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1.4D mini purchase

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  • 06-03-2014 8:03pm
    #1
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭


    My daughter is thinking of buying a 04 Mini 1.4D. There is a whistle from the engine when accelerating. Is this something to worry about?


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    #2
    colm_mcm
    Registered Users Posts: 73,418 ✭✭✭✭colm_mcm


    There is usually a tiny whistle from the turbo but it shouldn't be that noticeable.


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    #3
    road_high
    Registered Users Posts: 19,398 ✭✭✭✭road_high


    If in doubt walk away. Plenty of other used cars out there.


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    #4
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    road_high wrote: »
    If in doubt walk away. Plenty of other used cars out there.

    Yes but in every other way it looks like a nice car. What could this quite pronounced whistle be?


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    #5
    Supergurrier
    Registered Users Posts: 7,289 ✭✭✭Supergurrier


    Safehands wrote: »
    Yes but in every other way it looks like a nice car. What could this quite pronounced whistle be?

    Boost leak or loose hose probably.

    Only way to get a comparison is to drive another 1.4d


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    #6
    bazz26
    Registered Users Posts: 51,171 ✭✭✭✭bazz26


    Drive another Mini diesel and see if it has the same whistle.


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    #7
    dr.fuzzenstein
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,635 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    And a diesel Mini? Why? I am a big diesel fan, but the diesel Mini seems pointless to me, somehow it's just wrong. It's like a glass of good beer with ketchup in it.
    Unless she's doing big mileage, I wouldn't.


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    #8
    Donnelly117
    Registered Users Posts: 1,509 ✭✭✭Donnelly117


    The Diesel Mini is an awful car to drive! I had one for a week (on two occasions) while my own MINI was in for work and i absolutely hated it. Is she doing big milage or is she buying a diesel because everyone assumes its cheaper?

    By the way I dont have anything against diesels, just this one in particular...

    To answer the OP, Id be surprised if the normal turbo whistle would be audible over a diesel engine, could be a boost leak somewhere in the system?


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    #9
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »
    And a diesel Mini? Why? I am a big diesel fan, but the diesel Mini seems pointless to me, somehow it's just wrong. It's like a glass of good beer with ketchup in it.
    Unless she's doing big mileage, I wouldn't.

    Gee I love ketchup! Have it on everything, including tinned beans. Never tried it in beer though, sounds like it could be a plan.
    She is doing fairly big milage, about 60 miles a day. She loves Mini's! I have warned her that they could be expensive. There are more reliable, cheaper small cars. But she is a young woman, with 50 or 60 pairs of shoes. Completely impractical. When it starts costing her money she may learn. In the meantime I don't want her to buy a piece of junk, like I did when I bought a Primera. No one warned me, but I learned.


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    #10
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    Donnelly117 wrote: »
    The Diesel Mini is an awful car to drive! I had one for a week (on two occasions) while my own MINI was in for work and i absolutely hated it. Is she doing big milage or is she buying a diesel because everyone assumes its cheaper?

    By the way I dont have anything against diesels, just this one in particular...

    To answer the OP, Id be surprised if the normal turbo whistle would be audible over a diesel engine, could be a boost leak somewhere in the system?

    What is a boost leak please?


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    #11
    colm_mcm
    Registered Users Posts: 73,418 ✭✭✭✭colm_mcm


    In simple terms - high pressure hose from the turbo leaking air out.

    If its more of a pronounced whistling whining sound it could also be bearings on the turbo.


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    #12
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    colm_mcm wrote: »
    High pressure hose from the turbo leaking air out.

    Easy to fix?


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    #13
    colm_mcm
    Registered Users Posts: 73,418 ✭✭✭✭colm_mcm


    Safehands wrote: »
    Easy to fix?

    Easier than a lot of things, yes.
    Mightn't be especially cheap depending on what parts you need though.


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    #14
    dr.fuzzenstein
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,635 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    colm_mcm wrote: »
    Easier than a lot of things, yes.
    Mightn't be especially cheap depending on what parts you need though.

    I'd say without seeing the car it's impossible to tell what it is though.
    I wouldn't buy a car with an obvious problem that I didn't know what it is, how to fix it and how much it will cost.
    If I didn't know, I would seek a second opinion.
    Maybe Motors could provide such a service at a small fee? :D
    The Boards.ie car check, that should be interesting.


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    #15
    Donnelly117
    Registered Users Posts: 1,509 ✭✭✭Donnelly117


    Safehands wrote: »
    Completely impractical.

    Minis arent too impractical. With the rear seats folded down there buckets of space! I got a 50 inch TV home in my MINI last weekend!!


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    #16
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    Donnelly117 wrote: »
    Minis arent too impractical. With the rear seats folded down there buckets of space! I got a 50 inch TV home in my MINI last weekend!!

    Is yours a diesel? How reliable are they?


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    #17
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 28,120 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    Cooper Diesel is a nice little car, would she be better off spending the extra few quid and getting a better car?
    A 5k mini D is hiding a few battle scars.


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    #18
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    drunkmonkey wrote: »
    Cooper Diesel is a nice little car, would she be better off spending the extra few quid and getting a better car?
    A 5k mini D is hiding a few battle scars.

    What do you mean? I'm sorry, I don't understand.


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    #19
    SleeperService
    Closed Accounts Posts: 372 ✭✭SleeperService


    Is yours a diesel? How reliable are they?

    The diesel is a toyota engine from the yaris, soo should be as reliable as a diesel yaris. Don't know anyone with either.

    Check powersteering pump works consistently, check windows work consistently. Both expensive. Windows a pain to diy.
    A lot of issues should have been ironed out by 04. Dunno if gearbox was issue for diesels.


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    #20
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 28,120 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    I mean it's a 10 year old diesel cared for by women. It's probably been bet around more car parks than you can shake a stick at and I'd be surprised if half the owners knew where the dip stick was.
    The cheapest car isn't always the cheapest car if you know what I mean.

    Driving experience though I had a copper D for 2 weeks around the Italian mountains and found it a hoot and very economical considering the leathering I gave it.


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    #21
    Donnelly117
    Registered Users Posts: 1,509 ✭✭✭Donnelly117


    Safehands wrote: »
    Is yours a diesel? How reliable are they?

    No mine is the petrol Cooper S, and no it is not reliable. I think someone mentioned the diesel engine is a Toyota unit from a Yaris so it should be very reliable.

    The main thing I find with MINIs is that people who cant really afford them buy them, and then they end up buying the cheapest available. These cars are cheap for a reason and you will be scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of MINIs whereas for equivalent money you would get a much newer clio/fiesta/yaris/corsa etc. I wouldnt buy a cheap MINI as I would forecast it costing you big money down the road.

    What year and price are you looking at?


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    #22
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    Donnelly117 wrote: »
    No mine is the petrol Cooper S, and no it is not reliable. I think someone mentioned the diesel engine is a Toyota unit from a Yaris so it should be very reliable.

    The main thing I find with MINIs is that people who cant really afford them buy them, and then they end up buying the cheapest available. These cars are cheap for a reason and you will be scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of MINIs whereas for equivalent money you would get a much newer clio/fiesta/yaris/corsa etc. I wouldnt buy a cheap MINI as I would forecast it costing you big money down the road.

    What year and price are you looking at?

    I agree with you. Try telling a 24 year old girl that a Yaris or a Fiesta is a better car than a sexy looking mini. (i wouldn't touch an Opel or a Renault). This Mini is a 04 with 95K miles on it. Beautiful nick but that whistle worries me. I have a diesel Skoda and I never heard anything like this whistle from it.


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    #23
    The Real B-man
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 3,731 Mod ✭✭✭✭The Real B-man


    If she likes the Car and its mechanically sound go for it i wouldnt say there impractical there its a Mini it does what is says on the tin, its 10yrs old so maybe get a Mechanic or the AA to give it the once over!

    Best of luck


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    #24
    ian87
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭ian87


    In my experience a twenty something year old girl (my GF) who wants a mini will not be convinced otherwise. "They aren't the most reliable and tend to be expensive to repair." I said. "Ya but they look lovely and I want one" was the response.

    There was no convincing otherwise and that was it. Massive electrical problems, wheel speed sensors giving problems that couldn't be fixed, radiator failing twice, dicky bootlid hinges, dicky rear wiper and eventually the head gasket blowing did she realise it was time to throw the towel in.

    The days it did work though were GREAT fun and you get used to every second fella checking you out and then looking at you in disgust when they see an ugly male mug behind the wheel.

    I recently bought a Yaris of a girl who wanted to buy a mini. She was blind to the fact that she had a cracking car under her bum in the yaris but no way was she changing her mind. I got a bargain Yaris that yielded a very tidy profit. Last I heard she is broke from trying to keep it in petrol and regretting ever changing.


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    #25
    Donnelly117
    Registered Users Posts: 1,509 ✭✭✭Donnelly117


    Safehands wrote: »

    (i wouldn't touch an Opel .

    Why? Any of the Opels I have had in the past have been far more reliable then my Mini. The only problem I had owning 2 Opels over 7 years was a cracked spark plug which cannot be blamed on the car.

    You seem to have a limited mechanical knowledge (no offense) so to say you wouldn't touch an Opel is unjustified. I am assuming you are basing this on something a random person told you or an isolated incident that made you blacklist an entire brand?


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    #26
    shedweller
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,029 ✭✭✭shedweller


    Safehands wrote: »
    My daughter is thinking of buying a 04 Mini 1.4D. There is a whistle from the engine when accelerating. Is this something to worry about?
    My ball of dirt yaris is the same age with the same engine. It is a solid engine and has a timing chain instead of a belt so once the oil is changed on schedule the chain should never give trouble. The whistle is probably from a leaking intercooler hose. The intercooler on this particular engine is on top of the engine and is dead easy to see when you lift the bonnet. The hoses are connected to each end of this. Trace them back to find any damage. It may just need a tighten or the hose has damage and needs to be replaced. Paying someone to do this will obviously add to the cost of the car so have a look at a few others first.
    Good luck!


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    #27
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    shedweller wrote: »
    My ball of dirt yaris is the same age with the same engine. It is a solid engine and has a timing chain instead of a belt so once the oil is changed on schedule the chain should never give trouble. The whistle is probably from a leaking intercooler hose. The intercooler on this particular engine is on top of the engine and is dead easy to see when you lift the bonnet. The hoses are connected to each end of this. Trace them back to find any damage. It may just need a tighten or the hose has damage and needs to be replaced. Paying someone to do this will obviously add to the cost of the car so have a look at a few others first.
    Good luck!

    Why do you say "ball of dirt Yaris"? I thought they were great cars


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    #28
    pete4130
    Registered Users Posts: 3,944 ✭✭✭pete4130


    Donnelly117 wrote: »
    Minis arent too impractical. With the rear seats folded down there buckets of space! I got a 50 inch TV home in my MINI last weekend!!

    I got a washing machine in the back of a Fiat Ciecento. It was still a crap car but had a great boot shape for loading big items.


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    #29
    shedweller
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,029 ✭✭✭shedweller


    Safehands wrote: »
    Why do you say "ball of dirt Yaris"? I thought they were great cars

    It is. Its just not at all motors material!


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    #30
    Safehands
    Registered Users Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭Safehands


    Donnelly117 wrote: »
    Why? Any of the Opels I have had in the past have been far more reliable then my Mini. The only problem I had owning 2 Opels over 7 years was a cracked spark plug which cannot be blamed on the car.

    You seem to have a limited mechanical knowledge (no offense) so to say you wouldn't touch an Opel is unjustified. I am assuming you are basing this on something a random person told you or an isolated incident that made you blacklist an entire brand?

    Actually no. Opels, in my limited experience, make cars which promise a lot, but deliver little. The Insignia is one of the nicest looking cars in its class. But does it deliver? Not really. It has niggly little faults and if anything goes wrong it can cost quite a lot to fix. I would have bought one, but opted for a Superb instead. I'm glad I did, if my friend's experience is anything to go by. He wouldn't buy another one.
    Having said that, it is probably grossly unfair to lump them in the same category as Renault because they are much better than that. I apologise if I insulted your car.

    Back to Minis. Do they have a timing chain or belt? When should they be changed? Also, I was looking at one today and when the door was open the speedo needle vibrated. It went away when I closed the door. Any ideas?


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    #31
    shedweller
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,029 ✭✭✭shedweller


    Safehands wrote: »

    Back to Minis. Do they have a timing chain or belt? When should they be changed? Also, I was looking at one today and when the door was open the speedo needle vibrated. It went away when I closed the door. Any ideas?
    The diesel one has a chain and doesn't normally need changing.
    And i havent a clue about the vibrating needle!


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