Ok well, hi my name is Matt and I am 23
I've always loved minis and now it finally time for me to get one. My question is what should I look for, I'm a complete newb to minis although I am mechanically inclined. That being said I'd like a 06' or earlier (I prefer the supercharger) but what should I stay away from. I know the power steering pumps get iffy but is there anything else I need to look out for? Any help would be great, ill be browsing the forum as much as I can to take in everything but key points are always helpful. Thanks!

Oh btw previous cars are a plethora of sentra se-r spec-v's and my current DD is 79' Mercedes 240D... love and hate that car so much lol

Edit: I'm also an account manager for a company that supplies sunroof glass and we have a ton of cooper sunroofs... let me know if yours breaks I can definitely hook you up thanks .

 

Find yourself a well taken care of 06, you'll be ok.
Read this:
http://www.motoringfile.com/2009/10/...guide-updated/

 

Hey Matt, welcome. I'm afraid I don't have much info for you, as I am new myself, but I am also a SpecV owner! SpecVQ to be exact sorry to take it off topic, just had to chime in for a fellow specV owner! Good luck on your Mini hunt!

 

Thanks for the guide


And the specvq's are quick I've had an 05' 08' and 09'spec but nothing major done to them just simple bolt ons... fun cars for the price but they are killing the specv's for the next models '(

 

Thanks for this link, also going to have to check my strut towers for the infamous "mushrooming"

 

Be careful about reading too much into the complaints posted. You are seeing a fraction of a percent of all the other MINIs on the road that are trouble free or nearly so. All cars have their share of failures. If all you believed in were other peoples problems, you'd never step outside your door, right? The '06 models do seem to be the best bet (spoken from a prejudiced point of view ).

 

This.