92 replies to this topic

[mab01uk]

 

You advice is spot on though. Drive it first, everyone is different.
 

 

Possibly the only thing we are ever likely to agree on........

[Chris Jones]

 

I probably should have elaborated on my OP. Cheap- You can get a decent low mileage R53 for around £4500 now, Fast- About the same as a Golf GTI and similar, Reliable- It has BMWs excellent engineering and reputation on it's side, Like a Mini- it does have similar characteristics as the original (including where driving and handling is concerned).
 
What other cars do you think are much better for less money?
 
OP, choosing a car is an entirely personal thing and no one can tell you what to get, the only person who can decide is you. I would suggest you make a list of cars and go out and drive them all. You will know which one is right for you after you have.

I don't consider £4500 cheap personally but for that sort of cash (assume £5000 and haggle room) I would go for all of these first:

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item35cf7fbce7

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2588139d48


http://www.ebay.co.u...=item43c44c9d72

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item20ddb9d92c

You advice is spot on though. Drive it first, everyone is different. My wife loves her Mazda 3 but I hate driving it.

Edit: Mingy, the honey badger is still ferocious, if any lions attempt to steal my mini they will be toast
 

1. Not really particularly practical, no rear seats etc.
2. Golf GTI was actually our first choice when buying our Cooper S, but they all go for and are advertised around the £6000 mark for the same mileage and service history.
3. Audi A3, is just a Golf GTI in a suit. I would rather have the Golf.
4. Again, impractical, definitely not a car that's good for men to be seen in.
 
All four of those cars are good, but for different reasons. For what we wanted, the R53 ticked most of the boxes. 

Agree with point 4. Although I see the Bini in the same sort of bracket. Could see my missus driving it but could never see myself pulling up outside the offices in one.

We were having a conversation yesterday about "fish cars". As in, ones that all look the same, so you don't notice them. Astras, Focus, Bini's etc. For 5K I would rather have something a little different and more uncommon.

I bought a 350Z. Nippy enough, fun to drive and you don't see many on the road at all.

I love how this thread has turned from "Cars Similar To the Mini" into just "Cars"

[Tamworthbay]

I probably should have elaborated on my OP. Cheap- You can get a decent low mileage R53 for around £4500 now, Fast- About the same as a Golf GTI and similar, Reliable- It has BMWs excellent engineering and reputation on it's side, Like a Mini- it does have similar characteristics as the original (including where driving and handling is concerned).
 
What other cars do you think are much better for less money?
 
OP, choosing a car is an entirely personal thing and no one can tell you what to get, the only person who can decide is you. I would suggest you make a list of cars and go out and drive them all. You will know which one is right for you after you have.

I don't consider £4500 cheap personally but for that sort of cash (assume £5000 and haggle room) I would go for all of these first:http://www.ebay.co.u...=item35cf7fbce7http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2588139d48http://www.ebay.co.u...=item43c44c9d72http://www.ebay.co.u...=item20ddb9d92c
You advice is spot on though. Drive it first, everyone is different. My wife loves her Mazda 3 but I hate driving it.
Edit: Mingy, the honey badger is still ferocious, if any lions attempt to steal my mini they will be toast

1. Not really particularly practical, no rear seats etc.
2. Golf GTI was actually our first choice when buying our Cooper S, but they all go for and are advertised around the £6000 mark for the same mileage and service history.
3. Audi A3, is just a Golf GTI in a suit. I would rather have the Golf.
4. Again, impractical, definitely not a car that's good for men to be seen in.
 
All four of those cars are good, but for different reasons. For what we wanted, the R53 ticked most of the boxes.

Agree with point 4. Although I see the Bini in the same sort of bracket. Could see my missus driving it but could never see myself pulling up outside the offices in one.
We were having a conversation yesterday about "fish cars". As in, ones that all look the same, so you don't notice them. Astras, Focus, Bini's etc. For 5K I would rather have something a little different and more uncommon.
I bought a 350Z. Nippy enough, fun to drive and you don't see many on the road at all.
I love how this thread has turned from "Cars Similar To the Mini" into just "Cars"

I have to admit Harry's post made me laugh in a 'people in glass houses' way. I don't associate a TT as a woman's car but a BINI definately is. The vast majority are owned by middle age women around here. There are five at work and all are owned by women between 45-55, there are a few on our street and all fit into the same group. I rarely seem to see a bloke in one, I think they are an upmarket Ka in a way.

350z is a stunning car (but dare I say the interior is a little plasticky), I would also chuck the RX8 in that group. The rotary scares people off but shouldn't as long as service history is there, but they do drink a LOT of fuel.

There is no mention of a family holiday so practicality and rear seats may well not be an issue, rear seats are for old people and dogs anyway

[mab01uk]

Female buyers always accounted for a large number of Mini sales throughout its life as you would expect of a small car, as often said Alec Issigonis originally designed it for the District Nurse. With the introduction of the Cooper the 'halo' effect and competition successes boosted male interest but after the performance versions like the Cooper and later the 1275GT were discontinued BL /Austin Rover market research had shown single female buyers were by then the majority of Mini buyers, with the return of the Cooper in the early '90's male/female purchasers probably returned to around 50/50 but I'm not sure if any figures were ever officially published.
Many cars today could be considered as uni-sex and have almost exactly a 50/50 split male to female buyers. Most of the published figures come from the USA where for instance the Audi TT and MINI are both examples of uni-sex cars, the Audi TT with just over 50% registered female owners, while MINI as a brand is quoted at just under 50%.female owners.
 Either way as a male the ownership profile has never bothered me with either my Mini or MINI and why should it?.......but I do know many 'blokes' who would never own a convertible model whether an Audi TT, MINI, MX5 or Porsche Boxster, etc, because they so often get stereo-typed as typical 'Hairdressers Cars'.
 

 

 Women in the driving seat Female buyers now account for 40 per cent of UK car sales. Vicki Butler-Henderson explains why.
"Vokswagen and Renault deserve the spotlight here, too, for making the first memorable TV adverts to empower women drivers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Golf gave freedom to a fed-up fiancée played by Paula Hamilton who ditched her jewels and fur coat but kept the Golf GTI to make a new life, and a youthful 'Nicole' found independence from 'Papa' via a Clio.
But it's widely regarded that, at the end of the last millennium, BMW's interpretation of the 40-year-old Mini can be lauded as the defining game-changer. It instantly appealed to a lot of women thanks to a desirable badge, cheeky looks and a long list of colourful panels and patterns to display some personality to other road users.
Plus, and this is a big plus, the dealerships transformed into destinations. And fun, unintimidating ones at that. Gone were the sterile rooms where pot-bellied salesmen in seam-splitting C&A suits made you sweat for a set of mudflaps to be thrown into the deal. In came places such as Mini's flagship dealership on London's Park Lane that looked like somewhere you'd want to have a mojito and where unthreatening saleswomen greeted you with blinding smiles."
http://www.telegraph...iving-seat.html
 

Edited by mab01uk, 13 January 2014 - 08:18 PM.

[Chris Jones]

 

 

 

 

I probably should have elaborated on my OP. Cheap- You can get a decent low mileage R53 for around £4500 now, Fast- About the same as a Golf GTI and similar, Reliable- It has BMWs excellent engineering and reputation on it's side, Like a Mini- it does have similar characteristics as the original (including where driving and handling is concerned).
 
What other cars do you think are much better for less money?
 
OP, choosing a car is an entirely personal thing and no one can tell you what to get, the only person who can decide is you. I would suggest you make a list of cars and go out and drive them all. You will know which one is right for you after you have.

I don't consider £4500 cheap personally but for that sort of cash (assume £5000 and haggle room) I would go for all of these first:http://www.ebay.co.u...=item35cf7fbce7http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2588139d48http://www.ebay.co.u...=item43c44c9d72http://www.ebay.co.u...=item20ddb9d92c
You advice is spot on though. Drive it first, everyone is different. My wife loves her Mazda 3 but I hate driving it.
Edit: Mingy, the honey badger is still ferocious, if any lions attempt to steal my mini they will be toast

1. Not really particularly practical, no rear seats etc.
2. Golf GTI was actually our first choice when buying our Cooper S, but they all go for and are advertised around the £6000 mark for the same mileage and service history.
3. Audi A3, is just a Golf GTI in a suit. I would rather have the Golf.
4. Again, impractical, definitely not a car that's good for men to be seen in.
 
All four of those cars are good, but for different reasons. For what we wanted, the R53 ticked most of the boxes.

Agree with point 4. Although I see the Bini in the same sort of bracket. Could see my missus driving it but could never see myself pulling up outside the offices in one.
We were having a conversation yesterday about "fish cars". As in, ones that all look the same, so you don't notice them. Astras, Focus, Bini's etc. For 5K I would rather have something a little different and more uncommon.
I bought a 350Z. Nippy enough, fun to drive and you don't see many on the road at all.
I love how this thread has turned from "Cars Similar To the Mini" into just "Cars"

I have to admit Harry's post made me laugh in a 'people in glass houses' way. I don't associate a TT as a woman's car but a BINI definately is. The vast majority are owned by middle age women around here. There are five at work and all are owned by women between 45-55, there are a few on our street and all fit into the same group. I rarely seem to see a bloke in one, I think they are an upmarket Ka in a way.

350z is a stunning car (but dare I say the interior is a little plasticky), I would also chuck the RX8 in that group. The rotary scares people off but shouldn't as long as service history is there, but they do drink a LOT of fuel.

There is no mention of a family holiday so practicality and rear seats may well not be an issue, rear seats are for old people and dogs anyway

 

 

The plasticky interior is it's only downfall really, to the point where it gets a bit annoying actually. Accidentally flashing people when trying to indicate is always embarrassing. Typical of a lot of Japanese cars really, built on a budget but still very well built where it matters if you get what I mean.

 

It probably shouldn't be an issue as I'm sure the TT and Boxter etc are fantastic cars to drive. Personally, I know I'd get torn up like a**e paper if I rocked upto work in one, so I'd always avoid.

[Cooperman]

There really is no other car like the classic Mini.

There are lots of other great cars though and are we now discussing what are good road cars?

For me, in modern traffic, the car is a BMW 730D SE which is what I have and it is simply superb to drive and to ride in.

[mab01uk]

There really is no other car like the classic Mini.

There are lots of other great cars though and are we now discussing what are good road cars?

For me, in modern traffic, the car is a BMW 730D SE which is what I have and it is simply superb to drive and to ride in.

 

I guess we have probably gone slightly off the original topic.....but still an interesting discussion. The big BMW's like the 7-Series are fantastic value for money secondhand and the diesels give great fuel economy with superb performance and luxury. I have owned a couple of C-Class Mercedes as the 'family' car but recently due to an offer I couldn't refuse on a very low mileage E90 BMW 320D SE from my brother I have now swapped over to BMW. They may be rather common but like most BMW's are a superb 'drivers' car with great fuel economy and quality build so I now realise why they are highly rated in their class usually above Mercedes and Audi......most desirable cars seem to have at least one weak spot if you do some research, so like you recently mentioned, I have also removed the dreaded BMW diesel 'swirl flaps'!

 

However why is it that what appear to be cars with few if any major known faults and very long manufacturers warranties, topping JD Power type surveys every year are also usually the most boring mundane makes and models....or do the surveys and the internet give a distorted impression of owner feedback about some common problems? Poor Main Dealer service and backup also seems to be a major factor for low scores in the new car consumer charts.

Edited by mab01uk, 13 January 2014 - 11:36 PM.

[miniman24]

Maybe not much like a Mini (what is) but your boggo 954cc Citroen AX is a fun car to drive, in an underpowered chuck-it-around way! I had one as a field car for 6 years or so, handled and rode well and was very reliable to say I thrashed it offroad in first and second Id have one of those as a run around when I inevitably need one after uni.

Edited by miniman24, 13 January 2014 - 11:42 PM.

[jacobtomos]

Fiat 126p

[Cooperman]

I bought my 2007 BMW 730D SE with under 100k miles on it from a specialist dealer whom I know personally for just over £8500. New it would have been £62,000.

It is, quite simply, a superb car to drive and enjoy. I get about 33 mpg overall, which is better than my 1964 Cooper 'S', at 2000 rpm in 6th it is doing 86 mph. Full leather seats, sat-nav built in, adaptive auto gearbox with full manual option, road-holding and braking are fantastic except in slippery conditions where the 275 rear tyres are simply too wide.

Even better as value for money are the older E38 7-Series, especially the 728i SE as a really good one can be yours for under £2000. They are petrol, but will give up to about 30 mpg on a run, so not much thirstier than a slightly modified 1275 Mini.

You need to drive across Europe in a big BMW to truly appreciate them. I once left a hotel in Munich after breakfast in a BMW 735i and was home near Luton for dinner that evening. Cruised at 125 mph all the way across Germany, then just under 100 across Belgium and N. France to the hovercraft. Then it was 80 plus up the M2, M25 & A1(M). Still felt fresh after getting home.

[jaydee]

We started from cars similar to a mini to talk about audis and boxters? 

[Cooperman]

That's how it goes sometimes.

By the way, does anyone want a Boxster? It's an early car buy in great condition. The guy who co-owns my sailplane is moving to live in Corfu and wants to sell his Boxster. Price will be very reasonable as he needs to shift it in good time before he goes in early March. PM me if interested and I'll provide his number and email address.

[lheeler90]

If you've got either or both could you give prices including postage to england 

[domdee]

i think a ford ka would be a good option...

readily available. cheap. tons of parts available. easy to work on. handle well. go pretty well for a 1300. bulet proof engines.

thay are most like a mini imo.

you could get the 1600 sport one if you wanted a bit more speed but tax doubles...

 

so yeah, bog standard ka for the win!!!!!

[md7708]

Looked a the new mini but all were either out of my price range or just needed too much work same with the mk1 mx5
but I have just traded my old floppy a4 in for a citoren c2 GT edition :) felt really nice on the test drive and loads of reviews say its pretty reliable not much boot space but I can work around that :)
Just need to wait for the phone call to pick it up :) can't wait