Considering a Mini

My wife and I bought a Mini for her last week. It was bought strictly for her to drive as a toy. I admit that I didnt have any interest in it and didnt want one...but hey...whatever makes her happy. After inspecting the car and test driving them, I must say I am impressed. This car is much better quality built and engineered than the economy cars that I have been familiar with. It's assembled in England but it drives German. Its well designed, loaded with safety features and actually quite heavy and roomy, despite its size. The high compression provides plenty of spank from small bore, but its still fuel anorexic. It comes with 4 years/50,000 mile warranty, including 3 years maintanence, for those buyers without wrenches. Its not my personal cup of tea but Im used to driving a Ford Lightning and other performance cars. She has always preferred a go-cart like feel over HO large cars, and this one is definitely very fun to drive. Handling is its strong suit. Storage is sacrificed for creature room. Huge 'cool' factor with lots of details and unique in appearance. Avoid the automatic tranny. It sucks the fun out of this car. Especially in the twistees. Creative negotiating yielded me a 1,000.00 discount. Even the bank said thats the only time they have ever seen a discount given on one. You should expect to pay MSRP. Its still a good buy, even at sticker.
 
This is really starting to sound like I can't go wrong!! I'm going to have to test drive one this weekend. I wonder how the supply is (whether I have to order & wait or if they have stock or can locate one)?



Any comments from owners on reliability?
 
You can probably get a standard MINI in stock. The S may take few months or more, depending on the waiting list.



The car has a following. Here we are (about half of the group) at a Krispy Kreme in Boston, 7:30 am on Sunday, temperature 0 degrees!
 

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If you order your Mini can watch it being built through several stages, you are notified of it's ship date. You can trace when it hits the English port, the name of the cargo vessel it's on, you can even follow the voyage hour by hour via a GPS site. It's cool! :D



Mini clubs are everywhere. The St. Louis metro area draws over 100 members. :eek:



Check around for different dealers that you might be willing to purchase from. I got the best deal from an Indiana dealer. Plus they were really nice. I have a Mini dealer literally two miles from my house but, like many Mini dealers, they think they have you by the B***s so they don't deal and are generally arrogant. At least mine was. I placed a couple calls and made the deal over the phone.



Check the Mini Forum. They have a couple dealers advertising MCS's Mini Cooper S's in stock. One dealer will ship anywhere in the US for $500.



Have fun!:wavey
 
Jim, if you have trouble finding one,the dealer will transfer what youre looking for from another dealer. Tom Bush here in Jax has gobs of standards and S models.



There really isnt a reliability record on these yet. They are only 2 years in production. Youre pretty much past that risky 2 year point that manufacturers have most problems with new models. Most of the Minis earlier troubles have been corrected this past year.
 
NozeBleed - That's what I figured...if there were significant issues, then the media would be mentioning it more than what a great car it is. I'll have to check on the Jax dealer...It's a hike from SoFla, but it would be a good way to break it in!!!



Brad B. - I'll see what my local dealer can do for price and will check out some others. When talking about the Mini forum, are you meaning the one on the official Mini site or the one I found at: http://www.mini2.com ? $500 is peanuts to ship a car, especially if the price beats a local dealer. Do you have a specific link?
 
Jim,

The best and largest exclusive Mini site in the USA is North American Motoring. This site used to be called Mini motoring or something like that but BMW threatened a suit for use of the name.



Anyway, check the "Vendor Announcements" and you will see the $500 offer I mentioned.



There is TONS of other great info.:xyxthumbs
 
Thanks Brad!!



Boxster - That was my first guess. What a small world <chuckle>



edschwab1 - If you're in the same boat, you can also try changing the coolant temperature sensor. According to a couple of VWVortex users, that has helped or solved the problem. Do a search in the Technical/1.8 forum on "cold start" and you'll find 2 or 3 threads that have a lot of info.
 
Jimwh,

I am having a cold start problem along with reduced and decreasing gas mileage on my 2.slow. Both problems the dealer told me are caused by the frigid temperatures. I had the engine wiring harness replaced under warranty in Dec 02. I will do a search on the vortex, I keep forgetting their is 2.0 forum, as I usualy check the check out my new rims and will this work on my car, I mean the Mk4 forum.



What other cars are you considering to replace your jetta?



Back on topic, I will have to call Mini CS and ask a few questions.



Eric
 
edschwab1 - At the moment the Mini is at the top of the list for several reasons; 1. Solid 4 yr warranty, 2. included (basic) maintenance, 3. relatively fuel efficient, 4. (hopefully) reliable, 5. relatively inexpensive.



Now that you made me think...I don't know really. Possibly a (used) BMW or (new) Honda Accord. After my problem that I'm having with the Jetta, a better level of customer service is desired.



My family has had 6 Honda or Acura vehicles in the past, all of which were sold or traded with 100K+ miles on them. The highest milage was a Civic with 247,000 miles on it. NONE needed any major With the exception of the first, a 1980 Accord sedan which had a ring job at around 100,00 miles. Pretty impressive, I think.



EDIT - I just noticed that this is my 500th post !! I never thought I'd make it (not that I'm anywhere being the all time champ!
 
Well, I finally got down to my local Mini dealer for a quick spin. Unfortunately, it was less than an hour before close, but I did get a good introduction and a short test drive.



Honestly, I didn't think that the car would live up to the comments made here...and, boy, was I proved wrong! What a fun little car.



And it's really not a little car. The exterior is small at less than 12 feet and I can practically reach across the entire roof (unlike those of us Autopians that own or detail Hummers!)



"So hop in" my salesperson says, "but try the back seat first." WOW...not a limo back seat, what an incredible amount of room for such a small car. Not too bad to get in and out (and the car was parked on a fairly steep incline).



Now checking out the front seat is also pretty impressive. Probably just a smidgen less side-to-side room when compared to my Jetta, but the fore/aft spacing is comfortable. There's a decent mount of headroom, too.



Everything about the car is real BMW-like (naturally, considering its parentage). Nice thud to the door when it closes and all the switches are firm. It is odd having the speedo in the center, but the multi-function computer took care of that by putting a digital display of the speed at the bottom of the tach. I tend to watch the tach more and pace my speed by RPM's/gear selection (for example 4000 RPM's in 5th gear on my 1.8 yields about 92 MPH).



The shifting is easy and smooth. The clutch on the Mini is pretty light. I hear that the "S" model is heavier feeling (which I prefer). There's plenty of get up and go, if you keep the rev's high enough, but it's definitely not a screamer.



I must try the "S" for comparison. It's not that much more to step up.



The next move is to see what kind of impact both models will have on my insurance.



In short, I'm really impressed with the car. I just need to work the finances some and do some more research on it (as I found that the standard Mini 5 speed has unspcified problems around 25-30k miles).



I never thought that I'd seriously be considering a Mini. Hmmmm...
 
I've got 18,000+ miles on my Cooper and it is a very fun, reliable, well built, inexpensive car. I'm 6'4" and 250#. It handles better than my 2000 MZ3! I have the CVT and haven't had any trans problems, but I have seen reports of some problems with the 5 speed. Buy the S and you won't regret it. Incredible cornering ability. Buy the S and you can always add the Works package for 200 hp when you can afford it:)
 
If you liked the Cooper, you must try the S...it is more better! :)



Do be aware of the runflat scam, though...it is not an issue with the standard Cooper. You get a jack, but no spare--and no room for a spare. We bought a spare and throw it in the rear for long trips, since we immediately ditched those stupid runflats at the dealer for some 15" alloys with snows.



-Charlie

'04 MCS Electric Blue/White/White, Nav, heated seats
 
BoxsterCharlie said:
If you liked the Cooper, you must try the S...it is more better! :)



Do be aware of the runflat scam, though...it is not an issue with the standard Cooper. You get a jack, but no spare--and no room for a spare. We bought a spare and throw it in the rear for long trips, since we immediately ditched those stupid runflats at the dealer for some 15" alloys with snows.



-Charlie

'04 MCS Electric Blue/White/White, Nav, heated seats
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Hmm, I wonder if you can retrofit the standard Cooper spare tire assembly onto an S. Or does the exhaust system take up all the space?
 
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