... a 2011 pepper white Cooper S. Picked it up tonight so it's dark out, sorry no pics yet, but it did happen!

I now have 2 teens who have reached driving age (actually the eldest is almost 19 and hasn't shown too much interest in driving yet) - so why a Cooper S instead of a safe and sound Corolla or Civic? Oh and the Cooper is a manual too. I figure teaching my teens to drive a nippy fun car with a stick shift will make them better more attentive drivers. Maybe wishful thinking, but hope it comes to fruition. At least parking lessons will be easier! And I'll get to enjoy it too on the odd occasion.

Anyway, have been reading the forum for a while learning about these cars, decided an S had some added vigor that I needed (didn't try a 'justa") and avoided the 2007-10 models where the N16 seems to be a bit problematic. Hoping this one is ok - just over 57k miles, owned for 6 years by the previous owner and well maintained.

cheers
MacMini34

 

Congrats and I hope your kids develop a love of driving! When I was a teenager, it was common to skip school to go to the DMV to get our license on our birthday. I was weird for not getting my license exactly on my birthday! Now, it seems common that teenagers don't have the same desire to get a license ASAP (like your eldest).

And great job as a parent trying to teach them manual! I'm so glad that I learned manual transmission, although at the time, I thought I made a terrible decision. I hear the transmission in the MINI makes it easy to learn, but I don't actually know if that's true.

 

3 sons, 21, 20 and 18. All learned to drive on a 2009 VW Rabbit S 5 speed manual. Only one in each of their driving school’s with a manual. My wife drove the new out of it and is now with the last son as he is a senior in HS. Still on the original clutch! None of them are gear heads. Son number two mentioned that they couldn’t text while driving, too busy shifting! Son number two also bought our old Mazda5 from us for college.......it’s also a 5 speed manual!

 

Welcome!

I can't relate to not wanting a license but the world is a rather different place than when I was a kid so who knows. I think the general perception of driving these days is that it's an unfortunate chore. A fun car should help them find some extra reasons to get behind the wheel. If not, like you said, you've got a fun toy all to yourself. Win/Win!

Our N14 was a total nightmare, a fun nightmare, but still. The N18 is a dream machine so far. I hope you find the same is true for you. Just keep learning all you can and keep on top of the maintenance.

The 2nd gen cars have great clutch feel and recover from near stalls very easily. We taught a couple friends in our '07 and they seemed to pick it up quickly.

The 3rd gen cars have fun tech like auto rev matching to hide operator error. This in theory makes them easy to drive, but there's so little feel through the featherweight clutch pedal I don't think they would be ideal for a first timer.

 

Hi and welcome to the NAM family! I don't think you will have to worry about the kids enjoying the MIni. Just make sure when you are teaching them how to drive a stick, not to sit at a traffic light with the clutch in and when on a hill, use the parking brake!
Encourage them to come to here, to learn about what Mini Cooper is all about!
And yes, we want to see some pics!
Congrats!
ps. Make sure to only use premium 91+ octane fuel! And only full synthetic oil and change the filter each time! Use Redline MTL in the transmission!

 

Welcome and Congrats that should be a good car. Just change the oil every 5k and use premium gas.

Love the idea of teaching the kids to drive manual as I feel that is a good life skill, plus none of their friends can drive their car.

 

Thanks to all for your kind words. Gave the 16 year old and my wife, who has never driven manual, a turn today - might need to save for a new clutch sooner than later (!). Anyway the 16 year old got a few smooth starts going. My wife also had some successes but we got dizzy in a small parking lot going around and around. I'm also still finding my 1st to 2nd nowhere near as smooth as I would like and even managed to embarrass myself with a stall in heavy traffic. Have put about 100miles on her including the 40 mile ride home from the seller.

Here's a pic so it's real!



I did attempt to wring her out in 2nd gear and got a warning chime and a check engine light that went off after a bit - a misfire perhaps. It was at around 5000rpm. I've got a basic code reader so can see if there's still a code. the car hadn't been used a lot recently by the previous owner.

The original antenna is in the trunk but looks like the base is broken so first mod is a stubby and I'm think a red one

cheers
MacMini34

 

Thanks to all for your kind words. Gave the 16 year old and my wife, who has never driven manual, a turn today - might need to save for a new clutch sooner than later (!). Anyway the 16 year old got a few smooth starts going. My wife also had some successes but we got dizzy in a small parking lot going around and around. I'm also still finding my 1st to 2nd nowhere near as smooth as I would like and even managed to embarrass myself with a stall in heavy traffic. Have put about 100miles on her including the 40 mile ride home from the seller.

Here's a pic so it's real!



I did attempt to wring her out in 2nd gear and got a warning chime and a check engine light that went off after a bit - a misfire perhaps. It was at around 5000rpm. I've got a basic code reader so can see if there's still a code. the car hadn't been used a lot recently by the previous owner.

The original antenna is in the trunk but looks like the base is broken so first mod is a stubby and I'm think a red one

cheers
MacMini34