Actually...DROVE...but idiotpad autochange is really bad

It's official...I am addicted to minis. Now for the details.

A while ago I posted a thread about how I need a DD to drive 120mi a day year round in Maine. I had the expected round of folks saying no problem to buy a jeep. I figured at this point I should simply go and put my eyes on the car and see what it was all about.

The particular car was pretty well the car I figured I would not want as it was a 2007 and a base model. The only thing it had going for it was it was 6 speed. I do not want the first year of a redesign and the S is something I would appreciate. Now for the nitty gritty:

2007, 47k, silver, 6 speed, base model, no options, $12,900

Appearance: looked like a Mini. Ground clearance was better than my BMW. This particular model had a lot of exterior scrapes......bad PO I guess.

Quality: not bad at all given the look of the outside, doors closed solidly, everything worked except for a low tire pressure error. It did not have the rust issue on the door sill, nor did the shock towers have any mushrooming. The shocks however did have an oil mist on the drivers side, and there was standing dark oil on top of the drivers side of the engine.

Driving impression:
Oh yeah, it was fun. Started fine, and could only get to 3rd before I was doing 15 over the limit :( handles like a go cart and an absolute blast to drive....almost makes driving fun again!!! I love the adjustability of the seats, the legroom is great. At 6'2 I am amazed at the amount of room I have. The gauges are great and I love the center speedo.
The downsides are that the blinkers are a headache to manually cancel, the key.....um or lack thereof. It's a car not a VHS player....cars should not have power buttons. The radio did not pass the idiot test as I was unable to shut it off, actually the majority of the controls were not at all intuitive to use, as a passenger I was unable to do much simply messing with them.

So....what was the pooled oil, and are the 2006 and earlier models any more intuitive?

 

Raven, just go through the owner's manual and you'll get the hang of it and it will become 2nd nature. Not sure why oil would be "pooled" up on the engine. Coopers are easier to maintain than non CooperS models. I'm on my 2nd Cooper!

 

Thanks aman...just the sort of feedback I was seeking.

Thinking about taking a trip down to NH and Southern Maine this weekend and looking at several MINIs I think I am stuck with the later models due to financing issues...I.e higher interest on older cars

Just need to find some reputable dealers down there.