elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

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

curly

iTrader: (25)

I thought the earlier 6spds were junk? Could be more like the '06 models though. Look into it?

18psi

iTrader: (76)

My friends gf owned an 04 mini s

After driving that car and helping work on it, and seeing what she went through with it, I'd be scared to own one. I almost think she had a lemon.

tdi all the way

tincan

iTrader: (1)

Was just talking to friend who is a Mini mechanic about these cars. 06-09 (i think) cooper s have two main issues.

1.) Timing chain stretch
2.) Carbon build up (later cars solved this by moving PVC closed to intake valve)

TheScaryOne

iTrader: (3)

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.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

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

rharris19

iTrader: (41)

I had an 06 Cooper S that I put about 45,000 miles on that I absolutely loved. It was problem free and from what I understand that was the case in the later years of the first US gen, but not the case in the earlier years. I still miss that car.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Those are the twin scroll turbo ones right?

I heard they were quite an improvement all around, so maybe everything I previously posted in here is irrelevant

oh well

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

****.

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

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Catch can.

However I can't advise anyone to buy cars engineered and or designed by Germans.

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

+(???)

I can't come up with a number that adequately describes how much I agree with the previous statement.

Der_Idiot

iTrader: (2)

How about Italians? My 500 is alright - Needs a supercharger. Wish I'd gotten the Abarth though - moar torque.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

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.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

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.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

get a honda

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

Why not a Speed3 if you're looking for a hot hatch? Mazda makes some darn good cars.

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

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?

TheScaryOne

iTrader: (3)

I just read this. Are they serious? Is this really a "service tool"? A ******* media blaster and a shop vac?

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?

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

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.

TheScaryOne

iTrader: (3)

Do what hornet says. The G8 is about the same price as that Mini, and you will enjoy driving it.

I can't wait for the Caprice PPV to start hitting the used aftermarket....