BINI Cooper S
Turbo Mini Forums

So my girlfriend has inherited a little money, she is now considering saving up a bit, selling her car, and buying herself a Cooper S.

Her money so her choice, but is there anything I need to be aware of as I'll obviously be looking at the cars with her when the time comes. Any common faults or things to look out for?

Cheers

Tom

yes, she could very well loose all here new friends,lol

WWW.FORCE-RACING.CO.UK PLEASE CLICK HERE

mates got one, they are certainly a hoot to drive

watch out for cracks in windscreens, the screen seems to take quite a lot of loading and a crack can propagate quickly, my mates had 3 windscreens in 3 1/2 years just from stone chips!

other things that come to mind are sticky/ineffective rear calipers (look for rusty discs), steering column bushes, and also have a thorough look at the tyres, because they are run flats they can carry an array of nail/screws without you being none the wiser, obviously best not to have anything stuck in your tyres

Its her choice at the end of the day Carl, I personally don't mind the BINIS but each to their own!

Cheers Dan, I'll bear those bits in mind.

thier really slow !

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

i like them

i heard they had electrical faults in the first few years

Cracking cars Tom...

Check for the above and also check the electric steering pump doesnt randomly change its noise, it is noisy but should be linked to steering movement and turn off when you turn the engine off.

Anything else you want to know or you want me to find out a little about its history (warranty claims, number of keys etc) just pm the chassis number :)

AlexF

i also heard a rumour that if you were to kerb the front end hard enough it can cause the airbags to deploy,
some thing cropped up on pistonheads and one fella was looking at having to replace has passenger seat at a cost of 2k, ,ouch,

Edited by fastcarl on 8th Sep, 2007.

WWW.FORCE-RACING.CO.UK PLEASE CLICK HERE

It's a shame that you can't really fit anybody of a remotely large frame size behind the wheel of Binis. The blower sounds nice on the S's though!

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

They are quick on windy roads compared to other cars though.

When me and carl went on lakes tour he went ahead with the binis while i cam close behind (i was in my 1100) and can i just say, the speeds they were doing were 60+ on 1 lane "tracks"
so carl says

Back once again like a renegade master

Remember its for our lass, she probably won't be that bothered about ultimate speed through the B roads, she just wants something with some style that goes pretty well, theres plenty of other options really, but its the Cooper she likes. Obviously I've talked her into getting an 'S' if she does get one at all.

All from ear so correct me if Im wrong;

Bit heavy on fuel when they are cained, bout 30 i think combined though which aint bad.

Reliabilty must be good as no engine problems on any ive heard about except powersteering pump as alex says
and gearboxes blowing up (thats a differant story)

Back once again like a renegade master

tom one thing iv been told by a well known firm ,is that a bini 1 and cooper ,have exactly the same engine ,and the extra power from the cooper is a simple mod in the ecu by bwm to get the throttle wide open ,which on the fly by wire throttle system they all use ,on the bini 1 it apparently is not wide open so it limits the power ..!!

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

I second robert,

i had a go in one secently and though it was a bit sluggish,
the guy came round saying it'd be faster than my 7 port when its done (he dosent know anything about cars bless him!) so i took him for a spin in my 1380... he came back white (and i didnt even go fast )

anyway, they seem a bit dopey getting away, but once theyre rolling theyre not to bad, brakes seem good, plenty of grip, firm ride but not too harsh... feel sturdy and safe to so probably a good choice for the missus. boot space for the shopping isn't great though.

overall just a bit heavy for my liking.

I just bought an 07 with the Turbo and according to my mates who have 05's it has much more power off the line, the low end torque is better and the gearbox feels better. Like me they initially had a moment when they floored the thing the first time, the car takes off like a rocket and you aint quite ready for it!! Brakes are no problem, really stop you if thats what you want!

One thing I have heard about is a check engine light caused by the mass air sensor, its a firmware problem and is probably fixed by now. I had an intake leak that intermittantly robbed power but all is OK now.

The only thing with the 07 that I am not quite in tune with yet is the sport button, remember I only drive it occasionally but I would say that without it on the throttle is a bit sluggish with it on its maybe a bit too sensitive, I'd like a middle setting. Handling? what can I say I can't fault it as I dont have the balls to push it to the limit yet! And yes old Minis feel much faster but I would say the thing about the Bini is that it gets up to scary speeds without any fuss and you sometimes look down and are surprised just how bloody fast its going...

Edited by Turbo Tel on 8th Sep, 2007.

website:- http://www.terryhunt.co.uk

Ive heard some bad reviews on the 07 bini s.
Me uncle had one as a courtesy car which had only done 5k milage or somthink and he said the ride was completely differant to his 55 one.

BMWs own brand bini as rover were booted out for the redesign of the 56plate!!!!!

Back once again like a renegade master

AlexF

tom im afraid you might need a trip over to www.mini2.com lol

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

alex i hope you dont mind. ive pmd you regarding a bini subject.

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

the blower is noisy & irritating on long journeys, well it was for me

what?! The noise is like sweet sweet music to my ears!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KKTFSqPgms

AlexF

I like the exhaust pops on the modded ones as well when revved

Back once again like a renegade master

My sister had one and loved it.

Only real issues were the silly run flat tyres. Cost a fortune to replace and didn’t last that long too. Especially when they'd been curb crawling. (Pardon the pun.)

Only other things were front screen cracked and the rear spoiler got ripped off in an Auto car wash. LMAO.

And the boot space was a tad on the small side for all that girly shopping.

But she really enjoyed it. She now has a Civic type-r which she loves even more.

Si

I drill holes in everything..!