But which Mini?

[Sepuku]

Hello everyone,


Here's my current situation. At the moment I have approx 10k to spend on a Cooper however that amount can change from one week to the other. I see many ad's in CL for Mini's that fall well within my price range. I have a few questions regarding certain years and I'm hoping if this forum is anything like my Mudd forum, I will be bombarded with opinions and recommendations.
1. Is there a certain year I should stay away from?
2. Is there a certain year and model that is recommended that isn't the
high performance edition
3. My wife will also be driving the Cooper when her car is in service so
that in mind I MUST have an automatic
4. How many miles is too many miles considering the Cooper will be my daily
driver?
5. Would you buy a Salvage Cooper?
I'll stop right there for now and hopefully I get a response or two. If you respond thank you very much.

Ps. I also have a beautiful 75, FJ40 with a street value of 18-20k that I would be interested in trading. I'll keep the pics to myself unless somebody request them.
Thanks

[Caveman]

You don't want a 1st Gen automatic Cooper model because you'd be playing "Russian Roulette" with a CVT transmission, so you'll want to look for a 2007 or later model year Cooper.

[Sepuku]

Quote: Originally Posted by Caveman (original)

You don't want a 1st Gen automatic Cooper model because you'd be playing "Russian Roulette" with a CVT transmission, so you'll want to look for a 2007 or later model year Cooper.

First mistake avoided! Thank you Caveman. I was beginning to wonder if anybody was going to reply to my post. The other forum I'm from turns into a giant debate where feelings are hurt and women and children are hidden.
I had no idea about the first generation auto trans however I did hear that Mini's made in 03 and 04 had transmission issues. Hopefully I hear more opinions on my other questions.

[minicore]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sepuku (original)

The other forum I'm from turns into a giant debate where feelings are hurt and women and children are hidden.

We're quite civilised around here on the whole.

Are you solely looking at a Cooper, or would you consider a Cooper S?

[Sepuku]

Quote: Originally Posted by minicore (original)

We're quite civilised around here on the whole.

Are you solely looking at a Cooper, or would you consider a Cooper S?

A Cooper S would be fine. I know the S comes with more performance at a higher price but is the difference in fuel economy something to consider?

[Caveman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sepuku (original)

I had no idea about the first generation auto trans however I did hear that Mini's made in 03 and 04 had transmission issues.

Cooper manual models built prior to July 2004 had the problematic Midlands transmission. Later models had a Getrag unit.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sepuku (original)

A Cooper S would be fine. I know the S comes with more performance at a higher price but is the difference in fuel economy something to consider?

No real transmission (either automatic or manual) concerns with the 1st Gen Cooper S.

Gas mileage in a 1st Gen Cooper S depends on driving conditions. Users have reported as low as 17 MPG in city (stop and go) traffic and mid-30s MPG on the highway. A Cooper will get about 3-4 MPG more than the Cooper S.

2nd Gen models get better mileage.

[notsure]

I drove an S. They are a sporty fun car.