Which Mini?

carpediem

Hi All:

I'm interested in purchasing a Mini. Following are requirements:

Age: 2 or 3 years old max
Cost: +/- €20K
Gearbox: Automatic

My annual mileage is approx. 10,000 kilometres.

In my research to date, I am leaning towards the Mini Cooper model. Having spent quite some time on Mini's website (www.mini.ie), I still have questions:

What are the main differences (functional and esthetic) between these Mini models:

• Mini Cooper S
• Mini Cooper
• Mini Cabrio
• Mini One

Any recommendations from any Mini owners or car enthusiasts would be greatly appreciated.

If you had €20K to spend which model would you buy?

Cheers!

CarpeDiem

tinkerbell

Hey

I'm not a MINI owner yet but I am obsessed with them!!! So I could probably answer a few questions for ya I am waiting until July to buy one as the VRT is coming down, as is the motor tax.

If you're thinking of spending around €20k you might be just better buying a new MINI One as without any extras it'll prob be around that price come July. Plus the road tax will probably be cheaper.

Cooper S - most expensive, lots of bhp, v powerful and the reason I love it is because it comes in that amazing dark silver colour which the other models don't! But it's too expensive

Cooper - 1.6L

One - 1.4L

As far as I can see there's not much difference between the One and Cooper except the Litre size and also the fact that in the One you can only get the roof in the body colour - Cooper can be white, black or body colour.

Cabrio is more expensive again than the Cooper or One.

If you have around €20k to spend, just get a brand new One and buy a few extras for it, think the Pepper pack (which includes alloys) is around €2k or Salt which doesn't include alloys but is around €900. You'll pay slightly extra for a new car but not much since the MINI really keeps its value. The Cabrio model from July 2008 will have higher VRT and motor tax as well.

I LOVE MINIs! I can't wait to get mine in July, it's painful having to wait!!

carpediem

Thanks Tinkerbell.

Didn't know about the VRT coming down. Excellent tips! They really are beautiful cars.

Good luck with your purchase in July!!

tinkerbell

Oh I love the MINI! I think it's the best car ever! I have test driven 5 times!!! he he Yah the VRT is coming down, go here for the new reduced prices (estimates):

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=54893845&postcount=274

carpediem

You are a Mini fanatic Tinkerbell!! That spreadsheet contained a wealth of information! Thanks again.

kona

the vrt will depend on what engine you get the 1.4 and 1.6 will be in different co2 bands.
id be guessing that pre july 2008 cars will be cheaper??
i know thats the story with, dohc civics, altezzas etc??

before july 2008 is engine cc

post july 2008 is co2 bands.

i would be careful buying a car now, until those vrt and tax bands are set in stone.
nothing is selling at the moment due to the confusion:o

also ive seen some of these minis and the insides dont wear well(cloth and trim) at all so id try to get the highest spec interior you can.

dont bother with all the packs, you can get after market alloys for about a grand and the other stick ons are cheap to get, even some vinyl fo your stripes.:)

TomMc

You won't have much choice in Ireland if you want a 2 yr old auto. And not for 20K either. Autos are rare and up until recently like hens teeth on the used market.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mini/Cooper/AUTOMATIC-1.6/811979/

tinkerbell

As far as I know the CO2 emissions for the One and Cooper are the exact same (one is 128g, the other is 129g so both fall into the same band). HOWEVER! That is for manual, the automatic is much higher, sorry I forgot that you mentioned getting an automatic ... maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea getting a new MINI then in July coz price will go up! Better off buying now then or a second hand one.

Kona ...what's this about the insides not wearing well? What kind of high spec interior do you recommend? I was gonna get the Chilli with the Cooper which has 1/2 leather interior.

kona

tinkerbell wrote: »

As far as I know the CO2 emissions for the One and Cooper are the exact same (one is 128g, the other is 129g so both fall into the same band). HOWEVER! That is for manual, the automatic is much higher, sorry I forgot that you mentioned getting an automatic ... maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea getting a new MINI then in July coz price will go up! Better off buying now then or a second hand one.

Kona ...what's this about the insides not wearing well? What kind of high spec interior do you recommend? I was gonna get the Chilli with the Cooper which has 1/2 leather interior.

the general finish such as the trim and all was falling off, the cloth seats had alot of wear for the mileage.
first time i saw it i said it was just a bad owner.

second time i was wondering.

both had cloth seats.

id imagine the half leather will be the same(the leather is on the sides??)

england is your place to bring in a new BMW mini...alot cheaper

carpediem

kona wrote: »

the vrt will depend on what engine you get the 1.4 and 1.6 will be in different co2 bands.
id be guessing that pre july 2008 cars will be cheaper??
i know thats the story with, dohc civics, altezzas etc??

before july 2008 is engine cc

post july 2008 is co2 bands.

i would be careful buying a car now, until those vrt and tax bands are set in stone.
nothing is selling at the moment due to the confusion:o

also ive seen some of these minis and the insides dont wear well(cloth and trim) at all so id try to get the highest spec interior you can.

dont bother with all the packs, you can get after market alloys for about a grand and the other stick ons are cheap to get, even some vinyl fo your stripes.:)

Thanks Kona! Tinkerbell sent a link (in last post) to a spreadsheet that clarifies the Co2 bands and related pricing. Good info on the interior and the add-on packs.

Thanks again.
CarpeDiem

kona

carpediem wrote: »

Thanks Kona! Tinkerbell sent a link (in last post) to a spreadsheet that clarifies the Co2 bands and related pricing. Good info on the interior and the add-on packs.

Thanks again.
CarpeDiem

those figures are for a manual, a auto will throw out more co2 , so will probably be about the same price.

manual is more fun any how!:D

Mr. Presentable

Yeah, my sis has a Cooper S Cabrio. She loves it, but it's falling to bits inside and the ride's awful in the back. I wouldn't touch one myself, but then I don't buy cars for style/image etc. I'd say, watch the interior finish - other than that it's pretty much a BMW so good engine.

kona

those cooperS are fecking fast, i was lets say suprised by one:D

carpediem

Hi again all:

Have to purchase an automatic as have never driven a manual!!! (something to do with living in the US for a decade!). Not prepared to start learning now either.

Will keep the higher CO2 and VRT% in mind if purchasing after July.

Really appreciate the responses!

Thanks.

kona

carpediem wrote: »

Hi again all:

Have to purchase an automatic as have never driven a manual!!! (something to do with living in the US for a decade!). Not prepared to start learning now either.

Will keep the higher CO2 and VRT% in mind if purchasing after July.

Really appreciate the responses!

Thanks.

driving "stick" as you call it over there:D:D is actually dead easy , you will have it nailed in a hour.

carpediem

kona wrote: »

driving "stick" as you call it over there:D:D is actually dead easy , you will have it nailed in a hour.

Would have to retake the driving test then - ouch! the thought of that!!!

kona

carpediem wrote: »

Would have to retake the driving test then - ouch! the thought of that!!!

that would be a problem:D:D

tinkerbell

kona wrote: »

id imagine the half leather will be the same(the leather is on the sides??)

england is your place to bring in a new BMW mini...alot cheaper

Half leather has the leather in the middle with the cloth on the sides of the bit you sit on but there's also leather on the bit you sit against (where your back goes), sorry I'm crap at explaining!

unkel

tinkerbell wrote: »

If you're thinking of spending around €20k you might be just better buying a new MINI One

This is good advice. MINI depreciation is very low, which is good for the person buying new but not so good for the person buying second hand

I've some good news for the OP as well. Automatic is a €2k option. The MINI One auto emits 155g/km CO2 which means 20% VRT and €290 tax. The MINI Cooper auto emits 156g/km (just in the higher band), which brings it into the 24% band for VRT and €430 in tax

I did the sums for you as well:

One auto: before 01/07/2008: €23,350 after: €22,620
Cooper auto: before 01/07/2008: €26,400 after: €26,053

Both are very good value for money imho, but the Cooper might be too far out of your budget. Mind these are list prices. You will get a discount if you have no trade in. Don't expect too much though...

carpediem

unkel wrote: »

This is good advice. MINI depreciation is very low, which is good for the person buying new but not so good for the person buying second hand

I've some good news for the OP as well. Automatic is a €2k option. The MINI One auto emits 155g/km CO2 which means 20% VRT and €290 tax. The MINI Cooper auto emits 156g/km (just in the higher band), which brings it into the 24% band for VRT and €430 in tax

I did the sums for you as well:

One auto: before 01/07/2008: €23,350 after: €22,620
Cooper auto: before 01/07/2008: €26,400 after: €26,053

Both are very good value for money imho, but the Cooper might be too far out of your budget. Mind these are list prices. You will get a discount if you have no trade in. Don't expect too much though...

Thanks for that Unkel!

klaus23

If I decided to spend 20Gs on a car, I'd buy a Delta Integrale, an Audi 80 diesel, a holy medal and all of Tesco Galway's veg oil.

unkel

carpediem wrote: »

Thanks for that Unkel!

You're welcome

klaus23 wrote: »

If I decided to spend 20Gs on a car, I'd buy a Delta Integrale, an Audi 80 diesel, a holy medal and all of Tesco Galway's veg oil.

Wow, fantastic post and very helpful to the OP :rolleyes:

niceirishfella

BMW Minis are cracking cars. I had the use of one for a day or 2, and liked it - and it was a diesel.........with a toyota 1.4 power plant.

Here one for sale in the uk - the silver one for nearly 7k sterling.........assuming you'd haggle it down to 6.5ksterling, and take her home and vrt it, it'd cost you €10,548 otr.

44.4mpg they say for the Mini D approximately sitting in a lot of traffic jams, so 50mpg + should be the norm which compares very favourably with the 32 from the MINI Cooper. It's no ball of fire - but it'll be easy on the pocket to fuel in the pricey days ahead i can tell you.

here it is -
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MINI+ONE/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-10-21-51-4294966448-4294966594/search.

this is a irish one and granted it has lower miles but over 5k dearer.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mini/One/1.4-Diesel/887507/

Great cars.

just a thought...but not an auto for the OP but food for thought to anyone else fancying a mini.

MarkN

A Mini One is not 1.4 it's 1.6. A diesel Mini is 1.4.

The difference is bhp over most of the other things, you can spec up a One to look like a Cooper, add Chili packs etc

Also as some people have remarked, I'd like to point out that they are not even slightly "pretty much a BMW". You are buying a Mini, not a BMW.

Having recently purchased a Cooper for my girlfriend you will get nowhere near a 06 Cooper for 20k and if you do manage to find someone willing to sell you a 05 one for that price there's something wrong with it or it has galactic mileage.

So I think for your budget, either drop a year to get into a mint Cooper (it took about 2 months for me to find her the right one!) or go for a One - you might actually get a 06 one for your budget.

JHMEG

MarkN wrote: »

Having recently purchased a Cooper for my girlfriend you will get nowhere near a 06 Cooper for 20k

Easily done, if you just stay away from main dealers. Here's one .

But as someone pointed out, you'd save even more if you bought one in the UK. There are 74 automatic Mini Coopers up to 3 years old in Autotrader.co.uk at the moment.

You'd get this Cooper (2006, 10k miles, auto, chilli pack) for £11,500, which is €14,500. VRT is €5,200. Add ferry and HPI check and you're in at €20,000.

I'd be tempted to buy this 2005 Cooper myself. Auto, 17k miles, FULL LEATHER, SAT NAV, parking radar. VRT is €4500. All in could be your's for 19k.

niceirishfella

JHMEG wrote: »

Easily done, if you just stay away from main dealers. Here's one .

But as someone pointed out, you'd save even more if you bought one in the UK. There are 74 automatic Mini Coopers up to 3 years old in Autotrader.co.uk at the moment.

You'd get this Cooper (2006, 10k miles, auto, chilli pack) for £11,500, which is €14,500. VRT is €5,200. Add ferry and HPI check and you're in at €20,000.

I'd be tempted to buy this 2005 Cooper myself. Auto, 17k miles, FULL LEATHER, SAT NAV, parking radar. VRT is €4500. All in could be your's for 19k.

Every enquiry I have done off late about any car or 4x4 in the uk versus being retailed here has seen MASSIVE potential savings for me.

With the weakening sterling and lower vrt in july on some cars - motor dealers here at going to have to take a hit on some cars to shift em'.
There will be stunning deals to be had.

MarkN

JHMEG wrote: »

Easily done, if you just stay away from main dealers. Here's one .

Nice find there.

Buying privately is cool, I would just want some sort of warranty for 20k of my hard earned.

If you're not after that though I would do as has been suggested and go to the UK. Main BMW dealers are bringing UK cars in and selling them on their forecourts to keep up with demand.

Going to the UK could seem very daunting for your average tyre kicker that's the only thing I will say.

irish.rugby.fan

MarkN wrote: »

A Mini One is not 1.4 it's 1.6. A diesel Mini is 1.4.

The new MINI one is def a 1.4 MarkN

MarkN

We're talking about 2005 & 2006 cars though.

niceirishfella

MarkN wrote: »

We're talking about 2005 & 2006 cars though.

Hi,

I was'nt - so you confused me a bit Mark:)

i was referring to a 2003 model........one i found on autotrader in the uk and the one i had the lend of a few years back was a 2003 model also.

No worries tho'

JHMEG

MarkN wrote: »

Buying privately is cool, I would just want some sort of warranty for 20k of my hard earned.

A 2006 will still have ~1 year left on the warranty, so no worries there.

MarkN wrote: »

Going to the UK could seem very daunting for your average tyre kicker that's the only thing I will say.

True, but everyone knows someone (father, brother, son, friend) that would gladly go I reckon. I have done it three times and enjoyed it every time, even the once I went on my own.