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2004 Mini One

George J

Herefordshire member
images


Not mine, but ...

I now have this model and colour legally on the road as of today!

I bought the car last November, but kept it parked while I ran my Toyota Aygo into the ground. The Aygo was officially scrapped and de-registered yesterday. Scrapping got me £145, which I find remarkable - nice of course, but more than I expected.

I put some petrol in the Mini and fitted a new three year guarantee battery - guaranteed to fail one week after being three years old! I am a real skin-flint. It was the cheapest I could buy, from Halford as it goes.

Anyhow, I drove over to my favourite local car garage to show them my latest vehicle. They have been servicing my various cars since 1979, so there is trust for sure.

Then I did a fifteen mile test run, and the Mini is actually rather nice, though the steering is alarming in its directness after the Aygo, and the exact opposite of my favourite car the Volvo 240 which I ran an example of from 2000 to 2011. That was made in 1989. Steering that car was interesting. You had to move the steering a long way before any perceived change of direction became apparent. The first reaction of the Volvo - long before any obvious actual change of direction was that the car leaned! But it was terribly stable and did not require fussy adjustments to direction ... It understeered for Sweden, or Great Britain or other old national stereo-types. The point was "never to go into a bend too fast."

But the Mini is like my Carlton bike. The steering is electrifyingly responsive. Sneeze and you could be over the hedge!

The engine is good, also the clutch. Brakes rather reticent, just like the Volvo, you have to shove, and the serious braking then kicks in. I like that. Not over-boosted. The clutch is also every bit as weighty as the Volvo. I like that.

I only paid £400 for mine, but it seems likely to be good for a few more years yet!

Best wishes from George
 
It’s a surprise to most people that the BMW Mini has been around for over 21 years.
Even the earliest cars still look good. They have their faults, as all cars do, but a fresh looking car can be had for, as George has, a few hu Fred quid.
I’d consider one if I didn’t need a container ship :(
 
Sneeze and you could be over the hedge!

I like that. I was once trying heavy braking in a mini traveller ‘69’ in the wet. The moment I lost traction it shot to the left up a bank which turned it on its side. I had to exit vertically through the passenger door. Oh the shame!
 
£400 for a go cart! Excellent!
Just take it easy for a while whilst getting used to it - as you say it's a lot livelier (and probably a fair bit quicker!) than the Aygo.

I'd be really tempted if I could find a decent one at that price!
 
You knew the Aygo was on it's last legs (last rims?) and bought its replacement, which you stashed while you wrang the last few drops out of the old Toyota.

I like that.

I am not sentimental about cars. I look at them as a useful tool to get about, hopefully at the least cost. Hence - bangernomics!

Sadly, I sold the Volvo for £165 [scrap value at the time] to a friend as in two years I had only put 1600 milers it. There was no rust [galvanised and good paint]. The engine was especially quiet and smooth and did not need additional oil between oil changes. The interior did not show its 120,000 smile usage at all ... But VED was £240 a year.

With hindsight, that old car might still be running for me, and all the car I could possibly ask for.

The new owner had it stolen only months later, and the car was used for a ram raid, and was shortly after set on fire and pushed into the River Wye in Herefordshire. Such a sad end for a truly great car.

But hindsight is 20/20, and foresight blinkered.

Best wishes from George
 
One of the best colours for the Mini, I also like Gunmetal Grey & Green.

Enjoy & happy motoring.
 
£400 for a go cart! Excellent!
Just take it easy for a while whilst getting used to it - as you say it's a lot livelier (and probably a fair bit quicker!) than the Aygo.

I'd be really tempted if I could find a decent one at that price!

No; it is not quicker than the Aygo - at least in the lowest tuning as mine is.

It is great handling car with fairly weighty pedal inputs. The steering is like the original mini. Very responsive. Very small inputs.

But it drives quite similar to my old Volvo 240 - steering apart. It does not speed up with a steady throttle pressure, and is very easy to keep to speed limits. On the other hand it has a bundle of torque so that it keeps bowling uphill without loosing speed. The Aygo was a torque catastrophe. It bogged on any serious one in five, but the Mini is like the Volvo. Once on top gear you can climb a one in five in fifth gear without digging into the throttle pedal.

It is an old fashioned drive with a biggish engine for its size, but like the Volvo tuned for torque rather than power. I like that. So far it has averaged 42 mpg according to the computer.

Best wishes from George
 
I've got a 2021 Mini Cooper S as a courtesy car ATM. I hate the steering. As a car it is well put together, I find the dash a bit cluttered, almost chaotic. A nice car, pokey.
 
The same era R53 Mini S with superchargers are a hoot too. The engine blocks are tough...cast iron job but went downhill on the next model
 
I've got a 2021 Mini Cooper S as a courtesy car ATM. I hate the steering. As a car it is well put together, I find the dash a bit cluttered, almost chaotic. A nice car, pokey.
A mini as a courtesy car in place of a 911? That seems a bit mean.
 
Cooper S. Not going to be any slouch, and I bet a lot of fun on a winding A road with light traffic.


it is alot of fun, steering is weird, I don't much like front wheel drive, but it gets going once gearbox catches up. Sport mode helps things out. Very nicely built and put together.

Much nicer, and well built than the Golf I had before as a courtesy car.
 
it is alot of fun, steering is weird, I don't much like front wheel drive, but it gets going once gearbox catches up. Sport mode helps things out. Very nicely built and put together.

Much nicer, and well built than the Golf I had before as a courtesy car.
Golfs are not what they were. Back in the 80s they were head and shoulders better than the competition, but last time I drove one I was very disappointed.
 
Golfs are not what they were. Back in the 80s they were head and shoulders better than the competition, but last time I drove one I was very disappointed.

I'm quite enjoying the mini, would consider one as a retirement car, in about 3 years. Enjoying it sufficiently to play with the configurator on the Mini website.....

I have never really liked Golfs, from those I've experienced as courtesy cars. I've always found the driving position very uncomfortable, the controls and interior plasticy- all a bit average, and I'm going back about 15 years or so, and about 4 or 5 different instances and models of golf.
 
A mini as a courtesy car in place of a 911? That seems a bit mean.

only get more Pork if it is two or three days. Any longer then it is normally a Golf or a smaller VW, but the only auto they had was the Mini Cooper S. It is ok, and way better built than any VW I've driven recently
 
I have a 2004 Cooper in black. Had it from new! 85000 miles and I use it everyday, even taking three kids to school in it.
 
My other car is a 2020 Mini convertible in silver which I bought last March. It has the 2 litre, 230bhp engine and now has a mere 7,300 on the clock. It goes like the clappers but is cheaper to insure than my conventional family car. All I need now is warmer weather.
 
I have got used to the very responsive steering now on day two. It can take a nice line easily, and is the best handling car I have ever driven. [I did drive a 911 once, belonging to a friend of my father. I never got it out of third gear or more than 45 mph! The owner sold it before too long after that. Without crashing he spun it twice in the wet and decided that discretion is the better part of valour!].

I like the gearing [five speed manual] where fifth is not too long legged. The synchro is as good as new, but I do like to double de-clutch changing down, however archaic that might be. It saves transmission wear and rocking of the engine.

Though the service indicator shows seven thousand miles till service due, I'll get it into the garage for and oil change and inspection before Easter. I'll try to see it on the ramp, and then can decide on how much to maintain it. In the Toyota's case not at all as it was rusting badly among other expensive to fix issues.

Looks like I may have a better deal than I managed with the little Aygo, though that was cheap to run and was reliable. It certainly earned its keep.

Thanks for your nice replies, George
 


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