OT: used Mini Countryman, Cooper

[windsurfer]

Serp belt is the same tool I use for every other car we have

Cabin air filter is an easy tool free job on my r56

Haven't needed to remove the alternator, but there is very little space up there so removing the grill makes sense -pretty easy to remove

[William]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

Yeah. Jump? No. Sometimes they T bone you. Dumb creatures.

Our place in NE was out in the woods but near the road. We had a good view of the lower part of our property next to the pond where all manner of wildlife would pass through and attempt to cross the road and continue into the forest. We saw many car/deer close calls and quite a few collisions over the years. I’ve seen them t-bone cars and attempt to jump cars. Saw one jump and get hit by the a-pillar of a Volvo taking out the windshield and denting up the roof line.

Stupid? I dunno, could just be a lapse at the optic chiasm getting spatial cues to the brain in a delayed pattern causing go/no go indecision. Strabismus, or maybe even Amblyopia - the urge to just amble along no matter what? Who knows. I think it just boils down to “Hey Fred, hold my beer. Watch this….”.



W.

[reuben]

Deer (in my part of the US) don't have very good vision. How much does that affect their collisions with autos, bicycles, or fences? I dunno, but I had to essentially train them to not run into my fence by tying white rags to it which stood out in the woods and alerted them that something was there. After a generation or two it seemed to be less of an issue.

[tlm993]

We've had a 2005 R53 in our family for 8 years now. Time flies and so does the MINI. This was a project car for my kid and i so that I could teach him the mechanical bits. We replaced many, many, many parts on this car more for the experience, but also out of necessity.

After doing all the work and sorting it over the first few months and over the years, it's been doing daily duty for all this time. Nothing is super complicated and while there are tight spots, the car also is easy to take apart.

My kid is now planning to upgrade to a newer vehicle, probably another MINI, but we shall see. It's an absolute blast to drive and I borrow it every time I can.

If you can wrench, this is not a tough one to work on. The newer MINIs F56 and Countryman vehicles I hear are even more reliable. I agree, stick with 2014+ although the older R53 is something special.

[bil]

yes. Test drove 2014 Cooper on the weekend. Such a cool vehicle.
So much charisma and style. Drives like on rails. Very quick steering, everything is tight. Very comfortable sporty seats, etc ,etc.

and that's a 3cyl 134HP Turbo engine one...
Driving CooperS with its 4Cyl 190HP engine must be something truly special!

Tomorrow will be checking the Countryman.

Originally Posted by tlm993

We've had a 2005 R53 in our family for 8 years now. Time flies and so does the MINI. This was a project car for my kid and i so that I could teach him the mechanical bits. We replaced many, many, many parts on this car more for the experience, but also out of necessity.

After doing all the work and sorting it over the first few months and over the years, it's been doing daily duty for all this time. Nothing is super complicated and while there are tight spots, the car also is easy to take apart.

My kid is now planning to upgrade to a newer vehicle, probably another MINI, but we shall see. It's an absolute blast to drive and I borrow it every time I can.

If you can wrench, this is not a tough one to work on. The newer MINIs F56 and Countryman vehicles I hear are even more reliable. I agree, stick with 2014+ although the older R53 is something special.