2009-11 Mini One
Discussion
Looking to source a first car for my son and Mini seems to be the favourite contender (after previously considering Polo/Clio/Ibiza/Mito).
Budget is capped at about £5.5k...
It seems that a One or a First are the options with reasonable mileage (say c.30k) and age (09-11).
A quick checklist of anything in particular I should be looking for would be very helpful.
I've seen there was an update in 2010 which looks like it would be worthwhile if we can find one?
Coopers are a fair bit more to insure so while they are nice, I dont think its going to be a good idea.
All views will be very much appreciated thanks.
Budget is capped at about £5.5k...
It seems that a One or a First are the options with reasonable mileage (say c.30k) and age (09-11).
A quick checklist of anything in particular I should be looking for would be very helpful.
I've seen there was an update in 2010 which looks like it would be worthwhile if we can find one?
Coopers are a fair bit more to insure so while they are nice, I dont think its going to be a good idea.
All views will be very much appreciated thanks.
WWESTY said:
johnoz said:
Check on insurance as its a young driver.
Thanks, only considering these as weve established that insurance, with black box, is no worse than other small cars.Mini is a great car, indeed it is very nippy compared to the old one, but with hindsight I should have bought a VW Polo 1.2TDI which was her other choice and similar costs. If it must be a Mini and you want petrol (I didn't) then get the MiniFirst which I think as its basic is the lowest insurance category of the range.
You also want R56 model to get past all the early R50 issues - believe me I scored the hat trick with all of the major faults! The failure of the Midlands gearbox was the final nail in the coffin
Edited by Zingari on Monday 22 August 15:54
Zingari said:
It pays to check again as I upgraded my daughter's 2003 Mini One 1.6 petrol for a 2011 One diesel thinking OK I'll pay a bit for the fact car is newer more expensive. Indeed I did pay more - near £500 increase to cover the next 6 months before renewal and she's had a blackbox policy since starting to drive 2yrs ago! 1.6 Diesel is 90bhp and 3 categories higher for insurance!
Mini is a great car, indeed it is very nippy compared to the old one, but with hindsight I should have bought a VW Polo 1.2TDI which was her other choice and similar costs. If it must be a Mini and you want petrol (I didn't) then get the MiniFirst which I think as its basic is the lowest insurance category of the range.
You also want R56 model to get past all the early R50 issues - believe me I scored the hat trick with all of the major faults! The failure of the Midlands gearbox was the final nail in the coffin
Thanks for feedback and pointers. Much appreciated.Mini is a great car, indeed it is very nippy compared to the old one, but with hindsight I should have bought a VW Polo 1.2TDI which was her other choice and similar costs. If it must be a Mini and you want petrol (I didn't) then get the MiniFirst which I think as its basic is the lowest insurance category of the range.
You also want R56 model to get past all the early R50 issues - believe me I scored the hat trick with all of the major faults! The failure of the Midlands gearbox was the final nail in the coffin
Edited by Zingari on Monday 22 August 15:54
WWESTY said:
Thanks for replies. How about a Mini One, 1.6 Graphite. 2010, 2 owners, FSH, 38k mls,12mths MOT £5.6k.....??
Seems like a good buy. A Graphite will not be the facelifted version, rather the last of the non-facelift but with the 1.6 engine as opposed to the 1.4If you decide against the Graphite and you still want a One, all you really need is the 1.6 engine and Air Con (which became standard in 2010 IIRC), to be honest the rest is personal preference.
The facelifted model got a better stereo system as standard (the pre-facelift HiFi is really bad, the pre Harman Kardon upgrade isn't much better), and it also got black switchgear instead of the silver. A few other cosmetic changes, and a few new colours etc.
0llie said:
Seems like a good buy. A Graphite will not be the facelifted version, rather the last of the non-facelift but with the 1.6 engine as opposed to the 1.4
If you decide against the Graphite and you still want a One, all you really need is the 1.6 engine and Air Con (which became standard in 2010 IIRC), to be honest the rest is personal preference.
The facelifted model got a better stereo system as standard (the pre-facelift HiFi is really bad, the pre Harman Kardon upgrade isn't much better), and it also got black switchgear instead of the silver. A few other cosmetic changes, and a few new colours etc.
Thanks Ollie, that's really useful. If you decide against the Graphite and you still want a One, all you really need is the 1.6 engine and Air Con (which became standard in 2010 IIRC), to be honest the rest is personal preference.
The facelifted model got a better stereo system as standard (the pre-facelift HiFi is really bad, the pre Harman Kardon upgrade isn't much better), and it also got black switchgear instead of the silver. A few other cosmetic changes, and a few new colours etc.
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