Thanks for the clairification, missed the owner was in Canada, thought we were talking about Classic Minis.

My position still stands if you can swing it go for the MINI

 

Screw it, go with a used MCS! I've had mine 5weeks (mind you I'm 16) and it is a complete blast! Imagine that test drive....now I'm sure you can picture yourself driving that everyday! I am SO glad I didn't wait to get one, because I love mine! Get one now and be happy. Live life in the present, not in the future. I learned this when I had a near-death experience. Value your time while you can, and have fun!

Nuff' said.
-Cody

 

If a MCS comes up in my price range with warenty, i'll grab it, but I have a feeling that for now I'll be getting a good old Cooper, but I think i'll be happy with that.

 

Nope, . Anyway, why limit to one with a warrenty? I only have another 1,500 miles until mines over with, but no worries! Dominic's Twincharged MINI (over 300hp!) is up for sale....for a meare $19k. Grab it while you can! It is a KILLER deal! (over 40k invested I believe).

Oh, and there's a guy in Cinci, Ohio who is selling his CR MC for $14.5k.
-Cody

 

I have a Honda Civic DX right now, and it hasn't had any problems at all... It's a 98 with only 70,000 miles. I have wanted to get rid of it for AGES since it is SUCH a bore... I paid it off in 2003, so had 3 yrs without payments - figure it's time to leap back in The MINI wins hands down as far as I'm concerned...

 

I bought my Mini in 03 and have driven the hell out of it. In those three years and 90k miles I had one single problem. That problem totaled the car and I received over $17k for a car I spent $22K for 3yrs prior. I would have received much more if it weren't for the high milage.
See how much you get back from a Honda after 3yr/90k miles.

Most Mini issues you refer to are somewhat justified. What do you expect from a companies first attempt at FWD. It's gotta have some bugs to work out.

The honda civic is how may years old now?
Wait til the "BMW" Mini get 25yrs or so old. You won't even think of a Honda Civic unless price is a concern.

 

Yea, that's true. The new MINI has only been out for 4 years now....but the engines have been known to last well over 100k+ miles.

If you treat your car right, wether that be a MINI or Honda, it will be good to you and will last you. Just make sure you keep up with changing the oil, etc. every 6k miles or so.
-Cody

 

Honda resales are also very good so I wouldn't pick the Mini over the Honda just because of resale value. You might want to consider buying a beater that won't depreciate much until you can really afford exactly what you want.

 

I think C4's suggestion about getting an '05 or later Cooper because of the change to the Getrag tranny is very sound advice. I had an 02 Cooper with the Midland tranny, and getting her into reverse was problematic. The Getrag is definitely the superior transmission. Keep shopping and looking. You'll find something!

 

Pictures say a thousand words:




-Cody

 

I have an '04 MC, my wife has an '05 Civic EX sedan.....the MINI is fun; the Civic is more comfortable, practical and better presumed reliability, and a more cushy ride......so why does my wife want us to take the MINI when we go on trips short or long?

 

cause your wife doesn't have the 06'.

 

Hey Mayoman,

I just went through this same decision back in April. I was trying to decide between the new Civic EX and a Mini Cooper Classic (which later became a regular Cooper with a few extras...). I test drove both, liked them both almost equally.

What it came down to - even above the price differential - was which car I'd rather say I owned in 5 years' time. Maybe that's a snotty way of looking at it, but civics are everywhere - even the beautiful new model is already fairly common - and MINIs are still scarce. The MINI will also get your friends' tongues wagging more than the Civic.

In the meantime, don't worry about all the S fans, the Cooper is plenty of fun to drive.

 

The '05-'06's are a quantum leap in quality vs. the '02-04's. Reliable and more fun than you can imagine. The supercharger w(h)ine on the MCS is..........absolutely intoxicating!

 

Even the naturally aspirated MC is as fast or faster than a civic...and when you hit the corners it's faster than most cars on the planet (but not the Elise or F430). Go for an '05 if you can, mine is absolutely 100% problem free (16000 miles).

 

Well I had to decide between the new civic and an MCS, of course I choose the MCS. The interior in the civic was just ghastly, the dash was like a HUGE never ending banquet table, reminded me of the dash in my brothers z28, it's just so out of proportion with the small interior. If I was thinking about a honda at this point I'd consider a FIT, they handle pretty well from what I've heard. And I imagine with a few engine mods you could really get one moving, plus only $14k.

 

i have stepped away from the trusty hondas (3 in my lifetime) that i have been driving since 15. upgraded from a civic coupe to a MCS and couldn't be happier!

how i see it is that hondas have a time and a place... being single with only a pooch to support, it's MINI time!

 

That's exactly what's going through my mind, I know if i get a civic, i'll be happy, but how long before i get bored of it. and with my 300ZX, while not a crazy fast car or anything like that, it's still fun, rare and turns heads, and i'll miss that, and they say the Supercharger whine is intoxicating, I dont' think that holds a candle to the sound of a turbo spooling up :D

 

First of all, most Honda's have a multi-link rear suspension, too, albeit a very different design.

Secondly, my personal experience tells me that the 2 greatest handling FWD cars that I've ever driven are the CRX and the Integra Type-R (in that order). The Mini would be 3rd on my list And 3rd isn't too shabby, because the world is full of fun little FWD cars. It would also make the Mini, IMHO, the most enjoyable FWD that you can currently purchase new.

The original poster is of course asking about a NEW Honda, so in this case, I'd opt for the Mini, too. I've owned 7 Hondas over the years, but the current Civic's don't do much for me. I like the Fit quite a bit, although I haven't driven one.

If you don't mind looking at 4 doors, I think the Mazda 3 is a great looking car, and the Subaru 2.5RS is also very cool (and I think I see more Mini's on the road than I do 2.5RS's - WRX's are everywhere, but not the RS). Anyhow, for that "under $20k" price range, I'd be shopping Mini, Mazda and Subaru. But that's me. I don't know where you live, but I can say, I really detest having to drive an hour and twenty minutes to my Mini dealer. That gets OLD. If you have a dealer locally, that'd be nice.

 

Another thing to consider in pricing is what your insurance will be and also go ahead and add up the basic maintenance costs of the honda and find out if with that it still makes it less than a mini.

 

^^ very true. civic's in general cost more because higher accident rate,
i guess. for example, my MCS is low 300's for 6months if under regular
coverage (mine's currently under the weekend car coverage which is
less) while the 06 civic is more like in the mid-400/6mnths range.

in that respects, Maz3 might even be a 'better' deal when overall.

 

Mayoman,

If you live in a part of Canada that gets really cold in the winter (-25° C or colder), stay far far away from the Coopers with the Midlands gearbox. It will fail in extreme cold weather. I live in Vermont (close to Montreal), and I'm on my third transmission. All the work has been covered under warranty, but if you can avoid the headache it would make sense to.

The newer Coopers ('05+, I think) have a Getrag transmission which doesn't have the cold weather problem.

If you live in a warmer part of Canada, it's probably not a problem.

 

I didn't read the rest of this but I will clear it up. One is cool and one sucks! Guess which is which.

 

Where I live in Canada (Toronto,) there is no difference in rate between a Civic EX and a Mini Cooper.

 

I wonder what they folks on the Civic forums are saying about Minis.