mini - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

rsgerry · 10-22-2003, 06:14

okay...the minister for sport & recreation has decided that she fancies a new mini. i also think they are a great looking car and would be good for running around town in. however, i would like to know if anyone has heard good / bad reports about them. do they fall apart, do they use loads of oil (only if fitted with a 5.7...), are they buckets of shite?

if she gets it, then the XR becomes my daily drive. however, with the all Ford day this weekend, i will be looking at something to replace the fiesta. i am thinking ZA-ZD fairlane, LTD, or something else that might catch my eye. so, i need to work out if there will be a new mini or a classic ford coming home. maybe even a TE/TF Tina Ghia with 4.1. hhhmmmmmm.........

Perana XR8 · 10-22-2003, 14:14

Ive heard that the new Mini is a great car escpecially in Cooper S spec and i dont think there have been many problems with them either. i doubt that they would fall apart because they are built by BMW but if it were a choice betweena Mini and a classic Ford i would have to say go for a classic ford.

XR6VCT · 10-22-2003, 17:01

Hi rsgerry, what model mini would you looking at Cooper or Cooper S? Basically the main difference between them is the S gets a supercharged version of the motor.

The 'other' car in my family is a Cooper S (Dark Silver / Black roof / 17� wheels). It�s a great car to drive. I am a big RWD fan and I was very sceptical of how the mini would be to drive, but its fantastic. It is just glued to the road! Don�t be fooled by its �fashion item� appearance. It really is a true drivers car.

I know initially that there was some issues with build quality (all little trivial things), however from what I understand, all these issues have been ironed out. Ours has done about 17,000 kays now (due for its first service � it has great long service intervals) and has been fault less. Oh yeah, and no oil issues that I know of!

The great thing with the mini is that just driving around town it feels quite at home, very easy to drive, park etc. However take it onto some nice roads and the car really comes alive. Got to love the sound of it as well! That supercharger really sings when you get stuck into it.

Also if you do go down the mini path, be very weary of the BMW / Mini dealers. Expect them to tell you that the only ones they have in the country have a list of options that seemingly never ends. However stock ones do exist. Really BMW are the masters of doing this. Its plain scary the price some people have paid for minis, once they had added on a ridiculous amount of options. Also, be prepared to really haggle hard with the dealer. I think dealer delivery was quoted around the $2500 mark! However when push came to shove they �somehow� managed reduce that by a very large amount - say more than half!

Basically BMW dealers love to try it on and, more often than not, will get away with it.

If you have any other questions on the mini just ask.

rsgerry · 10-23-2003, 06:31

thanks guys. i have always fancied the minis, and just wanted tp make sure i wasnt buying trouble. i will still be looking at the all ford day for something that appeals, but if the boss wants mini, i get to drive an xr6 every day. damn :-)