Good morning all, My name is Ernie and I'm not a Mini owner yet! I am going to be looking at an '03 Cooper S later today with 130+ miles on it, owner says other than the A/C needing to be charged, the car is perfect. My question is what kind of things should I be looking for other than the A/C that might spell disaster for me later on? Thanks Ernie in South Florida
Welcome, thanks for joining Motoring Alliance, the FUN and Friendly MINI Community. Look for a few things.. Strut towers. they should be level the studs all pointing straight up. An easy fix though. Coolant tank, make sure is not split. Recommend replace soon with non-OEM if not already done. Lower Control Arm bushings, check when last serviced and what brand was used. MotoringFile has a really good Buyers Guide for the R53. MotoringFile » MINI R50/R53 Buyers Guide So good that I see no reason to write one for the M/A library.
Welcome to M\A the FUN MINI site. Things I would check are: 1# ask if it has been modded...Pully, tuned and listen to any other information they offer. The oil , let it run and listen to the motor. Test the radio then turn it off and listen to the car. Look under the car and check the exhaust for rust. "Mufflers". Take if for a test drive and find a parking lot and do some figure 8 and listen to the suspension. This will let you here I'd the lower control arm bushings are shot and you will also hear everything else. Above all else get the service history with that mileage and find out if it has been hit. Run a car fax report for what it's worth just to be safe. Now this is the hardest part, DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH IT. That will cause you to buy a poor high milage car with many hidden problems that you hate later. Remember you can always find another one with lower milage and in better shape because they are available.
Dave, thanks for the welcome and advice! Went and saw the car looked great this was my fourth to see this weekend. Mechanically, minus the a/c, is great. Shifts really smooth, radio on and off was good, no rust on the mufflers, no noise in the hard turns. Drove home, about a 40 minute drive, was great no overheating temp stayed right in the middle. Again thanks Ernie 2003 MINI Cooper S
Looks good does it have any mods at all or was owned by a little old lady that never did anything to it but drive to church on Sunday?
Thanks for all the welcomes! Bone stock! First thing to do it change the oil and then start looking at all these mods I see around here. There is a small tear in the drivers seat I need to address and the sill plates are buggered up but that should be easy.
Welcome to M/A My advice is before doing any mods catch up on the maintenance. Changing the oil is a good place to start. Add to that change the brake fluid, flush the coolant & change the trans oil. Enjoy your new MINI.
I use a light rubbing compound on my lights to keep them clear. If there too bad you may need to get out the sandpaper.
welcome to M/A. If you haven't already discovered there's a pretty good how to list here: 1st Generation MINI Cooper How-To - Library That and a Bentley Manual: MINI Repair Manual - MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper S: 2002-2006 Â -Â Bentley Publishers - Repair Manuals and Automotive Books And M/A of course.