New user/ new buyer
 

Hey guys! I am looking to buy my wife a used mini.is there anything that i should look out for, or any year i should stay away from? Is high mileage a problem? Sorry about the caps, i'm old , and have always used them.

Hi there. Well definitely high mileage is a problem with most cars. If the Mini has close to 200K I would definitely stay away from it. The 1st gen Minis are supercharged while the new 2nd gens are turboed. Now you have plenty of choices. From the hard top to convertible to countryman to the paceman. I suggest watching the reviews on Youtube and then google their actual reviews. Good luck!

Hi guys. I'm new to this forum and would also like some info on a used Cooper S.

I got into a car accident earlier this week and am afraid that the car may be a total loss. It was a 2008 Honda Fit, with coilovers, rear sway bar, front and rear strut bars, wheels, tires, your basic bolt-ons, short shifter, and other fun JDM bits and pieces. So it was a fun little car to drive. Not fast, but had lots of fun.

The car had only 47k miles on it and IF it's a total loss I'm expecting to get roughly $8-$9,9XX from insurance. I've looked into the Cooper S' that are available at that price range and have seen 1st and 2nd Gens available with 50-70k+ miles on them.

In your experience, are there any Gen specific issues to look for in the 1st or 2nd Gen Cooper S? Issues with the supercharger, issues with the turbo? What is considered "high mileage" for a Cooper S? IMO, mileage for a Japanese auto compared to a European auto is similar to age comparison between a human and a dog(figuratively speaking). At 47k miles on my Honda, I have not needed to do any major maintenance. Just synthetic oil every 5k miles and had the brake pads replaced once(the car didn't even squeak at that time). Have never had to call road-side assistance or anything like that.

What kind of maintenance have you guys had to do and at what mileage? Any info would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Hi there. Sorry for the loss of your Honda. I had one I wrecked also back in the day. I just recently bought a gen 1 Mini S back in July with only 44k. I took it in for an oil change because you never know when it had it done last. I brought it in and found out that the oil cooler was leaking so I had that replaced. Roughly $200. Since then nothing out of the ordinary that I had to check. I will probably take it in when it hits 50k just to check all the belts and get some info on when to check the supercharger.
I think Minis with 90-100k should definitely get everything checked, front to back. Just to be safe. Hope this helps a little.

Thanks for the info! So would I be dissapointed if I bought a used Cooper S and expected the issue-free-reliability that I was getting from my Honda? I'm definitely trying to pick up a Cooper S that has roughly the same mileage as my Honda. I saw some good deals on Salvage title Cooper S' with 30-44K miles on them. I actually wouldn't mind a salvage as long as its in working order. Just need something that will hold me off for another year or two, until I can buy that BMW. lol. But seriously, my Honda totaled at 47k miles is a real shame.

Hopefully someone else can chime in about any inherent issues to look out for in the 1st and 2nd Gen Minis. Thanks!

There are great used MINIs out there of all sub models but there's nothing wrong with considering a supercharged Cooper S at 40 - 50K miles on the odo. Things to consider are the condition of the serpentine belt, belt tensioner, coolant expansion tank (look for leaks) and the condition of the clutch via a test drive if considering a manual.

Mark/Pelican Parts

Thanks Mark! That helps a lot. What does the Mini Cooper's maintenance schedule look like? Is there anything the previous owner should have done(in terms of maintenance) at that 40-50k mark?

*edit* Yes, it's gotta be manual. I don't think I could ever go back to an auto. My current rental is an auto. It's just boring and my right leg gets sore since I have to put more pressure on the pedal for more power/down-shift vs. manually down-shifting and maintaining the same pedal pressure.

This is a dumb question but what are the differences between the 06 and 07 models? Can someone go in depth about them? The only differences apparent to me are the SC to turbo(which makes the hood scoop purely cosmetic), side markers, slightly different bumper, steering wheel, and stiffer suspension in the 1st gen(good or bad, depending on how you look at it, good in my case). I think I read somewhere that the 2nd gen is actually larger?

The maintenance schedule is fairly light within the 3 yrs/36K, consumables really, brake pads and engine oil probably the most-replaced. Brake fluid is every two yrs, coolant flush every 4 yrs.

Up to you really if you feel the need to change the cabin air filter but may be a good idea. Folks here tend to change oil/filter well-within the recommended intervals. As mentioned earlier, the serpentine belt is important to inspect and there are others who have had water pump issues but both can be DIY projects. We have a host of step-by-step instructions for both the Cooper & S when replacing typical OEM parts you may review here.

Mark/Pelican Parts

Thanks again Mark! Insurance called today. The car is totaled :(. I'm sad to see it go. Only 47k miles, such a shame. It was a fun car to drive too. But that means I'll definitely be looking into some used Minis within a weeks time.

Tough to say goodbye to the Fit I'm sure. Nice mods it sounded like too. Good news is that you are ok.

Thanks Mark. Yeah it was a great car. I had the Apexi Intake, Aspec cat-back exhaust, Blitz throttle controller, DC5 sidemarkers, Tanabe strut bars, sway bars, Spoon suspension, Mugen short shifter and all sorts of fun bits and pieces. Excuse me for my JDM-ness. LOL.

This is kind of off topic but I can almost guarantee that once I get the Mini, I will catch the mod bug and will want to start spending money on it. What are some reputable performance brands when it comes to European vehicles? I've lived in the JDM world for way too long. Although a set of BBS mesh wheels is for certain. :)

Hi guys! So I picked up a 2008 Cooper S, 6MT yesterday and I'm loving it! The whistle of the turbo sounds awesome. This is my first time owning a car with factory boost =].

My first impression of the car is that it feels very solid. You can really feel the build quality, especially by the weight of the doors, especially coming from a history of Japanese cars.

The steering feels a bit more stiff compared to my Honda but I'm not sure if that's due to increased responsiveness. The Cooper handles quite well but I haven't had a chance to do any "spirited" driving yet so I can't compare the Cooper S' stock suspension to the modified suspension in my Honda.

Also, the reason that I haven't done any "Spirited" driving yet is because the height of the brake pedal and accelerator feel a bit awkward. The brake pedal is higher(or sticks up more) than the accelerator(which is closer down to the floor). This makes it hard to heel-toe. In my Honda, the accelerator and brake were at the same height, making it easy to heel-toe. Is this just my Cooper?

The only issue that I have, and maybe someone can chime in about it whether it is an actual issue, or just the way the Cooper is built, but to me the shifting/gear box feels quite sloppy and soft. The shifting on the Honda felt very solid and crisp with little to no wiggle of the shifter while it was in gear. On the Cooper, the shifting feels very soft and the shifter is able to wiggle and has some give to it when its in gear. Due to this, I'm not always sure if the shifter is completely in gear or if it needs to be pushed in further. Maybe this is due to the much longer shifter? My Honda had a short shifter. Maybe the longer shifter in the Mini has some flex and give, resulting in this? Does anyone else feel this way?

Picked up an 06 s coupe saturday. Pretty impressed over all. Handles like a go kart. Very quick for what it is.(i'm an old muscle car guy). It is the only one that i have seen with tach & speedo centered in front of steering wheel. Why? Any body have experiance in snow? I am going to avoid it, but a live in upstate ny. Looking for extra rims w/snows. Are there tpms sensors in my rims? Thanks for your input.

Glad you're enjoying the car Hangman! I am as well! The 08 has the tach in the middle and you can choose for the digital speedo to show in that little screen in the tach. Is that what you meant?

It has the tach & speedo in front of the steering wheel. Centered in the dash is the fuel ,water temp,oil pressure, oil temp.

Tough to compare most manual boxes out there to Honda's box....they make great shifting transmissions as you know. Could be the rubber surrounding the spherical ends of the shift cables where they attach to the trans, they tend to wear and cause a sloppy feeling when shifting:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...bles-79176.jpg

You can read further about it here. But again, tough to compare the trans you have now and the Fit trans - they're very different.

But I'm sure you'll have just as much fun driving the MINI!

Mark/Pelican Parts

Congrats Hangman!