Hey MINI people! Like the title says, I may be taking ownership of a MINI very soon. It's a 2008 Clubman S. Link here...

http://www.osmanusedcars.com/newandu...-FL-32901.aspx

I am a high school student, but have a steady income. I figured I wanted a second opinion, and who better to ask than MINI owners themselves! So, should I go for it?

 

For the same price, I will sell you my 09 MCS dark silver, redwood leather, Xenon, USB, manual, cold weather, premium package with sunroof, and roof rack with only 27k miles. Very well taken care of but my wife wants me to either get a clubman or a Countryman.

 

If you can afford it, go for it. Looks to be in good condition and it has plenty of the good options. It's looking a little bare so you may need stripes install if you decide to buy it

I assume you will get some sort of warranty from the dealership, just keep in mind that you are buying a sports car. So you will need to take more care of the car and maintain it more than you would a regular car. That being said, a MINI is far more fun anyways.

But if you are good with turning a wrench, you will save yourself a lot of money in the long run.

I myself am a senior in HS but I could only afford a used car, but I still love my car regardless.

 

I appreciate it very much, Ballandchain, but I'm in FL. And I already know about high maintenance, my current car is a '97 A4. I hate to say it, but it kind of breaks my heart to get rid of my Audi for a BMW, but I want a MINI sooooooo bad. I was told that if my MINI breaks, I HAVE TO take it to either a BMW or MINI dealership to get it fixed, is this true?

 

If you are no longer in warranty, no. Two things: a lot of work you can do yourself and there are plenty of independent mechanics who can work on MINIs. Here is a small list of shops - http://soopercooperinfo.com/lindaminiinfo.html and I am sure you will find plenty of others that are not listed on that list.

A good note is that a MINI generally won't have as much maintenance costs as an Audi, plus Audi's tend to break a little more often :P

 

Yeah, I found the warranty will be running out very soon. Part of the reason I want out of my Audi is because I realized that crap is gonna start breaking soon, I mean it is 14 years old, and it does have 220,000 miles. My dad is a mechanic, so whenever something turned south with the Audi, my dad, my uncle, and I would always fix it. My uncle is a pilot, and owned a BMW E30, so he knows a bit also. I realize there isn't a ton of room up front, so repairs are a pain, huh? Have you had a lot of problems with your MCS?

 

If anyone complains about not having enough room to work on a MINI than they should try working on a classic Mini. Most of the work that was needed on my car were things like bushings, at 81K miles (when purchased) it was needed anyways. It depends what you are doing, but if you have knowledge about the car than you will be good to go with repairs (i.e. a service manual like Bentley). Usually used car dealerships (and MINI dealerships) will include some sort of warranty for the car, like a 6 month or 1 year, etc. I would advise you do ask them or try to make a deal to have that included.

I personally have had very few problems with my MINI since I purchased it.

 

Thanks for your input. I think I'm gonna take the plunge. My dad and I are gonna go up and look at it tomorrow regardless, I'll keep you up to date!