Excitement & fear in Central Va: just bought a 2003 R50 w/91K miles

Can't find a local Mini club to post to, so I'll just say hi to the whole world instead.

I've just bought an all stock 2003 R50, black over white, sunroof, base model as far as I can tell. I was seduced by the low price compared to a new car, the nearly pristine body and the clean interior. And of course it's a fun to drive Mini!

It has a new clutch put in by Cosner Brothers after the previous owner sold it to them, I imagine when he got the bad news about the clutch. Wednesday it gets a brake flush and a new serpentine belt.

I'm not really planning to do any crazy customizing. Creature comforts are high in the to do list: Modern, upgraded sound system (though the speakers seem OK) and some sound dampening, though I haven't decided what kind and I'll likely do that myself. Since I never expect to wedge anyone into the back, I've removed the rear seat backs and plan to remove the rear seats entirely.

I would appreciate any thoughts about 2003 R50s, especially if they're along the lines of "you should be fine, no you shouldn't have to drop another $2K to make it reliable." Or, you know, informed opinions along the lines of "You've made a terrible mistake" would also be handy.

 

Thanks Dave.

My sound system is stock, not HK. Speakers seem OK, it's the head unit that needs replacement. I'm thinking of this Pioneer MVHX560BT Digital Media Receiver because I don't care about CDs because iPhone.

 

Control arms shot? symptoms?

Nathan, could you explain what the symptoms of the control arms being shot are?

 

I do enjoy it, thanks ZippyNH.

Tomorrow it gets the serpentine belt replaced & the brakes flushed. Hopefully after that I can relax a bit and not fret about whether I'm going to have to drop another couple of thousand dollars into it!

Hilariously, in the past 2 days I've seen what I'm pretty sure are three different minis around Charlottesville, all with the exact same paint job!

 

Doom and gloom

So, I had just started to notice what sounded like a front right bearing noise at low speeds. Disappeared at higher speeds--or maybe I just couldn't hear it over louder road noise. So I asked my local shop to check it while they replaced a cracked serpentine belt & flushed the brakes.

The belt replacement didn't go great. Turns out the tensioner is shot.

But worse, the good news from the shop is that the LF bearing is fine is followed on by the bad news: the noise is coming from the transmission. It's a sound like gravel in a can to my ear.

I bought this second hand (well, fourth hand) less than a week ago. I don't notice any shifting responsiveness problems. Like I said, the noise seems to disappear above 30 MPH.

Again, so you don't have to read the whole thread to know: this is an R50 5 speed manual with 91K on it and a new clutch installed prior to my buying it. The shop I bought it from claimed that while the clutch work was being done, they dropped the transmission and sent it to a transmission shop to be checked and it came back AOK.

Any insights or ideas would be greatly appreciated, especially if someone can chime in with "Just change the transmission fluid and it should be fine."

But failing that, if anyone knows what happened to http://minitransmissions.com or has a recommendation on rebuilt Midlands gear box purchase or a strong opinion on going custom with a rebuilt Getrag instead, I'm interested. Just keep in mind that while I've recently inherited a good set of tools, I've never done anything more complicated than changing the oil on a car.

I've only driven this car for FOUR DAYS and I admit I kind of love it. But at the same time, the most appealing answer economically is to get it running, drive it to a Hyundai dealer and see if I can get $3000 in trade for it on a new Veloster with a 100K power train warranty! 'Cause I don't see any way that this issue isn't going to make me double down on my purchase price of $3850.

 

There has been a lot of fear since my last entry!

The shop I took the mini too for it's post-purchase maintenance told me the noise I heard was coming from the transmission. Doom and gloom!

I talked to the shop I bought it from and they agreed to take a look at it. They also explained in more detail how the transmission shop they took the transmission to tested the transmission--they literally took it apart and examined it, not just bench tested.

So the shop I bought it from can't hear the noise I heard. Since I heard it VERY clearly, I'm now wondering if I had picked up some gravel in my wheel on my 200 yard long driveway!

The shop also noticed that the AC wasn't putting out well even though they had charged it, and offered right out of the blue to replace the compressor at their expense. I have some real confidence in this shop now, and therefore much more in my purchase.

With a little luck I'll be driving it tonight!