Opinions on a Mini Cooper S?

[simulatedwood]

Does anyone have any opinions on mini coopers? I am looking at a 03 s model with high miles as a winter beater. Are they reliable? Should I look elsewhere?
Owned a few BMW's but these seem to not be quite the same in quality, so before I bit the bullet, what am I in for?

Thanks,
Shawn

[mike55112]

I personally hate the interior on them, I test drove an s model a few years back and couldn't get it simply cause the interior. But that's just me

[A//// Guy]

^ Same here, if they looked nicer inside, not clown car style, id probably end up getting one.

A co worker has one here with maybe 60k or more and she likes it, no problems yet.

[simulatedwood]

Actually here is link to the actual car: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/da...647812273.html.

Its a winter car, but it has all the things I am looking for, climate control, traction control, mpg, and cruise. The can get this one for substantially less then the advertised price so that is the only reason I am considering it.

[A//// Guy]

Looks clean! If it drives and shifts fine, I dont think youll have an issue with it. Thats pretty cheap too.

[mike55112]

If you don't mind the interior, I would say go for it. Wouldn't be a bad winter vehicle

[turbotalon1g]

U fit in those comfortably? remember we get at least 6 months of salt/winter here.

[Goat Blower]

I looked over at one today as I was driving by in my Tahoe thinking how I'd drive right over it and hardly notice, just think if you'd want to be in that car on an icy day.

[scheides]

Nice little car, I'd rip one! Rosey has one, I'll have him chime in.

[rose0529]

Shawn -

The wife DD's an 02 MCS with a 15% pulley and CAI. (I'd recommend those two mods, woke it up quite considerably, and still drives like a stock car).

We've had it for about 2 years now. It's been a very good car for us.

Here is my thoughts. The car handles awesome. Moves pretty good. S/C wine is a bit addicting!

The interior isn't great but I have definitly seen worse. I think peoples biggest problem with the interior would be the speedo being in the center. Ours has navigation, so it moves the speedo next to the tach on the steering column, so its a bit more normal.

3 adults can fit decently comfortably in it. Forth is tricky if the driver is taller than about 5'8". inside with 2 adults it imo doesn't feel cramped.

The Traction control sucks, basically gets turned off when driving in the winter. We have a set of General Artimax Artics on it for the winter and it does really well at getting through the snow.

Cruise control is good, the mpg is good we average a little over 30 DD, which involves some stop and go.

The only issue we've had is it threw a code and went into limp mode a couple times, but found a wire that had warn threw the insulation, fixed that and it hasn't done it sense. We also had the cable that hooks up to the door handle on the drivers side come out of its clip inside the door. Kind of a pita, but once you know how to fix it, its pretty simple, like a 20min fix.

Craig is another person to ask he has also owned one, and from what I know still wants one.

www.northamericanmotoring is the national forum for minis. Also check out this thread about minis common problems and what to look for when buying them.
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...nce-guide.html

That car seems pretty cheap, check out the carfax, and such. Most likely becuase of miles. Looks like a fun Winter DD. GL! LMK if you have any questions or want to look at it or something.

[TkrPerformance]

craig had one in the same color the car was great. I loved driving it and I had no problems with it being 6'2''
here is craigs mini build
http://mitsustyle.com/forums/showthr...ght=craig+mini
he still has a lot of the parts we put on it when he traded it in for the srt8 300c

[craig]

Loved my mini but winter tires are a must with it, If I didn't have a kid I still would be driving it. I will get another mini model again.

[simulatedwood]

Thanks for all the input guys! Well I went over the car tonight and there is just too much wrong to make a sale. Honestly the car drives very nice, the exterior and interior are in good shape. Has a clean carfax. That is the positive, now the list of negatives:

Tires severly cupped on the rear making the tires really loud.
Multiple oil leaks, the valve cover, oil pan and crank seal on the clutch side.
Coolant expansion tank leaking.
Exhaust leaking out of the muffler on the drivers side.
Brake rotors are warped.
The power steering fan is not working.
O2 sensor is bad.
EVAP canister cel 0442.

The oil leaks were the no deal for me. If anyone is interested, you could get this car for $5500

[scheides]

Looks like easy shit, why pass on it? Offer him $4500

[TkrPerformance]

The coolant tank is a very common in the mini to leak

[simulatedwood]

Originally Posted by scheides

Looks like easy shit, why pass on it? Offer him $4500

***Multiple oil leaks, the valve cover, oil pan and crank seal on the clutch side.***

Those are the one I could see and I hate fixing oil leaks. The car was cool, just not the right one. I have limits on cars I will save and this one could get out of hand real fast.

[A//// Guy]

Yea major leaks like that are not easy work...

[turbotalon1g]

Leaks FTL, oil pan and crank seal don't sound fun. That crank seal could be problematic down the road.

Good luck, sounds like you found a fun candidate for a dd. I vote evo 8.

[BriK]

Have you thought about a Mazda3? I've loosely been researching the 5-door hatches as a beater for myself. They offer similar advantages/features that you describe of the Mini, there are plenty of them out there, and they offer more interior space. AFAIK, the Touring S and Grand Touring S models are the only ones with Traction Control so those are the only ones I, personally, would consider.

[polishmafia]

Have you thought about a HHR SS? Or Impala SS?