Thinking Of Buying A Mini Cooper

[bscringean]

Good Afternoon All,

I have joined this forum because my wife is looking to purchase a MINI Cooper in the next 6 months and I wanted to know if there is any common faults or issues which we should look out for.

It is likely that the model she will be looking to purchase would be between 2004 and 2007.

Therefore if anyone could provide me with any information it would be greatly appreciated.

In particuar common faults, what mileage is generally considered to be too high, what to check when buying the car, any recalls, what models/specs to avoid.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Bobby

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

My personal opinion would put you off as I am not a fan of this "impostor"... However, I cannot see any particular issues with a Mini that you wouldn't find in any other vehicle ;)

[redliner4]

hey dude, go for it. i have owned every VW that was ever built between 1985-2007, and i have loved everyone of them, my last car was a Gold diesel that for me, got written off in December 2013, however my wife needed a new car and in October 2013 we bought her a Mini Cooper S 2004 with 48000 miles on it, with full BMW Mini history, i must say for a little car i really love driving it, for me it's the fact that it feels stiff, i like the noisy power steering, i like the way the engine starts, it has great handling with it's run flat tyres, hey, life is for living, you work, you play have some enjoyment in your life. I have 4 kids and despite my Golf being written off, with 4 doors and 45mpg around london it was fantastic, but it was soulless, no adventure, no go, at only 90bhp, but, the mini is great fun at 163bhp with supercharger, if you want better fuel consumption buy the turbo version.mine is only 25mpg around town,but i don't care, as i've given everything to my kids until now. My wife wanted a car that she could pull away from the traffic lights from fast, she got it, but when i drive it, it's like i'm going to loose my license again, i ended up buying a BMW 318Ci again only 25mpg in london, to replace my Golf, and i have been hankering after a BMW for years and years and years. If you don't want performance get a mini one or just a cooper, if you need boot space buy something bigger, if you are ready to compromise buy a Mini and enjoy, i know when things go wrong it can be expensive, but if you want true reliability it might have to be a Nissan Micra. Good luck

[bscringean]

Hi Mike

Thanks very much for the reply, It would likely be the cooper that my wife would be buying instead of the cooper S. Are there any things in particular that we should look out for?

I have read some comments about oil leaks around gaskets etc. Is this very common or just a few cars?

The car will really be my wife for the school run and trips around town, so boot space is not an issue. Also if we need to go on long run we will take our Lexus IS so we are thinking that the MINI is a very good second car. I do agree that a lot of cars are souless, but the MINI does appear to have a fun element to it and it is a good looking car.

I just don't want to be sucked in by it looks when what is under the bonnet may not be very good. Although from reading the reviews and comments so far, there is nothing which is causing me huge concerns because every car has issues and as long as I am well prepared and know what to look for I should be ok.