Hello All,
I just recently acquired an 03' Cooper S from my older brother and thought it would be a good idea to join this forum and introduce myself, as I plan on making some additions/repairs to the car. First would like to start off by saying that it's very comforting and cool to see a forum like this where owners of these fine autos can gather and share information. Being new to the Mini I have found myself bouncing between aftermarket parts sites trying to find the best one to use. Luckily I stumbled across your vendor section and found some leads to help me get the new parts, but I still am having trouble tracking down a few pieces. What are some places you have found to be the best source to customizing your Mini?

At the moment my shopping list is mainly for repairs from an accident in the past month.

The Mini was in a Front End collision and the hood is dented pretty bad along with the bottom bumper having paint rubbed of(luckily no stretched out screw brackets/mounts). I'm almost certain that the hood needs to be replaced as it's kinked inwards below the scoop and has a few good dents on the passenger side up by the headlamp, which managed to not break in the accident. Fortunately nothing is leaking from the car so I can still drive it around but the hood is stuck in the down position and I'm too afraid to try and pry it up in fear of it not being able to go back down or accidently ripping something off the intercooler or engine.

Right now my list consists of the following items:
-New Hood for a 03' Cooper S
-New Grille Kit for the front(Trying to find a black mesh with chrome trim, Not sure how all black would look on the Light Silver)
-Possibly a new front bumper, Non-OEM

I contacted a company in Ohio through the Vendor list for the hood put if i could find someone that sells the hood painted, that would be ideal.

I look forward to being part of this community, it seems like everyone here loves there Mini and helping out fellow Mini Owners.

Happy Driving,
Adam Martin

 

Welcome to NAM, and the world of MINIs, Adam.

I'm not a gear head, and FAR from being an expert, but perhaps you could search junk yards...Sometimes there are MINIs that are totaled and you can get parts from them. I've heard they're hard to find, though, before other MINI repair guys (aka phirrannahs - sp?) get to them! Your local "motoring clubs" might have ideas as well.

Good luck, and again, welcome to this really fun MINIverse...

 

Welcome! I am new as well but have found this forum/site to be an indispensible resource for all things mini. I am sure someone will fill you in on what you need to know

 

I can't give you any advice, but I know you've come to the right place!

In any event, welcome to the MINI world!

 

I would recommend cross-posting this in some of the other forums like 1st Gen Coupe Talk and the Mods board since there may be people there with more experience with parts and mods. good luck!

 

Having recently replaced my front bumper and grill I can tell you that there is no crome mesh grill available for the R53 unless you custom fab one.
The bumper and hood are fairly inexpensive even from the MINI dealer but you can also try USautoparts.

Here is my Pure Silver MINI with a black mesh grill and aero bumper.