Tell me about Bini Coopers ....please! Now Bortified! Woolarding content!!!

[chrisjvm]

I appreciate they're not strictly Shite ....Or are they??

 

My sister has asked me to find one for her... 57 plate onwards.... which would make it the R56 model? pez or dizzler...

 

Anything I should look out for/avoid?

[Tamworthbay]

Look out for - the exit

Avoid - buying it

[John F]

Gearbox problems seem to be endemic on MINIs, both the earlier ones and the later R56s.

[Supernaut]

NO.

[beko1987]

They leak from the front top a pillar trims if bodged by a BMW dealer, the water runs across the front roof crossmemeber and exits via the rear view mirror.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I'd say obesity and ill informed badging is their main issue. It's a bit like Joe Brand wearing a top with 'slim' written on it.

On a positive note, I assume they won't rust like proper Minis.

[Alexg]

Then need to be that much fatter to accommodate '100% AUSTIN ROVER/BMC/BLMC/BRITISH LEYLAND/BL/ROVER GROUP FREE' stickers.

[Rocket88]

Under geared and bumpy.................

[HillmanImp]

Under geared and bumpy.................

Thats any modern car.

 

If you are buying one just get a petrol. Less to go wrong innit.

[SiC]

Great fun to drive. Older ones (i.e. first gen) generally accepted to have better build quality. First gen had Chrysler Neon engine. Pretty much bulletproof, but a bit old fashioned mechanically and not terribly fuel efficent. Still not bad, just not good enough for BMW's liking.

 

Second Generation gained a BMW/Peugeot co-designed engine - Prince.

 

57plate will most certainly be a Peugeot Prince engine. Google for its problems.

 

My sister had a 07 plate pez, generally reliable in 50k miles. Oil pressure light came on but just sensor failed (so kinda FTP). Did 45-47mpg.

 

She chopped it in because it would have needed a cam chain or something at 75k or so.

[Station]

Advice from someone who has been in/driven/owned one:

 

I had no problems with mine in 8 months or so. Gearboxes post 2004 are fine. Engines are a little bit 'lethargic', as those car journalists say. Mine was 2004 and felt really well built. They handle brilliantly, but I just needed a bigger car. They're the best car really if you don't have much money but want a modern/cool looking car.

 

Buy one with FSH, and with as many options and in a decent colour. There are loads available. The first one I saw I bought as it had FSH and it was immaculate. If you can, stretch to a Cooper S.

[twosmoke300]

Rusty subframes , brake pipes and pas pipes .

Epas faults . Leaking coolant tanks causing overheating and hgf

[SiC]

First generation Cooper S had supercharger.

Second generation Cooper S didn't have a supercharger - it went to turbo.

[Station]

Oh yeah, forgot about the EPAS. expect to change it if it hasn't been yet. Plastic pump fails, it's behind the front bumper so is easy to change.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Hand brakes are shit!

Brother bought this for his Mrs last summer, we picked it up and after a spirited drive home parked it outside the house.

He picked Mrs up and was going to surprise her for birthday, she wasn't the only one who was surprised, the little fecker rolled halfway down the drive and came to rest in the bushes, no damage miraculously.

If it had been pointing the other way it would have been going quite fast when it smashed through a little wall into the duck pond.

 

But seriously half of my female relatives have either had or still got one and the only problems were gearboxes on very early ones- there was a place in Stratford or Leamington that would supply a fit a recon box and new clutch for about £500 while you wait and they were doing a couple every day.

[SiC]

Why doesn't everyone just leave their cars in gear?

[twosmoke300]

That's what I think too . I leave every car I drive in gear . Too many years of terrible cars with useless handbrakes .

Saabs never roll away

[Vince70]

I think the Peugeot engine is known for timing chain issues..I think the sweet spot for an old Bini would be a late r50/53 post 2004 to 2006 with the Getrag gearbox and the old Chrysler engine.

[Pillock]

Why doesn't everyone just leave their cars in gear?

 

It takes a certain amount of self-training to remember that you left the car in gear - and it depends whether the damage will be greater from it rolling away, or from it kangarooing when you turn the key.

 

I always start cars clutch in, harks back to the days of driving cars with awful handbrakes. My Astra actually makes me do it, "depress clutch to start engine" flashes up if I don't - whether it's in gear or not. The Touran doesn't, but if it's parked on a hill I leave it in gear after it rolled away a couple of years ago and smacked a Volvo on the front wing. As a reminder, I tie the phone charging cable around the steering wheel!

 

Anyway - Minis. Since the new new new new new ones came out, I'm starting to admire the old new ones - before they started with all the offshoots of the Mini Family Tree like the Paceman, Clubman, Dustman and Spaceman. Couple of guys at work really rate them for being a fun drive, one's got a rollcage and does trackdays and actually bothers researching which tyres are best though. Both Cooper S but the later turbo ones, not the Supercharged ones which I'd be looking at - although granted they're all getting a bit long in the tooth and superchargers aren't really renown for lasting a long time.

[Lacquer Peel]

I don't trust any disc-based handbrake setups. Shite.

[KruJoe]

On Autoshite a few years ago you'd be told to take your Bini and stick it, but they've been a bit more tolerated lately. Dave_Station (above) had one, as did Mat-the-Cat, I think both had threads worth digging out.

[forddeliveryboy]

On Autoshite a few years ago you'd be told to take your Bini and stick it, but they've been a bit more tolerated lately. Dave_Station (above) had one, as did Mat-the-Cat, I think both had threads worth digging out.

 

 

I was even hauled over the coals for being rude about them! 

[mat_the_cat]

On Autoshite a few years ago you'd be told to take your Bini and stick it, but they've been a bit more tolerated lately. Dave_Station (above) had one, as did Mat-the-Cat, I think both had threads worth digging out.

 

It's actually Mrs_the_cat's car, and the only thing I can remember posting is the for sale thread:

http://autoshite.com/topic/23631-r52-mini-cooper-%C2%A31500testing-the-water/

 

Agreed that it's a good handling, nicely built car, unfortunately burdened with an internet forum reputation...

[HH-R]

Not gr8 if you're taller than 5 feet.

[PiperCub]

Expensive and complex to fix from the experience of friends. Not a fan myself but they must be popular for a reason I guess. 

[Ghosty]

We have a 60 plate facelift R56 petrol auto, on 20,000 miles. We like it a lot - it's a huge step up from the 9N Polo Twist 1.4 auto we PX'd.

 

image by max_burton, on Flickr

 

 

Manuals are equipped with BMW EfficientDynamics, autos aren't - gearbox just has sport mode instead. The gearbox problems are on pre-2006 autos - it's a CVT box that has a habit of eating itself. Note that a pre-2006 Cooper S doesn't have a CVT.

Coopers are a lively drive with 116bhp - the car feels like it wants to be chucked about and driven fast (well, an auto does in sport mode - I imagine a manual feels similar. It feels restricted and slightly lethargic in normal drive - all sport mode does is reduce revs etc That said it does appear to affect handling/steering response - ePAS?). Gears are short/acceleration oriented though - our auto is in 6th at 70mph.

Ones have 90hp, and the First (base model) is restricted to a wheezy 75.

 

In the time we've had ours the tailgate release has broken (replace tailgate trim), and a pothole broke the fill sensor on the windscreen washer bottle, permanently putting the washer warning light on (replace bottle). All done under warranty mind, as we bought it from a Bini dealer.

 

Build quality is solid, most annoying thing IMO is lack of an internal tailgate release. Buttons and switches feel nice to press, seats are comfy, and there's a nice amount of rear seat space - I'm 6" and it's one of few hatchbacks I don't mind being in the back of. Mind you, the person in the front can't be too tall. There's space for two people of about 6" and two shorter people, assuming you all don't have much luggage as boot space is limited. Minis don't seat 5 people.

 

That said there's a bit of a trim rattle coming from the boot on ours, and the aux in jack has started giving me static shocks when I use my (metal backed) iPod on it recently.

 

Settings for the radio presets, in car menus and so on are saved on the keyfob, so don't get confused if you change fobs and the car seems to factory reset. Speaking of the fob, it's 'insert fob/push button to start' in a similar vein to the Laguna 2, but more reliable. There's an emergency key in the fob to open the driver's door if you're ever stuck, but from what I hear the locks are made of cheese and aren't intended for reuglar use.

 

Condensation gets into the foglight unit in the rear bumper - just leave it, they all do that sir.

 

 

 

It's a lottery as to what spec you'll get as almost everything on these cars is an optional extra - so there's a lot of variety - look for a reasonably well equipped one. There are lots of cheap 'nice to have' options that it's a shame to go without, such as the aux in and USB jacks, exterior chrome pack, adjustable passenger seat and so on. IIRC a lot of these are included in the Pepper Pack (as well as LED mood lighting and tailored floor mats) - this wasn't too expensive so Pepper Pack cars are common, the problem is it's not that easy to tell if a car has it. That said, nicely specced cars probably do. There were Salt and Chilli Packs too but I don't remember what's in them.

I think the trip computer is standard but I can't remember. An uncommon option is integrated satnav.

 

Even the basic interior trim is nice (painted silver dash inserts), maybe a little bit better than the (reasonably common) interior chrome pack as it's less prone to fingerprints. Dash plastics are nice quality. There's a hidden compartment for storing about 4 CDs behind the passenger side dash insert - give it a push and it should open up.

 

Steering wheel options are common - most decent equipped cars will have a three spoke one, either with or without radio control buttons. Low end cars have a two spoke wheel. Steering column is in/out and up/down adjustable. Driver's seat is also nicely adjustable, as is the passenger's if equipped. Shame if it isn't.  

 

Auto cars almost always have paddle shifters on the steering wheel for the manual mode on the gearbox - however this was an option you could only have in conjunction with a steering wheel option. We have the only auto Bini I've ever seen with the basic steering wheel and no paddles.

 

First run cars go from 2006/56 to 2010/60 plate, then there was a facelift. Facelift cars changed a few minor things like the front bumper and the design of the rear light/foglight units. Wheel designs changed too, for the better. The paint colours also changed, and IMO 2010 onwards cars are much nicer to look at - the paint colours are nicer and more fashionable - bold gloss colours as opposed to dull metallics.

Flame Red and Pepper White cars are the most common throughout the production run as those colours were no cost options.

 

One easy way to check if a car's going to be nicely specced is whether it has a body colour roof and mirrors or not - cars with a black/white roof and mirrors, and sometimes OE bonnet stripes (discernable by the edges being a contrasting colour) are often nicely specced, as are cars in rare colours such as the metallic chocolate brown. If a car's just a boring silver/blue/grey/whatever with 15" wheels, it'll be 'meh'.

 

I don't think checkered rooves are OE. A lot of the prefacelift cars have been subject to 'customistation' as they go down in value - be careful of these cars, who knows what you might be in for, and how the PO drove... Common additions are bonnet stripes and other vinyl stickers, and larger wheels.

 

If a car has wheeltrims, it'll be low spec. Don't bother with it, also the trims are fugly.

Clear and orange indicators are both official parts on the option list so don't get confused by this.

 

Factory tinted windows exist, as can be seen on our car. This is a very rare option from what I've seen.

 

It's a lottery as to whether you get a spare wheel (spacesaver) - if you do it'll be mounted under the back of the car. If not, tyre foam in the boot floor with the basic toolkit.

There's a 12V socket in the boot.

50/50 split fold rear seat exists but I can't remember if it's an option. 

 

The big central speedo isn't the only one - there's a little digital speedo in the rev counter too. The trip computer can be slightly confusing at first - some things are only doable using the rev counter and a button on the end of the indicator stalk, and some are only doable on the radio screen.

 

Mechanically ours has been fine, it's not thrown up any major issues in the year and a bit we've had it. Engines do seem to drink a bit of oil, mind - ours needs a top up more often than any other car we've had.

 

I'd say go for it, if you can find a decent one to your taste

[Station]

I don't trust any disc-based handbrake setups. Shite.

 

 MR2, MGF, every car with the incorporated caliper handbrake mechanism has failed (well, apart from the Mini).

[SiC]

I don't think checkered rooves are OE. A lot of the prefacelift cars have been subject to 'customistation' as they go down in value - be careful of these cars, who knows what you might be in for, and how the PO drove... Common additions are bonnet stripes and other vinyl stickers, and larger wheels.

My sisters first Mini (the 07 plate) had customisations done by the BMW Mini dealer to her choice/taste when she bought it second hand from them as approved used and it seemed a pretty common thing for them to do. She had union jack vinyl on the roof and wing mirrors (not to my taste). I suspect chequered roofs were done as a dealer fit option.

 

I suspect a lot of these vinyl additions were done as "fashion accessories" by the dealer. She drove it like Miss Daisy and loved that thing. I don't know if I would automatically assume if its got some garish vinyl stickers applied that it has been hammered.

[Ghosty]

Fair point, I've no idea what was and wasn't dealer fit really, certainly not OE anyway. Where I am the ones with all the trinkets and stickers on the outside tend to be the worst of the bunch. Perhaps it's a question of taste.

[Guest bangerfan101]

My brothers just had the Gear linkages fall to bits on his 57 plate.