Looking to buy a used Mini Cooper/One Automatic. Any suggestions?

Moses7

Does anyone have experience with a used Mini?

Looking to buy a used Mini Cooper/One Automatic. Not more than 5 years old.

Have driven few, but does anyone have more experience on how reliable they are and how expensive is it to maintain one?

thanks.

bazz26

Drop Paint Doctor a PM, he used to sell them and have one afaik so he should be able to advise you on the pros and cons.

langdang

Automatic is a CVT type box, I've heard that box is not great really.
A late 04 onwards manual is best, unless you really really need auto?

Owen

If you really have to have one, go with the One. The Cooper while having more horsepower on paper is strangled by the CVT - which is a god awful gearbox. As Clarkson said when reviewing the Nissan Cube, it's like listening to the theme music of Bonanza, it's always changing up and down up and down like a sewing machine.

Some had the Flappy Paddles on the Steering Wheel (A no cost option, but you had to have the optional leather steering wheel to choose them) - which makes it a bit more fun, less of a chore to drive, but overall any car with a CVT will be a bit soul-less.

Getting one here will be difficult enough. I'd sell about 1 automatic for every 100 manuals in this Country. If you do get one, first thing I would do is remap it with a Sedox remap (There's one or two agents here for them). It sorts out some of the constant up and down from the CVT, and liberates 40 Bhp from the One's engine (Reliably).

Spec wise, minimum I'd go for would be a Pepper Pack, and if possible Aircon/Panoramic Sunroof. Most will have a Cassette Player, so you'll need to swap that out for a CD.

In terms of reliability, they're fairly bulletproof - the engine is mechanically very simple. If it hasn't eaten the Power Steering pump yet, it will. Other than that, they're usually fine. Main Dealer for the pump isn't far of 1300 Euro, but there's a specialist Mini garage in Cork who change the pump for 600 ish, and do preventative maintenance on the unit too that the Main Dealers don't for some inexplicable reason.

The Cooper S auto was a completely different box though, a real automatic with real gears.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjdRgBAY278

Drummerboy08

PD, is the Cooper S reliability a different kettle of fish compared to the One? Based on the bills I've seen for two that I have out, I'd advise anyone against buying one.

Owen

Generally, I haven't seen much go wrong with the 02-06 R53 model - but it depends on the year. The R53 was just a normal One/Cooper engine with a Supercharger bolted on and lower compression. There's companies getting nearly 500 Bhp out of the 1.6 lump reliably.

The R56 Cooper S from 07 onwards was a different kettle of fish. It was plagued with launch issues, oil starvation, panels not fitting properly, steering locks jamming, ABS failures and the infamous cold start rattle. What kind of stuff was on your invoices?

Drummerboy08

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Generally, I haven't seen much go wrong with the 02-06 R53 model - but it depends on the year. The R53 was just a normal One/Cooper engine with a Supercharger bolted on and lower compression. There's companies getting nearly 500 Bhp out of the 1.6 lump reliably.

The R56 Cooper S from 07 onwards was a different kettle of fish. It was plagued with launch issues, oil starvation, panels not fitting properly, steering locks jamming, ABS failures and the infamous cold start rattle. What kind of stuff was on your invoices?

Not so much the stuff you mention, but I had one in very recently that required a high pressure water pump, tensioners & pulleys, heater matrix and a few other bits. I think a timing chain was in there somewhere.

Had one a few months ago that required a new sunroof because the old one jammed open. Common fault apparently. Also had similar issues to the car above.

Both of these cars are 07's, mileage well below 70k, and have a full Mini service history. They're a great car to drive, but my god those two cars have cost an arm and a leg to maintain.

I also look after a fleet of Coopers used as promo vehicles, (you know the ones) and they have fairly regular issues with airbag lights appearing, radio's breaking, silly things like handbreak sensors failing, brake pad sensors failing, a/c unit trouble, etc.

Owen

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Not so much the stuff you mention, but I had one in very recently that required a high pressure water pump, tensioners & pulleys, heater matrix and a few other bits. I think a timing chain was in there somewhere.

Most of that stuff is related to the Cold Start Rattle, it's caused by faulty software and timing/oil hydraulic pressure to lift the valves.

Had one a few months ago that required a new sunroof because the old one jammed open. Common fault apparently. Also had similar issues to the car above.

The first batch of sunroof motors for the new R56 models weren't strong enough to open both sunroofs and eventually packed in, but were revised later in production.

Both of these cars are 07's, mileage well below 70k, and have a full Mini service history. They're a great car to drive, but my god those two cars have cost an arm and a leg to maintain.

Some of that stuff should probably have been warranty/goodwill stuff. No harm to keep an eye on totalMINI to see if others are getting the work carried out, and then lobby your Dealer to do the same.

I also look after a fleet of Coopers used as promo vehicles, (you know the ones) and they have fairly regular issues with airbag lights appearing, radio's breaking, silly things like handbreak sensors failing, brake pad sensors failing, a/c unit trouble, etc.

Airbag lights were another common fault with the early ones alright, due to frail wires under the seats - I'd forgotten about that. There was a fix in the form of stronger connectors eventually brought out.

The other stuff though isn't so common, sounds like you're just having no luck!

Drummerboy08

Yeah, I get no luck when it comes to Mini's!

If I knew I could buy a Cooper S without it breaking my heart I'd buy one in a flash. Fantastic cars to drive.