Mini cooper or Element?

[xxx-Lost-Soul-xxx]

I only have one Car now,and thats the Euro E28.
I need something to daily and beat with cold AC.

I need sumthing with better fuel that what i get on the E28.
I get 20.0 on the Highway I wanna garage it,and i finally have a job where i can afford two cars.

I suggested the element because i can throw shit in the back and not really give a shit,the mini is cute as hell,but i heard it sucks balls in regards to owership.

Id be open to a E46 330/325I or MK4 GLI but no one has them anymore.


Whats the size comparison XB vs Element? And it WILL BE a manual. If i have to have a NEW Car im making payments onit has to be somewhat fun.

[camshaftgsxr]

Element is bigger than the xb by a margin

[FunfGan]

I bought my well maintained, mostly stock r53 for $5000.

2 months or so later I was $11,000+ deep into it.

That's all I have to say.

[kway]

I know the tensioners on the newer ones R56 aren't always installed well, so they'll back out. Never heard of an outright failure though....

The r56 timing chain issues are well documented. When they start to make noise, timing chain "stretch" is measured; if it's within a certain tolerance, you can supposedly get away with simply installing an updated tensioner. If it's out of spec, you replace the timing chain/guide rails as a "cassette", along with a new tensioner. I've done I think five or six over the past year, year and a half. Every one that's come in needed the whole job, not just the tensioner. We had one fatality come in out of warranty, customer was stuck replacing the engine on his own dime.

I think I'm the only guy in the shop that doesn't mind working on minis, but I would never own one. I don't like working on my own car, my daily driver that is; working on my toy cars is still fun. Minis need shit done all the time, last thing I want to do on a weekend is some bullshit job on my commuter car.

[BobombETA]

I only have one Car now,and thats the Euro E28.
I need something to daily and beat with cold AC.

I need sumthing with better fuel that what i get on the E28.
I get 20.0 on the Highway I wanna garage it,and i finally have a job where i can afford two cars.

I suggested the element because i can throw shit in the back and not really give a shit,the mini is cute as hell,but i heard it sucks balls in regards to owership.

Id be open to a E46 330/325I or MK4 GLI but no one has them anymore.


Whats the size comparison XB vs Element? And it WILL BE a manual. If i have to have a NEW Car im making payments onit has to be somewhat fun.

e46, yes.

mk4 vw, no. trust me.

[Navarone]

Buy my matrix for $3k and drop a new motor in it. Very practical car, great on gas, I've pushed it to 40mpg, 5speed, ladies love it.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts/4596692821.html

[Stanley Rockafella]

for a daily that meets the requirements OP needs, I purchased an 07 focus last summer, fully loaded and with 60k, for 5g's (you could get it cheaper in cali.)

I beat that thing daily and it never misses a beat. parts are cheap and easy to replace (cheaper than any import) and the performance is hard to beat for something that cheap and reliable. a/c is cold, auto shifts great, and all power accessories work flawlessly.

only repairs/maint I did was new front rotors and pads, new tires and a set of rear shock mounts...that's it! thing handles awesome

[smooth]

i only have one car now,and thats the euro e28.
I need something to daily and beat with cold ac.

I need sumthing with better fuel that what i get on the e28.
I get 20.0 on the highway i wanna garage it,and i finally have a job where i can afford two cars.

I suggested the element because i can throw shit in the back and not really give a shit,the mini is cute as hell,but i heard it sucks balls in regards to owership.

Id be open to a e46 330/325i or mk4 gli but no one has them anymore.


Whats the size comparison xb vs element? And it will be a manual. If i have to have a new car im making payments onit has to be somewhat fun.

alh tdi

[xxx-Lost-Soul-xxx]

alh tdi

MK4,id do. i cant stand mk5

[xxx-Lost-Soul-xxx]

I think I'm the only guy in the shop that doesn't mind working on minis, but I would never own one. I don't like working on my own car, my daily driver that is; working on my toy cars is still fun. Minis need shit done all the time, last thing I want to do on a weekend is some bullshit job on my commuter car.

thanks, this is what i needed to hear.

[BLACKCHARM88]

Get an mid 90's Jeep Cherokee and do a E30 grill swap. Lifted e30ix wagon, you mad bro?

[kway]

I will say though that the mini owners seem to love them and most are willing to look past their neediness and just keep feeding them money. Although one of our techs had one before he started with us; loved it, but saw the writing on the wall with all the ones that we were seeing and pitched his before it had a chance to go downhill.

[nrubenstein]

In the small car land, it would be pretty hard not to go for a Focus these days.

[Navarone]

A new focus st would be awesome, older focuses meh

[xxx-Lost-Soul-xxx]

I will say though that the mini owners seem to love them and most are willing to look past their neediness and just keep feeding them money. .

I am not though, i am pulling the E28 off the road to start getting it ready to paint.

Ill look at a fukus