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Help Me Buy My First Mini

3K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  electroglidekid 
#1 ·
Hi all,

in the next couple of weeks i am looking to buy mr first mini,

i am looking for a cooper s and have around £8000-£9000 to spend,

i would like a R56 and my question is related to the millage....

i was just wondering if their is any millage i should be looking out for, i have found a couple with less than 40,000 miles on the clock and some with 60,000.

is their a difference in the performance between these two millages and should i be looking out for anything specific?


also one last thing whilst I'm here, can anyone recommend any sites where used minis are being sold apart from Autotrader :)

Thank You
 
#2 · (Edited)
Hi

It depends how often you use a car. Do you do a lot of mileage in your old car? Personally I always look at the lower mileage cars as they will tend to last you that little bit longer before things start to go wrong and need replacing(from experience). However there shouldn't be any difference in performance with regards to a 60k car or 40k mileage car.

It also depends what kind of spec you want the mini to have. If you want it to have a very high spec then look more closely at those cars. If not then concentrate on the mileage.

I own a R56 Cooper S and it took me 3 months before I found one that I liked and ticked all the right boxes so it really does depend what kind of mini you are after.

I got mine on eBay but there is also Gumtree and Pistonheads which I can think of

Good luck :)
 
#4 ·
Ok if you are doing that mileage I would go for a lower mileage car as you will soon rack all the miles up. If you go for the 60,000 car then in two years time you will get to 90k and you might have to pay for things to be put right.

Just to give you an idea I've got heated leather seats, panoramic sunroof etc (the only thing I don't have is sat nav) and when I got the car it had done 11,000 miles and cost me just under £12. The higher the spec the more it's going to cost so maybe look around the 40,000 mile mark taking into account your budget?

Believe me you won't be disappointed with the cooper s. It's great fun to drive. You'll just have to have patience to find the right one!

Hope that helps
 
#6 ·
No problem :)

When I was looking for my car the two things I most wanted were the heated seats and sunroof. They are great to have so yes if I didn't have them I would miss them. The roof is constantly open at the moment and throughout winter the heated seats were always on, especially as I have a 30mile journey to work.

P.s. With the roof open the mini looks so much sportier (in my personal opinion!)
 
#7 ·
+1 for Sunroof and Heated Seats! Yep roof has been open a lot. :cool:

I'd been on the lookout for a Cooper S since the beginning of the year, on and off! 60K max. price range £7k to £11k, I wanted Sunroof and Hifi Speakers,57+ (StopStart/cheaper Tax). but Leather/HtdSeats/Visibility/PDC pack if it had them.

Just got my first 08 MCS R56 a few weeks back and do have the above plus heated on the half leather. Glad I also found Bluetooth with USB/MP3 support.
And I've not detected any timing chain rattle on this one, some I looked at sounded a bit iffy or just weren't decent enough condition for the miles.

There are so many options available not all the adverts you see tell you the full story, you have to enquire or spot them that the seller/dealer hasn't spotted!
Good luck in your search.
 
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