Mini 1 or Cooper 1.6 ? Buying advise

[William10]

Hi,

I am looking to purchase my first Mini to allow my 17 year old Daughter to learn to drive in it and then be her car,

on Insurance the Mini 1 is cheaper with the cooper 1.6 being £90 more,

looking at 05-07 year cars to buy and want to know which car would be the better buy Mini 1 or Cooper ?

I have had a look at a privately 05 Mini cooper with 78,000 miles on the clock just had a new clutch fitted, drove okay and looks okay,

But before I jump in I would like to know your views and experiences , Good and bad

Thanks in advance

[eatcustard]

The only real difference is performance and for a 17 year old, it will not matter.

Buy the best car you can afford be a One or Cooper

[stevemiller]

eatcustard said:

The only real difference is performance and for a 17 year old, it will not matter.

Buy the best car you can afford be a One or Cooper

This, my wife has run her one seven from new (06 plate). Its been the least powerful car throughout the ownership period but the most reliable and great fun.

[William10]

Thanks for the reply's

So no major problems with the mini,?

the less powerful mini 1 looks like the one I will take a look at. Mind the cooper I had a test drive in did not feel like it had much power to be honest,

I was thinking of going to the Auctions to buy one & hopefully get one at trade price ?

[stevemiller]

The only fault to date (9&3/4 years) was the outside temperature sensor. This turned out to be a knicked wire.

[William10]

Cool, And what about the clutches on average use ? 80k or more to be expected before needs to be changed,

[stevemiller]

The car is still spot on with 74k on the clock. Clutch still feels as when it was unwrapped.

[watchnut]

I have a mini 1, I bought it with 7200 on the clock in Oct 2013. It now has 68000 on the clock, it is driven hard as a learner vehicle.

check the electric windows work ok....mine making a rubbing noise when wet, other than that no problems at all. If my clutch is ok then any you buy should be fine provided the previous owner has not been beasting it....mine works harder than most, so if you buy a car with a crap clutch then I would suggest it was driver error not the fault of the car.

A petrol mini is thirsty......30-35 mpg would be about right. if you buy her a diesel it should be able to get 50-70 mpg.....but would it be worth buying her a diesel if she is not going to rack up the miles.

The boot is crap.....if she needs a large boot this is not the car for her. If she is tall her rear seat passengers will need to have no legs....or don't give friends lifts!

Servicing is not cheap

I like mine. I would buy another.

[eatcustard]

William10 said:

Cool, And what about the clutches on average use ? 80k or more to be expected before needs to be changed,

That boils down to the previous owner(s).
If its been owned by a woman 50k, buy a man 80k+

[William10]

Thanks for the updated and information, Yes she is tall but all here mates are quite small so she should be fine,

Do you know at hand the road tax charges 1.4 mini 1.6 mini & 1.6 cooper I understand the diesel is £30 per year.

[Bokers]

Aim for a facelift one, 05/55/06 as they use the Getrag gearbox, less prone to becoming cheese.

[ChasW]

We have a two owner 07 Mini One 1.4 manual. It's the least reliable car I have ever owned and has required in no particular order

replacement engine due to piston failure
new radiator
new catalytic convertor
new hatch handle
new fog light
various sensors
reverse gear switch

I have got to know the chaps at a Mini breakers yard that I use. They tell me that 07 was the worst year for Mini reliability. The chap who services it thinks they are nasty cars.

However I love driving it and will probably buy another and keep my fingers crossed!

[William10]

Fliping Heck I will keep clear of the 07 models Unless you are the unlucky one ,?

Still going to try and get a good used one from the auction houses

[tintopracer]

I've got an r56 cooper D on a 57 plate, so its the second generation model. Done 95k in it since new and apart from a failed alternator 3 years ago, I've not had any issues. In that time its needed one set of discs and pads and 6 tyres.

Its got a few squeaks now but not too many to moan about.

The first gen ones are better post facelift, which I think was in 2004, maybe for model year 2005? you can tell them by the different grill and indicators. If you're looking at second generation (r56) I'd avoid the first year of these if I were you; mostly the 2006 registered ones.

[tintopracer]

grill? grille? I meant front bumper! that's the easy well to tell on the first gen models.

also, tax on the diesels is cheaper. On mine I think its £20.