Hello,

I am thinking of purchasing a 2002 Cooper S that has only 31,000 miles on it, but have some questions for the experts on the subject. My dream is to purchase a Clubman S, but finances are tight for me right now, and this may be a good alternative fot the time being.

1) In buying an older Cooper S should I be concerned about issues with the Supercharged motor? Is this something that can have more problems than a non S model?

2) What are the major differences in the 1st generation Cooper S over the current 2nd generation Cooper S? Am I missing out on that much?

They are asking $17,000 for the car at dealership. I think it is a bit much and was going to try and negotiate price, but I do like the low mileage on car. The only issue I have is with the rims being a bit dinged up. Whoever drove it did a lot of parallel parking and was not good at it.

Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

 

You didn't mention what options, but even with a fairly loaded car, this price seems WAY out of line for a 2002. You need a much lower price to want to take a risk on a 2002 which was the first year of production on an all-new car with all the associated problems and bugs that this entails. Things steadily improved through the 2003-2005 years, I'd be looking at least this far up the line. The supercharged motor is proving to be very robust with few problems, so I wouldn't be worried there - it's the accessories, trim, etc. that are typically more of a problem. The 2005's and 2006's are the best of the Gen I cars, although I've had virtually no problems with my 2004. I would think $15K should get you a very nice 2004 or even 2005 MCS these days.

The differences between the Gen I and Gen II cars are very signfiicant, including a completely different motor. I prefer the Gen I cars, mostly due to styling, but the performance and economy of the Gen II is definitely better. This has been debated ad infinitum on this site so do a search and read away.

- Mark

 

Unless they would drastically drop in price, I would look at other cars. While searching for a used Mini, I saw tons of later Gen 1 Mini's around 17k. Most are pretty low mileage too.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback. I thought that was quite high too, but in doing a search in my area of Chicago (60516) that seemed over only by $1,500 or so. I think it may be a hot car in the area right now. I want to buy new Clubman S as stated by my username, but it may be a stretch for S. I drove standard Clubman and didn't think the pickup was that bad, until I drove S. I have a 2001 BMW 3 series right now, and I love being able to call on that pickup when I need it. Or just for the fun of it!

My Mini dealership is not budging on the price, and their finance rate is standard conventional rate. It just seems crazy to pay MSRP @ 5.9% with all of the other bargains out there right now. I just bought an Acura MDX for my wife at $8,000 of sticker and 2.9% for 60 months. You would think in this economy Mini would throw you a bone.

 

Is this that Black MINI at the Ford dealer on Golf Rd? If so run away very fast.

 

You will learn that buying a MINI is not like buying any other car, so comparing an Acura transaction to a potential MINI transaction is apple/orange. MINI dealers do NOT get the level of rebates and other back-office purchase incentives/spiffs offered by the other major manufacturers. Plus, as long as demand outweighs supply, it will remain this way; the plant's closing for what 3-4 weeks here soon is one way BMW is attempting to keep the supply-demand curve up to the latter. One thing that IS changing in this economy is that dealer markups above MSRP on new MINIs are going away pretty fast, even in trendy markets like S CA.

But there are deals on demos, MINI-NEXT CPO's etc out there, and y're best bet to try and find a deal is to stick with areas in America that are MINI dealership-thick like the eastern seaboard.

Oh and avoid the first gen cars. They are problematic at best. Second gen is much more refined, much faster, and go much farther on a tank of gas. I know I will get flamed big-time for this but me no care anymore because my first gen MCS was a shop queen

 

Crazy depends on perception. That rate is a good 2 points lower that what "preferred" borrowers are being offered thru MINI Financial Services. I imagine that 5.9% is thu a FCU somewhere like Security Services FCU, and that just went up the last month or so because I got 4.9 on mine.

 

Erm, buying a car is the same regardless of brand. Dealer side issues should mean jack for the potential buyer. That is up to the dealer and manufacturer to come to terms with. The potential buyer should not have to sympathize the dealer's lack of manufacturer supplied incentives.

Mini sales will drop, that is a given and the weak attempt with extended plant closure will do nothing but prolong the bleeding. The pound and euro has lost value compared to the greenback. I would advise you to wait on the purchase. When the plant reopens and BMW realizes that current supply has not been sold, they would have to take drastic measures to move them. If, by some chance the current supply does sell, then you'd be back to square zero. No loss but possibility for some savings.