[MiniMCS]

Hello

Found a nice R53 Cooper S in grey with 44k miles. Previous owner was old grey haired lady. Going for £10k. Full leather interior. Going to part exchange my Golf V5 T reg 97k miles for £2k. I am considering doing this tomorrow.

Shall I or shant I ??

Shall I ... I do love it and it fits my two small kids in the back easily (4 year old and 11 week old). Feels like a speedy go-kart and just as fast or faster than the Golf.

Shan't I .. my golf has never let me down (bought it in Dec 2002) and on reading threads on this site so many minis seem to have problems such as gearbox, clutch ..

Please help me decide and give reasons why!!

I dont know whether to listen to my heart or head .. and so many of you seem to be having or had really bad problems.

thanks
Ines

[baskers]

Heart - you live once. With all the troubles they can give, you will just love it more. Honest.

Plus, it has a supercharger...

[mini_mart]

id go for it, but i am looking for a cooper s myself.
gearbox is not a big issue on the later mini's as they chaged it from the rover one and it much more reliable.
i personally would not buy a mini from anywhere but mini Cherished due to the 1yr warranty (which it amazing).

[Ant FR]

Personally i would sell the Golf privately on e bay or something as its worth more than 2k, and then i would look around for the Mini, What age is it for that price???

[Joolsmini]

well space is going to be alot less than you had in the golf with a tiny baby. Are there buggys that can easily fit in the back? My two girls are older, but the back seats are quite straight up so would be difficult for them to drop off to sleep if they were not in carseat, but rather just a booster.

tough decision

[Fen]

A mate's wife got a Cooper about 9 months ago as she really wanted one. It replaced a Focus as the shopping runabout for her and the 2 kids, the main family car being a Merc ML. Last time I spoke to him about it just before Christmas she was getting rid of it in favour of a Golf. She loved the Mini but it was just too impractical with 2 young kids.

I don't have kids, but I also have access to a Honda HR-V (wife's car) and my own short wheelbase 4x4 for times when the Mini's dismal packaging is an issue. Don't take that as me being down on the Mini, but really apart from the front seats there is a ludicrous amount of space in the car; no legroom in the back to speak of and a tiny boot. Compare it with any similarly sized car you care to name (Micra for instance?) and I really don't know what they did to fill the external dimensions with so little space inside the Mini.

Bottom line it's a great car and won't disappoint in quality after the VW but be very sure it's big enough for your needs before you commit. FWIW I'm a bit out of touch but £2k does sound cheap for the Golf.

[..Blackadder..]

Go for it i have a mcs the wife doesn't drive so we are a 1 car family i have 2 kids 7 and 5 ok its not spacious but defo pratical enough great car and plenty of smiles everytime i get in her

[OJM]

Have a think about the price, as I paid £9500 for mine - 2003, high spec etc;

http://www.mini2.com/forum/mini-coop...-cooper-s.html

[..Blackadder..]

Sorry for the double post but if you need a buggy that fits in boot have a look here
http://www.mini2.com/forum/minis-chi...scusion-6.html