Mini cooper potential buyer
 

We've been looking at them as a third car as well as a car for our daughter who is just getting her license. We're thinking 2006 or newer with 50k or less miles. any advice?

By an S, you will not be disappointed. My girlfriend has a 2012 S, it is a blast to drive, she has about 30,000 miles on it. Its been a pretty good car so far, goes through brake pads like no other but is good on gas. She averages about 32mpg combined. Get familier with changing the oil yourself, Mini will charge you roughly 100.00 to do it.

She had a non S version on loan while they did some warranty work on her car, ie brakes, wipers, ect are covered for the first three years, and it was a dog. Significant difference in power and performance.

I am not sure I would want to get a sport/fast version for a brand new driver.

I don't know much about mini coopers but what is the reliability of them? I have been of the impression they aren't all that reliable and are expensive to fix.

I think it would be hard to beat a honda civic, mazda 3 or toyota corolla for a first car. They get good MPG's, are fairly safe(I think) and are all pretty reliable. That and there is tons of them out there so finding a good used one should be fairly easy.

I loved my 2006 S. Bought it out of state to avoid the crazy CA markup at the time, drove it a year and sold it for more than I paid for it. Not sure I'd want to own one out of warranty.

I don't know bro..

If I valued my daughters life, I think I'd get something with a little more tin around it..

Possibly a Honda Accord, maybe a Camry..

looks like it could use a Side air bag, if it does have it, forget the mini, I'm sure she would look good in it! Oh, another reason not to buy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPKf99BSn5g

My friend/neighbor, has 2. His daughter has a pretty basic convertible & his wife has a Countryman S. Both bought new and the convert is a year older, neither has had issues, but the oldest is less than 2 years old. I think they both look great!

Not sure about Charlie Zulu's comments.....maybe you should get her a full size truck, 1 ton preferably..... Apparently my son driving a Scion tC shows the value, or lack there of, of his life....:rolleyes:

This. My daughter will get a 1976 Fleetwood Cadillac and like it.

Ha! in High school I drove a 1962 Caddy, that was in the late 90s.

I owned a 2005 MINI S. Loved it. It was flawless. Bought it for $23.5K in 2005. Traded it in on a SUV in 2011 with 75K miles for $7.5K in 2011. Get the S for sure. A lot more fun.

My dad gave me a 53 international pick up when I was 14 with no seat belts and told me "Be safe. If you wreck you are going to die. If you don't die in the wreck when you get home i will kill you. Have fun. "
This was in 96.

heard of tranny issues in the base model, both auto and manual.
another thing with the S is premium fuel
I looked at a modded mini S when I was getting my car after graduation and loved it but father was helping fund it and it was just a tad over what he wanted to pay. What I didnt like was their repair records, getting any repair work done was big $$$ and little random stuff was messing up that shouldnt be like the radiator had multiple issues, whole steering column replacement, complete brake replacement, all this on a 4-5 year old car. The S was modded, but I really doubt that would cause steering column issues.

Anyway, it was a ton of fun, and it seems to be that a lot of people love them, but they arent super cheap.
I would look at other cars also, but not at all saying a mini is a no go, but it may not be the best option.

I say talk to your daughter about what she wants, and explain to her what you want, safety, mpg, reliability etc. come up with a list that could work for you both. It really does suck as a kid to be asked what you want or your input and then that input be blatantly disregarded. If you don't care don't ask, but I think she would be understanding, and probably feel more mature and like that you asked/included her more.

On another note my gf has a beetle convertible and that thing is in the shop so much, it really annoys the hell out of her and little things constantly are an issue.

I asked specifically for anything but a honda civic

I ended up with a 5 speed slush box honda civic. I hate it.

Hey Hey.. All I'm saying is a kid with a brand new license, no experience, and a texting cell phone is a recipe for a mishap.. I drive a fwd diesel and cringe at what I look down on sometimes.. The Coopers get a decent crash rating.
My sons drove Rodeo's and S10's and had wrecks.. And walked away. A red light runner t boned the Rodeo.. If your shooting for economy, go for the Fiat or Smart Car.... At least ya can't fit the cheerleading team in them when your heading to Sonic Drive In..

Well originally we were looking at 05-06 models with 60K miles or less for around $10-12K. Then I started reading some horror stories about repairs and got scared. I thought about going new for the warranty. Of course the price doubles then....

what about a fiesta. I saw a lime green one in a parking lot and thought it was actually a really cute car, little bit bigger and killer mpg, plus a warranty

ah dude dont get the mini cooper.... I drove an S, it was fun, but its like buying a VW bug, you are buying "cute" ...

get her a honda CRV or Toyota 4runner...

So performance is not a factor??? I've heard that those things rip. i think i'll test drive one tomorrow. I gotta know if they live up to the hype of being like a go cart. If not, I'll go back to the drawing board. I really just want to know if all of the mantainance horror stories are true... Thanks for the input so far.

oh they rip.

If performance is a factor for your daughters first car, can i be your kid too :D

But in all reality, if you are concerned about it "ripping" go buy a Subaru impreza WRX STi :D or better yet, get the new BRZ when they release the STi version... that car is supposed to be a BLAST to drive. :D

Well........ I took a test drive today in a 2010 S. It has the (pretty rare) Camden package (5K option) which has more bells and whistles than I was even looking for or need. All I can say is if you haven't driven one before, go try it out. They live up to the hype (which is rare these days). That thing is on rails! It was almost more fun than my '79 Porsche 911SC that I had years ago although not as cool by any stretch. I actually think it could probably beat that old 911 around a track. Once I found out that it was a CPO with 100K warranty and only 21K miles I couldnt resist. I was smitten and I bought the dang thing. I don't plan on owning it outside of the warranty period. We'll see how it works out...

Also, it has air bags everywhere. I was surprised at how well it did in crash tests. For those interested, it set me back 20.6K.

Congrats on the new ride!

Congrats man, you will love it. Its like driving a go kart with a radio and AC

thats awesome! pics!