• Summary

    3 out of 5 3.0

    What does this car say about you?

    Bit of a girly car for a guy to drive

    What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

    like it when it's working properly

    Would you buy this car again and why?

    no, too many daft problems that you wouldn't expect from something associated with BMW. Parts aren't that cheap either.

    What are you likely to buy next?

    Honda Civic

  • Buying experience

    3 out of 5 3.0

    Type of dealer you bought from?

    Franchise

    Did you buy this car new?

    No

    What price did you pay?

    £8,500

    When did you buy the car?

    June 2008

    Did you get a good deal and why?

    Nothing special

    Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

    Wanted a car that was fun to drive. Wanted the piece of mind of the one year warrenty (fool me once....)

    What was the dealer like?

    Ok when buying, terrible after sales. Took ages to get problems solved, even had to escalate to Mini UK on 2 occasions. This was a main mini dealer as well.

  • Driving it

    4 out of 5 4.0

    What's it like to drive?

    Great car to drive, the cooper engine's pretty nippy and really comes alive between 4 and 5 thousand RPM. Handles very well as well. Due to run flat tyres and sports suspension the ride is pretty firm (feel every bump in the road) and there's a lot of noise in the cabin.

    What's it like to park?

    easy as pie

  • Living with it

    2 out of 5 2.0

    Have you had any problems with the car?

    Lots... - Leak in the boot, took garage 3 attempts to fix it. Spent a total of 12 days in the garage over all. (Was not covered by the warrenty). - Gear Stick froze in place on cold mornings. Caused by design fault in the cables, replaced with new design. - Rear window washer broke EVERY winter. - Radiator leak - Rev's all over the place when idling and engine is cold, sometimes stalled.

    What's most practical about your car?

    It's fine for up to 2 people on a short journey, that's it.

    Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

    Run Flat Tyres