight race steel flywheel & backplate, race paddle clutch, Brise reduction gear starter motor.

Gearbox late spec casing fully machined to take very latest current spec Quaife dog gear set, LSD, race straightcut drop gears - 1.0416, centre oil pickup, race output shafts & bearings, semi helical final drive. Ratios: 2.309, 1.49, 1.197, 1.00, final drive 4.07. Primary gear 24 tooth, effective final drive 4.239. KAD Quickshift.

Carburation: Weber 45DCOE tipo 152 on Maniflow 7in steel inlet (new 2005), MED integrated filter/induction box with revised carb trumpets (new 2006).

Ignition: Aldon Automotive race distributor & ignitor pack, Luminition blue silicone 8mm race leads, Aldon epoxy solid state coil - all new 2006.

Exhaust: Maniflow big bore race LCB with matching Maniflow exhaust system, single box silencer, centre exit.

Power plot - dyno sheet available: Tested at Westward Engineering 24 May 2006, newly built, ambient 14c, barometric 1000mb.

Max torque 107.10 ft lbs @ 5312 rpm
Max power 119.7 RPM @ 6991 rpm
Power loss, trans/tyres 19.4 bhp
Power at wheels 100.3 bhp
Max road speed in test 98.00 mph
Max engine speed in test 7655 rpm
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I've won a heap of stuff in it and generally had some good fun over the years.

I've had loads of Minis over the years, they are great little cars, here are just 2 of them:
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My girlfriend has one mothballed at home but it'll need a reshell and full resto when we get back (it's already had a full mechanical rebuild)
 
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I've driven an R56 Cooper for over 3 years.

Fast, no. Fun, yes. Sure the lack of performance really annoys me on motorways but on country roads the thing is such a hoot. Working through the gears hard and chucking it round corners always puts a grin on my face. I'd imagine the Cooper S/JCW only really give you the straight-line acceleration and minor handling gains over and above what the Cooper offers, maybe I'm wrong. It's also quite easy to get 40-50mpg on a mixed-road commute. Also, it actually has quite a pleasant raspy exhaust note considering it's a standard Cooper.
 
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Hxc said:
MX5 is flawless, only non service items were a rocker cover gasket and a fan belt change due to occasional squeeling.... gone through an MOT with zero advisories and still has absolutely zero rust. I love it to bits and I can't decide whether I want to replace it (Z4, 350Z) or just tidy up the few messy bits (laquer fade on the lights, drivers bolster, scuffed wheel arch) and spend a bit on a suspension refresh.
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How is insurance on the Mx5, I remember when I was 18, looking at first car etc but found the mx5 quite expensive compared to other cars I was looking at. Suppose it will be much better now, how much are you paying if you don't mind me asking? :)
 
Blackhawk47 said:
How is insurance on the Mx5, I remember when I was 18, looking at first car etc but found the mx5 quite expensive compared to other cars I was looking at. Suppose it will be much better now, how much are you paying if you don't mind me asking? :)
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£650 fully comp aged 20 at policy start. 2ncb, 1 fault accident, 3 points from a TS10. Owned the car since March 2011.

If I wasn't a braindead moron who went through a red light it'd be under £500.

I am, and always have been ridiculously lucky with insurance, mind, so my figures are not in general representative of people my age!
 
I really, really like these (the BMW ones, that is, not the awful old ones (sorry :p ) )

I have a few questions:

How reliable are they?
How fast do they really feel, with 170bhp? What are they "comparable" to in this respect?
How much does it cost to get more power?
How comfortable are they on the motorway?
Will it feel as fast as my old 165bhp MX5?
 
Ive got 5k to spend and looking at a cooper s or another pre facelift 330ci. Its a tough one. Having already owned a 330ci I know that they are pretty good on fuel for the size of the car, my fear is that a cooper s might potentially be worse.
 
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