Hello all.


My son loves the MINI and I found a 2005 with 105000 miles. Its immaculate.


I'm a bit hesitant because of the auto TRANNY.


Did the 05 get an upgraded cvt, or are they all junk?

 

05 cooper is CVT if it is non S.

The CVT gets a bad rap, maybe rightfully so. There has been a big civil class action etc over that tranny. Plenty of threads here to read up.

However, I owned an 05 CVT and never had a problem with it when I replaced it with a 09 JCW.

But you could be rolling the dice.

 

Thanks. It is a non S. I drove it, and really liked the way it ran.


I really don't want to "roll the dice" on a car though.


How many miles did you have on your cvt? And what a JCW?

 

Maybe 110k miles. I was the second owner and the dealer had done all the service so it had records which included the CVT fluid being drained/filled as recommended by the service interval.

I didn't know how iffy the CVT was when I got it.

There are 3 levels of MINI in the hatchback. Cooper or "Justa" as many call it. The Cooper S and then the JCW which is a John Cooper Works. The JCW is the performance line for MINI.

In addition, twice MINI has produced 2 uber cars. In 2006 they did a limited edition GP and repeated in 2013.

 

Thanks for the clarification. The asking price for this 05 is $6500 which m finding out, is pretty good.


I'm really leery of the cvt though. CRAP, its in such great shape (cosmetically anyway)

 

Im sketchy on the CTV they dont hold up so well unfortunately. Maybe find him manual car if hes into stick

 

Your other option is to look at the Cooper S. Known as an R53. It has an auto, but it is not a CVT.

I think the general consensus is that it is much more reliable than the CVT.

 

If there is no scoop on the hood, then it's a CVT.

 

Yea, I think I'm gonna pass on the 05.

Im looking at an 03 now with a Getrag 6 speed. Only draw back is the mileage. 166k seems like a lot.

 

Grab the 03. The CVT will be an enduring worry. Even if it never acts up, you'll worry about it all the time. And the likelihood of it not acting up is VERY low. Think $6000 to $8000 to replace it if it does. Or think $5000 to have Way transform it into a manual.

 

Heading to take a look.

I'm curious, with proper maintenance, how long these engines last, and, since I have a boatload of tools, and I'm fairly mechanical, are these cars easy to work on.......

 

The engines seem very robust - lotsa folks with well over 200K on them. The ancillaries such as the alternators, water pumps and especially the power steering pumps have been problematic. The issue so often is the cost of parts. Many factory parts seem to be well out of the ordinary in price.

But overall, the little cars, especially the non-S models, seem to have better than average longevity. The body structures are very sound, you see few rust problems, and the trim seems to hold up very well. Our family has two. A 2005 and a 2009. Neither are S models. The O5 has had a power steering pump and a transmission. the 09 has had a thermostat/water pump issue in its first few weeks of life and zero problems after that. The 05 have almost 120K, the 09 has over 90K. They seem to have an appetite for tires (probably because they induce cornering). Few folks seem to get more than 30-40K miles on a set (of course there are extremes). Oil changes and normal maintenance are easy enough to be boring, brake pad/rotor replacement can be done in a couple of hours. Shock/strut replacement is a challenge but it can be done if you have a spring compressor. Suspension bushings seem to go at around 100K, and the replacement it a bit of a bother, but if you replace them with high quality polyurethane parts you will never do it again.

Don't be afraid of the little car, they are great.

 

Well, I drove it and loved it. Heading to get it now.


Get ready for a bunch of Newby questions.....

 

Are you going to post pictures? If you do pls include an inside shot of the dash.

Thanks!

 

You bet.

 

Btw, it's an 04 not an 03

 

 

Here's a list of the new stuff on the car.


Clutch
Power steering pump
Inner and outer ball joints
Tie rod ends
Power flex lower control arm bushings
Alternator
Harmonic balancer
Jcw grill
Radiator
K&n filter
Gates serpentine belt
Cravenspeed 15% reduction pulley
Jcw spark plugs


I can't believe how fun it is to drive.


I need to get a shop manual. Are they available online?


How are these cars in the snow? Its going to need all season tires soon as well. Any recommendations?

 

Congratulations!!

Good in the snow with the right tires...actually a BLAST with snow tires....have seem 4x4 slide into ditches that were trying to keep up....
Tip...those "s lite" rims are VERY HEAVY...but strong...they make decent winter rims if you want something else for summer.
The bently repair book is the one to get...about $100...think it is print only.

 

And its even the right color -- a plus for sure.

 

Hey, thanks! I'll be looking for tires soon, and I'm looking for recommendations/opinions.


I noticed those heavy rims when I washed it yesterday. They seem like a thick casting.



We looked at a ton of these cars and only found this one green one close enough (2 hours away) to go check out . Its really nice.

 

tirerack DOT com has good recommendations for snow tires. They even have a package with steel rims for winter, but it sounds like putting the snow tires on the stock rims is a good idea.