New daily

[ruffgeezer]

The only ones that are any good are the pov spec small wheel models;

 

 

Once you come any bigger on the wheels, it shows up just how uncomfortable the rest of the package is. 

 

I managed 4 miles in a Cooper D before a bout of crippling back pain.

[Richard]

You never seem to see older ones, not even in scrapyards. Where do they go?

[overrun]

You never seem to see older ones, not even in scrapyards. Where do they go?

 

Gumtree and eBay.

Getting in the way of me trying to get decent money for a much later car!

 

As for the ride. Bin the run flats and they are transformed.

[captain_70s]

I don't mind early MINIs. My parents swear by the things, Dad has a '13 Cooper S and mum has a '12 two seater convertible thing which replaced an '06 CVT Cooper.

 

Personally I don't get on with the driving position and find them cramped inside but they seem to drive well enough.

[garethj]

I remember a colleague trying one at Rover when they were at the prototype stage, incredible handling and huge fun he said.  Also a hawt girl in the office next door had one of the first production ones so I have a soft spot for her, errr, the cars.

 

I'm told they were changed a lot around 2004 or 2005, does that make the older ones cheaper or are they best avoided?

 

Not a car I'm about to buy but I'm still interested to read the truth about them for owners on here.  If we all had Tagoras it would be dull as hell

[Faker]

I had a Clio 172 as a daily for 3 years. Really loved the thing. Bought a tdi golf to replace it (yuk), it went up the road and bought a megane dci (yuk), it went up the road. Bought a fresh octavia diesel - quite a good car. Needed my nutter fix and always liked these Cooper S yokes. Don't regret taking it on. Smashing wee thing. Won't be in my possession for long. I do think they'll be around for years and will be a future classic.

[alf892]

The only ones that are any good are the pov spec small wheel models;

 

 

Once you come any bigger on the wheels, it shows up just how uncomfortable the rest of the package is.

 

I managed 4 miles in a Cooper D before a bout of crippling back pain.

Typical bloke in pub bollocks type comment!

 

Do you not have any actual facts from your clearly comprehensive road tests?

 

Yes....I've got one btw. Had it about 3 years and 50kmiles.

[bigstraight6]

I've only ever driven one Bini which was a 2005 model, the power steering pump was making quite a noise and I found it rather a disappointment, but then again I'd rather drive a something like a shoddy A60 Cambridge on crossplies so my opinion counts for nothing....

[willswitchengage]

What I don't understand about these is how BMW managed to make them so crap. They constantly flirt around the bottom of customer satisfaction surveys in terms of build quality - German engineered, British made? Down the road at Hondas the CR-V, Jazz and Civic are some of the finest screwed together things on the market. How did they get it so wrong?

[HH-R]

You never seem to see older ones, not even in scrapyards. Where do they go?

 

I was thinking that the other day. Almost never see 51/52 platers now, but they never seem to go through a looking rough stage.

 

Couple of mates have had them, I like the interior but they're pretty squishy inside. My knees are on line with the passenger airbag. One mate has just dropped nearly £2k on fixing a diseasel one! I'd have just got shot.

[Faker]

First generation minis were a bit of a short term deal. The One and Cooper models used a Chrysler neon engine mated to a rover box. They used available components and manufactured the car really as a test mule, to test the market before sinking millions into R&D. All minis since the first gen cars are completely BMW developed and designed cars. The second gen on have been much better wih regard to build and reliability, but all fail to hold on to the proportions and presence the gen one minis had. The Cooper S does indeed have a getrag 6 speed box, which im led to believe is more than up to the job. I like it. Sitting in it and driving it, its not really that different to a classic one. I hated them when they first came on the market. I'm a purist... not a real mini... they're a joke... and so on. Funny thing how time changes opinions. My cooper s is now 12 years old. I'm the 4th owner. It has a confirmed 68k miles from new, and is now an old car. Autoshite in my book.

[Ghosty]

There's always a Y reg one outside my local Halfords - earliest possible for a Bini.

 

 

My late uncle had a 2002 Cooper S and Mother Ghosty's current steed is a 60 plate Cooper auto (and probably the only one without the paddle shift - was oddly specced with autobox, and loads of styling including factory tinted windows (uncommon) but 15" wheels (replaced with 16") and not many interior options), on 18k and rarely used. Seems nicely put together and has a quality feel, it's a little on the bland side but it's a nice place to be and there's plenty of space. The mother has a very bad back and it's the best small car she's found for back support due to the way the seats adjust. I agree - it's one of the better cars I've sat in for seat positioning.

Both have gone down well with their respective owners but Old Man isn't sold on the mother's. I get the idea he'd consider an early Cooper S himself however.

 

This is ours:

 

The auto on early ones (up to 56) is CVT and utter shite, and is to be avoided, however the Cooper S auto is indeed a 6 speed Getrag. This box was put in all the autos from 56 onwards IIRC.

Car Mechanics have an early Bini as a project car at the moment and it's had to have an engine swap - what was that about not seeing early ones any more??

[Tamworthbay]

A day will come when someone posts a picture of one in a spotted thread and we'll all say "Where did they all go?, they used to be everywhere..."

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

I dream of that day........

[catsinthewelder]

If the early ones have vanished without being spotted in scrapyards are they GR8 4 export or is BMW cubing the trade-ins to save us the sight of rough ones?

 

Tin foil hat donned and running etc....

[Cheggers]

I dream of that day........

Do you really find a car, any car, that offensive??

[scaryoldcortina]

The only ones I've seen turn up scrapped so far have been crashed or rolled. Plenty of marginal ones show up for MoT but always seem to get fixed.

 

Anyway, I think it's a brave move. It's no Laguna 2 but still...

[richardmorris]

A bold statement posting one of those on here. I sadly agree that this really is not Atoshite, now or in the future. Too many people like them. A bit like my 2CV really. The only way I made that halfway acceptable was to gain an MOT advisory of 'body corroded all over.'

 

That said, given what a blobby mess BMW have made of the BIGI since, these early ones really do have a certain charm about them...

But I've had 2cvs since 1993 when they were far from popular. The two problems I have with new minis, is that a. They aren't mini, and b. Round here they're driven by complete muppets.

[richardmorris]

Do you really find a car, any car, that offensive??

This one I do.

[Tamworthbay]

Do you really find a car, any car, that offensive??

This is the only one. I think it's because of a few things but mostly because it's the exact opposite of the beloved original. Instead of being small outside and big inside, it's cramped inside and enormous outside. The interiors are painfully naff and they have so many build quality issues and expensive problems it's scary. Add to that, they are expensive compared to the opposition and don't drive very well either, at least all the ones I have had a go in dont. I know some people like them, but then some people liked Hitler (omg he said the mini is like Hitler )

[scaryoldcortina]

Yeah, but they have a big speedo in the middle and lots of chrome switches. I think that's what does it.

[Rubberman]

As long as it's pre- project drive you should be alright! 

[ruffgeezer]

Typical bloke in pub bollocks type comment!

 

Do you not have any actual facts from your clearly comprehensive road tests?

 

Yes....I've got one btw. Had it about 3 years and 50kmiles.

 

 

Having looked after a multitude of them over the last 10 years, I offer my opinions based on the ones I have driven, my favourite was a low spec 1.6 similar to the one pictured above (apart from the roundel on the roof... but each to their own I suppose). You obviously like yours, good for you, I can only tell you that the brace of Coopers I have encountered have been a  rather uncomfortable drive. The D was improved once the run flats were dispensed with.

 

I will say that up until the 4th mile in the Cooper D, I was thinking to myself, "These are quite fun, I wonder why I didn't like it last time I drove one". I soon remembered.

 

Working in the motor trade means I'm lucky to have driven a great range of cars, some I've liked, a lot have left me a little disappointed, don't take it personally.

[Cavcraft]

I do have to reserve a slight LOL when people talk of these new ones being unreliable. I can only guess these people didn't own an 'original' Mini, because as fun as they were, they were pissing awful at build quality or reliability.

[garethj]

Hang on, do you mean this new one doesn't have a rusty subframe after 2 years, or doesn't need a marigold glove over the distributor cap for driving in the rain?

[R9UKE]

Is there a big problem with the gearboxes on the Bini?

 

A trade auction site I use ALWAYS says "gearbox seemed fine on test drive but no guarantee" in the description of every single one of these and absolutely no other car.

[Lacquer Peel]

What I don't understand about these is how BMW managed to make them so crap. They constantly flirt around the bottom of customer satisfaction surveys in terms of build quality - German engineered, British made? Down the road at Hondas the CR-V, Jazz and Civic are some of the finest screwed together things on the market. How did they get it so wrong?

Because even £50k BMWs are unreliable.

[Vince70]

I would buy one myself but it will be some time if ever till a Bini will be in my price range as I can't see one ever dropping down to under a grand unless it's been pushed over a cliff or the cogs have fallen out the gearbox.

 

I guess a sweet spot for mini production would be a run out model R50 2005/6 such as a park lane with a few toys.

 

That way it still looks good and you still get the older tritec engine with the Getrag gearbox rather than the later Peugeot lump and I think over the 5 years of production the R50 was constantly improved.

 

It's a shame it never came with a K series then it would be in our price range by now and would then be pure autoshite.

[stephen01]

Had a blast in a cooper s was bloody so fast..

[dollywobbler]

I will concede that the early, R50 MINIs look British to me, while everything since somehow looks German. A bit like a German's idea of a jolly Santa perhaps. Or a frog. 

 

In terms of personal experience, the only R50 I've driven was a Cooper S, and I did like the supercharger whine and the interior style a lot.

 

In terms of driving, I've done a lot of miles in an R56 (second generation) Cooper Diesel and was forced to conclude that it was utterly, utterly horrid. It had no suspension at all (made worse when 'blingy' wheels were fitted to it) and would torque steer like a bastard. The seats were completely dreadful and left my poor back aching in a manner only achieved by a 200,000 mile Skoda Octavia ex-Taxi. I prefer the seats in the original Mini.

 

Similarities to the original - open the window at speed and air is forced into your ears with the force of a jet engine. Issigonis had a point about sliding windows. See also lack of suspension. They do also dart from corner to corner in a fairly amusing fashion (torque steer aside). 

 

Yet, as I alluded to earlier, the early ones do have some appeal. Especially in that pensioner metallic green. Here's one that's been de-bumpered.

[Ghosty]

Is there a big problem with the gearboxes on the Bini?

 

 

 

R50 CVTs grenade regularly.