Hey there all, first time MINI buyer, narrowed my choices down to these:

09 MCS
manual
47K miles
asking $17000

06 MCS
manual
67K miles
asking $13500

Any tips on which seems the better deal? And the reliability question, is the last year of the old body style going to be strong? I test drove both, they were both solid didnt feel bad at all. No strut problems on the 06. Im not really a performance oriented driver, just looking for which is going to be best/most reliably for a 15 minute daily commute and the occasional road trip.

Also, which body style is more "affordable" to maintain?

Thanks for helpin out a newbie!

 

I realize the question you pose is highly debatable and will be strongly influenced by individual preferences, likes, and dislikes. My suggestion is if you can afford the 2009 mcs, that's the one I'd buy. It has less miles, several years newer technology as well as fewer years on the road. Other considerations are, of course, color preferences, options, etc, as well as several K$ less outlay of cash. With all that said, if the cars are equal in condition, I'd always buy the newer model with less miles on it! Good luck.

 

Have you driven both? I've not driven a 2nd gen, but I hear they are quite different in nature. Also, if fuel economy is important, the 2009 is going to be much better in that area.

I personally would go for the earlier car. Mainly because it is closer to what I'm familiar with. But I'd need to drive both to really know. As far as upkeep and repair expense, there will be arguments for both sides, but that would also seem to be in favor of the early car, although it's hit or miss as to which of the several known issues may crop up on your car.

 

I'm pretty new here but I will throw my $0.02 in anyway.

Just from reading this board for the last couple weeks it seems reliability on the 05/06 MCS was the best so far. Of course the 09 is newer but dont the 09s have the turbo now? I have been reading some issues on here about the turbos but I have no experience on that.

Of course color and options and condition should weigh in on the decisions as well.

All I would add is to check with your insurance agent in advance and see if there would be any difference in cost of coverage between the two.

 

I've been on this board for about a year myself, and I can say that the trend Yoda speaks of, I have also seen pretty consistently over the time I've been here. But let's not forget, we are not buying a MINI strictly for reliability. If that were so, we wouldn't be buying one in the first place. To me, it's all about the driving experience, and that has to be taken into account. Also, we tend to hear more bad news than good. I don't know if all the "my timing chain tensioner failed, and my intake valves are all carboned up at 40k" are representative of the entire MINI community. There isn't a "100k, and everythings fine" thread that I'm aware of.

 

It realy comes down to how it feels driving them. I've got a 04 cooper s and a 12 clubman s. I get 28 mpg on my 04 cooper s and 31 mpg on the 12 clubman s. There was alot of improvement on my 12 but my 04 just feels right to me.

 

These are helpful guys, thank you! The color of the 09 is british racing green, the 06 is purple haze. They're sped'd almost identically.

I have driven both definitely, they both are great I like each for different reasons.

I agree, Im buying a mini because its fun, and has a dose of practicality in the hatch design. I was just wondering if anyone had input on which typically is a better bet.

 

Fuel economy isnt the most important thing, the slight improvement on the newer models doesn't really bug me that much.
I spoke to my mechanic (he knows minis well) and he said that typically repairs on the older model are a bit less costly, and are easier to do simple things yourself. I do wanna do some maintenance myself, simple stuff nothing complex. He said the 06 is the most reliable year in his experience