Am I about to make a mistake: v.08 MiniCooper S
#1
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Location: Overland Park, Kansas
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Am I about to make a mistake: v.08 MiniCooper S
My aging 2000 Mazda Protege is starting to reach a point where it's not worth pouring more money into; Also consumes approx 1 quart of oil per 1000 miles so I started looking for a new car about 2 months ago. Found a 2010 Golf TDI 2 door that I was really interested in but eventually got cold feed and backed out of the deal.
Suddenly I'm reminded that I've always wanted a Mini since the first time I saw one in the early 90s on television. Searching on AutoTrader, ebay, Craigslist I finally find a local dealer that has a Silver 2008 MCS listed up for $13,995 with about 90k miles. Drove over to check the car out after the dealer was closed and it looked very good, couldn't find any chips, dents, dings, or damage anywhere on the car.. Reading through the options included it appears the only thing it doesn't have which I would've desired is a sunroof.
I've known several people to own the Supercharged MCS along with Turbo MCS and nobody that I recall ever mentioned any problems they had during ownership. Is there anything specific I should look for? Avoid the car like the plague? My googlefu finds a few people who report various problems with the car but can't seem to find any solid evidence that would lead me to believe they're to be avoided.
Pros:
Better fuel economy
More sporty
More power
Newer vehicle
Six-Speed
Leather Interior
Far more comfortable seats
Cons:
Cost of Maintenance
Insurance
Car Payment (currently have 0 debt)
No lockable trunk
Cabin volume (going from 4 doors to 2)
More Sporty
More power
Does anyone have personal or 2nd hand experience with the cars?
For reference the protege needs the following with approximate costs:
2 o2 sensors $150
Catalytic converter $200
4 Struts $275
4 swaybar end links $120
New bushings $???
New windshield $150
New brakes $125
Suddenly I'm reminded that I've always wanted a Mini since the first time I saw one in the early 90s on television. Searching on AutoTrader, ebay, Craigslist I finally find a local dealer that has a Silver 2008 MCS listed up for $13,995 with about 90k miles. Drove over to check the car out after the dealer was closed and it looked very good, couldn't find any chips, dents, dings, or damage anywhere on the car.. Reading through the options included it appears the only thing it doesn't have which I would've desired is a sunroof.
I've known several people to own the Supercharged MCS along with Turbo MCS and nobody that I recall ever mentioned any problems they had during ownership. Is there anything specific I should look for? Avoid the car like the plague? My googlefu finds a few people who report various problems with the car but can't seem to find any solid evidence that would lead me to believe they're to be avoided.
Pros:
Better fuel economy
More sporty
More power
Newer vehicle
Six-Speed
Leather Interior
Far more comfortable seats
Cons:
Cost of Maintenance
Insurance
Car Payment (currently have 0 debt)
No lockable trunk
Cabin volume (going from 4 doors to 2)
More Sporty
More power
Does anyone have personal or 2nd hand experience with the cars?
For reference the protege needs the following with approximate costs:
2 o2 sensors $150
Catalytic converter $200
4 Struts $275
4 swaybar end links $120
New bushings $???
New windshield $150
New brakes $125
#5
Mini Cooper recall: Fire warning as 235k cars recalled over electrical fault fears | Mail Online
Help! Clutch/gearbox/dual mass flywheel problems? - MINI Cooper Forum - MINI2 Mini Cooper Forums
Oil like sludge - MINI Cooper Forum - MINI2 Mini Cooper Forums
In short. Don't do it. Also: they're typical BMW's, with typical BMW policies and replacement part prices.
You also have to replace the disks with every brake job, because BMW thinks that's the most efficient way to run brakes.
And the early years have ABS-based TPMS and run-flats, which will only tell you if one tire is flatter than the others.
Help! Clutch/gearbox/dual mass flywheel problems? - MINI Cooper Forum - MINI2 Mini Cooper Forums
Oil like sludge - MINI Cooper Forum - MINI2 Mini Cooper Forums
In short. Don't do it. Also: they're typical BMW's, with typical BMW policies and replacement part prices.
You also have to replace the disks with every brake job, because BMW thinks that's the most efficient way to run brakes.
And the early years have ABS-based TPMS and run-flats, which will only tell you if one tire is flatter than the others.
#6
60k my buddy's girls clutch failed
shortly after the brake master or some sensor related to it failed
the passenger seat mechanism failed resulting in fully reclined seat at all times
the clutch required so much retarded work-arounds to replace it was hilarious
the cluster was pretty much a christmas tree of lights the latter part of her ownership
she sold it with a huge loss with 70k on the clock and couldn't be happier to be done with it.
If you're still gonna do it make sure it has a good/extended warranty or something
shortly after the brake master or some sensor related to it failed
the passenger seat mechanism failed resulting in fully reclined seat at all times
the clutch required so much retarded work-arounds to replace it was hilarious
the cluster was pretty much a christmas tree of lights the latter part of her ownership
she sold it with a huge loss with 70k on the clock and couldn't be happier to be done with it.
If you're still gonna do it make sure it has a good/extended warranty or something
#9
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****.
So after reading about the intake valve carbon issue alone I'm not sure this car is for me.. Dammit.
Lol. Here's the users manual for the BMW Carbon Blaster tool: http://www.motoringalliance.com/foru...ing_manual.pdf
So after reading about the intake valve carbon issue alone I'm not sure this car is for me.. Dammit.
Lol. Here's the users manual for the BMW Carbon Blaster tool: http://www.motoringalliance.com/foru...ing_manual.pdf
#13
Tour de Franzia
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Location: Republic of Dallas
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If it doesn't burn to the ground it will become an electrical shitbox nightmare. There are beauties of car ownership other than speed...one of them is the car working properly which is not a quality understood by many European manufacturers.
#14
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Wow. Doing more digging into the idea of an MCS, I'm going to RUN FOR MY LIFE FROM THIS CAR!
Thanks Mt.net, once again you haven't let me down. Back to the drawing board.
Thanks Mt.net, once again you haven't let me down. Back to the drawing board.
#17
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Front wheel drive is for peasants and wives. And peasant wives.
Also, German cars (especially BMW-built German cars) are for elitist snobs. Do you want people to think you are an elitist snob peasant wife?
Also, German cars (especially BMW-built German cars) are for elitist snobs. Do you want people to think you are an elitist snob peasant wife?
#18
Lol. Here's the users manual for the BMW Carbon Blaster tool: http://www.motoringalliance.com/foru...ing_manual.pdf
They're charging $800 (to their own stealerships!) for a $400 (retail) media blaster, a piece of brake line bent 90*, and a shop-vac attachment.
God I hate BMW.
P.S. And my favorite part was "some pictures may be shown with head removed from vehicle for clarity" were there any pictures with the head *on* the vehicle?
#19
My inclement weather/need to carry people or stuff/DD car is a G8 GT. Big car. 6L Gen IV. FAST.
So, what does this have to do with hot hatches? Quickly reviewing specs for some of the hot hatches, I found that the new price for the G8 was squarely in the middle of hot hatch territory. Also, and even more interesting, real life combined fuel economy was too. I get 19-20 combined with mine.
What's not the same is resale value. Good G8's have barely depreciated at all. This year, I've had offers for it in the low 20's. I bought it in 2010 for $23K. I've never had a car that depreciated so little.
Is any of this relevant? I dunno. Just thought it was interesting. Kind of like peasant wives.
This thread needs pix.
So, what does this have to do with hot hatches? Quickly reviewing specs for some of the hot hatches, I found that the new price for the G8 was squarely in the middle of hot hatch territory. Also, and even more interesting, real life combined fuel economy was too. I get 19-20 combined with mine.
What's not the same is resale value. Good G8's have barely depreciated at all. This year, I've had offers for it in the low 20's. I bought it in 2010 for $23K. I've never had a car that depreciated so little.
Is any of this relevant? I dunno. Just thought it was interesting. Kind of like peasant wives.
This thread needs pix.