Does anybody know a good site to buy accessories for minis? Wife loves her 2003 Cooper S but would like to change gear knob. The original one is freezing in winter, almost too hot to touch in summer. Also looking for other bits and pieces to personalise it. Thanks.
socram,
Jan 30, 5:15am
The days of personalising your basic Mini to the nth degree, from the local speed shop, are well gone! The gear knob appears to be a push fit rather than a screw fit, with a slotted fixing. never considered the heat or cold aspect to be honest.
I made one up out of scrap Rimu for my project car which works well enough. If you have a mate with a wood-lathe, they might be able knock one up.
The BMW Minis are all built to order and the options list is huge, so I'm not too sure what sort of personalising you'd look for. There must be people breaking crashed Minis, so you might get some ideas there.
tony9,
Jan 30, 5:29am
Just google "Project Binky". That will give you some good ideas.
bonny28,
Jan 30, 5:35am
That’s looks like it could be entertaining. I’ll have a look at that. Cheers.
bonny28,
Jan 30, 5:38am
I only get to drive the wife’s Cooper S about once every 3-6 months. God it’s fun after driving the Ute or the station wagon. I want one. How does the turbo compare to the supercharged?
sw20,
Jan 30, 5:39am
Estimated time of completion 2117
cabrio1,
Jan 30, 6:07am
Gearbox issues on ours, a delay to engage, getting worse. Lots of road noise. Other than that fun to drive and mrs loves it
bonny28,
Jan 30, 6:19am
I like the road noise. Part of the fun.Makes it more like driving a go cart. It’s gotta be a Manual.
cabrio1,
Jan 30, 6:20am
They do handle really well, def a fun car to drive. I'd go for manual if there were a next time.
kam04,
Jan 31, 1:31am
Wife's got a 2012 Mini Paceman . Awesome wee car . Goes like the clappers
carstauranga001,
Jan 31, 1:44am
Soooo funny, the traffic flows so well on the Auckland motorways. Best to buy one there aye.
socram,
Jan 31, 6:44am
LOL. I have probably used mine mainly for longer runs and average speed is over 40kph. About the maximum speed in some overseas cities I gather - which may also explain some driving habits.
Mine is a supercharged S, 4 cylinder (2002), 6 speed manual. Wife's is a 2014 Cooper, 3 cylinder Turbo, automatic. I have to say that although I haven't pushed hers, it seems incredibly lively!
berg,
Jan 31, 8:14am
CAD "cardboard aided design". Love this series. These guys are a hoot
there is one good thing that new mini is a bmw and i found bmw has even more cheap free support then vw online . So somone with a clue could always figure out what is wrong if he has advanced diagnostic training and can read wiring diagramms. So this is about the only upside and i might have to add bmw to my list of vehicles i can do because of this.
franc123,
May 20, 9:39pm
And by golly there has been plenty that's gone wrong, but of course nothing that's really surprising given who makes it. The Good and Bad section is always a good (or sometimes horrifying) read.
called an mini,bmw and chrysler built engines in south america, autos are rubber band powered,crap and expensive to repair. wont touch one with a barge pole,unless very late model,im a classic mini owner. these go up in price,new ones go down in price,,dog and lemon guide. avoid like the plague
djrandomguy,
May 21, 3:50am
how many people would say yes if the OP was , wife wants a 207Gti, same engine people, a development of the well proven TU engine used for ages by PSA. Team orders from BMW were that the GTi must not exceed the power output of the JCW Mini for a period of 2 years, so Peugeot fattened up the mid range torque making it less peaky but more useful. So the 207 and DS3 cars are options when considering a gen 2or 3 mini. Perception folks, it's the difference between a Focus and a Volvo.
pacewaikato,
May 21, 4:21am
Daughter has had an 08 cooper for about 3 years. It has been an excellent car in all regards. Only issue has been r/f window regulator failed. $200 for regulator and about an hours work to remedy. Highly recommended.
bwg11,
May 21, 4:35am
I'm a classic mini owner and would have one if I didn't need a tow vehicle. I like the styling which is unique and rather timeless virtually unchanged for almost 20 years. Be aware that the pre-2007 S's did use the Chrysler sourced motor and were supercharged. Later S's used the PSA motor and were turboed. Wife tried a Cooper (not an "S") and decided it wasn't $10k better than a Swift Sport.
Probably the most over rated project on the internet that Project Binky.
sr2,
Sep 29, 11:26pm
Have a mate who's missus has her heart set on a new import 2009 1600 auto Mini with 75,000 Km on the clock.
Interested in yay or nay and what I should be looking out for.
poppy62,
Sep 30, 3:42am
I say Yay! Lots of them on the road and they seem to be a good all round car. Socram has run them for a couple of decades he seems to recommend them highly. Your mates wife should take one for a drive and if she likes the car she should go for it, life's to short to worry about what the nay sayers have to spout, otherwise we'd all be driving boring grey cars from the east.
socram,
Jan 14, 1:01pm
My wife has just bought a NZ new 2014 Cooper auto. Like brand new.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with a Mini One or base model. I already have a 2002 Cooper S, supercharged, (yes, still on its original battery!) but the wife's Cooper has a small turbo. Boy, it goes well. Lots of electronic goodies on it and I'm not sure when they first appeared.
I wasn't keen on getting an import and wanted NZ new - with history.
Sorry, but I'm somewhat suspicious of what sort of use and servicing they have had overseas. Stuck in traffic doing a max of 40kph? Not good, regardless of mileage.
Wife absolutely loves it already and swears she'll never get rid. I swore I wouldn't get rid of mine either.
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