Hey everyone, first of all, I live in Missouri, 20 years old and as of right now, a college student. I currently drive an F350 diesel, and as you can imagine, with diesel being 30-50 cents higher than the price of regular gas here, added with getting 14 mpg, I'm getting killed here. I have done some research, and love the little cars, I was wondering if any of you could offer me a review, what you like, what you don't, any shortcomings you find during day to day, and anything the mini excells at. Also, the Mini I am looking at is an 05 Coupe with manual trans. There are radio and cruise buttons on the wheel, but also 2 additional buttons on the left spoke of the wheel, what are these 2 buttons for as I have not been able to find their purpose on my own. Thank you for any replies you might have, and sorry for the long post

 

All cars have their pros and cons. Most of us love our MINIs. It depends what you really want in a car. I want something cute and tiny with lots of gadgets. Fuel economy, also a plus. So Lewis works for me. If you really need something that can haul all your friends home from the bar and move all your belongings across the country - MINI probably isn't for you.

The extra buttons on my steering wheel are for bluetooth that I don't have, but that's an '07.

 

How can you go wrong with a MINI, just dump the truck! Do you use it for work or is it a statement?

If you use the truck for work, your idea of a MINI may not work out.

The MINI is a fun, qwerky sports sedan, they can be a lot of fun and a little bit of a handful. Be sure the one your looking at has had the maintenance it needed or will need.

If you jump into one, get it checked by a good mechanic.

The get very good gas mileage and can be driven fast and safe.

 

Well, the truck is for hauling my cattle, so it isn't going anywhere, the Mini will be a second car for milage and fun purposes. What kins of fuel economy are you guys getting, and Old81 what did you mean by the car can be a handful?

 

Just drive one. Then drive it, again. And after that, test drive it once more. If that doesn't sell you, stick with the truck. I was looking for good gas mileage and something that didn't look like the spawn of some incestuous relationship between every other car out there and their common mama wind tunnel. The MINI stood apart from the crowd and didn't have to resort to garish sci-fi lines to do it.

It has top crash safety ratings (R56 model / 2007 and later) from the European equivalent of our testing institute.

It seated my 74 yr old/6'3" FIL whose knees were well off the dash and comfortably stretched forward and still gave the salesman 8" of leg room behind him. And FIL said it was as easy to enter/exit the MINI as my Merc Grand Marquis. He loved the 90-degree doors.

The EPA site calculated the cost of using premium fuel against the Civic, Yaris, and Fit, all of which use regular. It will cost me $88 more per year due to the better gas mileage. That's about $7/mo for a go-cart. Hell, it costs $7 for ten minutes on a go-cart track and you don't get to keep it.

Downside is you may not have a dealer close to you. Mine is 140 miles away.

 

I drove the mini I had mentioned in the post, and there is a mini dealer only 20 miles away from me, I am a little concerned about maintenance costs, as the one in question, as well as in my price range has 35000 miles on it, and an 05, so it either is or will soon be out of full warrnaty, is it possible to atleast perform my own oil changes, or is it like some other manufacturers where I have to buy a rediculously priced specialty tool or something?

 

Being as young as you are, you probably don't have a lot of experience with a lot of different cars. But at 61, I can honestly say that my '03 MINI is probably the most fun car to drive that I have ever owned. It's pick-up, handling, stability, cornering and responsiveness is pure joy. And honestly, how can you not love it when you walk outside and it's smiling at you every morning. If it were a dog it would be wagging its tail!

 

HA! you came to a MINI enthusiasts website to ask people for an objective opinion... funny! (I think those of you that have contributed have done a fine job of being objective... I just thought the whole thing was rather amusing...)

 

True, while not the most unbiased source, it's always best to get your information from those who have a lot of experience with the product, atleast thats what I've always found to be true. I can say that I don't have extensive experience with alot of cars, but the Mini was indeed one of the most fun driving vehicles I've ever driven(killed the 08 civic hands down) Have any of you noticed any shortcomings in the Mini, ex: Things you wish mini would change, design flaws, common mechanical problems?

 

I'm 52 and my only regret with buying my MINI is that I didn't buy a "fun" car earlier in my life. After years of owning sensible and/or cheap autos, I really didn't know what I was missing in the pure joy of motoring. Your 20 years old . . . buy the MINI and have a blast.

 

any issues outweigh the fun factor. So if those are your concerns, go buy a honda or toyota.

 

A little hazy on this, you say the fun factor of the mini is cancelled out by any mechanical/ergonomic issues?

 

The '05 that you are looking at, is it a Cooper (MC) or a Cooper S (MCS)? The MCS has a 6 speed Getrag transmission while the MC has (I believe) a 5 speed. I believe that I have read that the MC transmission has been more problematic than the MCS transmission.

Common problems with the '05 and '06 MCS are:
1. the upper engine mount on the passenger side tends to develop a leak (it is filled with a dark fluid).
2. some people have had noise from the flywheel (I believe) when the clutch is depressed. This doesn't seem to affect long term reliability apparently.

You can definitely change your own oil (just remember to use a good quality synthetic 5w30).

The two extra buttons on the steering wheel are for some European phone option and are non-functional on US cars.

Gas mileage on the MCS is around 23-25 local and around 30 highway. This will vary depending on how heavy a right foot you have and drops 2-3 mpg during winter when the gas mixture changes and the temperatures drop.

 

Problems with these cars are relatively few - no greater than any other vehicle on the road. Sure, the very early R53s may have had a few more squeaks, yo-yo, etc, but those concerns were all addressed by the '04/'05 models. I've had my '04 MCS since new - having owned a number of BMWs, Audis, and several Japanese sports cars of various makes, can honestly say it's absolutely the most enjoyable car to drive that I've owned AND it's reliable. If it's within your budget and you want something more fun, go drive one and make the call. Good luck

 

The 05 I am looking at is an MC with 5 speed Manual. rhawth99 said that these have been said to be slightly problematic, does anyone know of specific problems with these transmitions?

 

Having a Mini is not that different from having a baby. You better really love its smile for all the sh*t you're gonna have to put up with. If it's just the "cute" you like, better off getting a dog. Mini lovers call the problems "quirks." Real people call them anything from design flaws to dumb ideas.

 

I do love these cars, but what are some of the "quirks" that they have, I'd like to have this information, to weigh against how fun they are to drive, because on my test drive, I felt that while being unique, everything was actually laid out well, I am curious to see if this feeling changes after several months of ownership

 

In my case, extensive rattles that only the dealer can't hear, electronics that have (defective) minds of their own (e.g. random appearances of different screens in the nav, comfort access that sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, key based memory that sometimes forgets, radio refuses to turn on, voice recognition that doesn't recognize, freeze warning that warns when it's 37, but not when it's actually freezing out)), torque steer that can injure a gorilla, a "HiFi" upgrade that sounds like crap, harnesses that strangle, windshields as sturdy as sand castles.....

 

Alright! These are the posts I was looking for, and so far, the mini I drove had none of these, no rattles, radio worked flawlessly, no nav, no torque steer, however, did not try the comfort access or temperature display.

 

my last vehicle was a F150 Lightning. Loveit! drove it for 6 years. Stole the mini away from the girlfriend. Love it x100 more!

 

Really? Do you miss the power at all? That was the only drawback I could find, and it was minor, was the lack of available torque (I'm used to the 500 ft-lb of a diesel) but since I would be keeping the diesel, I didn't mind.

 

Honestly I wouldn't recommend a MINI for a college student, unless you or your family have some extra cash. I love my car to death, and plan on keeping it for a long time, but......Something breaks every six months or so, and once the warranty is out none of it is cheap to fix. For example the two little lights above my license plate started staying on all the time, apparently they are controlled by the Body Control Module, to fix it I had to replace the BCM, $600. Right now it needs new control arm bushings up front, dealer wants $800, I will do it myself, but it is a lot of work. Car had to go into the dealer for warranty repairs 7 times for nine different problems in the first 50,000 miles. No other car that I have owned has been so poorly made, but it is a blast to drive. My solution to the MINI problem? I bought a Honda Civic and retired the MINI to weekend play thing.

 

Wow, that is a lot of repair time for only 50,000 miles, is this normal for all the coopers, or is it just the case of one or two vehicles here and there that just have problems (every manufacturer has these)

 

Look it really depends on what you are looking for in a car. If I had to do it all over again I would, I love the car that much, but the passion is needed to put up with the crappiness if that makes sense. I'm just saying that if you are just a college student and want something fun, but reliable then a Miata might be a better choice. A Honda Civic SI would probably be an even a better choice in terms of cost of ownership, but a little dull.

 

I have an 06 MCS-JCW. Nothing has broken. There have been a couple of little things like the dealer tightening up the rear hatch latch, replacing the rear window washer, and the armrest. But no issues for quite some time since.

My mileage depends on my foot. If I behave, I average about 310 miles a tank. On open highway, I've gotten over 400 miles a tank with the cruise on.

It is the second most fun car I've ever owned. Number one, is my MGB.

We also bought it for autocrossing, which is a lot of fun too. It's my daily commuter and our fun car.

I like the idea of being able to AVOID accidents because the car is so nimble, and has great acceleration.