Need someone to bring my head back out of the clouds... I have been looking into buying a mini for the last few years really, been to look at one today its on a 56 plate, so the last of the supercharged minis which is what im after, its done 57k with fbmwsh, hyper blue and has ever option bar sunroof and sat nav its in lovely condition bar a few stone chips. its in a local garage they want 5999 for it its got 7 month mot and need taxing which they will not include in the screen price. Am i blinded by its beauty or does it sound a good deal? anything i should look out for?

It was so nice to see that you had not heaed this post with "Looking to buy a Mini "

Ducks and runs for cover








Thats not a Mini; it's a BMW !

Never driven a standard Cooper S, but did get a shot of Works one, and to honest I had more fun in a standard Mini One than the S, too much power for such a light car and front wheel drive, the TC holds back the power and if you switch it off, any prod of the accelerator spins the front wheels.

Oh. and the boot is a joke, you could hardly fit a briefcase in it.

Cheers

Scott

I heard the Gearboxes can be a problem. I assume look for leaks and irregular function. Sorry I cant be of more help.

Couple of known faults are Gearbox bearings and the Power steering
The early ones also leaked water into the footwells

Mate had one from new and loved it

Had a look at one for Mrs P recently, but not enough room in it for us

Worked on Minis I personally think there totally over rated and have lots of issues.I agree they look ok but wasnt that impressed by the perfomance, handled well ,but terrible build quality ....big bills when they go wrong.....

Owned one in same blue for 2 years. Fantastic car

Had mine chopped and smaller charger pulley in and it was running at 220bhp

Very very fast cars

Look out for any warning light when ur next viewing

Airbags have loads of faults and put a light up very often

Had bothers with abs sensors but not expensive to replace

Battery is in boot and I used to throw my waders in boot after fishing ended up drowning to battery

Other then that had no problems

Wouldn't like to run one now as they aren't very economical

The supercharger sound is addictive

Alan

I too prefer the Mini One, but the Mini is basically old technology, a bit girly, and a thirsty beast. Fiat is far better.

I would want a full MOT when buying from a garage.

Main crank seals leak, every single S i looked at had this problem. look for a drip coming from between the bell housing and engine. Its a flywheel off job to fix

I know price and value are two entirely different things BUT £6k for that age of hot hatch just seems wrong and a real case of paying for the badge.

I'm not entirely up on current prices but it would be interesting to know what other cars would be available at that price I.e. what would an equivalent age civic type R cost or focus st

At the end of the day vehicle choice is more hart than head so that always has an influence on price plus re-sale value will always be good on the mini

Frontal stonechips always ring alarm bells for me --- I take chips as a marker of bad driving habits ig tail gating

I have to admit, Mini's are not getting a good reputation in my eyes. My mate is looking to get rid of his after having nothing but trouble with it.

They seem to be great brand new, but anything older than 3 years and all bets are off.

And yes, 6k for a 6 year old car is almost criminal, that's the BMW and Mini badges pushing the price up.

Still, if you do buy it, can you sell me the supercharger after the car blows up?

Britishtrident, why would you be bothered about stonechips? You don't have to be driving within an inch of the car in front to get your bonnet pebbledashed to hell, the state of uk roads will do an effective job even with normal braking distances! I've had cracked windscreens from debris kicked up from cars that were much further than two seconds ahead.

Thanks people... was going to go back but I think im going to pass... guess I have too many cars on my mind looked at a couple of Type R's and focus ST's I even went to see a Crossfire, now that's an interesting gearbox lucky dip springs to mind, it was a dog anyway(not on having a poo ) !! lol Quite like BMW 1 series same thing though.. they seem overpriced for spec and age, cant believe how strong second hand car prices are up here. 6K will get me a newish car but I want something fun I have the company car for boring everyday driving and long distances and the 7 for the 5 sunny days we have a year, im 27 but have always had company cars and the kit I also live in Bradford so even insurance is a pita! ... need to narrow my options and focus my efforts! lol