older car low mileage or newer/higher milage

[silver]

Hi all,

I am looking at a couple of car's on MINI Cherished and one is a 2002 auto Cooper having done just over 5k or a 2004 auto Cooper having done 52k.Both are around the £9.5-£10,000 mark.

The question......is it better to get a lower mileage older car or a newer higher mileage?

Any advice would be welcome.

TIA

[Scrogg]

What sort of mileage are you doing a year silver?

[silver]

Hi around 5-8,000

[Scrogg]

Then go for the newer car.

Your low mileage will bring it back down to average inside of 3 years, and the difference in future resale value will make it a cheaper car for you long term.

[I love MINI, Laura]

The older one with lower mileage might not have had all its services correctly as the mileage counter would still be before the first service. A 5 year car with only 5k on the clock could be dodgy.

[silver]

Hi thanks for the answers so far!!
Both cars are in the MINI Cherished scheme so wouldn't they have been serviced properly before being put in sale anyway? Or am i just naive?

[Scrogg]

To qualify as MINI Cherished cars both must have a full MINI Service History, so you've nothing to worry about on that score.

I'm with Laura though, a 5 year old car that has only covered 5,000 miles is more likely to be trouble than a 3 year old one that has covered 50,000.

[hoojkel]

I would go for the older one, the '02 cooper. The engine will only have been broken in and there would be no wear and tear on tyres, brakes etc and you would still be looking towards its first full service, oil change etc. It looks as if its been well looked after whilst the '04 has been driven into the ground at about 16,500 miles p/a. It will have used all its servicing up and you don't know what its been through. I had an '02 cooper which was driven hard by the previous owner and it had a full change of brakes, lines etc which cost him over £1000 before i bought it. If you look after it and keep the miles down you will get a good resell value as people generally prefer cars well looked after with lower miles than high mileage newer cars. Tough one to call but I'd go for the '02 one, good luck.

[aid]

for me it would highly depend on what type of driving the newer car did if it spent most of its miles doing town driving i would stay clear if it was motorway miles for most of it i would be quite happy

[hoojkel]

I'd agree, it all depends on who the driver is ( the '02 was bound to be driven by an old dear going to the corner shop !!) and where they were driving but if they're Cherished then they must be ok.

[humph]

Agree with Scrogg and Laura on this one. I will have done 25-30k miles in my 06 Cooper by the time it's twelve months old, mostly motorway. Modern cars can do this, even a MINI , although even I will admit that such high miles are not desirable. I would go for the newer car with the 50k anyday, reason being that it has probably clocked up those miles on motorways, and decent journeys, and should result in less wear to braking systems and gearboxes etc.
The older car, having done 1k a year, will have been a round town shopping trolley. This will have meant a lot of stop/start driving, meaning greater wear to breaks and gearbox etc. It has probably spent a lot of time standing around without being driven, which is very bad for a car. I have had this kind of car before and they brought me nothing but trouble.

Post 4 by Scrogg is bang on.

Doing the mileage you do it's the newer car all the way for me. Even more so if the new car is a facelift model, as a lot of build quality improvements were made then.

[humph]

Quote: Originally Posted by hoojkel (original)

I'd agree, it all depends on who the driver is ( the '02 was bound to be driven by an old dear going to the corner shop !!) and where they were driving but if they're Cherished then they must be ok.

The Cherished scheme is award winning, and cars go through a lot of checks. It is not a guarantee of a faultless car however. Just because you are looking to buy through the Cherished scheme does not mean you can disregard the rules you would normally follow when buying a used car. Yes the warranty is great, but having to take your car in for warranty work constantly is a pain, and a waste of valuable time. I speak from experience on this one, as my previous Cooper was very much like the older one in question here.

[I love MINI, Laura]

Quote: Originally Posted by hoojkel (original)

I would go for the older one, the '02 cooper. The engine will only have been broken in and there would be no wear and tear on tyres, brakes etc and you would still be looking towards its first full service, oil change etc.

Don't think so. If its had its full service history then all the TLC would have been used up. its 5 years old meaning it should have had all its 5 year services. Just because its only done 5k miles doesn't mean its not used up its 5 year old TLC. 50,000 miles or 5 years which ever comes first is what the TLC stands for. Therefore all the problems that the TLC or 3 year warrenty would have fixed or viewed haven't really had a chance to turn up yet. I would be very weary of a car thats been sitting around as much as this one. I see theres a 04 Cooper S with only 102 miles on the clock on MINI Cherished at the mo. I was interested in this one but for 3 years its been sitting not moving only clocking up 102 miles! Not good for any car in the slightest!

[hoojkel]

This is what it boils down to and is my point, if it has been on a 50,000 mile tlc package then it has'nt even got its first oil change, let alone brake change etc and the garage obviously has inspected it before selling and this is why it may be the same price as the '04 cooper. Just because it hasn't clocked a lot of miles and hasn't had every service check doesn't mean its a bad car, just a careful owner. One on the other hand which has had every service check etc and has high mileage may also have something seriously wrong with it. It's just all circumspect and you would need to see the 2 in front of you and understand the history of both before making a call.

[Scrogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by hoojkel (original)

This is what it boils down to and is my point, if it has been on a 50,000 mile tlc package then it has'nt even got its first oil change, let alone brake change etc

Sorry hoojkel, but you're wrong.

The 1st Oil Change Service on a 1st Generation MINI is due at 10,000 miles/2 years, whichever occurs first.

The 1st Inspection I is due at 15,000 miles after/2 years after the 1st Oil Change Service, whichever occurs first.

The 1st brake Fluid Change is due at approximately 2 years, regardless of mileage.

The TLC is valid for 5 years/50,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

This car, regardless of only having covered 5,000 miles, should have had it's 1st Oil Change Service, 1st Inspection I and 1st Brake Fluid Change by now, and the TLC has expired.