Hey guys. First post here.

I have a 2010 MINI Cooper S which I bought new last December. Great car, really. Awesome in the corners, great community, pretty quick, incredible MPG, etc etc etc. I do love my car oh so much.

I had never even noticed the S2000s until I read about them from an article. I thought "Hey, that car is really good looking." Very surprised to see it was a Honda. Then I started noticing them a little more. And some more.... and some more. I got curious and looked them up. Everyone kept talking about how well it drives- so, naturally, I scheduled a test drive. Got the to dealership... he handed me the keys... top was down... and I was off.

I fell in love. Seriously- I walked away wanting to trade my car in THAT second. Always wanted a convertible, but never have found one that looks good with the top up. I would have the top down unless it was snowing or raining. Other than that- always always down.

Anyways- on to the question.
I have invested over $3,000 in my MINI. Exhaust, intake, coilovers, roof rack, etc. My MINI has a factory warranty for another 2.3 years/36,000 miles.
I REALLY want an S2000. But I don't know if it'd be worth it to give up a new car- with a warranty + all my upgrades- that I absolutely do love, for a car that has around ~35k miles and is a 2007-2009. Some general questions:

Do you all think it would be a stupid decision to trade my car in for this S2K? (The ones I am looking at are 2007+ with no more than around 40,000 miles.)
New vs Used
Warranty vs No Warranty
40 MPG vs 25 MPG <---- big issue

Do you all have any issues reliability-wise? How reliable are your S2Ks?

Any other things to add that would sway (or un-sway) me away from doing this?

Thank you all very much for your time!

 

I can tell you that these cars are rock solid reliable when you're talking about the 06+ AP2s. Even the older ones are fine if you stay on top of some of the weaker points. Now prepare for a wall of text. I hope it is helpful:

I bought mine with 59k on it and I'm at 75k now. I have not had a single repair--only maintenance and wear items (brake pads, fluid changes). If you get a newer AP2 with under 40k miles you're pretty much going to be fine unless you get a car that was really ragged out. And those are easy to spot. Just look for one with low miles and a good service history if you're hung up on reliability.

Also, you can probably get a used car warranty, if not from Honda then from a 3rd party, which means you'd only be comparing the cars at that point. I know the Minis are impressive cars and all, but they lack three very important things: RWD, a drop top, and good looks (subjective on that last one of course). I will never own a FWD car as my "only" car. I would use one for a daily/beater, but I have to have RWD or AWD for my fun car. Also as you have already experienced these cars are amazing to drive. The convertible top is wonderful in good weather.

Since you mentioned modding, you can get a Flashpro and it's more or less a standalone--the 06+ ECUs are fully reprogrammable. This should be your first mod after a good set of tires if the car doesn't come with them. You can really broaden the usable power/torque by opening up the exhaust and then tuning for it--for example my vtec engagement is 4200 with an 8500 redline (stock is 6000 with an 8000 redline/8200 fuel cut). The car is that much more fun to drive with these mods especially around town.


All in all, you should ask yourself how important a warranty is. I know that I have peace of mind driving my car even @ 75k miles as it's been nothing but great since I bought it over a year ago. Not even any little things have come up. And it's an absolute joy to drive every single day. This would be a simple decision for me Good luck with your choice!

 

If you can afford it, if I were you I would hang onto the Mini and use it as a DD and most definitely get yourself the S for fun drives on nice days.I have the S and have often thought how neat it would be to have a Cooper S for a DD. Both of them are "slot cars" in terms of handling! Good hunting.

 

Youre gonna get some biased answers on this forum....lol
to me, if you love it then go for it!! Lifes too short not to

 

Do it. You won't regret it. As far as realiability if you take care of it the car will run forever. I'll never get rid of this chassis the driving experience is like no other vehicle .

Christopher

 

Awesome. Thanks so much for the detailed responses so far.

Maybe I could do this- sell my MINI, get around $25 for it, sell my mods, get around 2k for them, buy a ~50-60k mile S2000 (since you claim they're reliable with a lot of miles), and then buy a classic Mini with the money left over as a project.......... okay now I'm just talking out of my a**.

Keep the responses coming, please!

You're definitely right about the bias thing, but I want opinions from people who are around their cars all the time and know them inside and out!

 

There is an owner here approaching 300,000 on the original engine.

 

Keep the MINI while its still under warranty. You can always get rid of it as it edges closer to the warranty period and pick an S2000 or another vehicle.

As far as reliability goes, the S2000 is typical of a Honda. As long as you keep up with maintenance it will not let you down.

Also keep your eye peeled for a low mileage AP1. You will find them if you look hard enough. Those are also fun and will be cheaper than a newer MY S2000. Maybe you can purchase an AP1 and get to also keep your Cooper S.

 

https://www.s2ki.com/home/2010/09/01...-going-strong/

 

i sold my s2k for a lexus sc430 and i miss the car everyday. the s2k is the best and funnest car ive ever driven. nothing ever went wrong with my 2001. ill probably get a cr in the future