It’s many years ago now since i last owned a mini (i’ve had 5 of them) but i had a test drive in an 08 Cooper S yesterday and to say i was impressed would be an understatement…176bhp! The garage also has a Mini Works knocking out 280bhp which i’ve not yet driven.
I’ve been doing a little homework and i’m becoming aware of oil usage and fuel pressure issues which is slightly putting me off.
This would be a 2nd fun car, the 5 is staying and pretty much laid up for the winter.
Has anyone owned one of these and would you buy another?
Hi
I own a 2004 Mini Cooper S convertible as well as a Mk2 MX5. I personally would not recommend the Mini. The steering is heavy, the clutch is heavy and when the clutch needs replacing, it’s a very expensive repair as I have found out.
Maybe I’ve got a bad one, but I don’t have confidence in it.
The only good thing about it is it is fast.
Don’t buy a BMW Mini buddy - it will drive you nuts!
I had a 2001 Cooper for less than year - drove fantastically but so many problems.
Forget the fact that it looks great and drives like its on rails, if ease of ownership is a higher priority than that you won’t touch one.
So many inherent issues - gearbox, clutch, sump gasket, water leaks, abs faults, electrical faults, door actuator faults. She made the MX5 look like a saint.
When I bought her of an MX5 breaker ‘friend’ she had over 20 individual faults which I sorted out over the 8 months of ownership and at the end hated the sight of her.
One thing I will say - took all the water drenched carpet and foam out and we are talking pints of water held under the carpet for goodness knows how long and not a spot of rust on what was then a 14 year old car.
Looks like they haven’t improved the Mini since the originals, of which I’ve owned 5…a 1963 850, 1965 CooperS, 1969 mini 1000 van, Clubman estate and a 1970 1000 saloon. All had the same problems, water on the floor, oil and coolant leaks, electrical faults, poor starting, overheating, under heating, body & subframe rot, gearbox issues such as jumping out of gear and jamming in gear. These are only a few, there were many more.
To be honest I can’t understand why they became so popular or why they’re so revered by enthusiasts, maybe they like fixing them, or they have a masochistic streak that barking their knuckles satisfies.
After what I keep reading about the new ones I certainly won’t be buying one, the very name Mini gives me the shudders.
Absolute hoot to drive. My only complaint is the the heavy clutch - couldn’t drive it for nearly a month after an ankle sprain - was fine in the 5! Being the later version (R56 vs R50/53) it has electric power steering so is not as heavy.
Mines not an S so no charger issues to worry about, and everything else has been bang on for the near on three years I’ve had it.
Would I buy again, absolutely, unless I knew I needed a bigger car. Which I now do, and is the only reason it’s getting sold.
I’m sure most people thought as I did, that BMW being involved / owning the New Mini brand, that quality control and build quality would be top-notch - apparently not so !
Actually, I’ve read on here, in posts comparing MX-5s with the BMW equivalents (the Z3 and Z4), that the Mazda is much more reliable !
Thank you for all the replies, it looks as though i’m going to swerve the Mini and to put things into some perspective i’ve owned my current 5 for over 8 years.
In the last 8years i’ve has one puncture and one drop link fail on me, totalling about £25 in all.
I have a 2ltr Sirocco on the back burner that I need to look at.
As stated this will be a 2nd ‘fun’ car so i am in no rush.
Thanks, Dave.
Speaking about the bad experiences I had with 5 of the original minis, I discovered one good thing in their favour. They’re easy to push when they break down !!!
I remember running over a flattened roadworks sign laid in the middle of the road one dark foggy night. I felt the impact underneath and half a mile later the engine coughed and spluttered to a halt. The sign support stand had ripped off the fuel line. Stuck on a country road, midnight, alone, cold, skint and desperate for a pee with the nearest phone box over a mile away (mobile phones hadn’t been invented then). Fortunately the fog lifted, the road was flat and I managed to push the car with one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the top of the open door all the way to the phone box. A reverse charge call to dad and half an hour later he showed up in his reliable Mk 1 Cortina to tow me home That’s what dads are for .
From what I’ve heard, going hand-in-hand with the above, is that there’s varying issues depending on mark of Mini. I was under the impression the supercharged facelift ones last pretty well, the earlier ones can have some issues (vague I know but specifics fail me off the top of my head), the early turbo had plenty of timing issues and the later ones (i.e. most recent) have ironed out a fair chunk of those issues.
Either way, I drove an '05-plate one shortly before buying my '55 '5 (lots of 5’s! :D) and it was a hoot to drive. I can definitely see where the appeal is with them, firm feeling gearbox and strong throughout the revs from the pokey 1.6 supercharged engine. I’d love the torque in my 5 but not necessary, mine’s plenty of fun as is!
I saw a mini for sale at the side of the road a few months ago, £500. Looked pretty decent for 14 yr old car until I read the list of stuff needed doing to it (on a sheet in the window) Looked a good deal of work needed to bring it up to a decent running car again. When I got home I did a bit of detective work on what’s what with them, I concluded they are more trouble than they are worth, bad idea.
Have you noticed how these minis are getting bigger and bigger now, sure I saw a 4WD one the other week, some actually look bigger now than a run of the mill say Ford Focus for instance, let alone a Fiesta or Ka
Well in contrast to a lot of what is written above, I have a '55 Mini and have had zero issues with it. Its very low mileage and has been cherished by both myself and the original owner - I absolutely love it.
After having a lot issues with my knee I had to sell my mk3.75; I originally looked at an '08 JCW, 210 bhp and was an absolute hoot - after a bit of research the Peugeot engine in the early gen2 2006 - 2010 is pretty fragile, post 2010 it as replaced with a BMW engine which is fine. I was recommended to forfeit a bit of age and go for a late facelift gen1; great advice as its been faultless and it won’t be going anywhere for a long time.
The money I saved allowed me to buy a mk1 and get it spot on, unfortunately after finishing it and driving it for a few months my knee issue returned so that had to go too
