MINI2

s123kev · Mar 9th, 2003, 07:39 PM

First of all, id like to say hi to everyone, i guess you could call me a mini newbee!

Ive been looking at the cooper s for quite a while, ive looked at buying new and used,(im a teacher, so ive had to budget!).

There is a garage near where i live which is selling a cooper s for £14995. It is electric blue, has a white roof and white standard wheels. The garage claim it has the chilli pack, however i am not convinced as i could only see air con as part of the package on the car. The car has travelled 6000 miles and has 2 former keepers(1 as bmw's demonstrator and 1 private owner) - basiclly id like to know wether anyone thinks this is a good deal, and where do you think i stand, say if major problems were to occur with BMW. It has TLC as this was quite an important issue.

Also, can anyone recocmend a good insurance company to appraoch? Im 22 so this is also going to be an issue.

Im desperate to get rid of my smart car, which was ok for a year, but now im starting to resent it, as im constantly overtaken by shiny new minis!

Kind Regards, and i great big hello to everyone (you all seem a nice bunch!)

Kevin Waters

Wobert · Mar 9th, 2003, 08:19 PM

Firstly.....the MCS was launched in June '02....so at worst it has done 6k in 9 months.

Secondly the Chilli pack.....this includes manual a/c, 1/2 leather interior, 17" "minilite" s-spoke alloys, xenon headlights with wash and some other bits and bobs.

Mini did do a "Pepperoni" pack for a while as they had run out of the "S" spokes...these cars had the std 16" "X-lite" wheels.

Lastly don't forget the EB is a £250 extra.

The number of owners will only matter if you plan to sell the car, in say the next 12 months...peple may suspicious why the car has had 3 owners in 15 months.

If the car is a genuine "Chilli" pack MCS IMHO I think £15k is good value.

Finally insurance....try a search....there have been a few recent threads on this....Directline / Mini-insurance & Esure seem to be mentioned a lot, so there is some choice for people of your age!

Restyle · Mar 9th, 2003, 08:32 PM

Quote:

....im a teacher........im desparate to get rid of my Smart Car........

Can We Have A Poll on This Please;
I`ll go for .... Drama / Music Teacher

Seriously, While Agreeing with all Wobert123 Says, It would swing it for me if it had a CD player at that price.

Shamster · Mar 9th, 2003, 10:28 PM

doesn't seem too bad apart from the fact that you'd be the 3rd owner - for this reason alone I personally wouldn't buy it.

I'm with Sainsburys Car Insurance (which is actually ESure) but I believe ESure require you to have at least 4 years NCB.

Nice colour BTW.

BruceK · Mar 9th, 2003, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shamster
doesn't seem too bad apart from the fact that you'd be the 3rd owner - for this reason alone I personally wouldn't buy it. ..

Forget about counting the owners - how about counting the drivers!

Am I the only one who heard alarm bells and saw red flags when I read the word "demonstrator"?

Perhaps other people aren't worried about demo history, but my concern is that as an early dealer demo Cooper S a large number of drivers jumped in and probably really drove the **** out of it to see what made the S different from the standard Cooper. Theoretically it should be fine (and it is still under warranty) but personally I would tend to look elsewhere for a used S.

Bonnie Scotland · Mar 9th, 2003, 11:16 PM

Hmm, at 22 years old you are gonna be absolutely hammered for insurance, especially if you don't have full no claims, i am with directline and only pay £350.00 but then i'm, well, erm, in my 40's.
The car is insurance group 15, very high compared to the cooper which is around group 8.

But hey, if you can afford it then it's none of my business, but for my opinion i would worry about the demonstrator bit too, but the fact you should still get the remainder of the warranty and the TLC then it should be ok.

Bonnie Scotland

Bilbo Baggins · Mar 9th, 2003, 11:46 PM

s123kev,

BruceK is not the only one hearing alarm bells over the "demonstrator" designation.

IMHO I would never take a demo car. Of course that could just be because I know what I did to the demo car at my dealer. I would not touch it with a ten foot pole. Heck, I don't think a ten foot tall Pole would touch it either.

Seriously, it would be risky at best. Maybe if you could get the dealer to extend the warranty to 100,000miles/160,000Km on the whole drive line, including the front CV joints, clutch, etc.

Shamster · Mar 10th, 2003, 09:01 AM

I don't think the bit about it being a demo will matter too much. In fact even the bit about him being the 3rd owner will be insignificant if he is planning on keeping the car for a few years.

Given that these cars are designed to be driven hard what difference would it make if during the first few thousand miles the car has been exercised a bit? The warranty will still be there and the more mileage the car does over a period of time the less this should be a concern.

If, however, he is planning on getting rid of it in say a years time he will have some difficulty getting rid of it for a good price when there will be more used S's on the market who have had fewer owners.

cordial · Mar 10th, 2003, 09:22 AM

Demonstrator + 1 (dissatsfied?) previous owner = Don't do it

British Bulldog · Mar 10th, 2003, 01:57 PM

My house is on Art teacher...around 30 years old, likes a drink and probably liked by his/her students. I had a wicked Art teacher. An Irish fella. I messed up a picture for one of my exams so he said dont worry about it...dug out an old drawing of his and submitted that for me in exchange for a bottle of jack daniels.

Teachers were fascinating at my school. The ones with the cool cars were the best!

Restyle · Mar 10th, 2003, 10:17 PM

Quote:

My house is on Art teacher...around 30 years old, likes a drink .......

I`ll Shecond that...

Bobbycrook · Mar 10th, 2003, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by s123kev
First of all, id like to say hi to everyone, i guess you could call me a mini newbee!

Ive been looking at the cooper s for quite a while, ive looked at buying new and used,(im a teacher, so ive had to budget!).

There is a garage near where i live which is selling a cooper s for £14995. It is electric blue, has a white roof and white standard wheels. The garage claim it has the chilli pack, however i am not convinced as i could only see air con as part of the package on the car. The car has travelled 6000 miles and has 2 former keepers(1 as bmw's demonstrator and 1 private owner) - basiclly id like to know wether anyone thinks this is a good deal, and where do you think i stand, say if major problems were to occur with BMW. It has TLC as this was quite an important issue.

Also, can anyone recocmend a good insurance company to appraoch? Im 22 so this is also going to be an issue.

Im desperate to get rid of my smart car, which was ok for a year, but now im starting to resent it, as im constantly overtaken by shiny new minis!

Kind Regards, and i great big hello to everyone (you all seem a nice bunch!)

Kevin Waters

Hello......all the adivce i can give is on the Insurance.......TESCO!!! I out money on it they will give you the cheapest quote......try everyone else out first and then give Tesco a call. They are excellent for young drivers. I am still paying a lot but I tried 14 different insurance companies and then loads online and didn't get a quote under £2000. Tesco quoted £1200 thats a big difference!!!

Bonjour · Mar 10th, 2003, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Restyle
Can We Have A Poll on This Please;
I`ll go for .... Drama / Music Teacher

Bonjour,

Hmmm. I'd go with either art or possibly IT teacher.

As for the car, I wouldn't fancy getting a demonstrator. The fact that there's been another owner SINCE it was a demonstrator in what must have been a short time sets the alarm bells off.

As for insurance, the cheapest I could get insurance for an S was around £750, which I believe was through MINI's broker. Insurance on my Cooper is going to be around £400. This is for a 24 y'o with 6 years no claims. Without the no claims it would be around 2 grand.

And no, I wont buy your smart car.

LMB · Mar 10th, 2003, 11:22 PM

I bought a demo once...will never do it again. Car packed in well before it's time in my mind. My advice would be to stay clear, there are alot better buys out there.

Spy Car · Mar 11th, 2003, 07:56 AM

I would join those who caution against buying a demonstrator car--especially a MCS. Also i don't know what the values are there but you could buy a new one in the States for that cost. I would pass.

s123kev · Mar 15th, 2003, 04:17 PM

Ive left this post alone for a day or two to make up my mind, and ive decided to ditch the s at the garage, its not worth the risk, as many of you were saying. Im now left with two choices, i can sit back and wait 6 months for a new(completely standard s) or carry on looking for a cooper with a high spec and just a few miles on the clock. I will let you all know how i get on, and can i just say thanks very much for all your advice, i think doing this has been very useful - it possibly saved my from a car that may of caused an awful lot of grief.

Kind Regards

Kev

moogis · Mar 16th, 2003, 04:44 AM

Remember you can buy a brand new one for that. Ok it wont have the chili pack etc but you will know its a fresh car.....

Southernsun · Mar 17th, 2003, 10:36 AM

hello!
i just read your post. i live in new york, and i recently bought a used mcs, with 5,000 miles (fairly low) so far, i brought the car to the local mini dealer once just to get a check up, and whatever they had found wrong, they fixed (coolant leak, under warranty) all is great now, and i must say that i am very happy with the car, and i'm glad i bought it. i did pay $21,100 for my mcs, and my insurance isn't at all bad. well, good luck in what ever u decide.

Southernsun · Mar 17th, 2003, 10:39 AM

p.s. it wasn't a demonstrator. just single owner, i believe there's a big difference also, but be careful if u say yes! ciao!

LMB · Mar 18th, 2003, 02:19 AM

You can have my S for £16,000 (£16,900 New). Its...

Dark Sliver/White (7,000 miles) delivered Mid August 02
Chilli Pack (1/2 Leather Lapis Blue)
DSC
Radio Boost
CD Auto
MFSW
Heated Jets/Mirrors
TLC

It's in mint nick, no major faults to complain about.

I'm in the frame of mind that if someone’s willing to pay the price I want, I'll sell. If not I’ll keep it. Either way I'm happy. The car was run in using Super Unleaded and I have ran it on Optimax there after.

The choice is yours.

Mar 9th, 2003, 07:39 PM	#1
s123kev MINI2 Regular Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kent Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 79 Offline	Buying a used cooper s. First of all, id like to say hi to everyone, i guess you could call me a mini newbee! Ive been looking at the cooper s for quite a while, ive looked at buying new and used,(im a teacher, so ive had to budget!). There is a garage near where i live which is selling a cooper s for £14995. It is electric blue, has a white roof and white standard wheels. The garage claim it has the chilli pack, however i am not convinced as i could only see air con as part of the package on the car. The car has travelled 6000 miles and has 2 former keepers(1 as bmw's demonstrator and 1 private owner) - basiclly id like to know wether anyone thinks this is a good deal, and where do you think i stand, say if major problems were to occur with BMW. It has TLC as this was quite an important issue. Also, can anyone recocmend a good insurance company to appraoch? Im 22 so this is also going to be an issue. Im desperate to get rid of my smart car, which was ok for a year, but now im starting to resent it, as im constantly overtaken by shiny new minis! Kind Regards, and i great big hello to everyone (you all seem a nice bunch!) Kevin Waters

Mar 9th, 2003, 08:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
Restyle Damned My Classifieds Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Shropshire Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 4,264 Offline	Quote: ....im a teacher........im desparate to get rid of my Smart Car........ Can We Have A Poll on This Please; I`ll go for .... Drama / Music Teacher Seriously, While Agreeing with all Wobert123 Says, It would swing it for me if it had a CD player at that price. In da Wud

Mar 9th, 2003, 10:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
Shamster Lord of The Four Rings Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Reminiscing Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 10,680 Offline	doesn't seem too bad apart from the fact that you'd be the 3rd owner - for this reason alone I personally wouldn't buy it. I'm with Sainsburys Car Insurance (which is actually ESure) but I believe ESure require you to have at least 4 years NCB. Nice colour BTW. 260909

Mar 9th, 2003, 10:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
BruceK Moderator & Sponsor Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: San Antonio, Texas Local Time: 01:22 PM Posts: 3,758 Offline	Quote: Originally posted by shamster doesn't seem too bad apart from the fact that you'd be the 3rd owner - for this reason alone I personally wouldn't buy it. .. Forget about counting the owners - how about counting the drivers! Am I the only one who heard alarm bells and saw red flags when I read the word "demonstrator"? Perhaps other people aren't worried about demo history, but my concern is that as an early dealer demo Cooper S a large number of drivers jumped in and probably really drove the **** out of it to see what made the S different from the standard Cooper. Theoretically it should be fine (and it is still under warranty) but personally I would tend to look elsewhere for a used S. + 2002 MINI Cooper S - Dark Silver / White roof, Sport, Premium, Lapis blue leather + 1965 Mini Traveller - Tartan Red / White roof, 1275, Cooper S discs, fully restored/renewed

Mar 9th, 2003, 11:46 PM	#7 (permalink)
Bilbo Baggins MINI2 Master Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Shire, Middle Earth Local Time: 03:22 PM Posts: 8,852 Online	s123kev, BruceK is not the only one hearing alarm bells over the "demonstrator" designation. IMHO I would never take a demo car. Of course that could just be because I know what I did to the demo car at my dealer. I would not touch it with a ten foot pole. Heck, I don't think a ten foot tall Pole would touch it either. Seriously, it would be risky at best. Maybe if you could get the dealer to extend the warranty to 100,000miles/160,000Km on the whole drive line, including the front CV joints, clutch, etc. Motor on, Dudes and Dudettes!!! '06 MCS SB/S '02 MCS DS/W (retired) Last edited by Bilbo Baggins : Mar 10th, 2003 at 12:40 AM.

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Mar 9th, 2003, 08:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Wobert Mr 120d Sport Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Chester, UK Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 4,526 Offline	Firstly.....the MCS was launched in June '02....so at worst it has done 6k in 9 months. Secondly the Chilli pack.....this includes manual a/c, 1/2 leather interior, 17" "minilite" s-spoke alloys, xenon headlights with wash and some other bits and bobs. Mini did do a "Pepperoni" pack for a while as they had run out of the "S" spokes...these cars had the std 16" "X-lite" wheels. Lastly don't forget the EB is a £250 extra. The number of owners will only matter if you plan to sell the car, in say the next 12 months...peple may suspicious why the car has had 3 owners in 15 months. If the car is a genuine "Chilli" pack MCS IMHO I think £15k is good value. Finally insurance....try a search....there have been a few recent threads on this....Directline / Mini-insurance & Esure seem to be mentioned a lot, so there is some choice for people of your age!

Mar 9th, 2003, 11:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
Bonnie Scotland Gadget Man Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Montrose, Scotland Local Time: 06:22 PM Posts: 1,869 Offline	Hmm, at 22 years old you are gonna be absolutely hammered for insurance, especially if you don't have full no claims, i am with directline and only pay £350.00 but then i'm, well, erm, in my 40's. The car is insurance group 15, very high compared to the cooper which is around group 8. But hey, if you can afford it then it's none of my business, but for my opinion i would worry about the demonstrator bit too, but the fact you should still get the remainder of the warranty and the TLC then it should be ok. Bonnie Scotland

Mar 10th, 2003, 09:01 AM	#8 (permalink)
Shamster Lord of The Four Rings Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Reminiscing Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 10,680 Offline	I don't think the bit about it being a demo will matter too much. In fact even the bit about him being the 3rd owner will be insignificant if he is planning on keeping the car for a few years. Given that these cars are designed to be driven hard what difference would it make if during the first few thousand miles the car has been exercised a bit? The warranty will still be there and the more mileage the car does over a period of time the less this should be a concern. If, however, he is planning on getting rid of it in say a years time he will have some difficulty getting rid of it for a good price when there will be more used S's on the market who have had fewer owners. 260909

Mar 10th, 2003, 09:22 AM	#9 (permalink)
cordial MINI2 Regular Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: The Alps (Central Sw Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 332 Offline	Demonstrator + 1 (dissatsfied?) previous owner = Don't do it Cooper S BRG/B, Chili, DSC, Overheated seats, auto A/C, OBC, heated mirrors/jets, Boost + CD. delivered 24.09.02 (ordered 11.09.01). MAX tint on back 3 windows. 17" S-Lites with Dunlop summer run-flats. 16" X-Lites with Goodyear Ultra Grip run-flats for winter. Remus exhaust (LOUD !).

Mar 10th, 2003, 01:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
British Bulldog MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: South East Local Time: 07:22 PM Posts: 8 Offline	My house is on Art teacher...around 30 years old, likes a drink and probably liked by his/her students. I had a wicked Art teacher. An Irish fella. I messed up a picture for one of my exams so he said dont worry about it...dug out an old drawing of his and submitted that for me in exchange for a bottle of jack daniels. Teachers were fascinating at my school. The ones with the cool cars were the best!

Mar 10th, 2003, 10:17 PM	#11 (permalink)
Restyle Damned My Classifieds Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Shropshire Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 4,264 Offline	Quote: My house is on Art teacher...around 30 years old, likes a drink ....... I`ll Shecond that... In da Wud

Mar 10th, 2003, 10:21 PM	#12 (permalink)
Bobbycrook MINI2 Regular Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Crawley UK Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 281 Offline	Re: Buying a used cooper s. Quote: Originally posted by s123kev First of all, id like to say hi to everyone, i guess you could call me a mini newbee! Ive been looking at the cooper s for quite a while, ive looked at buying new and used,(im a teacher, so ive had to budget!). There is a garage near where i live which is selling a cooper s for £14995. It is electric blue, has a white roof and white standard wheels. The garage claim it has the chilli pack, however i am not convinced as i could only see air con as part of the package on the car. The car has travelled 6000 miles and has 2 former keepers(1 as bmw's demonstrator and 1 private owner) - basiclly id like to know wether anyone thinks this is a good deal, and where do you think i stand, say if major problems were to occur with BMW. It has TLC as this was quite an important issue. Also, can anyone recocmend a good insurance company to appraoch? Im 22 so this is also going to be an issue. Im desperate to get rid of my smart car, which was ok for a year, but now im starting to resent it, as im constantly overtaken by shiny new minis! Kind Regards, and i great big hello to everyone (you all seem a nice bunch!) Kevin Waters Hello......all the adivce i can give is on the Insurance.......TESCO!!! I out money on it they will give you the cheapest quote......try everyone else out first and then give Tesco a call. They are excellent for young drivers. I am still paying a lot but I tried 14 different insurance companies and then loads online and didn't get a quote under £2000. Tesco quoted £1200 thats a big difference!!!

Mar 10th, 2003, 10:53 PM	#13 (permalink)
Bonjour der Hummermeister Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Stuck in a box Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 1,519 Offline	Quote: Originally posted by Restyle Can We Have A Poll on This Please; I`ll go for .... Drama / Music Teacher Bonjour, Hmmm. I'd go with either art or possibly IT teacher. As for the car, I wouldn't fancy getting a demonstrator. The fact that there's been another owner SINCE it was a demonstrator in what must have been a short time sets the alarm bells off. As for insurance, the cheapest I could get insurance for an S was around £750, which I believe was through MINI's broker. Insurance on my Cooper is going to be around £400. This is for a 24 y'o with 6 years no claims. Without the no claims it would be around 2 grand. And no, I wont buy your smart car.

Mar 10th, 2003, 11:22 PM	#14 (permalink)
LMB Toon Toon.. <div><a href= Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Up North Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 23,664 Offline	I bought a demo once...will never do it again. Car packed in well before it's time in my mind. My advice would be to stay clear, there are alot better buys out there. Global Moderator

Mar 11th, 2003, 07:56 AM	#15 (permalink)
Spy Car I miss Ruthie Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: City of the Angels Local Time: 12:22 PM Posts: 6,387 Offline	I would join those who caution against buying a demonstrator car--especially a MCS. Also i don't know what the values are there but you could buy a new one in the States for that cost. I would pass.

Mar 15th, 2003, 04:17 PM	#16 (permalink)
s123kev MINI2 Regular Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kent Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 79 Offline	Thankyou everyone! Ive left this post alone for a day or two to make up my mind, and ive decided to ditch the s at the garage, its not worth the risk, as many of you were saying. Im now left with two choices, i can sit back and wait 6 months for a new(completely standard s) or carry on looking for a cooper with a high spec and just a few miles on the clock. I will let you all know how i get on, and can i just say thanks very much for all your advice, i think doing this has been very useful - it possibly saved my from a car that may of caused an awful lot of grief. Kind Regards Kev

Mar 16th, 2003, 04:44 AM	#17 (permalink)
moogis MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Mar 2003 Local Time: 07:22 PM Posts: 14 Offline	2nd hand 'S' Remember you can buy a brand new one for that. Ok it wont have the chili pack etc but you will know its a fresh car.....

Mar 17th, 2003, 10:36 AM	#18 (permalink)
Southernsun MINI2 Regular Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Westchester, New Yor Local Time: 03:22 PM Posts: 70 Offline	hello! i just read your post. i live in new york, and i recently bought a used mcs, with 5,000 miles (fairly low) so far, i brought the car to the local mini dealer once just to get a check up, and whatever they had found wrong, they fixed (coolant leak, under warranty) all is great now, and i must say that i am very happy with the car, and i'm glad i bought it. i did pay $21,100 for my mcs, and my insurance isn't at all bad. well, good luck in what ever u decide.

Mar 17th, 2003, 10:39 AM	#19 (permalink)
Southernsun MINI2 Regular Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Westchester, New Yor Local Time: 03:22 PM Posts: 70 Offline	p.s. it wasn't a demonstrator. just single owner, i believe there's a big difference also, but be careful if u say yes! ciao!

Mar 18th, 2003, 02:19 AM	#20 (permalink)
LMB Toon Toon.. <div><a href= Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Up North Local Time: 08:22 PM Posts: 23,664 Offline	You can have my S for £16,000 (£16,900 New). Its... Dark Sliver/White (7,000 miles) delivered Mid August 02 Chilli Pack (1/2 Leather Lapis Blue) DSC Radio Boost CD Auto MFSW Heated Jets/Mirrors TLC It's in mint nick, no major faults to complain about. I'm in the frame of mind that if someone’s willing to pay the price I want, I'll sell. If not I’ll keep it. Either way I'm happy. The car was run in using Super Unleaded and I have ran it on Optimax there after. The choice is yours. Global Moderator

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