Hi,
LOL at yet another thread!
The car has been absolutely brilliant to own since picking it up in May. Ive done a total of 12k miles since then and I dont regret my choice at all.
One thing that is not to everyones taste is the harsh ride it has with the 17inch wheels. These come with Pirelli runflat tyres so they are also quite a lot harder than your average rubber bands. Personally, I dont like them at all and I find they pull you all over the road. I plan to replace these with normal tyres when they need changing.
I also opted for the sports suspension and it does make it very racey, however it doesnt make the ride any softer!. To me, it is not a problem, however when my mum drives it she always finds it a bit too hard. But it does mean you can take speed humps at a good pace :D
One point that some owners complained about was the interior plastic's quality. I have found that mine has been excellent and I have had very little faults. In some area's, the silver paint is not actually protected by a gloss finish, but I havent found mine has scratched easily.
When I first got the car I was amazed at the steering response that you get. If you just twitch the wheel slightly, the car turns a lot. This can be a bit challenging on a twisty dual carriageway at 70mph, but the good thing is, there is no danger of falling asleep behind the wheel!
The standard stereo that comes with the car is totally useless though. However, if you buy a Mini you are best off getting an aftermarket system installed as appose to opting for one of the over priced factory options (Harman Kardon excluded).
I guess the ultimate question is, if I were to do it all over again would I buy a Mini. Without hesitation, the answer would be yes. As some of you may know, ive been considering selling it to my mum but I cannot think of an alternative vehicle upto the challenge of knocking the MINI from top spot.
What car can you get for £12k (or £10,430 without the bits) that has the following attributes.....
Brand New
Amazing to drive
A genuine head turner
Rock solid residual values
German build quality
group 5 insurance
Fantastic owners club
5 years servicing for £100!
Satisfying ownership experience through the brand
Shorter than an old nissan micra (which i learned in)
Lets look at the opposition.....
Ford Fiesta........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Citroen C2..........Quite quick but its ugly and its french
Peugeot 206.........Terrible reliability....and its french
Fiat Punto..........Buy this and you will know your salesman on first name terms
Vauxhall Corsa......Jezza said 'buy one of these and you will be sending out a message to the world saying 'i know nothing about cars'
Renault Clio.......Good to drive but drab interior and a replacement is due soon
Volkswagen Lupo/Seat Arosa.......Good residuals and nice 100bhp engine but interior is rubbishy and loud road noise
To be quite honest....I couldnt think of a car as good as the Mini. The only car I gave 2nd thought to was a new shape hyundai coupe for £12.5k nearly new.....however it didnt take me long to see the light. Im keeping the Mini...:D
And oh....if your thinking of buying one, DO IT - dont be put off by the horror stories. Most of the problems have been ironed out now (if any) so its a wise choice in my view.
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Lets look at the opposition..... Ford Fiesta........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
:-(
Blue
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The Seat Ibiza is closer in price than an Arosa. Free insurance too, and I got my 1.4S on 0% finance. The steering gets heavier with speed, which avoids the twitchiness you describe.
I'd have tried the new MINI if it was in my price range, but it wasn't. Would it accommodate a tall driver such as myself?
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There's more to a car than Carmad might think. For example, how does the Mini score as a practical car ?
It's boot space is tiny. It's interior space is pathetic compared with the rivals he mentions.
How easy it is to get the Mini serviced ? Not everyone lives near a franchised BMW dealer. By contrast, it's so much easier to get any of the others maintained.
By the way, Carmad thinks the Focus is zzzzzz But according to the motoring press, it's one of the best super minis to drive being described as a "baby Focus."
Alex
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Thanks Alex :-)
Whilst the Fiesta mightn't look anywhere near as cute or stylish as a Mini, either inside or out, it does have a few aces up it's sleeve in the way that it drives, which is lovely :-)
My little Fi never ceases to put a smile on my face, why only last night I went to book my first 10,000 mile service on-line and found that it has a 12,500 mile interval, which means it won't be due for another month or two, so I can get the CD player in my bedroom fixed now :-)
Not as good as buying 5 years servicing for £100 though :-( but atill an unexpected treat anyway.
Blue
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Thats very true. The practicality of the Mini is pretty poor. But as I dont transport a lot of stuff then it isnt really a problem for me. However, im not saying that the Mini is a practical car - it only seats 4 too.
When i ordered my Mini in february the 3dr Fiesta's were just filtering through and I liked them. Unfortunately these were still at list price and the only one I could really consider was a 5dr. It wasnt a bad car but I did feel it looked bland compared to the Mini. Im sure it drives extremely well and I liked the interior, but I was put off by what its future residuals would be compared to the Mini. Obviously, being a considerable amount of money for me to be spending (nearly 2 years savings), I wanted to make sure it was invested in the right vehicle and the Mini seemed the best option for me.
I didnt mean to offend anyone by my comments, but in terms of what I was looking for in a car, the Mini was best for me.
Oh....and a few things that do bug me about the Mini are as follows:
Noisey steering - due to the way its built, the steering whines
small windscreen - It can sometimes feel a bit too small for the car
I completely forgot about the Ibiza. That looks like an excellent car however I think i prefer the Mini's styling. But as a general package (i.e. value, practicality, engine) the Ibiza maybe a more practical option for many. The reason i compared the Lupo and Arosa was that Top gear did a test with the Mini One against these cars.
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As it seems you are no-one here in 2004 without a Mini opinion...
I get my first one on the books later this year. Then I'll let you know what a comfort loving old git thinks of them.
M.M
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A mate of mine has a MINI One and rates it highly. But as a wizened old git, I don't think I could live with an interior that looked like a Fisher-Price Playstation or the set of Play School. I'm sure I'd enjoy the handling though and £100 for 5 years servicing is the bargain of the century at face value, although it is just built into the cost of the car. There's no such thing as a free lunch unfortunately.
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Why does the new Mini deserve capital letters? Does it stand for something?
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five years servicing for £100 - great marketing ploy and almost (but not quite) enough reason to buy the car alone. I'm amazed no other volume manufacturer has followed suit, even at a dearer price.
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Why does the new Mini deserve capital letters? Does it stand for something?
BMW insisted that it was the MINI and not the Mini. Whether it was trademark or brand positioning I couldn't tell you .
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Had my Cooper with Chilli pack since Sep 02. Really pleased with it - great looks outside and in, great to drive. 16in wheels not a problem. Sport-plus suspension gives lively ride but who cares, it's all part of the fun.
Don't buy one if you need to carry loads of shopping or more than three people. I'm 6ft and the back seat behind me is therefore useless. Fold-down rear seats give useful extra load space when needed.
Biggest issue is the odd creak and zizz from the trim. I like my cars silent but I can forgive the MINI. I've test drven more recent cars and they seem to be just the same. Ho hum.
To get good resale value you need to spec up your car - aircon plus one of the packs as a minimum. Cooper S needs Chilli pack with 17in wheels etc.
Recently drove two Coooper Ss, one standard-ish, the other with the 200bhp Works conversion - now I need one! Didn't think the 17in wheels gave a ride that different to the 16 inchers.
Best part of early ownsership was the way MINI drivers used to wave at each other. Now another MINI is just that...
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hehe i liked the remark about the interior being like a fisher price playstation - made me chuckle! no its not to everyones taste, but i love it - and everyone who has got in the car has said how much they do (whether they were just being polite i dont know).
£100 servicing deal is excellent - but it doesnt need many services so i havent seen the dealer much yet.
I think the entire MINI thing is pathetic - i see no reason for capital letters. Also, Mini do send you some rubbish through the post as advertising. I got a pull out card board mini to put on the top of my xmas tree - it looked really cheap - but i guess its nice to get something....for my £12k spent!
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The interior is certainly likeable, Carmad, just a bit 'awww how cute' for me. It would irritate me no end eventually. But then I'm an old fuddy-duddy who likes walnut veneer, chrome bezels and white-on-black dials. The zenith of dashboard design for me is the 1960's MKII Jaguar. IMHO nothing has come close for aesthetic beauty. I even got used to the ergonomics (or lack of them).
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SWMBO's has been faultless (rusty door mirror bolts apart) Excellent British engineering linked to German build quality. Great little motor.
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Did someone mention MINI? :-)
[i]{quote=M.M.}Then I'll let you know what a comfort loving old git thinks of them
{/quote}[/i]
Hope you like it MM; it's a shock to the system in terms of ride comfort after the Xantia, but it's a nice place to sit.
[i]{quote=ALEX}
It's boot space is tiny. It's interior space is pathetic compared with the rivals he mentions.
{/quote}[/i]
* Boot is tiny.
* Rear seats, to quote my brother in law "Have plenty of room. If you're Douglas Bader"
* The bit that me & SWMBO sit in has more room than just about any car I've been in, the seats are supportive and comfortable, low set so feel sporty and the organ-style (BMW?) accelerator pedal is tremendous.
PU - noticed my door mirror bolts are going the same way - did you have yours replaced?
I've posted here before about how much I like our MINI (52 Cooper) and I followed HJs advice with 16" wheels on standard sports suspension. Anything more handled even more fantastically but my better half couldn't live with the bumpy ride. HJ advised against yellow, but I've seen one yellow/white roof combo on a cooper with 17s and stripes and it does look great. The yellow exception, methinks.
* Noisy steering - it's electric and does sound different, but I've come to quite like it. The proper "old" Mini has a distinctive gearbox whine, I like to think it's character too.
I just love the car and like many other MINI owners, don't know what I would have bought instead nothing is quite like it. Like the Pluriel, it has its own character and audience.
Someone mentioned the Ibiza - drove one, quite liked it but felt it was trying to be an Alfa too much - and the cheapness of the interior compared to its cousins the Polo and the Fabia was unforgivable. And all the yellow ones seem to be driven by idiots.
I'm still laughing at alex bringing up boot space. It's not much use for towing horseboxes, transporting wardrobes and off-roading either. Still laughing...
--
Lee
MINI adventure in progress
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