Anyone know about used Mini Coopers?

Post #434,267 by drook 6/1/20 9:44:40 PM 6/1/20 9:44:40 PM Reply	Anyone know about used Mini Coopers? My daughter is looking to buying a car. She likes Coopers, and she's finding them in the $5k range. That seems like really poor value retention, which usually means they fall apart. Anyone know what's up? -- Drew
Post #434,268 by boxley 6/1/20 9:53:34 PM 6/1/20 9:53:34 PM Reply	anecdotal, engine overheating issues "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #434,273 by Another Scott 6/1/20 10:52:37 PM 6/1/20 10:52:37 PM Reply	My step-mom has one that she bought new. A Clubman, I think. Mainly uses it for puttering around town, but it has gone from NC to GA to MS at least once. I don't think she's had any trouble with it. I don't know if she has even 20,000 miles on it yet though (it's around 10 years old now, I think). Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #434,280 by pwhysall 6/2/20 3:11:16 AM 6/2/20 3:11:16 AM Reply	Re: Anyone know about used Mini Coopers? Should be pretty reliable. Assume you're talking about a BMW (i.e. 2001-ish onwards) version. The interior will be pretty dated, which is probably suppressing prices. Do not buy a pre-BMW version unless you like getting jiggy with spanners (and you like really small cars); they're firmly in classic car territory now, with all that that entails. My neighbour has a beautiful one from 1990, and it's got the oil leak from hell, and has attracted an amount of mechanical attention disproportionate to the size and complexity of the engine. And that's a chap who runs a 70s MGBGT and a late 60s Midget.
Post #434,288 by drook 6/2/20 10:57:34 AM 6/2/20 10:57:34 AM Reply	Yes, the new generation The BMW lineage is what made me curious about the low resale value. They usually stay expensive. Dated interior? The fucks I give could be measured with a micrometer. -- Drew
Post #434,293 by scoenye 6/2/20 7:11:23 PM 6/2/20 7:11:23 PM Reply	Does look a bit strange Long term trends https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/MINI-Cooper-d436 In 2008 the Mini was among cars that retained value better than average. The only thing I can think of is the fuel cost. The Minis take 91+ which may cause some sticker shock for those that only read the window sticker.
Post #434,294 by a6l6e6x 6/2/20 9:08:31 PM 6/2/20 9:08:31 PM Reply	Re: Minis take 91+ fuel Regular gasoline is $1.589/gallon here and premium is $2.089/gal at QuickTrip and $2.879/gal at Exxon. The gap in prices is significant now. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #434,298 by pwhysall 6/3/20 2:03:29 AM 6/3/20 2:03:29 AM Reply	Good point, and one which I didn't consider at all Outwith the realms of genuine/exotic sports cars, everyone can use regular (aka non V-Power (other brands are available)) fuel, over here. Anyone buying a car that needs the fancy stuff knows about it. You can run a Ferrari on the normal stuff from a supermarket forecourt, although it'll do better on the posh juice.
Post #434,303 by scoenye 6/3/20 9:07:37 AM 6/3/20 9:07:37 AM Reply	I think it is a feature of imported Euro motors European regular (Euro 95) is roughly US 91. They might be able to use US regular (87 here, ~ Euro 91) but as there is no European equivalent, the paperwork doesn't say.
Post #434,307 by Another Scott 6/3/20 11:34:01 AM 6/3/20 11:34:01 AM Reply	91 octane required might be "required". When I was looking at new VWs in 2003, one of the things that turned me off on some of the models was the "91 octane required" statement. But then I talked with a VW lover at work with a Passat and he said he runs regular 87 in it all the time with no issues. And that makes sense - modern control electronics adjust the timing, etc., to minimize pinging no matter the fuel. It's just that to get the best (and rated) power out of it, you need the higher octane gas. The Mini might be the same way. https://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/to-save-money-on-gas-stop-buying-premium.html Cheers, Scott.
Post #434,317 by scoenye 6/3/20 6:26:09 PM 6/3/20 6:26:09 PM Reply	Check their "91 required" list The Minis are on it :-) They're not going to stick their neck out and countermand the manufacturers. The key thing is the lack of certification. If you use 87 and it burns a piston, you'll end up holding the bag, even if still under warranty. In the end, compression is the source of pinging/knocking and the ECU can fiddle only so much with the ignition timing to cool things down. It can't change the compression ratio.
Post #434,323 by Another Scott 6/3/20 11:50:47 PM 6/3/20 11:50:47 PM Reply	Yeahbut, so are VW Passats. ;-) Yes, nobody is going to recommend it in writing with all the potential liability, but... You must wash and wax 3 times next sat. Then sleep with feetfacing southwest for 3 day's. Good luck ;-) Thanks. Cheers, Scott.
Post #434,333 by Ashton 6/4/20 5:04:36 PM 6/4/20 5:04:36 PM Reply	re Knocking.. Yess My impression also ... unless you Are an 'explosives engineer' /also thermodynamicist: you cannot imagine what hapens when 'burning' becomes Detonation; the little mouse momentarily tears-off a small carbon-flake (firmly attached to some aluminum!), likely at that spot already? a precursor to a new 'crack' etc. tl;tl ...how Many? little-bites before Carmageddon happens--in a trice? Roll dem dice -->
Post #434,299 by drook 6/3/20 5:04:18 AM 6/3/20 5:08:23 AM Reply	Good catch, I'll look for that After looking at the chart, I really want to see the ads she's looking at where they're under $5k. If she's looking at 15+ year old cars we need to have a discussion. -- Drew Edited by drook June 3, 2020, 05:08:23 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #434,300 by pwhysall 6/3/20 9:01:04 AM 6/3/20 9:01:04 AM Reply	Just had a quick look on Auto Trader UK If she's seeing Coopers for $US 5K, they're definitely in the 15-year-plus bracket. At five years old here, they go for about £8-10K. They're twice that, new.
Post #434,281 by Ashton 6/2/20 3:37:44 AM 6/2/20 3:37:44 AM Reply	Similarly (anecdotal) over n-years LIkely the $5K reflects my occasional gear-head auditions. (Also see TTAC--The Truth About Cars site for likely some discussions). That is: it seems to have ~Rep as did, Way-back... early post-WW-II years: most Brit. cars, not because they're dumb or bad engineers: but, 'The War, stupid'. ie Their entire Mfg.-base in tatters, massive National debt, thus Machines-making machines worn out, metallurgy well, 'bad'. Ex: Morris Minor: a cute, small OK machine (I owned one for a time). But, as a Physicist at Lab remarked: the cylinder-head-bolts kept stretching! (he had some made of appropriate metallurgy; Fixed. And like that. (Mine was a '52 side-valve [!!]--gutless but utterly reliable). Ergo: for Mini-C to have earned its (hear-say) Rep ..I no explanation for the overall design flaws it seems to have. Low miles usage and 2K/year? would seem to give it an easy life, but that's a w.a.g. Aside: re the REAL Issigonis-designed Mini- (no Cooper attached) there's a small gear-head tale: A friend, Teacher-of-Mechanics (trade school) Don C. was approached by Mini- Mfg. (he had earned a Rep) re leaking seals at one end of transmission. He learned that they had copied [by simply "scaling_-down" a successful (!) design used by Packard. [Do you see the brain-fart here? ... ... hmmm?] Science! ... given that the Pounds/sq. inch loading placed on the elastomer (and its composition as also affects: proper loading specs) is not Linear! He er 'squared-away' the math--pun intended: collected generous-Fee IIRC--and His Worked. Physics! ..don't leave home Without it.
Post #434,282 by pwhysall 6/2/20 4:00:47 AM 6/2/20 4:00:47 AM Reply	We made great cars in the 50s Decent cars in the 60s And by the 70s it had all turned to shit.
Post #434,289 by dmcarls 6/2/20 1:56:22 PM 6/2/20 1:56:22 PM Reply	Some people noticed ... Once again, I recommend this book, now 34 years old: https://www.amazon.com/Reckoning-David-Halberstam-ebook/dp/B00AG8FZ4C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SPCN0H0ITBEY&dchild=1&keywords=the+reckoning+david+halberstam&qid=1591119800&s=books&sprefix=the+reckoning%2Caps%2C187&sr=1-1 From the reviews: "Powerfully developing his thesis that the complacency and shortsightedness of American workers and their bosses, especially the automakers of Detroit, have led to a decline of industrial know-how so critical that Asian carmakers, particularly the Japanese, have virtually taken over the market, Halberstam tells in panoramic detail a story that is alarming in its implications...."
Post #434,295 by Andrew Grygus 6/2/20 9:21:53 PM 6/2/20 9:21:53 PM Reply	I owned quite a few English cars . . . . . from a 1948 MG TC through several Jaguars, 1954 to 1962, an MG 1100 sedan, and a Nash Metropolitan, actually an Austin A40 with an upside down bathtub shaped body. I can tell you this, what the English call "steel" is actually some sort of cheese. Everything broke, even though the parts were much heftier than on much heavier American cars. Leaf springs in particular crumbled, and front axle spindles broke early and often.
Post #434,296 by Ashton 6/2/20 10:29:35 PM 6/2/20 10:29:35 PM Reply	MG TC ...Heh Sons of (Musical-) friends engaged in restoring a BRG-colour pukka one--including assembly of wire wheels via white gloves. I drove it afterwards--very carefuly--having at least enough double-clutching chops not to clash the synchro-bereft er, Crash-box. Made endorphins, that 4-wheel scooter. 'Tis /was then The Iconic shape for all wannabe cars as so contrasted with the Lead-barges of Detroit (I also drove TDs, TR-2s etc.) Yeah too, nostalgia ain't what __ ____.
Post #434,297 by Andrew Grygus 6/3/20 1:45:51 AM 6/3/20 1:45:51 AM Reply	The TC did not have a crash box . . . . . perhaps they forgot to overhaul the transmission.
Post #434,312 by Ashton 6/3/20 2:41:57 PM 6/3/20 2:41:57 PM Reply	I drove it; didn't 'try' for lazy-shift, went as-if no synchros. (They thought it was crash-box); I defer to anyone who shifted one 'normally' as: better informed than moi. And they. Unless (some Were / earlier? some Weren't later) Do you know-fer-Shure? Sorta-sure ..they did not disassemble transmission. Kwazy Kar-lore! nearly as bad as Politics!
Post #434,290 by TB D 6/2/20 2:59:45 PM 6/2/20 2:59:45 PM Reply	Re: Anyone know about used Mini Coopers? Had a friend end up with a sport model. Rally package, little paddle shifters. Fucking terrifyingly agile machine. Would not allow my kid to drive that as a first car. It would kill her. The cheaper economy models are probably OK if not likely rolling coffins.
Post #434,291 by drook 6/2/20 5:30:01 PM 6/2/20 5:30:01 PM Reply	I'll make sure I drive it, thanks -- Drew
Post #434,305 by pwhysall 6/3/20 9:37:30 AM 6/3/20 9:37:30 AM Reply	That sounds like a Cooper S Cooper (non-S) is just a trim level.
Post #434,341 by crazy 6/5/20 12:02:18 AM 6/5/20 12:02:18 AM Reply	Good point Get her an old station wagon. Really old. With a carburator.
Post #434,330 by mmoffitt 6/4/20 3:43:56 PM 6/4/20 3:43:56 PM Reply	Today I learned some Cooper drivers are frustrated BMW drivers. In the sense of the old joke, "What's the difference between a BMW and a porcupine? The porcupine has the pricks on the outside." If anyone ever asks you what "White Privilege" looks like, you could do worse than showing them this: https://twitter.com/SwipeMarket/status/1268324009571045376 I almost moved to Newport Beach once, but the City Council found out my parents were married at the time of my birth and they said they couldn't break precedent for just me. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #434,332 by Ashton 6/4/20 4:47:35 PM 6/4/20 4:47:35 PM Reply	If that ain't Al Punte, I don't know a spear-chucker from a bludgeon-swinger. I mean.. all-along I wondered 'the appeal?' of this almost- a swinky-car, given the aforementioned sloppy Q.C. THIS [frames] the er, Issue more-better. It's the modrin morphing of that window-placard, B.O.B.: Baby On Board (!) aka MY very-Special Baby (fuck Yours) wants YOU to back-off (your perpetual Tail-gating) etc. The United States of Branding-everone nearby.. with some fucking fav-Guesstimate! Loved the porcupines R'Us.. of so many BMWers encountered; (locally, especially in tony Marin county), we-the-unwashed define as: Boring Marin Wheels; similar more scatological argot. It Is all about a broadcast-Attitude via car-badge, innit? tl;dr: "E Pluribus pluribus", worn on one's sleeve akin ~ the ✝ self-ID. While auditioning a friend's Subaru™ for a few weeks, have teh impression that This marque-also appears to be a strange-attractor for {I know not what?} unifying-solidarity-Message--yet). This grates upon my Main Principle, as a Marxist! I refuse to join any Org which accepts people like me. OK-IWE gets a pass.. 'I contain multitudes'. RIP Groucho ..you brightened many a day with your two-(or three)-Edged quips ..on any topic raised.

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