MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help!

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Sat 3 May 2008 10:39
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - bbroomlea{P}
We are car shopping again for my partner. We have a budget of £6K max, preferably £5K would be nice and the only considerations are a MINI, Grande Punto Sport or a Mk2 MG ZR.

Dilema is the MINI will be older and higher mileage - 60K plus on the clock and probably an 02 at best. The Punto would be 06 or 56 with very few miles - infact the deal they are doing on a brand new limited edition stripe is good as well but a bit out of budget and the ZR will hopefully bring the diesel into the pot and be top spec maybe 56 plate/

Whats more sensible in terms or residuals/cost of ownership over 3 years and 50,000 miles?

She has her heart set on a MINI again - should never have got rid the first one she had, but thats another story, but after spending all yesterday being hassled by salesmen and trawling every dealership and car supermarket in about 20 mile radius those are the options and I think the MINI may be the wrong one....

Any help greatly appreciated so I can get on with my bank hols and not sit glaring at autotrader :-)
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Sat 3 May 2008 12:33
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - oilrag
"She has her heart set on a MINI again"

That would be enough for me, regardless of other factors.

regards
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Sat 3 May 2008 12:39
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - adverse camber
do running costs matter?

How long are you likely to keep it for?
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Sat 3 May 2008 15:31
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - Hamsafar
Have you seen the special offer on a new Grand Punto?

"Grande Punto £125 per month - For a limited time only, Palmers Fiat can offer you a brand New Fiat Grande Punto from only £7485 with upto 4 years 0% Finance and zero deposit on selected models and packages!! You really could be driving a brand new Grande Punto from only £125 per month, now that's a deal not to be missed!! Plus £1000 of free petrol!"
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Sat 3 May 2008 16:36
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - smokescreen
Damn, are they selling that poorly?!
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Sat 3 May 2008 16:39
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - Chrome
Yes that sounds like a dealer plug to me!
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Sat 3 May 2008 19:18
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - bbroomlea{P}
>>Have you seen the special offer on a new Grand Punto?.

That does seem like a good deal - over budget, but brand new and with 0% finance, it may be worth justifying the higher pruchase price. Will take a look at that now, although I doubt our local dealer is offering it as they would have mentioned it yesterday in their patter!
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Sun 4 May 2008 13:17
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - doctorchris
This deal on the Fiat GP is a national offer, not just dealer specific and was highlighted by Mike Rutherford in the motoring section of the Daily Telegraph on Sat. 26/04/08 as being about as cheap as motoring gets.
If I was in your position I would be giving it serious consideration as you'd be getting a new car with plenty of warranty rather than a Mini which is overpriced due to it being a fashion accessory or an MG than can have availability problems for body parts if you have a bump.
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Sat 3 May 2008 19:16
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - bbroomlea{P}
>>do running costs matter?

How long are you likely to keep it for?

Sorry, should have added that. We will probably keep the car for 3 years and do about 15K a year. Running costs matter in that big bills are not welcome and it needs to be reasonably cheap to service etc.

Last MINI we had was a bit thirsty but I drive a diesel and get over 50mpg so most things seem bad to me!
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Sat 3 May 2008 20:52
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - Avant
If she were going to do a lowish mileage, an old but cherished Mini might have made sense; but at 15k a year I think a six-year-old Mini would be too much of a risk - as do you I suspect!

Presumably she's thought of all the options - if not, try to persuade her that a Suzuki Swift 1.5 or a Yaris 1.3 would be just as much fun to drive, and in the case of the Swift, "different" enough if that's what she's after.

Failing that, it would have to be the Punto, and you either get a good one or you don't. Maybe try to find one that's been PX'ed for another Fiat, suggesting that the first owner liked it.
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Sun 4 May 2008 11:30
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - daiking
the ZR
will hopefully bring the diesel into the pot and be top spec maybe 56 plate/
Whats more sensible in terms or residuals/cost of ownership over 3 years and 50 000


When did MG Rover go bust? April 05? a 56-plate ZR will merely be and a late 05 plate that wasn't used for over a year. It won't be a nearly new car.
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Mon 5 May 2008 21:12
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - bbroomlea{P}
Cheers for all the replys/suggestions...

however things have gone from bad to worse! She has decided on a Ford Puma now as aparently its 'funky and cheap'! Does mean we wont have a lot of finance on it at least.

From what we have looked at so far they are rot boxes but no doubt will find a good one eventually! Cannot believe the 01 and 02 cars we have viewed have rusty arches/wings etc, 2 of them were from Evans Halshaw as well.
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Mon 5 May 2008 21:35
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - Pugugly
The 1.7 is a superb engine.
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Mon 5 May 2008 22:09
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - bbroomlea{P}
We test drove one today and its definately the 1.7 we will get - sounds lovely and really likes to rev! Do they use this engine in anything other than the Puma?
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Mon 5 May 2008 22:11
MINI v's Grande Punto V's MG ZR - help! - Pugugly
No - its a specific Yamaha designed unit for the Puma. Remarkable normally aspirated VVC, revs like a motor bike engine - go to the Pumapeople website for very useful help.
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