Mini-Cooper

[Candie]

Well my son is now 16 and the Camaro is now his. (yes I bought it with the intention of giving it to him) so now I am trying to decide what fun to get next. I really like the Mini Cooper convertible but do not know anyone with one and I have read mixed reviews on the web. Anyone have one? If so have you had any problems out of it? TIA

[IBM]

I know someone with one, they're actually good cars. She hasn't had any problems with it and she said it's a blast to drive. She hopes to upgrade to a convertible soon.

[SC2150]

Fun cars. They are direct injection so the oil/carbon build-up on the intake valves is an issue that can be prevented with a good oil separating catchcan.

[helmincamaro]

Originally Posted by Candie

Well my son is now 16 and the Camaro is now his. (yes I bought it with the intention of giving it to him) so now I am trying to decide what fun to get next. I really like the Mini Cooper convertible but do not know anyone with one and I have read mixed reviews on the web. Anyone have one? If so have you had any problems out of it? TIA

IMO, I'd avoid the vert's like the plague. The body is part of the frame on the verts, even if you get in a minor bump up..... that's frame damage, bye bye resale value. The hatch CooperS is a blast.... Go for an 07+ turbo, better power and MPGs.... although the supercharged ones do have a pretty cool whine. The Getrag transmission in the manuals is absolutely the best shifting tranny I've driven..... and I'm around cars a lot.

[Candie]

Originally Posted by helmincamaro

IMO, I'd avoid the vert's like the plague. The body is part of the frame on the verts, even if you get in a minor bump up..... that's frame damage, bye bye resale value. The hatch CooperS is a blast.... Go for an 07+ turbo, better power and MPGs.... although the supercharged ones do have a pretty cool whine. The Getrag transmission in the manuals is absolutely the best shifting tranny I've driven..... and I'm around cars a lot.

Thanks. I want a convertible so if I should't get the convertible then I really don't want the Cooper. This will just be a fun tooling around on the weekend kind of car. I don't need it for commuting or anything. I have always liked the looks of the MINI and I test drove one this weekend and fell in love with the car. I did some research on the next and (as with anything) there are people who love them and people who hate them. I just don't want to buy a car the will constantly be in the shop. This will actually be my first ever foreign car ( if I buy it). Decisions, decisions!

[KEEP RT]

Originally Posted by Candie

Thanks. I want a convertible so if I should't get the convertible then I really don't want the Cooper. This will just be a fun tooling around on the weekend kind of car. I don't need it for commuting or anything. I have always liked the looks of the MINI and I test drove one this weekend and fell in love with the car. I did some research on the next and (as with anything) there are people who love them and people who hate them. I just don't want to buy a car the will constantly be in the shop. This will actually be my first ever foreign car ( if I buy it). Decisions, decisions!

Wait for the ZL-1 Vert possibly?

[buzzy56]

Read somewhere that the head had to be removed every 15,000-20,000 miles or so to de-carbon on the Mini-coop .Could get expensive.

[helmincamaro]

Originally Posted by Candie

Thanks. I want a convertible so if I should't get the convertible then I really don't want the Cooper. This will just be a fun tooling around on the weekend kind of car. I don't need it for commuting or anything. I have always liked the looks of the MINI and I test drove one this weekend and fell in love with the car. I did some research on the next and (as with anything) there are people who love them and people who hate them. I just don't want to buy a car the will constantly be in the shop. This will actually be my first ever foreign car ( if I buy it). Decisions, decisions!

go check one out with a sunroof.... its quite nice, it takes up the whole roof. They don't have much room in the back.... I'd personally do a rear seat delete...... give you more room to put stuff. If your looking for something different in a vert..... go check out a VW EOS, its a hardtop convertible.... pretty cool IMO. The next gen Beetle vert should be out next year.... I'm really liking the new body style (well, more than the old one with the flower vase in the dash!)

Originally Posted by buzzy56

Read somewhere that the head had to be removed every 15,000-20,000 miles or so to de-carbon on the Mini-coop .Could get expensive.

just run a catch can...... I've never heard of anyone having to take the heads off to clean them, and my dad works at a dealer.

[SC2150]

Originally Posted by buzzy56

Read somewhere that the head had to be removed every 15,000-20,000 miles or so to de-carbon on the Mini-coop .Could get expensive.

You are correct. The Mini is one of the worst offenders due to the oil ingestion into the intake air charge. A proper oil separating catchcan eliminates this all together and is cheap. Have been doing this w/BMW dealers service dept and have eliminated this issue.

Any DI motor this is an unintended problem as there is no fuel swirling around the intake valves to keep them clean so in app 5k miles the dposits are already hindering performance/economy.

Other than that the Mini is an awesome car.

[PeeBee]

The only BMW Mini you'd want after the Camaro is the John Cooper works IMHO...

That's actually about the only FWD car I more or less enjoyed driving, 200hp on those front wheels makes for a good giggle when you desperately try to get it into oversteer by "feathering the throttle" down to the metal. LOL

[helmincamaro]

Originally Posted by PeeBee

The only BMW Mini you'd want after the Camaro is the John Cooper works IMHO...

That's actually about the only FWD car I more or less enjoyed driving, 200hp on those front wheels makes for a good giggle when you desperately try to get it into oversteer by "feathering the throttle" down to the metal. LOL

I think the JCW is a bit overpriced for what it is....... you could buy a regular cooper S, do a catback and intake and have more power for a whole lot less

[busabruce]

My wife owns a 2007 Mini Cooper S. It is a very good car and has served us well. We bought it used with 19K miles. It now has 70K and we have not had any major issues with it at all. The S model does have a couple problems that could bother you. The suspension is real tight so you feel every bump in the road. The tires are run flats since they do not have a spare tire so the hard sidewalls and low profile will pick up a lot of road noise. Other then that it is very fun to drive and get's around 40 MPG combined driving. My neighbor has 2004 S with over 220K miles and replaced the stock clutch after 200K. They do last a long time if you take care of them.

We do not have a vert though, so I have no idea what they are like.

[IBM]

Originally Posted by helmincamaro

go check one out with a sunroof.... its quite nice, it takes up the whole roof. They don't have much room in the back.... I'd personally do a rear seat delete...... give you more room to put stuff. If your looking for something different in a vert..... go check out a VW EOS, its a hardtop convertible.... pretty cool IMO. The next gen Beetle vert should be out next year.... I'm really liking the new body style (well, more than the old one with the flower vase in the dash!)



just run a catch can...... I've never heard of anyone having to take the heads off to clean them, and my dad works at a dealer.

That's what my friend did because she couldn't afford the convertible at the time. The Dual sunroof is really nice and looks great from the outside too. Also, there is about the same amount of room as there is in the camaro, if not more.