Mini cooper vs. VW beetle

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I'm looking for a used car for my daughter. She has narrowed down her desires(which I'll take into consideration!) to either a mini cooper or "new beetle" coupes. Auto transmission.

Any comments, opinions on either?

Thanks
 
Has she actually seen the interior, sat in either one of these? My wife wanted a mini, but the moment she saw the Barbie-style interior, she wanted nothing to do with it.

Other than that, the mini is supposed to a more sporty, better handling car of the two, if that's something she cares about. However, I think the only engine option on the mini is a turbo, which may prove slightly more problematic down the road. Beetle offers both turbo as well as non-turbo engine options, if I'm not mistaken.
 
Mini all the way. Better looking, better performance, slightly better reliability.
 
Make 100% sure they did not follow the Mini 15,000 mile LOF cycle or it will need timing chains. They even have a name for it called Mini Death Rattle. I agree with above that Mini interiors do look like plastic kids outdoor play sets, really cheap.
 
A good friend had a mini with turbo. Developed serious timing chain rattle and dealer wanted $2500 to repair as it was 500 miles out of warranty even though the rattle issue was brought to the dealer prior to out of warranty.

Instead of repair, a trade for another yielded only a 11k trade-in. A Toyota dealer offered 13k trade for a Toyota. It was traded. I noticed this rattle and the friend thought it was the way it was suppose to be indicating to me it was there from almost new. I seriously think the mini turbo has a defect in this manner and they will dish it on the owner if they can get away with it.

I drove it and it didn't fit my fancy either and certainly knowing the circumstances of it, I would never buy one.
 
In 1967 , the Coopers were made in Great Britian, guess they still are. Performance was 0-60 in 12 secs with about 55hp, now they have roughly 120 plus hp and o-60 in 6 secs and the mileage is still about the same, 37mpg for both years.

My old 67 beetle was 0-60 in 30 seconds, mercy. Cost was $1620.00 Top speed when new was about 90 maybe, depending on the mood of the engine,lol It had about 58 hp or so.

I would rather have the new Mini,imho......I was younger once.
 
Thanks for replies so far. She has sat in and driven a mini and was fine with it.
I've heard that the years to look at for minis are the 2005 and 2006s. Engine option those years was the S, supercharged.
Really don't know much at all about the beetles, though I'd admit I've never been a VW fan.

Any other thoughts?
 
If it's about reliability, it's the VW. I hate to sound all consumer reportsy, but especially for a first car..and she's not expressing a preference.. who needs the headaches?
 
When she sees a new FIAT 500,she will probably get a hankering for one of those...
 
JMO... this would be a great time to teach her about looking at the reliability of a automobile. Not just what they look like. Unless you have money to burn, I would not get either of the two. Just one more thing. The new Jetta and VW Bugs are German owned...Made in MEXICO. I'll let you fill in the blank ____________________.
 
They're both towards the bottom of reliability ratings, but I'd suggest a TDI Beetle. 40+ mpg, and the diesel motors seem to have fewer problems than their gas counterparts. Oh, and put Rotella T6 in it.
 
I will pile on; either one of those cars I would not want used unless you are familiar with the "joys" of their ownership and have good documentation from a previous enthusiast owner.

You haven't indicated the details regarding your daughter (age, financial situation, but I understand that) but if she is far away or is on a limited budget, perhaps other cars might be a better choice. Not trying to pry, just trying to indicate these might not be the best choice for some.

Needs that become wants come @ a price.
 
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Originally Posted By: NHGUY
When she sees a new FIAT 500,she will probably get a hankering for one of those...


500, Mini, and Beetle are my 15-year-old daughter's preferences, as well. I told her to save her money, and if she wanted the VW to save some more for the inevitable repairs.
 
Ummmm....neither.

Granted my experience is with a female owned MINI Cooper S and a New Beetle TDi. Neither have been exactly reliable.

The TDi didn't make it to 70,000 miles before suffering a complete fuel system failure. The MINI suffered what she called a "fatal engine error". Both were exclusively dealer maintained.

By comparison, my decidedly non-dealer maintained turbocharged PT Cruiser is a paragon of reliability.

I don't know that one is necessarily safer than the other. If I had to guess, I would go with a minute advantage to the New Beetle just because you are so far away from the dash.

You're buying it. Get something you want her to have. 2000-2007 Taurus comes to mind. It's not "too big". Mechanics know the car well when and if it does break. It's safe. I've personally witnessed a Taurus driver try to go from far left lane to exit, slam into a concrete wall at a 45° angle, bounce off the wall and into the back tires of a semi trailer and bounce off those to come spinning to a stop. I thought to myself, "That's a fatality." Driver gets out. Disoriented but intact. And finally, it's a Taurus. Useless unemployed C-student boyfriends aren't going to want to go racing in a girlfriend's Taurus. They will in a MINI.
 
Originally Posted By: vssjim
Make 100% sure they did not follow the Mini 15,000 mile LOF cycle or it will need timing chains. They even have a name for it called Mini Death Rattle. I agree with above that Mini interiors do look like plastic kids outdoor play sets, really cheap.


The death rattle on the S models with the turbo engine has zero do do with the OCI. The 15K OCI is too long however: Mini now specifies a 10K OCI. I do mine at 5K.

The turbo engines are sourced from Peugeot. I had mine in for the annual inspection and they found a small oil leak at the bolt for the timing chain tensioner. They ended up replacing the bolt tensioner and the bolt. It was caught early enough that the chain was fine, My service advisor said this is a known issue and there is a service campaign. They originally thought the problem was 2007-09 models but have since found others, so they check any car in for service now. Peugeot cannot determine which engines are affected either.

I worked for VW for eight years, and between my ex and I, we had 6. Some were great, but the bad ones were truly horrid. Never again.

Would I buy another Mini? I'm not sure- the Fiat 500 Abarth looks pretty cool, and initial reports aren't bad.
 
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Originally Posted By: drfeelgood
Thanks for replies so far. She has sat in and driven a mini and was fine with it.
I've heard that the years to look at for minis are the 2005 and 2006s. Engine option those years was the S, supercharged.
Really don't know much at all about the beetles, though I'd admit I've never been a VW fan.

Any other thoughts?


OK if you are after the 2005-06 model, these were first generation models. These cars do not suffer from the timing chain/tensioner issues. Also, the Mini fanatics far prefer the earlier models to the 2007-current models. I don't see the bug deal- I like my 2009 just fine.

Earlier models with the CVT models can be somewhat troublesome, and the clutch is expensive to replace on those with the manual. Cheapest I have seen is the Mini dealer at $1500.

One more thing. Minis have by far the best brakes of any car I have ever driven. They wear quickly- expect to do front brakes and rotors at 30-40K miles. My local independent Mini shop will do the job for $250, so it is not terribly expensive.
 
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I have several friends who drive Minis (they're still a new fad around here). I think they're a blast to drive, easy to park, look great, and have a ton of interior room.

At least for the people I know, they do seem to have a disproportionate number of mechanical problems -- Though, I think a lot of it has to do with aggressive driving, coupled with our terrible roads, and a general laissez-faire attitude towards maintenance.
 
My wife's '09 Mini just passed 35000 miles and we have not had a single issue with it. We opted for the base (non S)version that is not direct injected with the 6 speed MT.

On a subjective side note, I just love driving this car. Everything the driver touches like the shifter, gas pedal and switch gear feel like quality pieces. I have also been impressed with the BMW/Peugeot joint venture engine's economy and performance.

We recently paid it off and plan on keeping it for the long run and the only regret we have is that Mini does not offer the diesel option in the US.

Here is a link to an interesting article on the Mini petrol engine:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2004/12/14/new_mini_38_psa_engine_range_in_detail/
 
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