Propsective Owner - 2018 Mini Cooper

[towser]

Hi,

I would appreciate any advice on things to look out for & gotchas on a 2018 Mini Cooper - test drove today and loved the feel of the car, much nicer than I was expecting so keen to buy but just want to make sure I'm not overlooking anything.

Thanks...

[GT4P]

Try to buy a facelift pre gpf car which we’re basically made between March and July 2018.
Ie Union Jack taillights and no gasoline particle filter!

[N111BJG]

We have had a late 2017 Cooper Convertible from new, so pre facelift. It has done 36,000 miles & have spent around £1,000 on maintenance in those 5 years including tyres, MOT’s, the lot. It goes as well now as it did when new.

To my mind it’s very highly geared for the 3 pot engine that actually likes to rev. So I seldom go above third gear & it’s lively & entertaining. It goes well. But we are swapping for new one as was a significant birthday for SWMBO this year, otherwise there’s no reason to change, she’s been very happy with it.

[bridggar1]

I bought a used June 2018 Cooper 1.5 with pretty much no options a few months back. It's done 42k and seems very well screwed together. I did notice wear on the paint on the B-pillars where the door rubber meets the body, but this was painted & a poster on here recommended some nifty PPF covers which I think will protect it going forward.
Obviously there are a whole host of options available for these, can't say I'd miss too much with the poverty spec one I have with the exception of a leather steering wheel - the plastic one is awful.

[Pip1968]

towser said:

Hi,

I would appreciate any advice on things to look out for & gotchas on a 2018 Mini Cooper - test drove today and loved the feel of the car, much nicer than I was expecting so keen to buy but just want to make sure I'm not overlooking anything.

Thanks...

We just picked one up a 68 plate but approved used from BMW/Mini. The only thing I have heard of is the B pillar issue. I will have to take a closer look at ours in the next few days as I forgot about that when looking at it.

I was after an 'Exclusive' (as my wife wanted leather seats) but they all seem to come with 'big' wheels (18") and I really wanted the cheaper 16" ones as it is a run about not a limousine. I will be changing these in due course along with getting rid of the f 'ing armrest - essential kit for the aid to poor driving.

Good luck.

Pip

[towser]

As OP, just an update, I picked my 2018 Cooper up today....all round I'm really happy with it.

Major omission is satnav so looking at phone cradle options - Mini Click and Drive seems to do the job but I'm not sure if it's still an option / supported by Mini?

Any good alternatives?

[Pip1968]

Try BimmerTech they may be able to help. They have plug and play options geared to fit into Mini and BMW.

Pip

Edited by Pip1968 on Monday 22 August 20:04

[s-x-i]

towser said:

As OP, just an update, I picked my 2018 Cooper up today....all round I'm really happy with it.

Major omission is satnav so looking at phone cradle options - Mini Click and Drive seems to do the job but I'm not sure if it's still an option / supported by Mini?

Any good alternatives?

I've just fitted a Cravenspeed phone mount to our 2018 F56.

It's expensive but excellent quality and blends nicely into the instrument cluster.

https://www.lohen.co.uk/cravenspeed-gemini-smart-p...

I looked at the Click and Drive system but it was working out very expensive for the full kit.

[towser]

s-x-i said:

I've just fitted a Cravenspeed phone mount to our 2018 F56.

It's expensive but excellent quality and blends nicely into the instrument cluster.

https://www.lohen.co.uk/cravenspeed-gemini-smart-p...

I looked at the Click and Drive system but it was working out very expensive for the full kit.

Thanks that looks like an excellent option.

[towser]

So one week into ownership things are generally great. It’s a really enjoyable car to drive, perky engine, great steering feel and very chuckable round bends etc….interior I like too. My grumbles and questions.

1) road noise - tyre roar is something else, is this down to the tyres or just par for the course? On 15” tyres two “landsail” on the front and michelin on the rear. Not sure I could do a long journey with that racket going on.

2) gear change from 1st to 2nd is a bit notchy - is this typical of the mini manual?

[s-x-i]

towser said:

So one week into ownership things are generally great. It’s a really enjoyable car to drive, perky engine, great steering feel and very chuckable round bends etc….interior I like too. My grumbles and questions.

1) road noise - tyre roar is something else, is this down to the tyres or just par for the course? On 15” tyres two “landsail” on the front and michelin on the rear. Not sure I could do a long journey with that racket going on.

2) gear change from 1st to 2nd is a bit notchy - is this typical of the mini manual?

Glad to hear that you are enjoying MINI ownership.

The first thing I did was change the tyres due to the awful road noise. Ours came on Dunlop Runflats and it was unbearable. Changed all 4 for Michelin Pilot Sport 5's and it was like driving a different car.

The gear change in ours in fine. Reverse can sometimes be a bit tricky to select though.

[Bungleaio]

Watch out for paint wearing away on the door shuts to the B pillar right at the top. You can get PPF to stick on the area to cover it and protect it