new member from Cork saying Hello!

[eire1400]

Hello all!New member from Cork here, very new to Minis, so new in fact, I've not bought one yet!
Sold my beloved vw t5 camper recently with out putting much thought into it(!)and am on the look out for an 04/05 Mini one D (the 1.4d Toyota engined one correct me if I'm wrong?) as a run about for myself. Two kids aged 6 and 8 are mad for them too!
Looked at one last night local enough in Cork. Was nice enough, Few dents on bonnet and roof (that were not visible in photos!), wheels were badly curbed, few other cosmetic bits but nothing too bad for a 12 year old car. Drove OK except for a very heavy clutch and short travel clutch pedal. A quick Google search (that's how I found your site too btw!) made for scary reading of DMF and clutch wows, but that's a Google search for you.

So a few question if you don't mind?
Are the clutches on these models heavy? didn't notice clutch slip on test drive
not the easiest car to get in to gears either, again common or related?
How much should I expect to pay to get a clutch (&flywheel?) done?
Anything else I should be looking at with this particular model?
Any of ye guys know of some similar for sale?

Thanks in advance
Shane.

[irlmin]

Hi Shane ,
Welcome to the site , sorry for the late reply but we were all away on a MINI run to Kerry Today . as regards the ONE D the 1st question I would ask is do you really need a diesel what type of mileage will you be doing annually now if you do find you need the economy of the D ( make sure you factor in such maintenance stuff as more regular servicing and DMF !!! etc etc ) the clutches can feel heavy with age and this happens to R50 and R53 petrol's as well where the pressure plate just gets worn and as a consequence feels heavy as you describe . it can be solved with a clutch change usually . if however you are only doing moderate mileage I would always go with petrol personally my reasoning is quieter , more refined ,smoother and cleaner . and of course more FUN . feel free to give me a call or PM if I can help with anything MINI .
G

[eire1400]

Lovely day for it. Was stuxk in work myself! I know myself I don't do the miles for diesel. Cheaper tax mpg figures and that toyota engine reliability was what got me thinking deisel. Any nice similar age petrols for sale in cork.

[irlmin]

. The MINI One D with the Toyota engine is no more or less reliable than any other engine if not maintained correctly . Toyota replaced most of the D4D engines under warranty , they are really good at customer service and that's where much of the reliability thing came from , Toyota solved customers problems before customers even knew that had a problem . as regards MINI We have several early R50 cars coming in with over 250000 miles still on the original engines . also we have replaced MINI R50 engines at 50000 or less due to poor servicing or NO servicing . give Me a call re petrol MINIs as we always have a few and all will be sold with warranty and NCT . PM or call 0868663828
G

[MiniMpi]

Welcome to the forum Shane
Sorry I didn't get to call down to you the other day at work.
I'm back to work on Thursday.

Ferg.

[eire1400]

Thanks Fergal. talk to you then.