For those that have purchased a used Mini, what are the pluses and minuses you've encountered?

 

Pluses would definitely be that it's more affordable. They are still great cars, and you can get one in really good condition for a very good price.

Minuses would be that, well, the car is used. Parts have wear on them, and some will need to be replaced, and could be costly. The car might have damage on it that obviously you didn't cause, and you might have to fix that or live with it. Also, it's not under warranty.

It's all in what you can afford. I think the best thing to do is to buy a car, no matter what kind of car it is, a year old at least, even if it's brand new. That way you'll get it cheaper, maybe under warranty, and you won't lose all the money by driving it off the lot.

Now, I couldn't afford to do that, not now at least, so our MINIs are 04 and 02s, but while I saved a lot of money, I've also had to do some repairs on the cars. It's still a heck of a lot cheaper that buying a newer one, but just be warned you might get a surprise 600 dollar bill when your power steering goes out, or something.



This isn't really specific to MINIs. You'll find the same thing on all cars. Specifically to MINIs, steering wheel pumps go out, transmissions can have problems on automatic Justas, ect. But honestly, it's still all cheaper than new unless you can afford it. They might have their problems, but I've found MINIs to be very dependable and reliable cars. God knows I've had more problems on other cars in the past... they're far from troubled machines, no matter what vibe you get from reading threads here.

 

$600? When my PS rack failed (twice, under warranty) on my 2005 S hell-devil problem child it was nearly $1,450 including alignment.

 

I recently bought an 08 mini cooper s (used obviously) still under original warranty. I was very lucky I had the warranty still, about a mile away from the dealership on my way home, "engine overheat" warning came on. Apparently the woman who had it before me rode it hard, she had overheated the engine to the point where it took herb chambers MINI 2.5 weeks to fix it all, but at no cost to me. I also called miniusa up to complain about herb chambers complete lack of customer service and got my first car payment reimbursed to me =)

I'd say buying used is more economical, just make sure you have a warranty! and maybe get the extended one!

 

Shop around bud

 

Obviously U did not read that correctly, both steering racks were replaced under warranty. If not, they wouldve been $1,450 apiece inc alignment at the dealer which, uh, btw, is the only MINI mechanical show here in town.

Cant shop around if there are no other shops around to shop to, eh, BUD?