Hi! I’m looking to purchase my first car and found a cheap 2007 Mini Cooper. I was wondering what the reliability of this car was.
Also, I know it depends on the location and shop, but on average is a mini cooper a more expensive car to fix or less expensive to fix?
Any other tips/advice/things I should know?
Any tips for car shopping in general?
First, reliability and mini-Cooper do not belong in the same sentence. Second, they are setting expensive to repair. I’ll leave it to others to provide buying tips.
How much will they give you to take it ? please stop looking at fringe vehicles for your first vehicle
+1
Poor reliability and expensive repairs might be more important than the fun you would have driving a Mini. Before you decide on the car, determine what you want to do with it, how much you want to spend for fuel, how much for maintenance, and how much you want to spend for the purchase. Gas is relatively cheap now, but that probably won’t last forever. It turns out that maintenance is often a lot more expensive than repairs, even for unreliable cars, if you pay someone to maintain it. You can easily pay $75 for a full synthetic oil change. When you settle in what you want in a car, we can help you find one.
Hi! This is my first vehicle in the sense that it’s the first that is going to be in my name. I’ve been using a family members old car for the past 3 years now.
Also, the cooper I found is $1,400.
I’m not looking for specific cars, I’m looking for cheap cars. I honestly don’t know anything about cars, which is why when I find one that catches my eye, I come on here to ask about it.
After coming here to get some information, depending on if I want to go a little further in pursuing the car, I’ll then talk to some friends who know a little more about cars then me. One of my friends has a car-savvy brother that will come with on the cars I decide to go look at in person. & if I like it in person, and he thinks it’s good, then I will take it to a shop to see what they say about it.
It’s a whole process to make sure I do this right!
A cheap Mini might be the most expensive car you ever own. Take a look on the ETC1 site on YouTube. Eric the mechanic bought a used Mini for his son. It did not go well! His son never got the car an Eric was lucky to sell it for a $500 loss and he did all the work… free labor and it was still a loser.
I completely agree, which is why I brought it to the forum so that I can learn about the reliability and expenses! But thank you so much for reminding me to not just look at repairs, but maintenance! This is definitely important.
Wow, thank you for letting me know!
Haha, wow, good to know!
You are in the no mans price range at 1400.00 . You could post 100 different vehicles and still not have an idea of its worth , reliability or future costs . If this person is willing to go with you then you should select 3 vehicles to look at and maybe one will be worth a chance . Used vehicles are a risk and the lower the price the bigger risk.
@Mustangman stole the words right out of my mouth.
You should be looking for a used Honda Civic for your first car… or a Toyota Corolla… Those would be the first two top picks I would recommend to you as your first ride. Each is capable of fitting both of your criteria of being inexpensive and somewhat affordable parts wise…now “repair” wise is a different matter as that cost is dependent upon how competent or expensive the shop will be that you will use for repairs. Parts might be affordable…but service usually is not. Neither vehicle mentioned above is known for widespread failures which require a service station.
Learning how to repair your own vehicle is one of the most relavent things to learn if you want to own any vehicle more affordably than the next guy. The more you know and the more you can repair…the more you save.
Thanks so much! This was really helpful. I really appreciate the advice and recommendations. I have a Toyota Corolla in mind, I will definitely look into a Honda Civic. Thanks again!
Actually, they can be used in the same sentence, as long as “very poor” is inserted before “reliability”.
Oh the Hilarity I say… You definitely do not want to be looking at an aging German vehicle if you are seeking reliability and low cost of maintenance.
The are diametrically opposed notions.
I had a 2007 Mini Cooper that I bought new. I sold it before the warranty went out. 2007 was one of their worse years for reliability.