Been looking into buying my first car, I like th elook of a 1.3i Mini cooper, anyone got any mini experience?
Bad first buy?
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Been looking into buying my first car, I like th elook of a 1.3i Mini cooper, anyone got any mini experience?
Bad first buy?
elo, nowt wrong with a mini as your first car, ive got a 1.3i cooper and its my first, had it 1 n half years and am still lovin it.
take your time looking around for the right was as there are some really bad examples out there, just check for the normall rust under the carpets etc. take a pop over to www.miniresource.com theres some nice guides to buying a mini and what to look for also loads of info you might need. and theres a nice friendly forum on there for any other mini questions you might have :D
if your not willing to get your hands dirty every so often i wouldnt advice you get a mini :)
Haven't driven one myself, but my dad's brought one for my sister to learn to drive in (not a cooper though) and I've got a few mates that have got minis.
They're sound cars, but make sure you do check the bodywork - everything else is fairly easy to change, but it's like a house - you have to have decent foundations!!!
Make sure you buy a haynes manual with it :D
What sort of budget are you looking at? Have you checked the insurance yet?
I got a stage 1 998cc mini, tis a lot of fun to drive and I'd love a Cooper, except I'd go for one of the late carb'd ones, 1990-1991 I think, just because they are easier/cheaper to tune apparently.
One thing I've had to do is learn quite a bit of basic car mechanics to keep it maintained but if you don't mind getting your hands dirty there's not much you cant do from the Haynes manual, and you shouldn't have much go wrong with A Rover model anyway.
Check bodywork, subframes and the usual engine stuff carefully, and make sure you ask whether its been modified at all.
a lot of my mates have got Mini's, they are amazin cars. i'm lookin into buyin one myself too.
like SDP said, check for rust in arches, sills and subframes. i wanna get a 1275GT, but for a first car, i aint got a chance, haha.
they are great fun to drive too, we got one sideways round rather a long corner yesterday (it was slippy n on a country lane where we could see if anything was coming the other way before you all moan...) and it was perfection in sliding, all the way round then whipped back onto the straight and my m8 just put his foot down n we shot off.
MINI's = GREAT CARS! (Fords still rule tho... :P) peace.
I test drove a Mini Cooper S and one with the Works mod too - frickin awesome cars - great fun.
We're not on about rich boys cars dave :DQuote:
Originally posted by David
I test drove a Mini Cooper S and one with the Works mod too - frickin awesome cars - great fun.
Sorry....
The New Mini cooper s is fantastic car for the money.
I have a had a couple of problems with mine which BMW are dealing with.
The old and best minis are great car and easy to work on and cheap for car parts.
Good Luck
i was hopin to get a mini for a first car, went to look at a few and they all had a hole in the floor underneath the drivers footwell carpet, seems as though this is a place to check when lookin to buy one. good luck tho minis rock.
Col
I used to drive an A reg Cooper... We called it "Zippy". It wasn't :)
Lot's of fun, though!
Oooh a Mini thread, luffly :)
I had one for my first car, and now am on my, errr fifth I think (lost count). I love them!
They are so easy to drive, and maintain, but make sure you like working on cars cos you will have something go wrong, quite often :(
When buying, basic places to look are sills, floor, and under the bins in the back, as this is where they rust badly. Then again, if you can weld, the world is your oyster. Or the Mini world is anyway!!!
The Mini recognition thing is cool too. Make sure you like attention, cos you will get waved at, flashed at, (ooo-er), and more than likely stopped quite often by interested people. Thats talking from experience, and not just when I drive the white one with pink viper stripes and pink pvc interior!!!
Go ooon, get a Mini :D
I own an M reg Rover Mini cooper, and have got to say its just the best fun to drive, sticks to the road like sh*t to a blanket and is well nippy, like drivin a go kart!! As for maintinence ive had no probs and the bodywork is pretty mint also. I guess I just got a good un eh;)
learned to dive in one (who didn't)... great first car...
that would be DRIVE then... :/
Have you got a pic of that? Sounds sweet :DQuote:
I drive the white one with pink viper stripes and pink pvc interior!!!
http://www.pamplemoose.co.uk/vix/suki01.jpg
http://www.pamplemoose.co.uk/vix/suki02.jpg
http://www.pamplemoose.co.uk/vix/suki03.jpg
Here she is, well the exterior anyway. i just posted linkys cos they are quite large.
Awwwww she's lovely!
What wheel arches are those?
I've posted a piccy of the interior in the gallery too!
They are the bog standard chrome arches that just fit over the standard ones. Look nice with chrome wheels though ;)
Thanks, I get the wee taken out of me alot but I have always loved Minis :D We have a 1979 Clubman too, in yellow. We did have a 1978 show condition Clubby too, but some **** set it on fire :(
Thanks for the replies guys, i've definately decided to buy a mini in the near future, have to see what pops up but im dieing to get my hands on one
I think i'd prefer to get a standard non modded in any may mini and do what i want to it.
TechnoKitty - wow that is nice
good choice :)
take your time looking !
yeah i'll try, i'm a very impatient guy so its gonna take all of my will power to see a mini for sale and not buy it :)
as long as its not rusty it'll be considered
I looked at loads before I found mine, and tbh the second I saw the advert for it I was so fed up not having a mini that I thought to myself 'right i don't care how bad it is I'm having this one.' Luckily it wasn't too bad, apart from it being brown :D
But yeah it's ok to walk away from one you're not happy with, there are still plenty of good ones around and like you say as long as it's not got any major rust it should be fine.
I've got a Mini too. It's a "Designer", which is basically a 60's themed Mary Quant Limited Edition job. Black paintwork with black and white stripey seats and a Mary Quant flower logo on the bonnet insted of the standard Mini badge.
I bought her from a friend of Technokitty and she's currently in Derby having loads of bodywork done as she was a bit rusty, hence no pics of her really atm. :(
The best thing to do is to get a standard model like the Sprite or the City, and then you can do what you want to it. I had lots of limited editions before Suki, and its just rude doing any mods to them cos they are so rare.
is it better to get a 998cc engine or a 1275cc, obviously theres more power but are there any other benefits?
Insurance will be cheaper for the 998 and car tax is too!!!
I've had 4 998's, and had loads of fun in them, but the 1275 I have at the moment does have a bit more kick, faster acceleration, and happier on motorways.
My advice is to look at the bodywork rather than the engine, you can always slap another engine in, or a stage 1 kit if you think the 998 doesn't do what you want it to!