Help me decide on the Mini Cooper

Okay, I’m considering buying a Mini Cooper. Currently, I have a '91 Toyota Celica. I love this car so much I was intending on buying a new Celica. But then I saw the Cooper. That thing is just so darn cute! And not too expensive, either. I haven’t had time to drive one yet, but I wanted to seek some advice first.

Are they very reliable? Sure, it’s BMW, but no one mentions them when they talk about reliability. How expensive will this thing be to fix? Are the parts in such a way that only a dealer can do the work? And how picky is BMW when it comes to your credit? Honestly, I have no idea what my credit is like, though I know that I don’t have a lot of it.

Tell me everything you know. And if you had the choice, would you go for the new Celica, or the Mini Cooper, and why?

Reviews

Consumer Reports

Personally, having lived for six years with a GT-6, I’m wary of cute little cars.

If you really want to be cool, get an original one. :wink:

– Johnny L.A., who is having a '66 MGB restored.

liirogue, you can also search this forum, there should be some other topics on it. Have fun.

Completely un-knowledgable opinion: I think they’re adorable, and they make me smile every time I see one.

As far as repairs: I think that they’re getting fairly popular, and I find as a general rule, that the more common the car, the easier it is to find cheap parts and knowledgable workers. But I don’t know anything in particular about the mini in particular.

The mini is so cute, and I’ve only seen 2 here on the streets. But I do not want to buy one if it will be expensive to fix or difficult to do so.

Originals are even more difficult to find here in Oklahoma. I think there are more Lambourghinis than there are original mini’s :smiley:

How far would you have to go to buy one?

L.A. is crawling with the BMW version of the Mini. I still see a few original Minis around. I think there is a restorer in the Valley that sells them, but they’re not cheap. I haven’t seen a Lomborghini in a long time. I dunno, maybe I saw a silver Diablo a couple of months ago.

I was joking about the original Mini, BTW. I’d choose an old one before a new one because everyone has the BMW version. And I’ve lived with Lucas electricals before, so I’d know what to expect. I like the originals because they’re smaller and true to the original intent of having a small, maneuverable, efficent car without a lot of frills. And they’re cuter.

Not far at all, actually. About 10-15 miles is one dealership that has a couple of used ones, and if I go about 20 miles there is another dealership that has a mix of used and new. And if I go a few more miles… :stuck_out_tongue: There are actually several places around here that carry BMWs, which surprised me.

[quote]
Lomborghini**
Lamborghini! :smack:

I’m having trouble with coding today.

Ask yourself why you want to buy one. Is it for performance? If so, there are probably better values out there. Is it the look? Can’t argue with that - if the look makes you smile, there’s nothing wrong with that.

But as far as performance goes, it’s not that great a value. 160hp in a 2800 lb car is decent, but not ground-shaking. You can get a Dodge Neon SRT-4 for the same price as a Cooper S, and it’s WAY faster, both in a straight line and in the slalom. And for not much more money, you can get a 227HP, All-wheel-drive Subaru WRX, which is continually listed as one of the best cars on most reviewer’s lists. And, the WRX wagon will haul far more stuff and give you a better view in traffic.

But still… The Mini is pretty cool, and from what I understand it’s a fairly unique driving experience. So it’s going to come down to intangibles, and no one can really help you with that. Just make sure you take one for a good long test drive, and drive some of the alternatives as well. Especially the WRX. I didn’t think much of the WRX until I actually drove one. Now I’m lusting for one. It’s an econo-sedan on the outside, but the minute you start the engine it feels like you’re driving a $40,000 sports car.

I should add that I’d be worried about the safety of the mini. Have a look at the height of the Cooper’s windows. Now go look at the height of one of those big steel front bars on a Dodge Durango or a Jeep Liberty. Now imagine being T-boned by one of them.

I’d also be worried about visibility. Both seeing, and being seen. You’re going to be in a lot of blind spots, and you’re going to have a hard time seeing around traffic. A lot like a motorbike in that regard.

While it’s true that car drivers “don’t see” motorcycles, the view from a motorcycle is usually better than in a car. My head is nicely above the tops of most cars, making it quite easy for me to see.

Sam, you bring up some good points, and ones that I’m worried about. I’m comforted by the fact that the Mini has 6 airbags, but it is still a risk. My uncle wants me to get a Hummer :smiley:
The reason it’s come down to (basically) these two cars is because of this:
Celica- I know it will be reliable, I love the way it drives and looks, and the feel of it.
Mini- Okay okay, the way it looks… I haven’t driven it yet (but I will tomorrow!) so I can’t really say performance wise.

I’m not big on top speeds, or if it takes 6.2 or 7 seconds to get from x to y, I just want to be able to get some get up and go when trying to enter the highway, etc.

Reliability is a big, big deal. And so is price, really. I think both of these may be out of my price range (I’m not quite sure though… haven’t really sat down and figured it out yet).

Another thing that makes the Mini so attractive is the fact that I can get the options that I want on the Celica, but the total cost would be about $5000 less. A big difference.

So most people have posted what they thought of the Mini, but what about the Celica?

And Sam, I’ll be sure and check out that Subaru

I don’t know much about the new Celicas, but I’ve driven a few cars that make horsepower the way the Celica does (small engine, very high RPM), and I find them a bit tedious. The power is unusable around town, because unless you’re revving it to 6000 rpm, it feels very sluggish. Good for downshifting and passing on the highway, but stop-and-go daily driving can be a bit tiresome.

But you haven’t really mentioned what you’re looking for in a car. May I suggest that you take a step back from looking at individual models, and write down what you’re looking for.

For example, I just bought a new vehicle. I was torn between lots of cars I wanted or liked. So I made this list:

Must-Haves

Price under $35K (Canadian)
Enough cargo room for family vacations (skiing, lake in summer, etc)
Four doors (family again)
Reasonably car-like ride

Like to haves

Good performance
Sports-sedan handling
All Wheel Drive (I live in Canada)
Stylish

Based on that, I narrowed my search down to:

PT Cruiser GT
Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute
Subaru WRX Wagon
Hyundai Santa Fe
Jeep Liberty

Plus used Jeep Cherokees.

In the end, I wound up buying an Escape. The Subaru was my first choice, but in Canada they are $35,000, there are no dealer incentives, and the best interest rate I could get was 6.8% for five years. And, the dealers won’t move a nickel in price since they sell all they get in in short order.

The Escape, on the other hand, listed at $33,495. But the dealer was willing to bargain down to $29,500. And, I got 1.9% financing. In the end, the Escape wound up over $10,000 cheaper than the WRX, and that made the difference.

Sam, I took your advice and have been sitting here thinking about what I think I need in a car. The results?

The first thing that came to mind (other than reliability) was gas mileage. I drive so much, the gas thing is a big deal.

Car size is not an issue. Like I said, I have a '91 Celica, and it is a 2-door, with a non-existant back seat (although my sister did manage to cram 9 teenage girls in the back seat alone, and they were all buckled up). I don’t plan on having a family any time soon (about 8 or so years) so it’s just hubby and I.

I want a standard, plain and simple. I like they way the handle (generally) better than automatics. Plus they tend to be cheaper and get better gas mileage.

Air conditioning is a must because it gets so hot here in the summer, but other than that, other amenities are not necessary.

I would like to keep the price under $20,000 US, but again, I have no idea what my credit is or what I would qualify for.

What do you recommend based on this? I don’t know enough about the different makes of cars to narrow things down. (I’m mechanically-inept female, give me a break;) )

Yes, the new Mini is cute.
But it’s also very, very fun to drive. Not llike a performance car of modern days, but more like a car from the 60’s in many ways. It won’t go 0-60 in an impressive way, but it’ll be fun on the way. Basically, it’s a gocart. You’re gonna get great gas milage, a fun car, easy to park and it has six gears.

If you only want to make a sensible choice, buy a Volvo that’s a couple of years old. But to me, it seems like you want something fun, And the Mini will give you that.

FWIW, I hate the Celica. it feels like a Corolla with a nice body, but there is no feeling of sports/performance car. I felt cheated when I tried one. Let us know when you’ve had your test drive.

I feel like I want to spoil myself with something, but my practical side is just shrieking in pain.

Is a car of this price out of reach for me? I got my credit history and score, and my history is perfect, just not enough of it. I only have a year of history, and my score is 643 due to that. All payments have been made on time, no delinquint acounts, etc. I am guestimating that my trade-in value would be about $2000.

So tell me what ya’ll think, before I go do something really nuts and get Viper :smiley:

Unfortunately, your list of needs doesn’t narrow the field down much. There are a zillion cars out there that fit your needs.

Do you like sitting down low, like in a sports car, or sitting up a little higher, like in an SUV?

If you like the ‘upright’ seating position, you might want to look at a PT Cruiser.

Other vehicles that might fit:

Volkswagan New Beetle
Honda Civic Si
Subaru Impreza RS (as nice as a WRX, with 165HP instead of 227)
Mazda Protege’ MP3
Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege’ (this one’s really nice, but it might be pushing your $20K ceiling)
Ford Focus SVT

The Honda and Subaru will be the most reliable, I would guess.

But I would highly recommend you check out the Ford Focus SVT. It’s about $18,000, has great performance, and even better, you can get great Ford incentives right now, like 0% interest for five years, which will save you about $4,000 in interest charges. You can probably get the vehicle at invoice or better.

Here’s a ‘hot hatchback’ review at Edmunds.com that put the Focus SVT up against the Honda and the Volkswagan. The Focus won the matchup easily. This is what Edmunds had to say about it:

I believe you can get the Focus in a bunch of configurations - 2 door, 4 door, and hatchback.

If you live in a snowy climate, I’d highly recommend checking out the Impreza RS. I drove a WRX in deep snow, and it felt almost like dry pavement. Fantastic handling when the roads aren’t perfect.