Any MINI owners??

If you own a MINI Cooper, post here - what are your favorite things about your car?  Any dislikes or problems?  Any recommendations on what options to get or what aren't worth it?

I'm in the market for a new car and right now MINI Cooper S is #1 on my list.... However I have only driven one once and I've done a lot of research but mostly from their website.  I haven't gotten any actual MINI owner's experience. 

Also I wanted to get satellite radio as I currently have that in my car and I'm addicted, but I was really disappointed at how expensive it is - since MINI forces you to buy the lifetime subscription (even though you can't keep it once you get rid of the car - what a rip off!).  So I think I will probably have to go after market - any experience with this?

Your input can really help!  Thanks a bunch!

well I don't have a mini but I do have XM satelite radio and love mine.  Its a Pioneer Inno -- it has home base hook up but I also take it to work and use the cassette plug in thing at home I use my DVD player cable hook up and then I have the car kit so I just put the radio in the holder and tune my fm station and have my music.  I also can record up to 5 hours of mp3s and / or tunes from the xm stations - and I also have an xm radio headphone antenna thing so I can listen to it while I walk or am working out.  I love my XM and can't live without it!!!

my best friend drives a mini cooper S convertible.  she loves it, but she has had some issues.  it's absolutely terrible in snow, for one (essentially square, so doesn't always want to go straight ahead, plus low clearance).  she also had some trouble with the battery going dead for absolutely no reason, but that was resolved under warrantee.  and she blew a tire for no particular reason - and i do mean it blew; not a slow and civilized leak but a massive, life-threatening blow-out.  there have been other problems that i can't remember off the top of my head.

we bought our cars new within weeks of each other in 2005.  mine--a mazda3--has three times the mileage on it and has cost me nothing other than regular maintenance.  she can't say the same for the mini (and the original cost was twice as much).

on the upside, it's fun to drive and wicked cool.  the interior is like being in a toy spaceship from the 70s. 

for a second car, it would be great, but you can't fit anything in it other than a few bags of groceries (it's my friend's only car, but she has access to her mom's SUV when she needs it).

Thanks for the replies!  We have no snow here, so that isn't a concern!  :)  My friend has a Mazda 3, but I really like the MINI for the styling and uniqueness.  There are no maintenance costs as those are included for the first 3 years, not to mention the warranty covering repairs.

Anyone else?  :)

I don't own one, but I needed a rental when my car was messed up and they gave me one. Like PG said, it's like a little 70's space ship inside. It was really cute, and it seemed pretty good on gas. I have to admit though, it didn't feel right to me. I felt like I stuck out like a soar thumb in that thing. I guess it was just too cute for me!

A former co-worker of mine had one. She got hers fully loaded and it had a self-correcting mechanism on it for when it snowed. If she started to lose a bit of control, the car corrected itself. She loved it and never had any issues with it.

My mother drives one, and also lives where snow isn't ever a problem.  It's acutally pretty roomy in the driver's and passenger's sets, but is pretty cramped in the back seat (obviously).  I did see they've come out with a new version with a longer body and a small 3rd door to give access to the roomier back seat.  Otherwise, she loves it.  It's great on gas, drives well, and it exceptionally easy to park.  Plus, there's MINI clubs popping up all over the country, so it's easy to meet other owners.

check out www.cars.com ...It's a great site for research on vehicles.

I do know that Minicooper has one of the best resale values of any car out there.

i saw that "extended version" on-line, and it looks better for space, but kind-of weird.  that said, it occured to me that you'd have a little more trunk space with the hardtop than with the convertible. 

i think if i were looking for a roadster, though , i'd look at the vw eos.  it's not quite such a novelty car.

Looks cute, but a bit out of my price range!  The huge seller for me on the MINI is that it is fairly inexpensive.

There is actually plenty of storage room in the regular MINI because the backseats fold down to expand the trunk area.  I don't like the way the new "extended" one (Clubman) looks, either...

I don't have a mini now but I used to... I loved it and I never had any problems with it. I never had any problems with the tires but that could be because I got the kind they offer that don't go flat, they seal themselves or something like that. Not to sure how it works, but it was great cause even when I got a nail in my tired they didn't get flat. I would recommend getting them.

I think those tires are now standard on them.  Thanks for the feedback! 

I have one, and I absolutely love it, despite the fact that I have had to drive it in horribly snowy conditions.  What color you thinking? ;)

I am leaning toward the blue that is only available in the S type (can't remember what it's called) with stripes.  Haven't decided on black or white stripes yet, though... I go back and forth on a daily basis.  :)  What color is yours?

mine is "hyper blue" with a white top (no stripes!).  I love the stripes on other cars...it is a tough call, I find myself leaning towards white over black, but then switching back.

my friend's is hyper blue, too - beautiful.  she didn't get stripes, though, which i think is good; it would be a little busy on a convertible.

have you decided, fuzzy?

Not yet... I think if I could actually see both cars in real life (one blue with white stripes and one blue with black stripes) it would be easier to pick which one I like better. :) The black seems a little more subtle, so I am leaning toward that... but I've still got a month before I need to decide.

I have a 2006 Astro Black Mini Cooper convertible with a matching black top.
I LOVE my car.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.
This is very similar to my car, except mine is not an S series.
I actually JUST had to have it put in the shop due to the same battery dying issue that was mentioned above, but that was the first and only time in the 3 years I have had it that it's ever had an issue.
It is still under warrantee so they came and towed it for free and covered everything.
I even mentioned I was having a problem w/ my CD player and they put a new one in while it was there :)

I am 4'9" and my license plate says "IMMINI2" LOL
They are much more spacious than they appear, although they are not minivans by any means :)
But, I can load all my groceries in the back seat just fine.

I highly recommend it.

I thought about black (usually my fave color on cars - very elegant) but I decided to go a little more flashy on this one.  :) 

I wonder if the battery issue has been resolved in the newer models?  I will be getting a 2008.