The cars and bikes thread!

[Raza]

Mini Cooper:

A close friend of mine had one about 8-10 years ago he bought pre-owned as a fun weekend car. Roomy, peppy, great "road track" country backwoods road handling. Within 2 years he sold it due to excessive repair cost. When it needed a clutch the shop bill was $1,500. Soon after that the cooling fan for the steering system was another $1,500. The BMW dealership where they were sold new was the only shop in town that would work on that car and their shop rate was quite a bit higher than most. That soured his ownership experience.

5 years later: (his words)
He got a Range Rover Evoque for his wife to drive. Another lovely vehicle. When it came time for an oil change he discovered Rover adds a dye or something to the engine oil and if they don't see the dye when you come in it voids the warranty. For the dealership to change the oil was something like $500-$750.

Now she drives some top end Acura sport model.

That’s what I’m worried about. A GTI might make more sense, but I’ve always liked Minis. 8-10 years ago would be second generation, I wonder if the third generation is any more reliable.

[Raza]

I took a 2 hour passenger ride in a Cooper s a month or two ago, killed my back. Couldn't adjust the seat to make it comfy. That's all.

That’s one of those things you can’t really account for until you do it. I remember my old Passat would eat the miles, no problem. My subsequent Jetta’s seats looked roughly the same, but after about 3 hours of driving, I’d have to pull off and take a quick break because the lower back support just wasn’t good enough. But then the thin seats in my Z4 have excellent support and I can do a 5-6 hour drive in that and pop our fresh as a daisy. A bit deaf, but fresh as a daisy.

[mlcor]

That’s one of those things you can’t really account for until you do it. I remember my old Passat would eat the miles, no problem. My subsequent Jetta’s seats looked roughly the same, but after about 3 hours of driving, I’d have to pull off and take a quick break because the lower back support just wasn’t good enough. But then the thin seats in my Z4 have excellent support and I can do a 5-6 hour drive in that and pop our fresh as a daisy. A bit deaf, but fresh as a daisy.

Reminds me of my old Lotus Elise. The seats were essentially aluminum frames with no adjustments whatsoever except for forward and back, covered with maybe an inch of foam and leather. And yet, I could do multi-hour drives, no problem. Of course I was a lot younger then, not sure I could even get out that thing after a multi-hour drive now.

[litlmn]

That’s what I’m worried about. A GTI might make more sense, but I’ve always liked Minis. 8-10 years ago would be second generation, I wonder if the third generation is any more reliable.

From what I’ve read starting with the 2015 model they seem to hold up decently well.

What about a Hyundai Veloster? You can get a 2018-19 turbo R with a stick.


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[litlmn]

Did my intercooler swap today. Took a wee bit longer than I had anticipated as I had to fabricate an adapter.

I forgot to take an after pic without the bumper on. The factory one is about 1/3 the size of the new one.






All this crap was inside the bumper and up behind the stock intercooler.




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[Raza]

From what I’ve read starting with the 2015 model they seem to hold up decently well.

What about a Hyundai Veloster? You can get a 2018-19 turbo R with a stick.


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I can’t get over the looks. I nearly physically retch every time I see one. It’s almost as bad as the Nissan Juke was.

[geoffbot]

Did my intercooler swap today. Took a wee bit longer than I had anticipated as I had to fabricate an adapter.

I forgot to take an after pic without the bumper on. The factory one is about 1/3 the size of the new one.






All this crap was inside the bumper and up behind the stock intercooler.




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Dope. I need a garage and some tools. And a car to practice wrenching on

[geoffbot]

Dope https://www.reddit.com/r/BMW/comment...m_source=share

[litlmn]

I can’t get over the looks. I nearly physically retch every time I see one. It’s almost as bad as the Nissan Juke was.

I’m with you there, I am not a fan. But I figured if you were it would be a viable option.


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[litlmn]

So apparently there is a reason why I am an analyst and not a mechanic. I had to adjust one of the hose clamps as I was getting a boost leak. On the bright side it gave me a chance to take that after pic with the new and stock intercoolers.




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