Opinions on Cooper S'? (Supercharged)


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CrouchingWayne

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Apr 25, 2009
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Been offered one for a decent price so must say I'm tempted - going round for a look at the weekend.

Anyone had one?
 
Driven a few.

They are a joy to drive at speed, id recon grate fun on a track. Go really well and there is massive scope for upgrades if you have the money.

Practicality is a bit crapy to be honest theyr only a 4 seater and have a teeny tiny boot. Feel prity harsh in normal driving conditions with the stiff suspenssion and big rims.
They are not the most reliable things. And expensive to fix when they break. Servicing is average but new tyres are a killer as they use runflats. (and big ones at that).
The older ones are already starting to get rattely and creaky, making them feel a bit cheap and naff.

Would never tade an EK9 for one unless i got a suden lust for a super charger.
If your after a fun weekend driver for B roads or track days and fancy a charged hatch then go for it, (but can be quite twitchy on some bumpy B roads).

Overall the EK9 would be cheaper, last longer and be just as much fun with more practicality. But would just be a bit more difficult if you wanted more power.
 
Cool cheers for that. Practicality isn't too big an issue as I only have folk in the back once a week for football and for work I just have a laptop bag to lug about!

An S has come up at a bargain price from a mate who was going to sell it to we-buy-any-car but MOT and tax is up in April so was considering getting it and keeping it for a few months and selling it on for a bit of profit all being well. I can get it looked at by my mechanic before purchase to make sure there are no gremlins of course. He's after circa £3.5k for it but I'm reckoning it's probably worth somewhere nearer £5k realistically so factoring in £500 for MOT, tax and a service still have about a grand in hand.

As for the '9 I'm loving it just now (and have bought a few bits and pieces lately!) and it's costing me peanuts to run but knowing I was planning on selling mid 2012 and looking at the way prices are going I'm trying to assess whether the Mini would make an acceptable stop gap to shied me from losing too much cash in the mean time.

Flip side is the Mini isn't a very 'me' car but they can look ok and it seems feasible to get up to 200bhp with a few fairly easy modifications. Seem to get rave reviews everywhere.
 
Fair enough

I wouldnt count on the market at worth 5k. The superchrged ones are getting old and starting to plumet in value where as the Nine will always have value.

I always here about people saving up to buy themselves a Nine but people only ever seem to buy SC mini's when they come across one cheap for the sake of it. Not realy as sort after
 
CrouchingWayne said:
Cool cheers for that. Practicality isn't too big an issue as I only have folk in the back once a week for football and for work I just have a laptop bag to lug about!

An S has come up at a bargain price from a mate who was going to sell it to we-buy-any-car but MOT and tax is up in April so was considering getting it and keeping it for a few months and selling it on for a bit of profit all being well. I can get it looked at by my mechanic before purchase to make sure there are no gremlins of course. He's after circa £3.5k for it but I'm reckoning it's probably worth somewhere nearer £5k realistically so factoring in £500 for MOT, tax and a service still have about a grand in hand.

As for the '9 I'm loving it just now (and have bought a few bits and pieces lately!) and it's costing me peanuts to run but knowing I was planning on selling mid 2012 and looking at the way prices are going I'm trying to assess whether the Mini would make an acceptable stop gap to shied me from losing too much cash in the mean time.

Flip side is the Mini isn't a very 'me' car but they can look ok and it seems feasible to get up to 200bhp with a few fairly easy modifications. Seem to get rave reviews everywhere.
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never ever ever look at a R50-R53 mini and think £500 will fix it.. it just never does. they are expensive to repair and generally have gremlins everywhere. if he wants 3.5k for it and mini dealerships won't buy it (a good few buy for cash) then i wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

common problems.
steering column bearings wear out very quickly
steering pump -leaks or catches fire (melts it's own wiring) £500 and a battery +ve cable if it's melted.
gearboxes made of swiss cheese on the earlier models.. £1000+ for a lsd box
dual mass flywheel leaks grease out and screws up clutch £500+ labour
rear top mounts wear out. front top mounts wear out very quickly and generally if the car has hit a pothole the turret will have domed. (bodyshop job)
gearbox selector arm seizes up (admittedly simple but not cheap part)
radiator rots at lower N/s corner if it hasn't got air-con (weirdly the air-con models don't :S)
thermostat if it hasn't had one it will probably need one
sump gaskets always leak
rocker cover gaskets almost always leak
track rod ends tend not to last more than 20k miles
power steering pipes generally leak after 2 years
O/S engine mount bursts pretty frequently
wheelbearings extremely common (they are rover parts after all)
rear callipers and handbrake cables are very prone to seizing up
exhausts rot very quickly and cost a fortune to replace
backbox brackets generally won't last more than a year and a half
flexi section on exhaust manifold tears pretty often
water leaks galore and when they reach the footwell module (BC1 it's silly money to fix)
seat frames and runner mecahnisms are prone to problems
water leaks galore into the boot swimming pools around the battery in the boot floor are especially common. catch it early no damage.. late and you'll need a whole new battery safety cable +Ve cable that runs the length of the underside to the engine bay
brake pipes if they haven't been done will most likely be rotten by now.
lower armbushes will be split if not already done. (subframe down)
especially prone to window motors burning out when the regulators seize up.
door check straps are always seizing up (can replace with the self greasing later types)
door lock gremlins where the window won't drop when the outer door handle is pulled also very common and require a new door lock unit (pricey)


theres more but tbh i think you get the picture.. not worth it in the slightest. find one that has been truly cherished and keep on top of it's problems and sure it'll be a great car.. but one thats a possible wbac car... i'd recommend sticking well clear of.

plus the performance of the earlier 163bhp models is pretty poor they don't feel as powerful as that

as for people in the back.. unless your 5 foot nothing and your friends are dwarves the back seat is a glorified parcel shelf
 
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Personally i have always seen a mini as a womens car. The EK9 has that aggresive race look image which i love.

If your gay or a pretty boy then get the mini.

Get the EK9 supercharged.
 
avoid 05 mini's as they're impossible to get parts for... heard people saying they're twitchy to drive and the interior looks crap imo.
 
elchunk said:
avoid 05 mini's as they're impossible to get parts for... heard people saying they're twitchy to drive and the interior looks crap imo.
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Nah parts are easy to get hold of.. not especially cheap though. Twitchy no not unless somethings not right. Interior will always be marmite. Depends what trims/colours have been specced
 
all of us on this forum will obviously be biased;) why dont you join a cooper S forum an get their perspective also and see what kind of money they really making ..??:D
 
I have driven 2 my nana Has an 09 plate they are nice to drive but wouldnt own one personally as i think they are bit of a womens car but that only a personal prospective of them you might like them jus depends what you want really They are a quick lil car though
 
the 2009> ones are the turbo ones and are prity much a total different car from what i have seen. As to underneath and suspenssion design
 
Ye forgot to mention the 09 shape are turbos but god nows y they still called mini cooper s
 
Because it stand for Mini Cooper "Sport" and has done on mini's for decade's lol
 
Alrigt haha i thought it was due to the supercharger in the older shapes my bad haha
 
The interior looks as though Bob The Builder was let loose in there.
 
i had one of these and loved it at the time! :)

i had a 2004 facelift supercharged one and never had any problems with it.

i preferred the look of the earlier models as oppose to the 2007+ models.

have a good look around though as there were so many options available that they can be very different i.e. some of the interior options were awful, as suggested above, but the first owners must have chosen it!

have a look on here for the model variances etc: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_(BMW)
 
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My mate is 23 he has been a builder for a few years now working for himself.
anyways he bought a brand new JC cooper works edition and had a bigger belt on the supercharger or some **** anyway long story short he had the top spec and had it tuned and sold it to by an EP3 and he has never looked back. i can't persuade him to get a 9 as he doesn't like old cars ( pre 2002 for him lol ) but if he chooses a JDM EP3 over the top spec jc cooper works mini then i think that shows what the mini was like compared to type r of anysort.
 
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