They look like they would be fun to drive and get 40 mpg on the highway.
Am I missing something?
Are they expensive to own like my Audi Quattro was?
whelennut

I hear that they come from the factory with a built-in rifle rack......that only accepts .270s.....

Google steering issues..There have been quite a few of what were initially "unexplained" crashes in these a few years back. IIRC, the power steering pumps were prone to failure and even if it did not cause an accident, they were a very expensive repair..

BMW might very well have resolved the issue by now, but I'd look into it before buying, especially if I intended buying secondhand..

My boss has one, she enjoys it but says an extended warranty is a must. Hers was recently in the shop and while fixing one thing, they screwed up something else.

Think the original repair was something like 12-14 hours. Can't recall what it was, but it's something that normally shouldn't take a couple of hours.

Three trips back to the shop in total for that one repair.

Was told repair and maintainence was
very expensive, not owner servicable.

What does a regular Cooper look like?

Don't know, they never found him.

Non-metro Cooper:

http://cooperfirearms.com/classic

My grand son had one. They are money pits. He was always getting something repaired.

Buy two, so you can drive one while the other is in the shop.

Seriously.

Mt daughter had one for three years with no problems. She loved that little car. She used it to commute daily in Los Angeles.

Charlize Theron looked good in one in "The Italian Job".

If you want a fun small sports car, that is cheap to own, the Miata is probably the best one. I had a 99 and kept it for 3 years, and had very minimal trouble with it. Tires, spark plugs, and regular maintenance was about it. The radiator eventually started leaking, but I replaced that myself, and it was relatively easy.

Two caveats - they are small inside, and six footers won't fit. Second caveat - they lower the IQ's of drivers around you Living in the big city, I had a couple people deliberately cut me off or harass me, and several times I had people pull in front of me, acting as if I wasn't there. I finally sold it after too many near misses.

If you remember the story of James Dean the actor, he was killed when a car didn't see his small silver Porsche on a remote highway. My Miata was silver, and I finally realized, small silver cars just aren't seen by people in traffic. So get a bright color, if you get a sports car.

I do miss driving down a mountain road, on a nice day, with the top down, enjoying the scenery.

I run a shop that specializes in Euro cars ?
Mini ?
Not on your life.

Yes they are as bad if not worse than your Audi.

Don't know about repairs and maintenance, but I do know they are a blast to drive.

It would be likened to a rat in a beer can in a collision though...

So how is it worse than a motorcycle? People apparently don't worry about wrecks when they buy a car or everyone would be driving a tank.

Never seen the Italian Job?

Yes, as a double feature with The Brazilian Wax

Once upon a time when I was driving tow truck as a second job I went to a collision between an Oldsmobile and a Mini.
The Mini did pretty well and I was impressed.
They get almost the same gas mileage as my Harley Davidson motorcycle.
If I ever decide I am to old for a motorcycle I will need a sports car.
Maybe a Honda S2000?

For your wife, right?

If I were to buy a little sporty car, it'd be a 1 series BMW.

If you can get a 1M, I'm betting it'll appreciate in value.

This, and get ready to pay through the nose for all those repairs.

Oh, and who ever told you 40mpg is FOS.

like twisted steel and sex appeal

I think one would make a really cool bbq pit!

Either that or a Smart Car.

Do it right; go Fiat.

I did always like the way the pit door would open on an old BMW Isetta!!!

Hmm.... There's a thought.

I think the Honda S2000's are well liked by their owners, and have good power 230+hp, but they quit making them in 2009.

The BMW Z4 got a facelift in 2009 and is still in production. The 6 cyl versions are a beast with 340+ hp, but will be spendy to own.

Miatas are still in production, too.

This. My coworker did have a Mini that was factory supercharged, ad to get the timing belt changed it was like $1K, mostly because you have to take apart the front end to do it. They are known for terrible reliability, so while nice, I would pass.

I used to work for the company that made interiors on the Z3 & Z4 (2002-2007). I can show you where the Z3 and earlier Z4 are held together with superglue. Literally. we PAID people to superglue the interior together. Likely not so on later/current models, but with that new one, you better check the engine. some (not sure about this model) of the current BMW's have engines that are factory sealed, so you cannot work on them. Work can ONLY be done at the dealer.

The Honda S2000 is avery nice car, just remember that you can only run premium/hi-test fuel in it. Of all mentioned, that is my personal fave and the one I would likely buy, were in the market for such a car

Id rather have a car, especially when Texas roads are covered with thousands of older F250s driven by welfare mexicans with high crash rates.

If you like driving go karts, the S2000 is a blast and easily the more dependable when compared to the Beemers/Coopers/Miatas.

You don't have to "take apart the front end". The front body has to be removed (like a race car) to get to most anything on the engine. This adds markedly to the price of most any repair, and is the reason why they are available used, usually from a female, cheap.

A friend bought a supercharged model with 60K miles. He's been driving it 25K/yr for nearly 3yr with zero issues, at least nothing he hasn't been able to fix himself. His commuting speed is about 85mph, and he gets low 30mpg.

The S model is capable of speeds and turns that the stock brakes cannot keep up with, so if you plan to flog it, upgrade the brakes.

$1k for a timing belt replacement is pretty typical for a lot of vehicles, not just Mini's.

If going "go kart" I'd go Carterham. Even the little 200hp ones go sub 4 seconds 0-60 and stick to the road like gum. Get a new one for about 50K. Nice used one for about the same as a new slicked up Mini.

I have seen Ford pickups where the sheet metal had to come off to work on the engine.
Compared to a motorcycle which I have been driving for almost 40 years almost any little car is safer. People never see you on a motorcycle either or they run stop signs to get ahead of you.

No she died from cancer four years ago.

Buy an extended warranty and get the countryman model or however it is spelled.