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Messages Page 249 of 268

#2476 of 2671 Same question When are the 2008's coming out? by stevecebu

Aug 26, 2007 (9:09 am)

i'm kind of loathe to buy a 2007 Mini in December or January and I have no idea of the new colors available. I really liked the Hyper Yellow but not the ugly mustard yellow. All I have heard is around march 2008 for the 2008 Mini Cooper S. I really hate to lose a full year depreciation with zero discount available when a new model will be out in 1-2 months or so. If anyone has any info please post it. Thanks

#2477 of 2671 Mini Cooper: Is There Life After Mini???? by esther5

Oct 21, 2007 (12:32 am)

I could use some friendly advice. I searched the archived discussions and didn't see any question quite like this.
 
I have a love – hate relationship with my 2003 Mini Cooper. I love to drive it. I love its looks and what it stands for. However I have found that although the car has wonderful styling and peppy drive, it’s seriously unreliable. In the last three and a half years, I’ve been in and out of the dealership with a cornucopia of issues:
 
-severe oil leak, entire transmission replaced
-two broken fuel pumps
-broken oxygen sensor
-strut covers fell off
-two broken glove boxes
-windshield wipers & sprayers re-installed (twice)
-door locks on both sides replaced
-battery replaced 2x in 1 year
-poor A/C
-passenger’s & driver’s windows stop working
-driver’s & passenger’s doors won’t open
-sunvisor won’t fold shut
-torn upper strut mounts
 
This car has near about broken my heart. My warranty ended last spring and it’s become apparent I cannot afford the upkeep. I’ve spent $3000 in the last six months! My gut is telling me to quickly trade it in for something new, while I still can get a decent value out of it. But what to replace it with? Mini has my heart; I haven’t found another car in the universe (priced 25K or under) that revs my engine. I test drove a Prius and it was nice enough but it seemed huge and looks like a spaceship. Not cute and zippy at all.
 
I’ve considered staying in the Mini family and getting a 2007, but complaints about the “teething” issues are starting to flood several message boards.
 
Like I said, it's crushing to even consider not getting a Mini. But reliability matters! Any suggestions or advice on this would be greatly appreciated. I am totally stymied. Do I stay in the Mini family and sacrifice reliability for style? Or do I choose a practical car that lacks the unique Mini zing? The only thing I know is that I need to get rid of my 2003 before it breaks down again!

#2478 of 2671 Re: Mini Cooper: Is There Life After Mini???? [esther5] by tiff_c

Oct 21, 2007 (1:07 am)

Replying to: esther5 (Oct 21, 2007 12:32 am)
Like I said, it's crushing to even consider not getting a Mini. But reliability matters! Any suggestions or advice on this would be greatly appreciated. I am totally stymied. Do I stay in the Mini family and sacrifice reliability for style? Or do I choose a practical car that lacks the unique Mini zing? The only thing I know is that I need to get rid of my 2003 before it breaks down again!
 
I've been through what you are going through but it's been with other brands.
I guess you can always buy a 2008 model which should have the 2007 bugs worked out of them otherwise you'll have to try another brand. have you tried the Mazdaspeed 3? Yes bigger and a hatch but for small zippy cars there is only the MINI. British cars are usually notoriously unreliable. My wife wants one but the dealer is very far and reliability is a big factor. I honestly can't think of anything that can compare except a Mazda Miata. I had one and they are great! But only 2 seats, but the fun factor is very high and they are RWD and about $25K. They are also very reliable. The manual top takes only 10 seconds to drop from inside the car.
I'd be interested to know what you do end up getting.

#2479 of 2671 New Mini: by denrog

Nov 23, 2007 (4:15 pm)

Hi,
I am very interested in buying a 2008 Mini Cooper/ S and just test drove both equipped with the automatic. Of course the test cars were 07's but anyway the Cooper had stock 15" wheels w/o the sport package and the "S" had 17" wheels with the package. I did notice that the car had a better ride with the 15's and I was wondering if the tire size was the difference or the sport package combined with the larger 17's on the "S was the reason? I really like the look of the bigger wheels but the ride is actually more important to me. Do you think that the 16" wheels would be a good compromise? Also I didn't really feel much of a difference between the two motors out on my test drive. I took it easy and just drove like I normally would so I'm thinking that the more horsepower and turbo would benefit me more in passing and accelerating with the peddle to the metal so to speak. Otherwise the 118 hp would do just fine. Any thoughts?
 
Thanks..........Dennis

#2480 of 2671 Re: New Mini: [denrog] by bodble2

Nov 23, 2007 (6:36 pm)

Replying to: denrog (Nov 23, 2007 4:15 pm)
I thought the base Cooper comes standard with 16" wheels, or is that just for '08? The harsher ride was probably due to both the sport package and bigger wheels. Can you get a base Cooper S with 17" wheels but without the sport package? That might be the best combination for looks and ride comfort. And I agree that the turbo would not make its presence felt if you're just cruising along serenely!

#2481 of 2671 Re: New Mini: [bodble2] by denrog

Nov 23, 2007 (8:42 pm)

Replying to: bodble2 (Nov 23, 2007 6:36 pm)
The 08 Cooper has 15" wheels as standard equipment and the "S" comes with 16". Yes you can get 17" wheels without the sport package but I think that all low profile like tires which I would consider the 17" to be lend themselves to a somewhat rougher ride. I may have to take another test drive.

#2482 of 2671 Rain sensing wipers by bodble2

Dec 03, 2007 (10:28 am)

Does anyone find the Mini's rain-sensing wipers not working as well as advertised. We just leased a '07, and it's been snowing here, and the wipers don't seem to work as they're supposed to. One push up is supposed to bring on rain-sensing function, but it only seems to go into regular speed mode. Does it not work if it is snowing?

#2483 of 2671 Remote opening of rear hatch by bodble2

Dec 07, 2007 (11:28 am)

On our old '05 Cooper, when you unlock the hatch with the remote, the lights will flash twice, and when you close the hatch, the lights will flash once to confirm locking. On our '07, the lights don't flash, either to confirm locking or unlocking. (They wil flash when the doors are locked and unlocked). Also, does the hatch unlock button have to be held down longer than normal to unlock the hatch? Can anyone confirm if this is the way the system is supposed to be?

#2484 of 2671 Panic alarm? by bodble2

Dec 07, 2007 (11:32 am)

Is there a panic alarm feature on the Cooper? When I tried to unlock the rear hatch with the remote, more often than not, I trigger the alarm. I suspect I may be holding down the hatch unlock button too long which triggered the alarm.

#2485 of 2671 '08 vs '07 MINI Cooper by minipak

Dec 09, 2007 (7:01 pm)

I would like to learn if standard '08 MINI Cooper has the same HP engine rating compare with the '07 model. I have red somewhere that the 2008 model has redesigned new 120 HP engine and, also, the body is about 2.5 inches longer. Could anybody confirm that?

Messages Page 249 of 268

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