The search

[c0ld]

Hey all, to tell you the truth, I posted this on another forum but would like to diversify my answers and this forum looks a little more active.

I am new here and am in search of my first mini. I find that Coopers are very expensive in terms on financing and that there is much less wiggle room with mini as compared to most other, or should I say more affordable, names. I guess that is because they are technically a higher end vehicle and target a different market.

What I like is that the older 03-05 models do not have a stark contrast in looks to newer models, as compared to say Nissan or Honda, where even the 09''s look a world better than the 08''s... not to mention the 03''s! I want an 03-05 Cooper S because I will be able to find one for 15-20k CAD as opposed to 40k CAD for an 09 S.

The real difficulty is, I guess, in finding a car that was well maintained. I would try to go through a private sale and aim for an older driver with relatively low kms per year owned. I would judge the situation as it happened. So, thinking that you can get a well maintained (and well driven) mini with upwards of 100k kilometers for under 15k CAD and low financing, I would prefer that over paying double for a newer model.

The question I have is what the average life of a mini is, which parts are problematic in 03-05 models, and how much certain parts cost to replace. For example, those Xeon headlights... how much are those (sounds expensive)?

I want a nice car like a mini. To me, instead of paying 20k for a new budget type of car I rather buy a 5k$ used car just to get me from point a to b. I want to enjoy my car, and a Mini is a quality car I really enjoyed test driving.

Your comments and advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

[Diddyman]

Hey Cold....
To be honest my dad who is a retired car mechanic has the best answer!

It does not make a difference who you buy a car from.........as a car is like a human being and can be fine one day and sick the next.
You could buy a Mini off a elderly couple who use to drive it to the shops and back again and had no trouble..........As soon as you buy it, things can go wrong!

Not a easy one to answer apart from try using some common sense and check tyre treads, what type of smoke coming out of the exhaust.....engine noises when u drive etc etc........

[Bogo]

ahh the 03-05 Mini Cooper S a cracking bit of kit. But as with all cars of that age 5 or so yrs the cracks are beginning to show. Heres a few things to look out for that we are finding on our UK driven Minis.

Coolant leaks. If the non pressurized coolant chamber is empty its probably got a leak. Normally Thermostat which is an easy fix if not run empty for too long. Also radiators are proan on the the earlier models.

Power steering pumps can fail but unfortunetly without much warning apart from they will constantly run even with ignition off until they burn out.

Rattles from the G/box area this can be anything from a release bearing, flywheel or even the gearbox so if rattling at idle walk away especially if not buying with warranty.

Tyre wear. If you rub your hands across the tread of they tyre it should feel smooth and not mishaped. (this is most likeley caused by it been driven around at the wrong pressure but it might be worth trying to knock the seller down a bit ;)

Handling. If when you testdrive the car and it feels skitish and wandering a bit this is commanly caused by the front arm rear bushes which split to have a dealer replace these it will cost around 300GBP so not cheap.

Hope this helps but US/Canadian cars may suffer from different issues caused by different enviroment.

Good hunting

[c0ld]

Thanks for your help gentlemen. It's a tough decision indeed

[ohmegahi]

I do find 2007 Mini S for going around 20K to 21K in the market place. Its a good time to grab one since the auto market is weak. The older Mini tends to have more issues, from what I read and heard in the media. e.g. mainly clutches and transmission issues. The 2007 + models are better thean the last generation in terms of built quality. Best of luck !

[sprogface]

Hi all the problems were mainly with the earlier models up to 04 after then they changed a few thing i.e clutch and transmission. So i would proberly go for 05 onwards. hope this helps

[Bogo]

the 07 R56 is a good car but when they go wrong they go bad and are a nightmare to fix. If in warrenty you should be ok

[bobd10140]

Hi, my son is selling a mini cooper. In 2004 they came out with a 40 year collectors car with only 1000 made. The number one is in a museum and his is number 2. He installed a brand new JCW engine from Inskip Dealership. That has a 2 year warranty on it. He went
thru the whole car and replaced a bunch of other stuff, the car is like new and drives like new. The JCW kit is registed with Mini Cooper and is an option of about $7000.00 alone. If you would be interested in this you can go on Auto Trader and look it up. It's red with the 40 year badges. You also send me an email at bobd10140@aol.co.