FOR SALE 2003 Mini Cooper 1.6 Automatic

[sarg]

The SWMBO's car!

£5,495 asking price, 51,000 miles with full Mini service history, lots of rare options, see PH ad for full details

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4193837.htm

[Singh]

I'm after one after crashing my Punto the other day, but too dear for me and I want a different colour. Are they any good?

[sarg]

Amar

Reason for selling: to get a newer one, says it all really

In all seriousness, not sure you'd like the auto version much, and if you do want an auto, the paddles for manual control are ESSENTIAL, otherwise you'll be living with a very loudwhiny CVT box all the time.

Add to that manuals are a bit cheaper to buy and fuel, I'd think a manual would suit you well, the Cooper S is a properly quick car.

Our Auto Cooper I would say is more suited to a woman (sorry!) or less enthusiastic driver.

Make sure you get the right spec, Chili pack almost essential, big wheels a must.

Servicing good value, I think, ours only just come off TLC plan, not paid for one yet, and best of all, whilst they do still depreciate, they do so much slower than the alternatives, which is one of the reasons we got the Mini in the first place.

We've been out looking at replacements:

Lexus CT200H: well built, comfy, but oh so dull
Alfa Mito: awful cheap plastic interior, was really surprised by how bad it was
Polo GTI: quick but dull
Scirocco: beautiful car, well built, just didn't do it for SWMBO, and boot access very poor, very high lip
A3: only looked at one, and it was having lacquer problems on the roof so walked away fast, might be a good car if you find a good one
DS4: I loved these, but the missus "will not buy a Citroen" - petrol not very good on fuel though, diesel a bit slow

Still on the shortlist:
Another Mini
Audi A1
BMW 118d or 120d

[Singh]

Awesome, I tested the Mini and the A1 at the launch event for the A1 on a closed runway at Munich airport a few years back. The A1 was the better car, and I think you should try one. But I've only got about £3k to spend on a second car so the budget won't stretch to an A1. I'm looking to make the Mini really smart, with some nice Mini alloys, GB mirror housings, I'll take your notes ref the chilli pack etc... on board. Good luck with the sale.

[Adrian E]

diesel cooper might suit you Amar - but they're pricey compared to your Punto. How the hell have you managed to kill that so quickly?! Maybe a different thread needed for the chat.....

Cooper S is shocking on fuel, even worse if it's a Works. Generally the old supercharged ones are good if they're good and a money pit if they're not. Had 2 friends with Works which both spent far too much time being fixed for recurring faults the dealers couldn't sort, 1 electrical the other supercharger belts.

We test drove a Cooper S soft top a few years back and couldn't get on with the lack of knee room around the steering column, even though neither of us are over 6 foot!

[Singh]

It has some Chinese ling long tyres plus no traction control and a soaking wet road = crash. I took a roundabout at normal speed and it was like the front wheels had hit black ice, went over this raised pavement bit in the middle of the road, I managed to control it away from cars. No cosmetic damage, but it's mashed up underneath good and proper, the front wing is 1mm from the front tyre. That road has always been a bit slippery, my BMW used to kick it's back end out there when wet if I went quickly, but I NEVER drive the Punto quickly. No point claiming on it, going to get a tax/insurance refund and weigh the POS in. Time to get myself a decent daily, this one was tragic and people took the ****, good and proper.

[sarg]

Originally Posted by Adrian E

diesel cooper might suit you Amar - but they're pricey compared to your Punto. How the hell have you managed to kill that so quickly?! Maybe a different thread needed for the chat.....

Cooper S is shocking on fuel, even worse if it's a Works. Generally the old supercharged ones are good if they're good and a money pit if they're not. Had 2 friends with Works which both spent far too much time being fixed for recurring faults the dealers couldn't sort, 1 electrical the other supercharger belts.

We test drove a Cooper S soft top a few years back and couldn't get on with the lack of knee room around the steering column, even though neither of us are over 6 foot!

You won't find a diesel Mini for 3k I wouldn't think, but you will find a higher mileage Cooper. But yes, you won't get the fuel economy of the diesel Punto, not even close.

This one looks quite decent

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...26dy?logcode=p

Our Cooper Auto averages about 32-33mpg, don't know about the S as never had one.

As for your knees, I am 6'1 and 18 stone, have no problems at all with the size of the Mini, not sure why you found it a problem? I had the problem with the original classic Mini when I was 17 (more or less had to sit in the back seat!), but not with the new one

Amar, I agree, I think the A1 is a fine car, but it's not my decision and SWMBO loves her Mini. I would say the Mini is perhaps the most 'characterful' car in its class, and they are certainly fun to drive.

[Adrian E]

I posted my reply while Amar was doing his, so didn't see the £3k budget bit lol - no hope of a Cooper D for that.

Ref knee space - don't know if the soft top is different to the hard top, but I couldn't get the seat low enough/column far enough away that I didn't keep ****ting it with my right knee. Mrs is longer in the leg than me and found it worse. It may be a soft top thing or size of steering wheel as never noticed it as a problem in my mate's Works.

Amar - Ling Long tyres should've come off the car on day one. Any Chinese tyre is more crappy than a dog with dodgy guts!! They're not designed for our climate and generally they're not really designed at all in any European sense.

[Singh]

I always buy the best tyres for my cars, but with the Punto I didn't bother. The car doesn't need to be THAT economical. I ran the RS6 fine as my daily driver, I just want a second car to keep the miles off it/to use when the RS6 is broken and that I can leave in dodgy places, 35-40 MPG is fine, i.e a 1.4/1.6 petrol is fine by me. Thanks for your advice Adrian/Sarg.

[sarg]

Now Sold

I advertised on mini forum, pistonheads and ebay for last 3 weeks, and had one serious call, despite reducing price twice, eventually to £4,747

Put in on Autotrader yesterday afternoon, and sold less than 24 hours later, so my advice for anyone hesitating to pay the higher cost to use AT is don't hesitate.

Maybe it was luck/coincedence, but I just think AT has a much wider audience.

Now we just need to find its replacement