Anyone have a new/newer MINI?

[Geflackt]

I know there are other "boards" out there for MINI's, but I wanted to see if anyone here has experiences going from a Rover to MINI. I'm looking to purchase an S - new or used.

How about any dealer experiences and how they compare to LR dealers(better I would assume!)??

And, how easy are the MINI's for DIY'ers.

Thanks!
Jason.
'00 DII.

 

[4n24wd]

Well I know in Northern VA the dealer is Sterling MINI/BMW so I wish you luck dealing with that crowd......... other wise nothing else to add ! They look cool but tiny, not for me.

 

[Geflackt]

We have a few MINI places here around Philly, so I'll shop them first. Planning to go later in the week and I haven't driven one yet. We'll see how small it feels. I had a BMW Z3 Coupe for a while and was fine with that size since I also had a RRC at the time.

Is Sterling in your area not very good?? Bad reputation??

Jason.

 

[Matt Taylor]

After the crash I was involved in while driving the Discovery last December, I can't see how anyone drives anything that small.

Unlike most people I know, I kinda like the mini.

But you wouldn't catch me dead having one as a daily driver. If I had been driving one of those when that kid ran the red light, you might have caught me dead in one.

People really can't drive out there. Really. I never thougt about it before the wreck. I don't want to be a fear monger or anything, but that wreck changed the way I view my safety on the road, and if somebody else can benefit from that, then I'll risk being a fear monger. With cell phones and TVs and the other distracting shit that people are putting in their cars...

To each his own, but I'm staying in something beefy.

 

[nickb857]

My mom had a mini for a year and a half. It was a nice car for what you get and what you pay for. Although they are tiny there is a lot of space on the inside of it. I dont know anything about the dealer since i have never been there. It was a cool car then some jackass fell asleep while driving back from a double shift from work and drove into the back of it while it was parked on the street. Must have been going about 35mph and sent the little car with its parking brake on about 70 feet down the road, hoped the curb, and took out a one way sign. The passenger compartment held up extreamly well for how it was hit. The trunk/hatchback area was smashed in but other than that there was no damage entering the passenger area. I was pretty impressed, i have seen larger sedans do much worse in simmilar accidents. I wish she still had it but she replaced it with a P38 Range Rover so i am not complaining. It was also pretty sporty and fun eventhough it was not the S. Get the S and the 6 speed manual and it will be a fun little car to drive, like a go cart.

 

[Geflackt]

Yep - I'm also thinking about the size of the car for daily commutes. A friend suggested I get something really old - like a big Healey or something else sporty from the 60's. No way I could do that every day as I have a 45 minute commute - although the drive is mostly backroads.

Problem with the backroads is that there are idiot drivers. Our area is getting so built up with the damn tract housing that traffic on our roads is becoming a nightmare. And it's these people driving and yapping and watching TV on the way to the W*l-M*rts!

But these cars look like fun! Have to drive as if driving a motorcycle and we have to do this driving our classic cars all the time anyway.

Good point on the size.
Jason.

 

[syoung]

That Sterling Mini dealer is awful! They won't sell any Mini without a mandatory $1300 lojack and $600 for a clear decal on the bumper to supposedly guard against paint chips.
They are arrogant- and for what? A little inexpensive (well, at normal dealers) car.
The S is ok- the base model can't get out of it's own way. S wasn't impressive, as high school girls in Toyota Celicas will blast by it like nothin...

 

[DiscoJen]

My father-in-law has a DI and a SeriesIII, he also has a vintage Mini and a new Mini...he loves them all the same.

 

[noee]

Our neighbor has a Mini S, nice little car, but he has problems getting up the road back here as it's very low to the ground and has limited traction.

I've ridden in it and messed around it a bit and it is amazing how much room is in such a small car. He won't let me drive it yet, I think he's worried based on the vehicles he sees me in.

Anyway, he bought from BMW Richmond, it was a funny story. He and his wife just stopped in over there to "look" around and the sales guy let him take the mini home for a few days (we live about 90 miles from the dealer in Western VA) and then send a check back if he wanted to keep it or just bring it back at that point. Just wanted his name and number.

Anyway, he bought it and it's been essentially problem free now for a year or so and he drives the shit outta that thing (he used to be a super-bike racer). He says they've really treated him right and has nothing but positive things to say about the operation and the vehicle.

HTH

 

[Roverjoe]

A guy that I work with bought a VW Bug Turbo for his wife. He drives it quite a bit because of the gas mileage. I am not a huge Bug fan but I really liked the design of the interior. Also - it was very quick and supposedly ultra reliable.

 

[Joey]

In order to sell Mini's the dealership has to be an established BMW dealer. So if you can deal with the BMW side of the house, the MINI side should be the same. The do have to build or have a separate showroom for the MINI's though... That is there reason no one sells them in WV... only one BMW dealer and they are small and no room to expand.

 

[Geflackt]

I'm hoping that I wouldn't need a MINI dealer every 2 or 3 months like a Rover dealer. I've checked with our local BMW dealer(I know the owner) and they can't do warranty work on the MINI's.

There seems to be 3 MINI dealers within an hour of home or work. About the same distance as the LR dealers with the exception of the dealer 10 min from work(we try to avoid that dealer).

Jason.

 

[abrooks]

I drive an '05 S daily, went from driving the defender daily to a RRC daily to that. Honestly, I love it. 22 mpg in stop and go DC commuting, fast enough, handles great and can hold a surprising amount of crap, never mind that it fits in any parking space imaginable. Avoid Sterling like the plague. We had a horrible experience buying it. Tate in Annapolis has a good reputation.

 

[lunchbox]

I have a MINI and a D1. I love both of them. The MINI is nice to have around for when the D1 is misbehaving. It is also nice to get almost 30mpg. They have an amazing amount of room inside and are a blast to drive. I would reccomend one to anyone looking.

 

[Andrew Homan]

Minis are cute and love the styling. Have a WRX. Cheap speed plenty of room and 26-30 mpg. I don't know for sure but don't think a mini or S could hold a candle to the WRX on the street or track.

Still love the Mini. More style in it's head light than my WRX has in the entire car.

Just my 2 cents

 

[nickb857]

There is a surprisingly large amount of room in them as everyone has said. Some how we got a lamp post to fit in it once and a bunch of other things. Great little car, but the S is the way to go with out a doubt.

 

[syoung]

don't forget- making the S more fun is as easy as swapping the pulley on the supercharger.

 

[Geflackt]

Is the pulley change to go from a round pulley to a square or 8-sided pulley?? Maybe that pulses the supercharger creating a "tuned" effect. Probably need a special belt for square pulleys, too.

Haven't seen too many "tuned" MINI's around - or what's been done has been pretty tasteful and in no way "rice".

I probably would fiddle with some of the under the hood tuning, but not too overboard as I have other toys for that.

Jason.

 

[syoung]

The aftermarket pulley (smaller diameter) adds 20-24hp. Just enough to almost keep up with a Toyota Corolla.
Remap the ECU to run premium fuel etc and it can start getting fun. It's an awful lot of work for not a tons of power though.

 

[cptyarderho]

A guy that I work with bought a VW Bug Turbo for his wife. He drives it quite a bit because of the gas mileage. I am not a huge Bug fan but I really liked the design of the interior. Also - it was very quick and supposedly ultra reliable.

VW is awful for reliability. Only thing worse is LR
Two people I know at CarMax tell me it is the worst of what they sell.