Hey guys. I'm new to the Mini thing, so humor me.

I've looked all around my area for a decent used MINI Cooper S between $15-20k. There area a few, but the selection is quite sad.

Anyway, there is a local dealership with a nice Yellow one (one of my favorite colors) that I think I could get a decent price on, but the only problem is that it has 116,000 miles on it.

What I need to know is are MINI's reliable at high mileage? I know there are a lot of factors there (previous owners care, etc), but I'm just trying to get a general Idea about these cars. The car would be my daily driver and I would AutoX it 4-5 times a year.

Thanks in advance.

 

Need some more info. Year? Options? etc.

 

It depends on how much you are willing to spend on repairs. While it could be fine, I've noticed in my limited experience that once cars get to about 120-140k miles stuff starts going wrong. Sometimes it might be minor issues, but a lot of minor issues can add up in cost. I would recommend going as new and low mileage as you can afford unless you are perfectly willing to take the chance on repairs. Keep in mind though that a basic Cooper S isn't too high above $20k new, so you should be able to find something a little newer and more reliable in the $15-20k price range.

 

How much can you get that yellow one for?

 

We need this info. Obviously a MINI with lower miles on the odo is preferable. And you will pay top dollar from a dealer rather than from a private party. Give us more info so we can help you. And welcome to NAM.

 

Why not wait until the 07's? If of course you like them. They are coming out in yellow btw.

Me personally, I would steer clear. There are plenty of other MINI's out there for sale ~18-20k. I bought my 03' MCS with 47k miles on it in immacuate shape with all options (minus NAV) for $17k. You can find one, just be patient!

Oh, and doesn't the SC need to be replaced at like ~150k miles? And then suspension, etc. etc.

-Cody

 

Personally i wouldnt spend a lot of money on ANY car with that many miles, i think its almost "asking for headaches" like other people said before me, there are plenty of other Yellow MINIs outthere with many less miles that you can find. Just be patient

 

Exactly right!!

As a side note I might speculate that, depending on the year of this MINI, these may have been mostly highway miles. MINIs haven't been around long enough to accumulate that many miles w/o a lot of highway driving.

The key has a chip inside (the VIN would probably work, too) that has tons of info on maintenance schedules and who-knows-what-else. If I were buying any MINI I'd want all that info at my disposal.

 

Agreed. I wouldn't consider a MINI with over 100K unless the asking price was $10K or less... simply too many unknowns, IMO. But if the price was cheap enough, I'd consider one as a second car that I didn't need to rely on.

 

Yeah, since yesterday I expanded my search radius and found a few that I'm interested in.

You've all made good points, and obviously ANY car with 100k plus on it will have issues (big or small). I think I will do a little more research on the '07 changes and see if I'd rather wait. The benefit for me buying used is I'll be able to afford a more highly optioned car.

BTW, HERE is the car in question.

 

Don't walk away, RUN!

I picked my MINI up from a dealership about 6 months ago used. I purchased it before the preowned program, but I still had 8k miles on factory warranty. This ended up being a great thing. I had a TON of stuff replaced, all free. While you may not be able to get a new one, I picked mine up for less than the sticker price on the yellow one...and mine has every option but the H/K sound system. As others said, be patient. And then enjoy!

 

Base priced MINIs come pretty well-optioned in the first place. I guess its just a trade-off, options v. low-mileage/warranty/free service. If you can, try to find a used MINI that will offer a good compromise of lower mileage and acceptable options. I wanted to buy new in order to get the full warranty and 3 years of free service so I went with an 06 Cooper with a few options like a sunroof, heated seats, and auto A/C. But i didn't choose my options as I bought the car off the lot. I guess the bottom line is, be patient. Unless you absolutely have no wheels, look around to find the best possible deals. I didn't have that option, but I did get very lucky to find a new MINI on the lot with great options

 

+1 to what everyone said.
There are lots of MINIs out there with lower mileage, and the price seems more dependent on the year than the mileage. It will take a bit more time, but holding out for a good deal is a good idea.

P.S. No modern car is a good 'investment', but the MINI is a good purchase.

 

I agree with what the others have said. However, you'll find that probably all the MINIs have high miles on them... we love to drive. In my first 24 hrs of motoring, I put on 200 miles. I would not buy that MINI at all. Look on NAM here in the marketplace and you may find something that you like. Shipping isn't too bad either if it's not in your area. A lot of owners have shipped their new MINIs from the dealer they purchased from to their home. That's not uncommon with these cars. Good luck on finding your new baby. Welcome to NAM.

 

Brand new owner as well, I bought Little Bit three days ago and can't stop marveling!

Mine is an 04 MC with 60,000 miles and I had the same questions/concerns. I know it probably won't be as reliable as my last two vehicles (Maximas) but I have heard good things and am not too concerned about 60K miles as I was able to verify the previous owner's maintencance habits.

My 1990 Maxima had 375,000 the last time I talked to the buyer and still running like a champ!

Good luck!

 

Use the VIN# and call ASK MINI @ 1-866-275-6464 if you want to know the cars stats...

 

I am selling My 06 MCS if your interested. I have had it up for awhile now. PM me for more details. If not good luck on your search. Spike

 

Wow, that's a lot... FWIW, here's an '04 with similar miles:

http://www.i-a-s.net/showroom/browse.php?page=17&rpp=1

Formerly owned by one of our local club members, before trading it in. Mostly highway miles... He lives in western NJ, works in NYC and g/f lives on Long Island. He took care of it, but it had some issues towards the end, IIRC...

 

Since you are using autotrader.com - search on Minis, put in the price range you want, and then change the "distance" from 200 miles to All/none (ie search the whole US). You'll get an idea what Minis all over are going for.

I bought a used Mini (not from a Mini dealer) and they were a lot more willing to bargain when they saw I had a huge stack of print-outs of other, cheaper Minis to pick from.

FWIW, the carfax for that car shows only one owner and not a leased vehicle, which is usually a good thing.

 

8.5 years later (and nearly as many cars) and I finally got one! Albeit an R56.

 

WOW - Good job. When it comes to a person that's patient you're my hero.

 

WOW....
This many years and you still remembered to update your thread!! Pretty rare to remember something like that from close to a decade ago!! Pretty rare!!
Congratulations!

 

Well, technically I didn't remember. I tried to register and it told me my email address was already registered so I was able to guess my login and find the old thread.

 

Do you regret not getting one 8 years ago?

 

No. I had some fun cars between then and now (A Miata, an RX-8, another Miata, a couple of pickup trucks, etc.). I got one now because I'm expecting my second child and my wife wont let put both kids in the Miata together.