what do you know about mini coopers?

[DotAndBuzz]

I know they are adorable. That's about it, lol.

[gretchenindisguise]

I know cooper had one and it forever clouded my vision of anyone who drives one.


Hahaha.

No my bff's dad bought one as his mid life crisis car. Its zippy.

Sent from my DROIDX using proboards

[Deleted]

I know I want a Countryman more than anything!!  But since I have a 6 year old I need to be practical and accept the fact that for the next 12 years I will need something with more storage space for hauling kids and gear around.

[vmars]

They are very safe cars. My DH drives one. The first few years maintenance is free on the Mini. Now that we pay for maintenance it's comparable to other cars and they always send out coupons and accept expired coupons. DH loves the car, I personally couldn't drive one because they feel too small, but if you like it, I don't see any reason not to get one. Also, they don't haggle over pricing so the buying process was quick & easy.

[goaskalice]

I've had 2 and will never drive anything else. I have the Clubman now but had the S Cooper first. What do you want to know?

My experience has been:
Pros: good mpg, great maintenance program while under warranty, super easy to drive and park, handled an accident well, and awesome resale value.
Cons: little to no suspension so they're noisy and premium gas only. That's all I've got.

You're also part of a little secret society bc MINI drivers always wave to each other on the road There's also a rally every year in Vegas and a cross country trip.

[goaskalice]

May 4, 2013 10:06:52 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

Cars that small give me anxiety. I couldn't drive one, it would set me into a panic. I also don't feel they are safe.

After being in an accident with one, I can tell you they're very safe. Now if the other car had been a semi not a Jeep I could be singing a different tune. 

[snickers]

May 4, 2013 9:55:29 GMT -5 DotAndBuzz said:

I know they are adorable. That's about it, lol.

They are soo cute!

[Deleted]

May 4, 2013 10:45:38 GMT -5 nursecramer said:

the one we are looking at is used, 2008 with 100,000k *sigh*

That's a lot of miles

[Deleted]

I've wanted one ever since I saw the Italian Job when it first came out. I test drove one and really loved it, but DH talked me out of it, saying that since we are big people we looked like giants in it. I ended up buying a 2 seat sports car, and I regret not getting the Mini because the 2 seater never got drive after having a kid and I sold it since it just sat in the driveway. It was a third car, so I would have kept the mini since you can actually fit a carseat in the back.

[wannabe]

Too many miles. Keep looking.

[Deleted]

I would look for an older Mini with lower miles. In my area there are quite a few 2005 and 2006 models with under 50k miles on Carmax.com. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of these (and am browsing because I'm always tempted to make the non-MM decision to trade my car in for a Mini instead of driving my reliable Acrua into the ground).

[Jalapeñomel]

May 4, 2013 11:55:51 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

May 4, 2013 10:20:26 GMT -5 goaskalice said:

After being in an accident with one, I can tell you they're very safe. Now if the other car had been a semi not a Jeep I could be singing a different tune. 

You still couldn't pay me to drive one.

Damn Americas and their SUVs.

[woodiedog]

My sister bought a used one. It was expensive to fix when problems arose. The didn't have a place that repaired minis near them. The engine died suddenly and they had to leave it a garage 100 miles away. From what I understand, they basically junked it.

[Bonita]

A coworker had one, and she said it was fun but she was always taking it to get fixed and often drove their other car to work instead...she said she loved the way it looked, and it was pretty fun to drive but a PITA and wouldn't get another one

[BAMFMrsB]

DH just sold his '07 cooperS with 60k miles. His was pristine, but he's a gearhead. 100k for an '08 is insane.
FWIW, it truly IS a tiny BMW, so you pay BMW pricing wrt maint/repairs = pricey.

He loved it, but we have a baby now and 2 adults + a carseat was not happening.

[somebodyelse]

Don't do it. Pain in the ass.

[Deleted]

May 4, 2013 10:45:38 GMT -5 nursecramer said:

the one we are looking at is used, 2008 with 100,000k *sigh*

Dude. No.

My Mom has a clubman. It's very roomy for its size. She's only had it a couple of months though, so i don't know much else yet.

[goaskalice]

May 4, 2013 13:05:46 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

May 4, 2013 12:05:21 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Damn Americas and their SUVs.

Larger vehicles simply feel safer to drive. I was hit at no fault of my own 4 times in 18 months in my car (including twice while pregnant) and it gave me such anxiety to even Sit in that car again. I drive an SUV now and I actually feel okay being on the road now. In Texas there are
Trucks and SUVs everywhere and driving a smaller car feels scary to me now. It feels nicer to be higher up and overall have more space. But I'm really tall so that could play a role in it too.

I hear you. I'm only 5 feet so driving an SUV actually scares me. I don't feel like I have control the way I do in my little race car that can zip past most obstacles and stupid drivers. That being said I live in Portland, there are way more cars than trucks on the road here. 

[Deleted]

There really aren't any safe cars. I think people get a false sense of security from a bigger car,just like they get from home alarms. It depends on how you are hit, what hits you and luck! Didn't they find that a volvo is/were the "safest" car, or was that in the past?

[Deleted]

My mom has a Mini Cooper, but she only keeps it at their little townhouse in downtown. She likes it, but it's definitely just her little fun car.

She named it Bridgette, that's probably important for you to know.

[bab]

I would save a little longer for a car with less miles. 100K is too many.

[themoneytree]

We had a Mini Cooper S a few years back. We bought it used and LOVED it. It's safe and drives like a sports car. Amazing pick up and handling. Actually surprisingly good on trunk space.
It's a pretty rough ride though, you feel the bumps. The roads here have pot holes and we had 2 bent rims during our ownership which was annoying and expensive.

Loved that other drivers always let you over, other Mini drivers wave and you can fit into city parking spaces with no trouble. It's super fun to drive. Great on gas. Pricey to fix.

[Deleted]

I agree they are cute, but I just wouldn't do it. I wouldn't buy the one with 60K miles, either, if you are financing it because you *are* going to have to spend money on repairs, and they will be as expensive as BMW repairs. So you'll be adding a car payment to a repair bill, and that is going to suck. If you are looking at a new mini, under warranty, I'd be all over that, or even paying cash for an older mini to use as a weekend car, but I would absolutely not finance a mini with more than, say, 20K miles. I have never owned a mini, but we have owned four BMW's, and they break. A lot. Which is fine when they are under warranty, but gets expensive fast if they aren't. To give you an idea, we have an X3 with about 100K miles on it. Last year, we put about 5K miles on it and spent maybe $2K on repairs (at a local repair shop, not at the dealership either). Realistically, if I were you, I would assume you're going to be paying another $300/month in maintenance, and (if you are going to use the mini as a primary car) you're going to be without transportation regularly. Not worth it. I'd buy a Honda instead.

[Deleted]

My assistant was in a horrific accident in his and lived to see another day. That being said try do take premium gas so your gas bill will be more. My friends that drive them love them though and race them around town like go carts.

[tdk2]

here's our mini cooper.

(12 weeks old there.)





no real help, sorry!

[Deleted]

1. They are not REAL Minis. Hurumph

2. My FIL owns one. I hate the clutch with the fire of a thousand suns.

That's all I've got.

[fluffaluff]

May 4, 2013 12:14:57 GMT -5 Bonita said:

A coworker had one, and she said it was fun but she was always taking it to get fixed and often drove their other car to work instead...she said she loved the way it looked, and it was pretty fun to drive but a PITA and wouldn't get another one

This is about all I know. It was my coworker's dream car and she saved forever to get a used one. I don't know how many miles it had but the novelty wore off very quickly, as it was in the shop at least 3 times that first year and she had a hard time keeping up with maintenance bills.