My friend snagged one of these today...
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1432856516.jpg
Nice little car, VERY nice interior. Try to get some pics tomorrow.. Super charged cooper S (of course)

Well, at least it is his car instead of yours. Based on what I've read here, I wouldn't want to have to deal with maintenance on one. I would like to drive one a bit; I just don't want to be financially responsible for it's maintenance.

[QUOTE=masraum;8641875]Well, at least it is his car instead of yours. Based on what I've read here, I wouldn't want to have to deal with maintenance on one. I would like to drive one a bit; I just don't want to be financially responsible for it's maintenance.[/QUOTE

Thanks, did not know that. Not a car I've ever kept up to date on. This one does look very trick and the interior is great.

I work on a LOT of these.

Hopefully still under warranty....

Hopefully, your buddy is one of the exceptions. I have heard of some folks that have had practically no problems other than expected stuff, batteries, brake pads, etc...

I wish these cars were more reliable and I would get one...

I had a JCW Clubman. Owned it less than a year. Enough said.

If it has the cursed transmission, you might want to just kick him in the nuts now and set it on fire, will hurt less.

Just a tidbit..

If you need a new battery in one of these, you have to tell the computer that you have installed a new battery. BMW calls this IBS (Intelligent Battery System).

Please clarify what "it" is - the car, or his nuts. Just trying to gauge the measure of pain...

-Z

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1433006247.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1433006287.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1433006317.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1433006337.jpghttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1433006395.jpg

really rather have the original 67 cooper S

Yeah, me too. This one wasn't an "S" but it was a fun car. 1000 with mini lites and a nice exhaust. A make believe `S`. Had a friend with a 1275, but I couldn't afford one. The MGA was a nice car too. Wish I had better pics of this old stuff.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1433027403.jpg

This.... I so wanted one of these but this group swayed me to do otherwise.

Unless his friend is Lance Armstrong, I think "it" refers to the car.

Had one. The only I have ever owned that you didn't need to use the brakes..now the heater?

The BMW minis are so superior to the old Minis, as is to expected as the original Mini came out in '59. They were rotboxes, with leaky engines and little room to work thereon, and G-d help you in a front end crash.. Modern Minis do not have a bad reliability reputation in the UK, and there are zillions of them here.

I confess that I have not driven the new Mini over here. I just think that the old Mini's (and possibly the new) are not as suited for a cold climate. My old Mini was good in the summer over here but in winter lacked heat and the accelerator would stick open occasionally.

There seems to be a problem with Mini's old and new that once they cross the Atlantic the quality(or suitability) is not there. Plus new Mini's are really expensive new. I would like to think that the new Mini would have enhanced quality over time but according to this forum that does not seem to be the case. Do they really cold weather test the new Mini in the Arctic?
There is not the clearance in a Mini(old or new) to drive over deep snow so really it is not a good winter car. Similarly Porsche ads have shown a 911 or Boxster driven in winter but they don't clear the snow either and end up being a snow plow scraping the underside of the car.

My mother's 1970 Mini with auto trans. was a great car in the UK. Very suitable for the UK and its climate.

Let's not use too broad a brush: There are at least 3 generations of new minis out there - I'm fairly new to that world and catching up... IMO, the first one in S form is quite enjoyable and fairly reliable. Yes, it has issues (just like most porsches have classic porsche issues), somewhat compounded by the fact that everything is crammed into a small car and you must take the front end apart to perform seemingly easy tasks... For instance a dealer wanted $1400 to replace my water pump ! But an independent did it for less than 1/2 - most of it labor !

Gen 2 I believe has a peugeot derived engine which has a raft of other issues (turbo instead of supercharger).... Gen 3 is rumored to be better and more refined, but the car was redesigned and now looks like Shrek blew it up via the tail pipe, resulting in a "surprised and bloated" look - not as pretty as the original new Mini. Still fun though.

All in all, they are incredibly FUN cars to drive. I hate FWD in principle but I got me a mini as a beater a few months back and it made me change my mind. The design is grin inducing, the S power and supercharger sound is grin inducing, it handles very very well... I'd jump on a Gen 1 R53 (I think, first gen Cooper S supercharged) or JC works, or GP model in a heartbeat for the right price. Very mod friendly car too !