so, I'm about to trade in my '05 Mustang for a MINI soon, actually in the next week or two, and i was really looking into this 2008 MINI Cooper non S. I originally wanted an S, but MINIs aren't exactly abundant here. i was wondering, how the power felt in the base MINI, manual tranny of course, compared to a '05 mustang V6. its got the sport button, dont know how much of a difference it makes. also, the car fax say that its been check numerous times for "body noise". what that mean, I know some cars just makes noises, like my mustang and the interior rattles, they all got them.

heres the car if you want to check it out
http://www.brianharrismini.com/VehicleDetails/892638013

also, are those the JCW side scuttles

thanks for all the help
-jordan

 

As far as someone who originally did not want an S, I don't think If I bought another MINI that I could resist more power.

Especially if I was coming from a V6.

 

I'd say get the S. No sense in rushing to get into a new car when it's not really what you want. I think you'd potentially set yourself up to be disappointed. I'd say if you were to settle, do so on exterior color. You can always vinyl over it. Just my .02, let us know what you decide.

 

S for sure... cos u never know when u need the extra POWER

 

If you never drive an "S" you won't miss an "S". If you buy the justa - don't drive an "S". I've had both. The justa is a great car so if it meets your needs go for it. Good Luck with your decision...keep us posted.

 

Looks like it has 2 different scuttles...

Just my opinion but.. I had a 2008 Cooper, and recently traded it in for a 2009 JCW. The Cooper was good at the time but I could never go back to having 1/2 the power I do now!

Take your time and get what you want. You can special order them exactly to your spec too!

 

I test drove an '08 Mustang GT before buying my Justa. I had more fun in the Non-S cooper than in the gas hog. The '97 prelude felt like it pulled harder than the mustang, but I couldn't finance a '97

The Non-S is pretty quick, lots of fun to drive and I don't feel that it is sluggish at all. I haven't driven the S, although I'm sure it pulls harder on straightaways. It depends a lot on what kind of driving you're doing. I do plenty of city commuting and like to rip up backroad twisties on the weekends so the Non-S is great for me. If you do lots of long straight line drives and need lots of freeway passing grunt then maybe the S is what you need!

 

thanks for the help guys,

it does look like two different scuttles, but i plan on changing them anyway. also it seems that 90% of the used MINIs here are automatics :(

i did see a pepper white S (probably 05-06) sitting close to the road in front of a car wash in the grass. no for sell sign, but it was sitting like it was for sale. ill keep an eye on it i guess.

any knowledge of the "body noise check" in the car fax of the nightfire red cooper in the link?

 

Maybe slip a note under the wiper of that Pepper White inquiring about a possible sale?

These cars can be a bit squeaky and rattly. Mine hasn't been too bad but there are quite a few threads on the topic of dash rattle and the like. Personally I don't mind a bit of noise as I just turn up the stereo.

 

geckoman: That one looks very nice. My insistence on an S has recently been shaken by my wife's purchase of an non-S (a "Justa"). My other two cars have more power than I can actually use on the road anyway (at least without eventually being locked-up), so her Justa is a nice change of pace (so to speak). It's a lot of fun to stir the stick during spirited drives, and nobody else notices that I'm driving hard.

 

At $18K it seems a little pricey for a justa with almost no options. You could buy a similarly equipped 2011 for only $21K msrp. When I was about to order my 2010 (Dec 09), Brian Harris offered to order a very lightly optioned justa for me for $750 under msrp with no bogus dealer closing cost. I ended up ordering the car in Pensacola for a similar price. As for "S" or "non S" you'll just have to drive one of each and make up your mind. I'm satisfied with my justa but I certainly wouldn't say no to an extra 50hp if it was readily available.

 

i dont mind rattles and such, my mustang has that now.

that pepper white one that was at the car wash place, was getting detailed for another dealership, so i went there, it all looked good( s, manual, '06), but had 71,000 miles. doesn't bother me, but im 18 and my current car is under my parents name, so my mom has to approve the car. ... lame

she doesnt want me to get a car with over 40k miles, so unless someone can come up with something good to tell my mom about that pepper white, it out of the question.

 

If you really want one, just order a new one man. I ordered my first MINI when I was 18

 

You could also ask the dealer to look for a used "S" at another MINI dealership. They do it for new cars - could probably do it for used ones also.

 

well, i would order a newer one, but i need to try to keep my note around 160-170 a month

also, some one mentioned ordering a new one with same options as the one in the link. well i built one on the website with the same option that it has and it came out to about 26,000.

 

and actually i dont need the extra speed, it would be nice, but its not need. i do all city driving where i never get over 55. mostly its just 40.

what really matters is the color and transmission. i'd pick a chili red w/ white top justa over a black S. theres just some colors i just dont like on a car

 

I have owned a 2003 S which I traded for a 2009 BMW 1 series and then traded that for a 2011 S which I am still waiting to arrive from a dealer in PA. In the meantime, the dealer has me driving around in a 2011 Clubman (non-S).

After having an S and the Bimmer, I must say the Clubman just is not as satisfying to drive. I think that you may feel the same way going from a V6 Mustang to the non-S MINI.

I looked at the link you sent and your dealer has a Sparkling Silver S for $2K more on his lot. You may want to take it out for a drive and then determine which model is going to best make your daily drive "fun".

 

i seen the sparkling silver one, but i hate that color, maybe it look better in person, but from the picture. i dont like it. i have considered it though. thanks for the help

i dont want yellow, black, or any light silver colors. my mustang is silver, it looks good, but it would look so much better red haha

 

Holy crap, $160-$170 a month? Must have a HUGE down payment!!

 

thats what im hoping, im putting either 12 or 13,000 down

 

okay, so i'm probably getting the '06 pepper white s, but it's got cloth seats. anyone know of a place that would sell oem leather seats?

 

Hi Jordan,


I'd second what Danny Havok says. I bought a 2005 Mustang GT convertible back when it came out and still own it. I also drove the same generation Mustang V6 rental car for 2 weeks some 5000 miles in 5 southwestern states. Plus took a day trip in Arizona with a Hertz Rent-a-Shelby. So maybe I can give some feedback.


First, what I really like about the V6 Mustang versus the GT is that it is a lighter and in my opinion better balanced car - out of the box. Obviously the GT will have more potential with mods and with just a software flash you fix the drive by wire huge delay as well as optimize its poor factory tune.


Now I'm driving a Justa Cooper and I love it, keeping the Mustang convertible for open air summer duty on a sunny day.


Used to the 300hp 3-valve per cylinder V-8 I thought I'd need a Cooper 'S' but after driving one and then buying the standard Cooper I found that I really do enjoy the Justa... as an antithesis of a Mustang. First it is light. Really light. It feels easy to get moving without a lot of fuss and the engine does not seem underpowered unless you miss that kick in the pants roller coaster ride sensation, if so go for a viper.


What's nice is that it is meant to be NIMBLE and to feel like you're threading a needle with string as it is so precise. This might be also partly due to my car's 17" rims, sport suspension (not even sure if it has that) and possibly mostly to its Asymmetrical Bridgestone BA050A tires which GLUE it to the road. You're going to have to work hard to get it to whip about wiggling around in a corner like a Mustang. It is darn fun to drive. The Sports button adds an extra zest of liveliness and you don't need to mod it much which is nice - the BMW engineers nailed it in its original specs.


Coming from larger engined cars, I actually enjoy that it has a slower to accelerate engine. Maybe it's an excuse to play with high revs which you don't get as much of a chance to do with torquey V-8s. All you need to do is take the road at a quicker pace, driving, closer to the limit. A plain vanilla Mini Cooper will go over 200km/h which should translate to above 130mph. I don't know many sharp bends in the road where that would seem too slow.


So it is only in the raw acceleration department where it wcould be short on ooomph! Just enter the curve faster and once your knuckles turn white you won't need to accelerate so hard on the way out. Torque is either handy to avoid an oncoming vehicle - something which can be prevented by better observation and more defensive driving, or because you miscalculated your speed entering a corner too slowly. Otherwise it's not a big deal with a road racer like these Generation II BMW Minis.


I'd say it is probably easier to drive an S turbo Cooper fast with less skill, but I find that I really love the extra challenge of racing about in a Justa. In Europe cars do move aside in city traffic when they see a Mini going at it. This is rarely the case with other brands of cars, and I attribute it to the Sports car character of these rides plus the fact that they know that they're fast in almost any form.


Not to knock those fortunate enough to have the S version - but in my case I would feel like I'm cheating with an S. This would be even more the case with a Diesel Cooper. I test drove one last Saturday and it gave instant torque. It was pleasurable, like an airstrip at takeoff, but the car was driving you more than you were driving the car. It pretty much only left steering and breaking to apply your driving skills, revs being superfluous, and I felt cheated out of some of the Justa experience.


My wife who has a hard time driving our manual Justa and even had difficulty driving the Automatic Justa convertible we test drove, took off in that Manual Diesel Cooper Clubman as if she'd driven it all her life. In a few seconds she was going twice the speed as in the other cars feeling at all times confident thanks to the reassuring torque responsiveness. So lower end torque adds ease and comfort, accelerating quickly without even noticing it. She really didn't need to have to know how to drive it well, something she hasn't yet mastered in the Justa.


So this makes the diesel Cooper and maybe a bit also the Cooper S to feel like a better more responsive and relaxing car to drive. But to me it's sort of like having a girlfriend who's always game. Always being willing and ready isn't as exciting as one who "talks back". The standard Justa does just that, it talks back, making you pay attention to its chassis to tune the engine revs to the right torque at the right time at the right place in your trajectory. You HAVE to listen and pay attention or you won't get there nearly as quickly, making for a SPORTS experience. If you get it wrong there's no pedal thumping instant fix. You've got to learn to get it down pat, like a pro.


You must however try this car out for yourself, and if you're not sure, go to a dealership to try out a Cooper S. Maybe you're not in the budget to buy one of those, as they cost quite a bit more cash. But it's better to know what you're missing first... and at the same time appreciate the trade off in what you're getting.


Similarly to the Justa, the Mustangs are great car thanks to their flaws. Rigid rear axles mean you have to calculate the corners within quite low limits, and almost lassoo your Mustang into the turns. The Justa is similarly a fun and challenging ride, not because it needs coaxing in the bends. but to get its engine to sing the right tune so that you have that perfect dose of torque for a smooth and fun maneuver. Hope this helps a bit.

 

Would getting an automatic on a 2011 Justa just kill me? I live in LA and I definitely value handling more than raw power but at the same time, I don't want to struggle to get up to speed on the freeway? I would get stick but I need something that the wife can drive as well...and no, I'm not going to teach her because it'll be harder than honors physics

 

Hi MC Son My Mind,

I think that for driving around in LA you should enjoy it in automatic form, but you've got to try it out to decide. Given the amount if freeway driving and traffic jams there, it seems the way to go. I test drove a convertible Justa with an automatic and was surprised at how spirited it was with well chosen shift points and more temperament than I expected. But that was a city drive with a dealership employee sitting by my side...

The car will perform well, yet it won't have a tremendous surge when accelerating, meaning that if somebody is going to merge into your flank on the highway you won't be able to accelerate out of their way each time, using the brakes occasionally.

It will still be a very nice Mini with lots of spunk, but without having to shift the gears all day long. For your local driving it sounds like a nice compromise, only with slightly less of a fun factor than a manual when rambling around in the mountains and canyons North of your location.

CB