Mini Cooper S or similar

[Woots]

Hey guys, After thinking about it a cheap zed isn’t the most practical thing so I’m after an early R56 edition Mini Cooper S to get me through the winter while I save up some cash for something nice
Budget is around £3k and I’ve seen a few around that online but I trust a forumer better
So if anyone’s thinking of selling theirs let me know!

 

[Nictrix]

They are not exactly cheap cars to run, especially a cooper s.

 

[Woots]

They are not exactly cheap cars to run, especially a cooper s.

No...? How come mate?

 

[Smartbear]

They are not exactly cheap cars to run, especially a cooper s.

No...? How come mate?

They’re a more highly strung version of the Cooper & suffer accordingly!
Oil burning, cam chain tensioning issues etc. I’d get a Cooper instead and have an easier, stress free life
Rob

 

[Jembo]

How about a mk2 MR2? Provided the engine sounds like a sewing machine on tickover for a budget motor u should get a reasonable one for that money... unless you have snow in mind - you’ll pay a premium for a Mini unless it’s a real dog, coz they’re trendy.

Otherwise an old SAAB or Volvo if u just need a reliable shed

 

[Woots]

How about a mk2 MR2? Provided the engine sounds like a sewing machine on tickover for a budget motor u should get a reasonable one for that money... unless you have snow in mind - you’ll pay a premium for a Mini unless it’s a real dog, coz they’re trendy.

Otherwise an old SAAB or Volvo if u just need a reliable shed

To be fair a shed might be a better idea, the postie just told us that when it snows here, the village gets cut off!

Obviously a 4x4 is bucks to run and not really needed, so a FWD is probably the next best thing?

 

[Nictrix]

They are not exactly cheap cars to run, especially a cooper s.

No...? How come mate?

They’re a more highly strung version of the Cooper & suffer accordingly!
Oil burning, cam chain tensioning issues etc. I’d get a Cooper instead and have an easier, stress free life
Rob

What he said plus the poor mpg, higher tax and insurance group than a cooper.
There are other common problems like rear calipers seizing, door actuators, thermostat housing splitting, crank seals going and wrecking clutches.
It depends on what you would class as money saving though. Cant speak for the cooper s but the cooper didn't do more than 40mpg and for such a small car I thought this was terrible.

 

[Smartbear]

No...? How come mate?

They’re a more highly strung version of the Cooper & suffer accordingly!
Oil burning, cam chain tensioning issues etc. I’d get a Cooper instead and have an easier, stress free life
Rob

What he said plus the poor mpg, higher tax and insurance group than a cooper.
There are other common problems like rear calipers seizing, door actuators, thermostat housing splitting, crank seals going and wrecking clutches.
It depends on what you would class as money saving though. Cant speak for the cooper s but the cooper didn't do more than 40mpg and for such a small car I thought this was terrible.

You had a bad one, our 2012 r55 does 50+mpg on a run
Rob

 

[Woots]

Any experiences with 2006 era VW polos?

My grans has a few and I think it’s never missed a beat

And surely the gti is a bit of fun? More reliable than a mini?

 

[Jembo]

An earlier 3 door RAV4.

Getting on a bit, though one of the most reliable cars I ever owned between 50-120k miles before the practise wife rolled it.

 

[RickRob]

I have owned my Cooper S since last October. It's on 12 plate, now with 56k miles. I have no idea as to its history, but I am super-happy with it.

I use it mainly to do the station run each day - 12 miles each way on winding country lanes, plus slightly longer drives to Heathrow or Gatwick. Overall I get 36 MPG with "spirited" driving. Indeed, on roads with a poor surface, I probably drive it more quickly than the ZMR.

It hasn't used any oil, the engine sounds quiet, it looks great (it has the JCW body kit), handles well and is fast.

As someone above noted, you do pay a bit over the odds because they're popular, but most cars don't stay popular if they're troublesome.

As you can tell from the above, I would recommend one, although I do accept that, as with any car, there may be gremlins lurking!

 

[Truth]

The Mrs has a JCW and we both love it but it with low mileage and nice spec it has held its price well. Well looked after ones do but going for a cheap on these or a cooper s can cost you, with the High pressure fuel pump and like has been said above. oil burn etc and regular oil and air filter changes need to be done. But if u want one get one. Just keep looking for a Gudun, I’d love to keep ours. Will have to see what the future holds.

 

[Nictrix]

They’re a more highly strung version of the Cooper & suffer accordingly!
Oil burning, cam chain tensioning issues etc. I’d get a Cooper instead and have an easier, stress free life
Rob

What he said plus the poor mpg, higher tax and insurance group than a cooper.
There are other common problems like rear calipers seizing, door actuators, thermostat housing splitting, crank seals going and wrecking clutches.
It depends on what you would class as money saving though. Cant speak for the cooper s but the cooper didn't do more than 40mpg and for such a small car I thought this was terrible.

You had a bad one, our 2012 r55 does 50+mpg on a run
Rob

It was a 2006 R56 which I think was a peugeot engine.

 

[Woots]

The Mrs has a JCW and we both love it but it with low mileage and nice spec it has held its price well. Well looked after ones do but going for a cheap on these or a cooper s can cost you, with the High pressure fuel pump and like has been said above. oil burn etc and regular oil and air filter changes need to be done. But if u want one get one. Just keep looking for a Gudun, I’d love to keep ours. Will have to see what the future holds.

Wow she is a beaut!

 

[Truth]

Cheers man. Mad to think it’s 10 year old!

 

[Smartbear]

What he said plus the poor mpg, higher tax and insurance group than a cooper.
There are other common problems like rear calipers seizing, door actuators, thermostat housing splitting, crank seals going and wrecking clutches.
It depends on what you would class as money saving though. Cant speak for the cooper s but the cooper didn't do more than 40mpg and for such a small car I thought this was terrible.

You had a bad one, our 2012 r55 does 50+mpg on a run
Rob

It was a 2006 R56 which I think was a peugeot engine.

Bmw/Peugeot collaboration know as the “prince” engine I think, they revised them right up to the last n18 editions (2012+) where they were considered fairly sorted
Rob

 

[Woots]

Ah it’s hard! Not helped by the fact I don’t have to get it until October
But deciding what is best is hard! MPG I’m not fussed about as I’m away most of the time

 

[rally-chris]

If you like MINIs and don’t want to spend much I’d suggest looking at one of the last R53 cooper s models instead. That has a lot more character than the R56 due to the supercharger, and doesn’t have the timing chain and coking up issues of the early R56 S engine.

Chris

 

[Woots]

If you like MINIs and don’t want to spend much I’d suggest looking at one of the last R53 cooper s models instead. That has a lot more character than the R56 due to the supercharger, and doesn’t have the timing chain and coking up issues of the early R56 S engine.

Chris

Oh really I thought it would’ve been less reliable?! Interesting....

 

[Mr Tidy]

Mrs Tidy has had her R56 Cooper since December 2006 and it's a brilliant car!

Mind you since she added about 50% to the list price with extras it should be! :roll: (Air-con, full leather, Bi-Xenons, upgraded alloys, coloured trim highlights and disco lights spring to mind).

Hers has only done 54K miles, but the OBC is showing over 41 mpg.

It's no ball of fire, but it goes pretty well for an N/A 16V - and to be fair they really aren't light!

If I wanted a fun for your budget I think I'd be looking for an Ibiza FR, or maybe Cupra - you could always get it chipped too!