Mini owners

[alexplantman]

With my other thread I realized how many Mini and S drivers there are here. I am going to look at leasing...

How much are you guys paying per month for your Minis? How many miles / year?:confused

[Billy4774]

I secretly want a MINI. If only RWD. ::(

[Driftin E46]

I think mini coopers are one of the most fun cars i've driven.

[pup]

i bought mine. no idea what the lease payments would be.

[NCMINIGUY]

When I looked at leases, the lease rates weren't really very good. They did pretty much match up to what the MINIusa configure-er website says, though.

[ferrari355fi]

don't lease. They lease out crappy. Finance it.

[alexplantman]

I guess their residual value sucks :( ...

[koya1893]

This reply is not much of a reply to the original post. but I need some inputs from MINI drivers. I am about to buy a 2002 Cooper with Automatic Trans. Can someone educate me about the CVT. sometime back Suburu tried this trans did not take in the market. The car only has 51K and asking 11k for it, look around the average prize for this year and the package is 15K. It makes me wonder what is wrong with the car. Can someone share some warning indicators?

[NCMINIGUY]

I'll be honest, I'd stay away from a CVT car. I've heard of quite a few complaints about them, seems to be more than the standard 'noise' you hear on a forum.

To be honest, the 2002s are the least reliable year as well.

(I also don't think the CVT is very fun to drive, but that's me)

[G. P. Burdell]

Search the MINI boards for "CVT failure" and you will find stories of premature failure and dealership cost estimates ranging from $6,000 to $10,000. The cost is high because when the CVT breaks, the solution is to replace it, not repair it.

The CVT can be jerky in stop-and-go traffic. My husband (screen name Doctor Wha) had no complaints about the CVT before I assumed ownership of our 2004 Cooper, but in daily driving, I found the CVT to be a liability when I needed to get moving quickly from a stop. 2005-2006 CVTs seem peppier off the line than the CVT in earlier Coopers; it may have something to do with the transmission programming.

The looming possibility of an out-of-warranty CVT replacement (which would have cost at least half what the car was worth) was one of the two major reasons why we don't own the MINI anymore. Go look at North American Motoring's "Spontaneous Engine Bay Fires!" thread for the other reason.

[edhchoe]

I just purchased 2007 MCS with no options at $22000. Paid $1000 down and financed through Capital One for 6.4% interest rate for 60 months. I am paying $412/mo.:help

[JennB]

I can't remember all of the details since it was a while ago but I paid about $350 or $360 for my 04 per month and then $460 for my 06. Both S models, one was obviously much more option packed than the other.

As for the leases, I remember them giving me those numbers at the dealership when going through all the finance options and they were almost exactly what the MINI website quoted. If you want to know, go on there and use their calculator, it will be accurate.

The MINIs have VERY good residual values.

As for CVT's, the post above tells the truth. I've read of so many failures at as early as 50K miles and they cost the owners dearly. Both of mine were 6-speed so I never had to worry about that. My mom looked at a CVT Cooper once and I advised her against it. I told her to get used to a 5-speed again or look for a different car.

[MrBlah]

I guess their residual value sucks :( ...

residual is very very good


they offer no incentives, they sell all the mini's they want to make, so there are no dealer incentives for interest rates, or for lease rates