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Old Oct 19, 2003
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BMW Mini Cooper?

What are some bad things about the Mini Cooper have you heard. I am SERIOUSLY considering getting one of these really soon. I totalled my old civic and I really loved the look and the feel of my $16k Civic... cant beat that for the price. OR so I thought, til I saw the base price for a regular Mini Cooper (not the supercharged "s" one) was $17k. I read the 209 reviews on edmunds.com and there were maybe 5 to 10 bad reviews, which sounded like lemons to me. What do you 7th genners think? I wanna know what you have heard about this car... and don't go saying its a girly or gay car cuz its not.. i like it so
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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it's a blast to drive. can't really say much about reliability yet, i suppose. i'd try to go for the S though.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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the thing is the BASE S cooper is starting at 20, and options rack the price up high
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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How big of a guy are you? I'm 5'11, 155lbs, and wear a size 14 shoe. The Mini is too small for me. It might be a little uncomfortable to drive if you're not a smaller guy. Other than the size (but hell, that's expected from a car called a MINI,) I can't say I've heard bad things about it.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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i am a smaller guy... im 17, 5'7'' and 140lbs, size 10 :-D the civic was rather roomy for me, and i have heard that if you are in it you NEVER feel like ur driving a small car (unless ur parking, which is good)
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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Try to get the S. I've seen 10lbs pulleys for the supercharger really cheap.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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I can barely afford a civic so I can't get the S.. too much $$$
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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If you are looking for more performance out of the Cooper than your current Civic the S is the only way to go. If you are just looking for a cool head turning car the base model should be just fine. You will never really know if you like the car or not until you test drive it yourself. :-)

Base Model 2004: $16,449 1.6-liter, I4, 115-horsepower 28/37MPG

Pretty close numbers with the Non EX Civic.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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yea i dont expect to drag race or anything... what i wanna do is autocross, which i heard the mini is good for
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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Hotchkis makes products for the mini!!!

and your gonna wish you got the S
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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I think you would love the Mini if that is your intention. I like the car myself. When I was in Spain almost all the cars were small and stylish but the Cooper still stood out among them.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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S or not S, I think it looks like a fun car to drive. If you wait a bit, they are coming out with the Cooper Convertable.

Anyways, I would make sure how much maintenance would be cuz I heard foreign parts are expensive, etc... Otherwise, it's a BMW, so reliability shouldn't be bad. Totaled Civic -> New Cooper.. you lucky ***.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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The mini rules all. After driving one I wish I had had the chance to get one. I was driving the type-S and it is much better. With the wheels at the corners there isn't any curve you can't go around twice as fast as you can in the civic.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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Watch the movie 'The Italian Job' and you will want one even more. Yeah Minis are cool, they look a lot better with the 17" alloys that come stock with the S.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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ok as for the mini being too small on the interior, you're nuts cause it was made to fit someone who is 6 feet tall. I'm 5'10 over 200lbs (weightlifter) size 12 shoes and fit with room in the thing. My dads over 6 ft. 200 + lbs size 16 shoes and fits no problem, minus no back seat room. My buddy has the S and he loves it and he's pushing over 200hp to the wheels. The thing drives like a go-kart.

The only problem with the Mini (non S) is that it is slow. Slower than our civics. As far as quality goes, they are nicer than our cars. German built and all, but one more thing you must consider is that upkeep/labor will be more $$$. As well as parts and mileage is not as good as a civic. For the dollar value I would go with a civic or another Jap/ import car.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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JSWhaler - don't forget that different people are built differently. I'm only an inch taller than you, and weigh less, but I still have very broad shoulders and very large legs considering those measurements (weight lifter - but not extreme.) I have a long torso, too. That car may be built for a 6'0 tall guy, but it still doesn't fit me.

It's cool either way though.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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GREAT car for autox
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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whatever, he should just go and test drive one to see if he likes/ fits him well
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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I like the design. but it doesnt look like it has a lot of cargo room....
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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this should do it.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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In terms of price though, expect to pay a $3,000 market adjustment over sticker (At least that's what it's like in Southern California). The Cooper averaged about $23,000 and the Cooper S $27,000. Right now dealers will make you choose either the sport or luxury package and make you get Lojack. My brother was going to get an S, but thought this was a bit extreme for a car that was supposed to list $22,000. There's only one dealer (in So. Cal.) that I know of that doesn't have these requirements and there's a year waiting list to get a Mini how you want it and at sticker price.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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A lot of people had problems with the ECU "stumbling" the car would die and come back, causing a big time lurch. It was a bad batch of cars, they revised the software and they run fine now. I haven't really heard much bad about them... its a 3 series thats 1/2 the size of a 3 series.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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Originally posted by cdmx
this should do it.
That's downright sexy.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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is it made by bmw? or bmw owns mini
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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BMW owns mini.

Anyway, it's a nice car. You should get it. I saw those things go through corners, and I'm just like "wow". Definitely nice.
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Old Oct 19, 2003
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ya, Minis are whooping butt in H-Stock Scca Solo 2 compitition. Don't konw how the Cooper S is doing in G-Stock though.
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Old Oct 20, 2003
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Somebody has been watching the Italian Job movie, felt the same way when I watched it wanted to trade my car for one of them. haha!!
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Old Oct 20, 2003
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Problem with minis is that they're mini and they're deathtraps---like miatas
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Old Oct 20, 2003
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i like the mini... but as everyone else said... u'll regret not getting the S
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Old Oct 20, 2003
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I got to test drive the mini S and it's pretty fun to drive and has more room than i expected it to have . Hanging turns is hella fun with that cuz it just hugs the road. Well my parents just bought my sister one who doesnt even have her license yet and it comes in december. They had to order it since they didtn have one that she wanted on the lot. OH yeah and my sisters only 15 years old... WTF? i drove a 89 corolla in Highschool.
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