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I landed in London on a cold January afternoon and I had no idea what was lying ahead of me, except that I would have to work very hard for the coming months. Working hard is not a problem, but there are a few things that I have gotten used to in life and one of that is a car parked at the basement. I hate public transport, no matter how good it is. So the moment I don't have a car that I can call mine, I get perturbed. Before coming here I spent several hours finding cars listed on autotrader.co.uk and had bookmarked them on the browser. Most of them were Defenders, ridiculously priced by the owners! A few of them were Suzuki Grand Vitaras, Mitsubishi Eclipses, a few Honda Civics, a Subaru Imprezza. But these could wait as I wanted to save some money and view a lot of cars before finalising one.
I started staying in a hotel that Rajsri had booked from India. Yes, I am pretty bad at these things. Office was about 3 miles walking distance and 20 minutes by bus. But it was the worst bus I have ever seen in London. The waiting times could be anything between 10 minutes to 30 minutes. Sometimes it did not even arrive. I did not know that there was an app through which I could monitor the timings of the bus and I am thankful for that. So the first 5 days to office was terrible in terms of commute and I was really irritated.
Meanwhile I had to start looking for an apartment for a long term lease as the hotel was getting quite expensive. So Rajsri had booked a few viewings for Saturday. Did I say that I had come alone to London and she was doing all these sitting in Kolkata? Saturday morning I woke up, excited to view the apartments. There were 4 or 5 viewings lined up and all the agents had called the day prior to confirm the timings. Got ready and went out of the hotel. It was drizzling as usual and it was cold and gloomy. There was this sudden burst of anger within me that I cannot explain. I felt so irritated with everything around that I immediately decided to cancel all the viewings and returned to my room. I opened my laptop and started frantically looking for cars. The search criteria was 1 mile radius from where I was staying. Found a Mini Cooper being listed which matched my budget and it was just 0.7 miles from my hotel. Called up the guy and 10 minutes later I was back on the road ignoring the rain and gloom!
The vehicle was parked outside the apartment and I had liked the vehicle the instant I saw it, even before driving it.
It is very difficult to judge a vehicle driving it for a few miles, but somehow I felt the car is in good nick.
It was a single owner vehicle and the previous owner had meticulously maintained it. The interior was spic-n-span.
I wanted to buy the vehicle immediately, but there were a few problems. I did not have a bank account. All I had was a pre-paid card with a few thousand pounds in it and I could get cash out without paying transaction fees only at a few places. It was already 2 PM and the nearest HSBC branch had closed. So I promised the guy that I would buy the vehicle on Monday as soon as the bank opened.
After coming back to the hotel I suddenly realised that I was acting in haste and should calm down. Searched the internet for the known issues and niggles of 2006 Mini Cooper. Did not find much, but found a website that did a history checks on vehicles, like if it was involved in any accident or if it was reported stolen or not etc. Paid for the check and the car was given a clean chit. Next step was to get insurance and it was a shock. The cheapest insurance was coming at 850 Pounds for the year :Shockked: This information made me start thinking about the decision again. It is painful to go to sleep with such a dilemma.
Next morning i.e. Sunday, I had to go to office due to an urgent work. In the last 5 days I had never noticed a cash machine inside the building. On the machine it was written Free Cash. I did not know the meaning. Asked my boss and he explained that it meant there would be no transaction fees. But there was a limit to the amount that can be taken out and it was 250 pounds. I immediately tried to get 250 Pounds out. I had no expectation but it worked. I tried a second time, again it worked. I tried 8 more times and every time it worked. I had taken out enough cash to buy the vehicle that very day, that very moment. Spoke to my boss, asked for a 1 hour leave from office and called up Josh. He said that he was planning to leave for a friend's place but would wait for sometime for me. I started running, caught a bus in the nick of time, ran again for half a mile to his house. Gave him the cash and got the vehicle. Josh told me that he had comprehensive insurance on the vehicle and he would cover for me for that day unless I go and hit someone. I had enough confidence on myself that I would not do that. Drove the car back to office, very slowly.
The happiness when you see your vehicle parked as you come out of office after a hard day's work -
That evening after coming back from office, the first thing I did was to put the LTD sticker on the rear hatch door of the Mini.
Condition, build quality and overall experience
The vehicle, as I had mentioned before, was impeccably maintained with all service records available. I have never bought a better maintained used vehicle before. Each and everything worked even after 12 years. I have not yet tested the airbags and hope to keep it that way.
The Mini is pretty much loaded by 2006 standards. Seat mounted side airbags, ABS and Electronic brake force distribution, all wheel disc brakes, tilt adjust steering along with height adjustable driver seat, illuminated entry with theater dimming, 6 speakers etc, it is loaded both safety-wise and convenience-wise! The build quality is fantastic as well, the car feels heavy and the doors shut with a typical European thud. It reminds me somewhat of our old Fiat Palio. The interior is funky and everything seems to be built to last.
With a 1.6 litre engine churning out 115 Bhp of peak power, stiff suspension, a kerb weight of a bit more than 1000 Kilos and a zero to 100 timing of around 10 seconds, the Mini is a hoot to drive car. It is a go-kart with additional features. It is hard to find a car that is better suited to the urban life than the Mini. It is easy to park, has slick handling, a funky image, fun to drive and easy on the pocket. After driving around 7000 Miles i.e. more than 10K Kilometers in the last 7 months, it is hard to find fault with this gem of a vehicle. Pessimists will say that it is cramped, lacks boot space etc, but if those are the criteria then there is no need to buy a Mini!
No parking on the street, no problem!
In March it snowed quite a bit in London. The motorcycle like RPM meter in the Mini has a digital display that shows the temperature along with the other information like Distance to Empty, Instantaneous miles per gallon, average miles per gallon, average speed and instantaneous speed.
The car came shod with Chinese tyres, I have forgotten the name. The tyres are quite bad, specially in snow. I had a bad experience with them at a roundabout. I was doing just a bit more than 20 mph when the vehicle started skidding and had absolutely no control. It spun almost 180 degrees and was scary. Don't know how it passed the strict yearly fitness test. Planning to change them as soon as possible.
Road trip
With the extremely hectic work schedule, we have not been able to go on long drives or trips all these months. Did a few hundred miles single day trip here and there. Last week finally got a well needed break and went to the Lake District. We put the GPS on avoid highways and toll roads mode and it was superb fun to drive the Mini on the twisty English country roads! I am planning to go back there after changing tyres and it will be even more fun. Ended up driving almost 900 miles over the weekend.
It is really a very small car -
Another iconic European hatchback
We visited the steepest pass in England named the Hardknott pass along with a few more steep passes namely the Snake pass and the Wrynose pass.
About the Hardknott pass -
"Hardknott Pass is known as one of Britain's most challenging roads. This single track road right through the middle of the Lake District National Park, in the region of Cumbria, England, it’s a heart-stopping series of sharp and narrow hairpin bends. It’s said to be the steepest road in England with a gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%)."
The wiki link -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardknott_Pass.
Another interesting read from Nat Geo -
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk...epest-roads-uk
Needless to say that this road might be steep but does not hold a candle to the ones we regularly see in the Himalayas :D
The zig zag roads of the Hardknott pass in the background.
The Lake District is beautiful and is a must visit place in England. It was raining on the second day and I think it enhanced the beauty instead of dampening it. We took a lot of pics of the Mini, sharing a few.
Finally a parting shot -
At the outset let me congratulate you on your purchase. Car looks awesome and contemporary. I can imagine the frustration when you dont have the right car as i too have similar feelings when the ride is not suited for you. BTW awesome pictures and happy revving. Enjoy the ride :)
Awesome!! Thats a really handsome car in heartbreaking-ly beautiful surroundings.
SO its gaadi, makaan, roti, kapda, is it?
Trust a gearhead! :D
Congrats! Nice ride, good choice of picking up an early Cooper.
My B-I-L used to live in UK (he now lives in Denmark), his wife also had a red Cooper, and ... she also stuck a Live To Drive sticker on the back!
Hello, Sumitro da! As usual, a wonderful write-up and a short ownership experience. I can feel after the crude Bolero and Thar, the Mini came with all basic safety and creature comfort and a smoother engine; all really counts in. The red colour is looking just fabulous. The 180° spin with Chinese tyres are not really wishful things to happen! Get them replaced asap with good winter tyres. Looking forward to reading wonderful TLs in other marvellous places of UK, this time with the Mini!
Hi Blackpearl,
I read it with almost the same excitement with which you bought it. You have penned it down to perfection and listened to your heart, that is what that matters. I faced similar challenges about not having my wings, in France. This was one of the main reasons I packed up in 10 months. Getting a license there to drive was so damn difficult and I could not arrange an IDP from home due to time constraints. One little observation which you may clear is that the spec sheet you put up says Air Conditioning is No for some reason, but the console looks fully loaded. Congrats for finding your wings, your freedom.
Its indeed a red hot hatch.
The pics are brilliantly shot at some exotic location. The car looks fabulous.
Wish you 1000's of happy miles ahead.
And if possible bring it to Kolkata!
A London - Kolkata - London drive in a Mini to attend a Kolkata Team Bhp meet can be epic! :D
Congratulations BlackPearl! It is a lovely choice!
Sporty hatchbacks are the perfect companions for those yummy B roads in the UK. And there cannot be a better choice than the Cooper for that. Your car looks to be in great nick!
Have a lot of fun!
Many congrats Sumitro da! Loved reading through the report esp. the parts that lead up to the purchase - withdrawing cash from the machine 10 times over! Loved the old Maruti 800 type horn buttons on either side of the steering wheel!
After driving all over the UK, when the time comes to wrap up and return to India, I am sure you'd want to do some Antman trick to shrink the car and take her through your check-in baggage! :D
Enjoy the car!
Congratulations once again BP !!Wonderfully written. Mini looks awesome in all the pictures. I remember the discomfort you had without a car and when you had to either walk or take a public transport. And one fine day you give us a video call when Rajsri, Meghna & I were together and show us the Mini asking for final go ahead. :D
Screenshot from the video call when the 3 of us saw the Mini for the first time.
(Excuse the bad quality image)
Cheers,
Pawan
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