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[unlucky mark mv6]

Missus is thinking of having a new mini,well not brand new,but summat such as an 03 plate.Whats peoples thoughts on these motors,not really heard much about em,should she steer well clear or what. :-/

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Not keen myself...but thats based purely on the looks, never driven one, much less owned one.

From what I've heard, try and think of them as a small bmw...so overpriced, not much kit for the money, plenty of trim not quite what you'd expect for the money, great drive, high residuals, expensive parts, prestige badge.

 8-)

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Not keen myself...but thats based purely on the looks, never driven one, much less owned one.

From what I've heard, try and think of them as a small bmw...so overpriced, not much kit for the money, plenty of trim not quite what you'd expect for the money, great drive, high residuals, expensive parts, prestige badge.

 8-)

Plus not a Mini!!

[Andy B]

....
Plus not a Mini!!

Excellently put!    A Mini wannabe 

[mantagte]

a BMW 0.5

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Ahh, true!!!

A friend of mine once spoke the the designer at the launch, and he put to him the question of what does this new mini bring to automotive world, in the same way the original brought fwd, door pockets, separate subframes, hydrolastic/rubber cone suspension, transverse engine, external welds to save space all on one 10ft package.

His answer was a typically political one about how difficult the one-piece bonnet was to make. 


It's a fashion icon, as far as I'm concerned, totally irrelevant to the original mini ethos.

But Im not saying dont get one as a car, just not for me, thats all!

[Andy B]

.....
It's a fashion icon, as far as I'm concerned, totally irrelevant to the original mini ethos.

But Im not saying dont get one as a car, just not for me, thats all!

Just as the new Fiat 500 is and by the amount you see on the road I doubt that Fiat could ever make enough of them ........ even I like them (never driven one though)

[pscocoa]

my son's girlfriend has a 2006 Cooper S Convertible which does look good but has had its breakdowns.

I spent ages on the Mini forum some weeks back on mysterious water loss/ overheating etc. They have issues like all cars but it is having a tame person on hand who can fix these things without BMW dealer prices.

I am sure she will enjoy the car but if you have no back up on the repair side then could be expensive as there are niggles. Seem to think we had brake issues some time ago as well - not good for a 3 to 4 year old car.

[pscocoa]

take a look at the Mini2 forum and search on colant loss and you willl see quite a lot of threads. Getting air out of the system has a precise procedure

[Kneepad]

.....
It's a fashion icon, as far as I'm concerned, totally irrelevant to the original mini ethos.

But Im not saying dont get one as a car, just not for me, thats all!

Just as the new Fiat 500 is and by the amount you see on the road I doubt that Fiat could ever make enough of them ........ even I like them (never driven one though)

Fashion icon  :-? or more to do with Free Road Tax ?

[Andy B]

.....or more to do with Free Road Tax ?

Free? Or cheap?  :-/

[mantahatch]

Colleague of mine at work has a 2004 cooper. He says it is a car that needs to be driven, it is not a car to relax in, it needs 100% concentration to drive. And he says it frightens him to death when he sees old people driving them because of this.

Oh and finally the new mini had more recalls for dangerous problems like suspension in its frst 2 years of production then the Vectra B had in its entire production run.

[TheBoy]

BMW Mini is dreadfully unreliable (uses the std BMW techniques of hiding faults), and seats are awful.  20mins in one is more than enough for me.  My brother (Mr I will only look at BMW) has one. Bloody horrid.

On the upside, they do handle pretty well, possibly almost on a par with my little Rover (best handling FWD car I've ever driven by a country mile - when on P6000 tyres).

But the reliability alone would stop me getting one - I know 2 people who have had brand new replacement cars after a year due to so many faults, but only on the condition that they waiver further rights, and do not take part in surveys or talk to anyone about it  .  The replacements have proven unreliable as well.  But then I know a handful of other idiots people, who love them, and care little about the raping they get from dealer when serviced - these are the people who say its a BMW. Its not, its a MINI.  And its not a Mini.


Lastly, remember, these are built by the same British Leyland people that built poorly made shite such as the Ital, Maestro and Montego

[Kneepad]

.....or more to do with Free Road Tax ?

Free? Or cheap?  :-/

Free   

http://www.roadtaxprices.co.uk/Road_Tax_Band_A_Cars.htm

[Diamond Black Geezer]

And what do the engines actually produce in Co2 g/km, I wonder? Is that actually being driven normally? Remember when Top Gear drove round the track at a leisurly 40ish mph in a BMW and  Prius....and the BMW did MORE mpg?? I suspect that just like the Omega 2.2 on paper being more economical than the V6, but in reality it's no better, many of these greenies don't in reality chuck out less smoke....


Methinks the world of eco-friendliness is a little awry. I would want FREE road tax is my vehicle is over 10 years old, ad the extra carbons in making me a replacement new car would far exceed the carbons that have been emitted over the last decade.

There was once a Grand Designs episode for an Eco-House...for cost reasons they used conrete, hundreds of tons of it. I worked out that the carbons/damage to the planet in making that tonnage of concrete was equivalent to a Merc S-Class with the thirstiest, least-green AMG engine being left running for.............

....wait for it.......


....you'll never guess........


.....you'll think Im making it up.......




......800 years!!



The very tenuous link from my babbling to the BMW Mini is simple. It has Zero tax from its 'green' credentials. The irony is that this club is FULL of far, far greener machines. By the frankly sheer saving in pollution by being kept on the road, recycling parts from scrapped cars, and NOT being replaced every two minutes.

I'm just emailing the Transport Minister to claim our Car Tax rebate