I may have to get rid of the S2000 CR due to a new baby and a low paying job. It saddens me to know that I can't keep the car any more, and I'm sure I'll be back in another one some time in the near future. Hell, I've owned 2 S2000s in the past 3 years. That just speaks volumes of what a terrific vehicle we all have the chance of enjoying!
Now I've been looking at my options, such as an Acura RSX (preferrably Type-S variant), Honda Civic (doesn't matter if Si or not, as long as it's equipped with a manual transmission), and Honda Fit Sport.
After a week of going through my options, I realized I am merely looking at Hondas, so today I expanded my horizon to other cars that may be purchased with a manual tranny. I'm talking about cars like the Toyota Yaris, which I don't really like, but it gets phenomenal gas mileage; Mini Cooper because even a used S version is pretty cheap, according to prices on websites like CarMax and Cars.com; and a few other tiny 2-door coupes.
I know a bit about all the cars I've been considering, except for the Cooper's reliability. So can someone please chime in on this? I haven't ever owned a German vehicle, and I know that's irrelevant information there but it could mean the difference between owning a vehicle that may be driven 90+ miles per day without a problem or a vehicle that will be in the shop for days on end.
So if anyone here knows anything about the Cooper S, most likely the supercharged version, please feel free to drop your knowledge.

I'm looking for specific details, by the way, such as common problems with maintenance, cost of ownership, etc.

Thank you! I appreciate the input.

P.S: I'll be going out around noon tomorrow to check out some of the options I have listed, so I'm hoping you guys can chime in about the Cooper before I leave so that way I know whether or not it is worth looking at.

 

This doesn't answer your question, but I was so turned off by the sales people @ Mini ("We might consider selling you one close to the sticker price...if you're lucky" even though there were 100 on the lot and I was the only customer) that I walked across the street and leased a 3-series for the same money.

 

I've got a Yaris. I'll trade it for your CR.
I kid I kid.

But since i've got a Yaris, I can honestly say it's a really nice car. I didn't really like it at first, but it's grown a lot on me. I've got the 3 door liftback (or hatcbback) but they do make a sedan or 5 door liftback option.
It really does get awesome mileage, and it's really a fun little car, it handles pretty well but probably because it's so small and light (it's about a quarter of a ton lighter then the S2K). If you want it to be more of a sport car (which i'm guessing you do) then you'll probably want to get a rear sway bar and better tires, as i've heard both are a must, and the sway bar is on my to-do list for it actually.
And the cost of ownership? Well gas around here is about 2.70 bucks a gallon, yet I can still fill up my car for about 20 bucks about every 2-3 weeks. Maintenance is pretty inexpensive too, i'm actually going to take it in for it's 10k mile service today and it should only cost me around less then 50 bucks.


If you want to do some mods, go for the liftback. It's got a lot more things available for it.
But it's a really good DD. I've had mine for over a year and I love it.
I say go check it out, you might like it.
I hear the Mini is really nice too, but I've also heard different things about it's reliability, I don't own/have owned one so I can't say much about it though.

 

But its a CR! My advice is that if u can genuinely afford to keep your s2k without strain, then I see no reason to sell it. If so, I would just buy like a cheap civic for like 2-3k and keep your s2k. If its just the gas mileage, I don't think thats enough to give up a CR lol. If it was more of a financial reason then I would get rid of the CR and get something cheap once again, maybe around 5k for cash and just be done with car payments (assuming you have the S financed) until you and your family can really get back under your feet.

I was in a similar situation except I was in the position to have to get rid of my ap1 because when I owned the vehicle I was going to school at a CC and working valet parking making good money, I then got into Umiami into the engineering school and realized that there is no way I will be able to work and afford this car payment/insurance. So as much as it hurt I had to sell my beloved s2k. I say that because I don't personally regret selling it because there was just literally no way I could keep it, but if there was a way I could have kept it and then I got rid of it, I would be sick right now . So if you can afford to keep it, keep it and get a cheap reliable car for yourself, and if you can't afford to keep it then you must part ways and just look forward to your next CR or whatever you want

But to answer your direct question, I like the Fit the best personally. Still a fairly fun car to drive due to its size it will seat 4 and it is obviously a 4 door which I would imagine would be much easier for a babyseat. And I wanna say you can find the 1st gen Fit sports for around 10k now?

Lol sorry for the rant, just trying to help.

 

Yes, get a FIT, awesome gas mileage, looks awesome, etcetc. I've also heard mixed opinions on the reliability on the Coopers. I guess it all comes down to who owned it before and if they took car of it, just like any other car.

 

Don't sell the CR, dude! There's gotta be another way. :\

Skip the Cooper, RSX-S unabused would be your best bet. You can get one for 8-12k, they get awesome mileage, tons of storage space, really fun to drive, picks up great gains with just bolt-ons, etc etc.

 

your not going to want a 2 door car with a baby. its a hassle to move them in and out of the back seat or move other things like the car seat and stuff.

look for a 4 door. first thing comes to mind is a 4dr si.

 

I picked up an 07 Mini Cooper S this summer to replace my 1992 Sentra SE-R as a daily driver. The MCS is the most fun FWD car I have ever driven, including the ITR. The Cooper S version has an amazingly torque power band. Brakes, steering, throttle, clutch are all awesome. The transmission feel is OK, but it will feel vague compared to someone used to Honda manual transmissions. Fuel economy is fantastic. And prices have really come down to reasonable levels on the used ones, especially those not at a Mini dealer.

The biggest issues with the Cooper S (issues that the regular Cooper does NOT have) are the high pressure fuel pump failures and carbon build up on the valves. BMW has extended the warranty on all Mini HPFPs to 120,000mi. And valve carbon buildup is a common on all gasoline direct injection engines as there is no fuel washing over the vales and cleaning them anymore with direct injection. The fix for carbon build up is regular doses of Seasfoam.

Andrew

 

We have an 09 Cooper S 6spd with LSD. Really really fun car. Great for the street, makes good torque under 3,000 rpm so you don't really need to rev it to accelerate from lights. The brakes are good, lots of good safety and luxury features drawn from the BMW family. With an Accessport tune it will make 200 whp and 250 wtq.

We're getting about 34 MPG mixed driving. Reliability has been ok so far, had a small oil leak off the turbo return line that was replaced under warranty but other than that no issues. The only issue is that the car is still not big/roomy. If you're over 6'0" it's tough to sit in the back and the trunk isn't much without the rear seats folded down. It's not an adequete replacement for a family sedan if you need something like an Accord, Camry etc.

 

FOr the price you sell your CR for you can pick up another S and an RSX.