[RooniusMaximus]

Hi everyone. Bit of a newbie here - I may have posted on this board before, but I don't remember it.

Basically after a bit of advice from those of you that run Minis and have children.

We havea 5-Series BMW for longer journies, but want a smaller car for knocking around town and weekend use.

Tried one yesterday, but with me, the wife, our daughter and the salesman in it, it was cramped to say the least. I had to have the driver's seat too far forward to be comfy while driving, but suspect that:

a) our current child seat is very deep and a slimmer one would give my daughter a bit more leg room. And
b) putting her behind the passenger seat would make things easier too.

So, does anyone use the Mini seats? Or what other Child seat would you recommend?

We have about 8-8.5k to spend and have pretty much decided on an older Cooper. As far as I can tell, the Chilli pack seems a must. Other than that, we'd like Red or Yellow but are pretty flexible. Anything we should look for on older cars?

And, crucially, any good member's cars that are up for sale that may be a good buy?

Thanks massively in advance.

Kell

[Damo]

Only advice I'd give is to get a facelifted Cooper (think they updated them in late 2004 so a 54 reg or later should be a facelift). Reason, gearbox was updated from the "Midland" box to a better "Getrag" one. I'm sure people with more experience with the Cooper will tell you other things to look out for

[Buz999]

I have got a 2001 Cooper and my 3yr old daughter sits in a Britax Elite car seat. It is recommended for the Mini on the Britax info site and we are happy with it as it fits a treat and looks safe and secure.
As for the car itself i have had a few niggles but nothing major. Check rear brakes as they tend to stick and ruin the discs. The exhaust and hanging strap rot so check this as expensive from BMW but good excuse to get a stainleess steel system. The midland gearbox in the early pre face lift is a known weak area but i have not had any probs and im on 40k now. I do drive fast but smooth and sympathetically so perhaps its not up to being cained all the time in every gear!
Just take your time in finding a good one as plenty around now and you will love it!

[RooniusMaximus]

Just having a quick look on Autotrader and it looks like there's no way we'd be able to afford a one new enough to get the new box.

We would probably get a full RAC report done anyway before we buy. The only other thing I forgot to mention is we want Air Con. Is this a fairly common addition?

I did hear from the salesman that in early cars it was an option on top of the Chilli pack, but in later cars it was included. Is this right?

[Damo]

Air Con was only ever included in the Chili pack for the Cooper S not the Cooper sorry

[Buz999]

Air con was always an extra on the Coopers and i found it quite hard to find it on an early one, most seemed to have sunroofs. Well worth the extra few hundred quid over one without! My friend has got a black Cooper with neither aircon or sunroof and its not a pleasant place to be on a hot day.

[RooniusMaximus]

Thanks for the replies.

I always swore I wouldn't get anotehr car without AirCon, so it may be a case of just having to sit tight and wait for the right one to come along.

In the meantime, I'll have a look around the site to try and find out all I can about our prospective purchase.

I'm excited now - always wanted a Mini.