New guy here, just thought I'd introduce myself. My name's Dave, and I think I want a MINI Cooper.

The first one I checked out was an '02 that looked good to me, but the mechanic at the local dealer inspected it and found a leaking oil pan, a power steering pump in need of replacement, and a bunch of other stuff wrong with it for a total of around $3,000 in repairs. So that one was a no-go.

This morning I test-drove another one. It's an '04 with 52,000 miles and it seems to have been much better-kept. Here's a link to the ad on autotrader:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Anyway, just wanted to say hi, and wondering if anybody here can spot anything in that ad that means something to more experienced/trained eyes. I'm not a very good negotiator, apparently, as I only managed to talk him down to $11,500 for the car so far. I think that's a good price, if it really does turn out to be as pristine as it appears. I think I'm going to take it to the mechanic (MINI Dealer) this week for a checkout.

Looks like I've got plenty of good reading ahead of me here (saw the link to the 1st Gen buyer's guide, thanks) but I'm mostly looking forward to getting my hands on a good used Cooper!

Dave

 

Sounds like you're going about it the right way... do your due dilligence and you'll find the right MINI for you.

Good luck!

 

Welcome, that MINI looks really clean. Good luck with your search, and of course happy motoring.

 

Welcome to the forum, you are going at it the right way, don't buy without having it checked out.

 

Thats a sharp MINI

 

Good Luck! Looks good to me...keep us posted.

 

Good luck with your search! Keep us posted.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I've decided to pull the trigger and buy the white MINI. Found some stuff on the pre-purchase inspection, but the seller adjusted the price accordingly. Picking it up tomorrow morning... Drive it around for a coupla days until the parts get in and then I'll get it fixed up.