Mini Coopers - living with?

I keep looking at the BMW made MINIs and see that I can get 2002/2003 models with a stick for $5-6K.

How are they for a DD with a mix of highway (160 round trip @ 75-80 mph) and local city-ish driving?

Would I get 30+ mpg highway? will my back hate me after an hour in it?

Can anyone tell me about how they handle in snow and ice?

Well 30 MPG is a BIG dream as mine would only get about 25 MPG on the hi-way and about 20 MPG round town (with A/C on) . Never drove in the snow so I do not know,

As for round town driving the car will shine . This is the cars strong suit under 70MPH the car will be near super hero range.

My back never complained about the seats but some people have so you might want to drive the car for some time before pulling the trigger .

Paul B

I think it is a great car. The short wheel base can make the suspension feel a little choppy on rougher roads. Doesn't bother the back.

They are OK in snow. Add some snow tires if needed.

iirc, the early 5 speed trans was weak but not sure what the issue was - driver or trans

We have an 05 S - great car but we've had our problems, as have others. Many details here from an earlier topic.

Expensive parts, bad design, frequent issues.....

Somehow BMW managed to build a true British car. And just like a real Brit, it's so much fun I keep driving it.

My brother's '02 MINI has cost him an arm and a leg. It turns out that the transmissions are pretty fragile and hard to find. He spent $3,500 to get a rebuilt trans and a new clutch installed, only for the replacement trans to start to go south a year later. With the other repair and service work the car has needed, he has spent about as much on repairs and maintenance as he did to buy the car (used).

In a regular 02-03 Cooper. the 5 speed is a Midlands unit. They will fail. The regular Coopers had the Midlands until 05 then a Getrag tranny was used. Rover did the initial spec. Cooper S's came with 6 speed Getrag trannies from the get go (BMW specc'ed that).

I run my 05 Cooper S year round. Winter tires in season works wonders on any car. So I run them in season, and the 4x4 drivers get annoyed when I am keeping up with them with a few inches on the ground. And no car/truck handles well on ice without studded snow tires (new studdless tire tech notwithstanding) and going slow.

+1 on the short wheel base. It will make a rough road more choppier. But i have to say, for me, the MINI fits like a glove and is a joy to drive. The pedal placement is conducive to "heel-n-toe". Around town, I average 22 to 24 mpg. Long (300 to 400 miles) trips I average 27 to 33 mpg, being speed dependent.

Is this car a case where the Auto (gasp) is better for a commuter?

Grtechguy wrote: Is this car a case where the Auto (gasp) is better for a commuter?

No. Because the automatic in the Cooper is a CVT which makes the Midlands look reliable. Avoid at all costs. Replacing the CVT can easily equal (or exceed) the value of the car.

The Cooper S didn't get an Auto option until '06 and while it does detract a bit from the car, there haven't been major issues with it. The R56 Cooper also got a conventional automatic option.

MINI's are sort of like Corvettes. They made continual changes and improvements so you're better off buying the newest one you can.

WIth snow tires or even good all-seasons, MINI's are fine in the snow. That said, it is a low car, so that has to be kept in mind.

Had a 2002 mini cooper S and highly recommend them. The upgrade in around 2005 did a pretty good job of fixing any of the initial issues. Nothing major will typically go wrong on a maintained S until the 140k or so mark, but the work required at that point is not very fun. Test drive them and you will know if the premium is worth it.

I've been very happy with my 2010 JCW Clubman once I ditched the run flat tires. It's my dd with 30-35 hwy and 25 city. Four adults are very comfortable and I can always find a parking spot in the city.

Dougie

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Datsun1500 wrote: It is surprising how all over the place opinions are on these things. I had one of the first to come off the line (02 non s, 5 speed) and had no issues. Sold it to a buddy, he still has it with 174K miles and 0 issues. My Son has an 09 non s 6 speed and he has had no issues. He also averages well into the 40s for mileage. He did MD to NY and back and averaged 62 MPG... go figure. That being said there are many people that say they have issues and get lousy gas mileage. How do you know what experience you will have? Flip a coin?

It is. I had an '03 Cooper (non S 5-speed) and put 77k miles on it without a transmission problem at all. I got as high as 43 on the freeway and generally 28 in town, but drove the snot out of it.

I had a radiator pop a leak (not common) and it took longer to go buy one than it did to replace it. (Granted, the dealer was 110 mile away)

Just find one that was taken care of (like you would any car) and enjoy the heck out of it.

-Rob

The Miata I wanted badly and bought in the first year (1990) and was happy. No regrets. I wanted an MINI almost that badly, but waited until 2006 for the initial problems to pass, and am glad I did. It's still had problems, but has been pretty reliable and is for the most part easy to work on. Definitely a fun daily driver. Mine typically gets 27 MPG mixed driving and over 30 on the highway. I haven't driven the 5-speed, but the 6-speed shifts very easily. Interior rattles are my biggest complaint.

Don't buy a non S car, they have cheap UK sourced 5 speed tranny's which are expensive to fix and impossible to find. The S models have Getrags which are well, Getrags.

Datsun1500 wrote: It is surprising how all over the place opinions are on these things. I had one of the first to come off the line (02 non s, 5 speed) and had no issues. Sold it to a buddy, he still has it with 174K miles and 0 issues. My Son has an 09 non s 6 speed and he has had no issues. He also averages well into the 40s for mileage. He did MD to NY and back and averaged 62 MPG... go figure. That being said there are many people that say they have issues and get lousy gas mileage. How do you know what experience you will have? Flip a coin?

The disparity in mileage with the various Coopers is twofold - the engine and tranny. First gen Coopers (R50) have a Chrysler designed cast iron block engine (sohc) with a British built 5-spd tranny (up to 05). The second gen Coopers (R56) have a BMW designed Al-block engine (dohc with variable valve timing) with a 6 spd Getrag.

I've been running my '04 S for about 9-10 months and it's never skipped a beat, at least not due to poor design/parts selection (deer strikes do tend to stress things that wouldn't normally be stressed...) apart from the known issue with the strut towers being prone to mushrooming.