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Old 2nd July 2019, 16:15   #1
Ros3
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Default A Mini as a first car ?, any good ??...

So my son who is 17 is getting a first car.. Were going to see 4 cars tomorrow and 2 of them are Mini's.. There seems to be loads of these for sale, the two we are looking at are both on about 60,000 and look ok, but I have no experience of them at all, what should I be looking out for and what are the pitfall's of them ?. Also what are they like to run ?. Any info or opinion would be great thanks.
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Old 2nd July 2019, 16:24   #2
AndyN01
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These folks might be the best to ask.

http://www.theminiforum.co.uk

I do know that some eat oil at a tremendous rate but as for specifics

Andy.
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Old 2nd July 2019, 16:26   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ros3 View Post
So my son who is 17 is getting a first car.. Were going to see 4 cars tomorrow and 2 of them are Mini's.. There seems to be loads of these for sale, the two we are looking at are both on about 60,000 and look ok, but I have no experience of them at all, what should I be looking out for and what are the pitfall's of them ?. Also what are they like to run ?. Any info or opinion would be great thanks.
BMW mini?

I used one to learn my daughters to drive in and run it for a wee while one of them was supposed to keep it as there car but was too expensive to insure so I ran it to work but was only getting low 30's to the gallon.
Midlands gearbox can suffer from bearing failure the one I had did so was changed for a getrag 6 speed which is more reliable.
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Old 2nd July 2019, 16:27   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ros3 View Post
So my son who is 17 is getting a first car.. Were going to see 4 cars tomorrow and 2 of them are Mini's.. There seems to be loads of these for sale, the two we are looking at are both on about 60,000 and look ok, but I have no experience of them at all, what should I be looking out for and what are the pitfall's of them ?. Also what are they like to run ?. Any info or opinion would be great thanks.


What year are they anything above R56 is a no go anything lower go ahead same with a classic go ahead look out for engine light on a modern mini check the brake light strip is working as that can cost hundreds to replace
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Old 2nd July 2019, 16:32   #5
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Try honest john website, he has a good site to compare similar cars. Covers most faults/recalls on pretty much every car.
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Old 2nd July 2019, 17:48   #6
Ros3
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Sorry I should have said it's the new Mini I was talking about, but it wont matter as it looks like it will be out of his budget but thanks for the help.
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Old 2nd July 2019, 18:32   #7
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what are the other 2 cars? When you say new, how new?

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Old 3rd July 2019, 08:05   #8
AndyN01
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What was it about the MINI that appealed?


And what were the other options?


I'll put a couple of suggestions in.

Toyota Yaris - my father and son both had one. They just work, day after day after day.....

Mazda 2. Ours passed the 100K mark yesterday. Now 9 years old and we've owned her for almost 6 years. Sum total of non service parts - one brake switch.

Not particularly street cred but if they're looking for cheap to run reliability then I'll happily recommend them. Honda Jazz gets excellent reviews also but are not cheap to buy. Quality never is.

Andy.

Last edited by AndyN01; 3rd July 2019 at 08:07..
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Old 3rd July 2019, 12:35   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ROVER2003 View Post
What year are they anything above R56 is a no go anything lower go ahead same with a classic go ahead look out for engine light on a modern mini check the brake light strip is working as that can cost hundreds to replace
My daughter runs a R56 120k miles (1.4 Prince engine), my son a R50 106k miles (1.6 Tritec engine, Joint venture Chrysler/Rover!), and my daily is a F56 3k miles (1.5 BMW B38), they are all petrols. All provide sterling service, apart from the normal brakes, tyres service items etc, there is nothing that goes wrong with them.
The R56 annoyingly uses approx. 1 pint of oil over 1,000 miles for some reason (same engine in Puegeot, Cirtoens etc of that French ilk). Unfortunately the R56 does not have an oil level warning sensor and my daughter does not check it so I have to keep tabs on that. I don't fully understand what you are trying to say, but I can assure you there is no particular fault with the brake light strip whatever that is, and minis are not anymore expensive than other cars for parts and even if they were even more reason for a visit to my eco friendly scrappy.

Last edited by Lovel; 3rd July 2019 at 12:49..
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Old 3rd July 2019, 13:03   #10
AndyN01
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........The R56 annoyingly uses approx. 1 pint of oil over 1,000 miles for some reason (same engine in Puegeot, Cirtoens etc of that French ilk).......

I'm afraid that alone would stop me buying one.

I wonder where it goes and what it damages in the process (assuming it's not in a puddle on the floor)?

Sorry but I'm used to cars (and bikes) that don't drink a drop of oil between their service intervals. I don't think I've needed to top a car up in the last 3 decades. And yes, they are regularly checked even though I "know" they don't use any. They were Japanese cars/bike and a certain German manufacturer who supplied diesel engines to Rover for their 75 range for the other bike

Just me and my choices.

Andy.

Last edited by AndyN01; 3rd July 2019 at 13:08..
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