New Mini

[mark19632]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buy my Wife a new Mini Cooper. Does anyone here own one and have you had any problems or issues with the car?

Thanks in advance,

Mark

[CocoPops]

Yeah, don't do it!

Seriously, buy a Mini One use the difference to superchip it and pile on the options.
You'll end up with the same power/speed/options for less money.

[Jiff Lemon]

My mate got rid of his cooper S after 3 months of very unhappy ownership - Fuel consumption was appalling (25mpg at a 60 mph motorway trawl). Apparently it was an issue with the ECU - BMW would reset it, everything would be fine for a week, then the appalling consumption returned. Also had hesitation problem - If you drove the thing flat out it was fine; If you drove with minimal throttle it was fine; transition from either of these two states (i.e Normal driving) would lead to a momentary hesistation.

BMW were useless at fixing either problem; They'd reset the ECU, and tell him to run it for a couple of weeks. 7 times it went back, 7 times they failed to fix it. He was going through a rejection process when a Renault dealer gave him a part ex deal he couldn't refuse against a new megane (essentially, he didn't lose a penny!).

I'm sure there were some major threads on several mini owners club forums about it - It was quite a common and widespread thing.

[5lab]

tbh, getting the car without superchipping will lead to cheaper insurance

the 1.6 (standard) is probably plenty good enough for most drivers, or consider the new derv (they've changed the engine i think).. be aware that with the back seats and boot, you may as well be in a smart car

[menthel]

Tbh,my wife has one and I really don't like it. The ride is harsh to say the least and I find it generally uncomfortable. To replace tyres costs an arm and a leg as they are run flats and quite frankly its just not sporty enough for me with regards to the performance. The back seats have enough room, but the boot is pathetic. Ho Hum.

[Stoo]

I drive one most days and I love it

Early models had production issues (what new models don't?), dodgy electrics, and a problem with it constantly steering to the left, but production has now been going on long enough to sort out most of the issues.

The issue with the harsh ride can be easily solved with not going over-board on the options list, as having the sports suspension package with the 17" run-flats *will* make the ride very hard.

I've never had a problem with fitting stuff in the boot, it's enough for a week's shopping, and if it's not, you just flatten the back seats down to make room for anything big.

Performance I've not had a problem with, as it'll easily cruise on the motorways at 80+, hell it'll quite happily hit 90+ in 4th gear.

If you do get a new one, pay the extra and get the TLC package, it's *well* worth it.

You may be interested to know that there are a bunch of new models coming out over the next year or so, including a new turbocharged "S"

[mark19632]

Thanks for the tips guys. It's going ot be an auto so it's got to be at least the Cooper engine as the one is too slow. Don't really want to bother getting it chiped after getting, but it is tempting.

If it was for me it would be the Cooper S Works, but she doesn't want anything like that.

[menthel]

Lol, the good old 'I am determined to throw you into the kerb' steering problem. Forgot that one too.

I can't be too harsh on the car really as the wife loves it as much as I hate it!