All I had to see was the Rooster Red Lounge Leather and I was hooked.

 

That's a good looking one, I'd get after it if it's a one owner. But you say you've always bought new (which is quite a privileged position, IMHO), why now are you buying a used Mini?

 

Yeah, like that song lyric by Patti Labelle...in 'Lady Marmalade' (sp?) "Voulez vous couchez avec moi ce soir?" lol....

 

I looked at the pictures of the 2008 S...I dunno. The red seats are not for me, but Mr. T likes them...and no one messes with him. To me, the repo car (the 2007 S) is nicer and has less miles.

The key to buying a used 2007 - 2010 MINI Cooper S is to get a low price, because it could end up costing you thousands of dollars in repair costs.

For less risk why don't you look at a 2011 and fwd, or new?

Take care

BTW - I believe in the golden rule, the man with the gold, rules!

 

First off, I'm retired. Second, I can't pull more than a limited amount of $ out of my IRA's each year or will kick us into a higher tax bracket and I get crushed.... :(

I need to get a part-time job for more 'walking around money', fun purchases, and to get away from the house Boss.... Think I'm going to wait, get the part-time job (not easy here in Northeast for older guy, believe it or not), and then get the Mini....

 

Mr. T,
The red interior? Pa-lease...

 

Correction, dfwallace28, Voulez vous couchez avec moi, say what?

 

Understood.

If time is on your side, then no need to rush out and get one. Or sell off some of your toys...but who likes to do that?

 

I ordered my Mini about this time of year in 2006. At the time, I could order a 2006 model or a 2007. Boy am I ever glad I went with the older, last model of the generation instead of the 2007. 119,000 miles so far and no major problems. Less than $500 in repairs aside from brakes and oil changes over 8 years of ownership. Personally, I wouldn't touch a 2007. If you really want the German DNA in your Mini, you will want a 2006 or older model, back when most of the parts were sourced from BMW.

 

The LaBelle song.... the red couches of the 'house of ill repute' in some of the stage settings in the videos of that song...

 

Only thing I blow money on now, ( a want, not a need ), is my computer-gaming PC, with constant upgrading to run the latest/greatest games at high resolutions... I gave up the big golf expense @ 20 yrs ago, as I never really had the patience for it...after my tennis addiction ended because of a bad shoulder. Hmm, I could sell my retro Ping 'Eye 2' model set of irons from 1986... are a collector's item now...

 

Mr. DF Wallace #48,

If you're retired and gave up golf you should have a lot of spare time on your hands...go do a test drive and let us know what your think. Have you ever driven a MINI before? You don't have to buy.

 

Oh, ok. Thanks for sharing.

 

Oh damn, I didn't know they ever offered the lounge leather in red. My experience with MINI leather has been far from great, but that sure does look nice.

Had some really nice custom leather done for my Miata by leatherseats.com... Going to shoot them over those pics and see what they'd get to duplicate it.

 

Do tell, grueinthebox.

 

My first two MINIs both had the rooster red cloth/leather, and both had the same issue with the seat back bolsters showing premature wear (outer layer / color flaking off). On the first the dealer repaired / replaced the leather under warranty under the advisement of the regional rep as a "one off" sort of thing. Assuming this was atypical and a fluke, and because I didn't have that car long enough to have it happen again before trading it in on the second one I ordered the same interior again only to have the same thing happen to the second.

I will admit that I do often graze the bolster when getting out of the car, but the contact is light and properly maintained leather shouldn't exhibit the issues those bolsters were having, particularly after only a few months.

Anyway, I would imagine (or at least hope) the lounge leather is of a higher quality than the leather they used in the leather/cloth seats (though for the small amount of leather involved and the pricing of both options there really shouldn't be). That said, for what they charge I'm not willing to give them another shot - that $2000 will easily buy a set of custom leather upholstery made from very high quality materials.

 

Very true, grueinthebox. What were you using to maintain the leather?

 

Hi... Three weeks ago we bought a 2008, and we drove it home. Then I discovered there was no oil in it. The dealer said all had just been checked out..LIAR. I added 2 liters immediately, and one more the following week.
Then after 10 days the clutch got hot and stopped engaging suddenly!; left my son on the side of the road at 10pm. Tow truck came for the car.
Now the garage mechanic of the dealer says my son burned up the clutch. WELL, I know better, I know my son. HE paid for the car, not me.
End of story... they want 2300 dollars for clutch, labor and volant-moteur, which I think is french for Slave cylinder for clutch (YES, this is in Belgium).
We are sorry we bought a used MINI... that's why the owners SELL them.
OH... and the window doesn't dip open after two days, and the spare tire was "missing", and the "flat tire warning light comes on ever other day. (NO flat tires pppfffft).
DONT BUY IT.

 

Sorry to hear that you have had so many problems with the car.

As for the oil...the dealer must have never check the level, or they did not know how to read the dipstick. It's also possible that there was a false reading, which is another problem with MINIs.

It's wrong for the garage mechanic to accuse your son of fudging up the clutch, especially since less than two weeks earlier the car was in their possession, as a result they are part of the problem.

Do you have a Lemon Law in Belgium, that would allow you to return the car to the dealer?

Good luck and sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances.

 

We were given copies of ALL service records of the original owner of the car. This is also public information for any dealer to see. It all looked OK. expensive maintenance, but OK. Geeeze, hundreds of dollars to let the MINI garage change the brake pads and the sensors crap.
NO LEMON LAW in Belgium, but we did get a 12 month warranty on everything except clutch, sunroof, and things that 'wear out'.
We plan on towing the car to somebody else who isn't a lying *** criminal, and just buy a new clutch set. And pay LESS than 2300 bucks.
The dealer can fix the electric window dip problem.
Thanks, but I will not continue this ''thread". sick of talking about it.

 

After everything I have read in here, I agree 100%. (This is why I purchased the 06 S JCW. At the time, I really didn't want to spend 2011 money. Now they are more reasonable though.)

I want to keep my car for a long while but I have to think about the future. Perhaps a 13 in about 8 years?

 

Meguiars leather conditioner about once a month, cars were garaged at home and at work.