Buying a Used 2004 Mini? - MINI Cooper Forum

Eilrymist · #1 (**permalink**) Mar 6th, 2013, 07:34 AM

Hello,

I was interested in buying a Used 2004 Mini Cooper automatic as my first car. The car I'm looking at has 73k miles on it. However when looking at the user reviews of this year, I see that there seems to be some serious transmission issues, and a host of other costly repair issues. I wanted to ask Mini One owners about their experience. I would be purchasing this through a private seller, so I don't have anything in terms of warranty and such. Should I limit my search to post 2007 Minis for reliability? At the moment I'm not sure if it is a Mini Cooper S or Mini Cooper. She mentioned "sport package" in the car description, which may then be the Cooper S?

My other car I am looking to buy is a 2005 Volvo S60, which I know is extremely reliable. For me, the Mini is much more of a fun drive, but I'm also young and purchasing and insuring this car on my own, and I need something that won't end up costing me an arm and a leg to maintain. Thanks all for your replies!

Caveman · #2 (**permalink**) Mar 6th, 2013, 03:39 PM

An automatic transmission wasn't available in Cooper S models until January 2005 builds. Any 1st Gen Cooper or One automatic model will have a CVT transmission, which costs "an arm and leg" to replace.

mab01uk · #3 (**permalink**) Mar 6th, 2013, 09:54 PM

As said if you want auto go for the Cooper S (all models have conventional auto) or all Gen2 auto Mini's are also conventional auto transmission.
Gen 1 Cooper and One automatics used CVT auto transmission which is potentially very expensive to repair on an older car without warranty.

Eilrymist · #4 (**permalink**) Mar 7th, 2013, 05:20 AM

Thanks guys for your responses! I'll look for Cooper S automatics and 2nd gen Mini's that have the conventional transmission. Out of curiosity, how reliable do you guys find your Mini's to be? I read reports and they don't seem extremely positive. I'm debating between a 2005 S60 Volvo and a Mini for my first car. The Volvo is nice, great car, but the Mini is more fun to drive. It's really a blast! Any advice for a first car? I'm worried the Mini might be too much for me to handle as a first car in terms on maintenance frequency and cost of maintenance.