Hello,

I just started shopping for a Mini Cooper S. I would like to spend around 12K to 13K and it seems there are plenty to choose from.

I am not decide on Super charged or Turbo Charged. I see both in my price range. There is even a rebuilt title 2005 with 27K on it for $9995 OBO. I will have to choose between low mile 2nd generation, or higher mileage 3rd I guess.

My use for this car is commuting. I drive 70 miles round trip, sometimes twice in 24 hours. I also unexpectedly have to drive 125 miles extra, usually late at night. I live where there is no traffic. Today I drove to work at 2 AM and did not see another vehicle on the road.

The roads around here are 2 lane mountain and country, some gravel. We get everything from 100 degrees to -20 and ice storms.

I will drive the hell out of this car. Both miles wise and putting through hard use. It will be my commuter. If we have really bad snow, or fire storms (fire drive big animals onto the road) I will drive my wife big Jeep Commander and she can have the Mini (she has a 3 miles drive)

I can maintain it, I have all the tools, a lift, a large heated shop, and maintain a metric helicopter for a living. I've also (a long time ago) been a car mechanic at an Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini dealer. I fix a lot of the use car like Porsche, Maserati's, and other exotic stuff they sold. So, If it breaks, I'll fix it.

BUT..............

I've been reading this forum and find mixed results. Yes, I know forums is where everyone goes with their problems. I'm buying this because I want a cool, quick little car, not another project. I need to be able to hop in and haul *** anywhere in the state of Washington at any moment, it's part of my job.

I am also wondering, how well do your minis handle with 150 pound or so in the rear seat/hatch back? My typical load of tool is around 150 or so. I've rented stuff a few time that sagged with that much.

Dogote

 

Welcome to NAM and would love to hear which you finally decide upon. You will receive LOTS of opinions. I have a well-maintained R53 Cooper S that runs greats and is supercharged. Others will tell you the base models are the most reliable. Turbos have their strengths and weaknesses. There are just certain years and models to avoid due to the timing chain/tensioner problem. They are:

2008-2009 MINI Cooper S Clubman R55
2007-2009 MINI Cooper S Hardtop R56
2009-2010 MINI Cooper S Convertible R57

However, I know some who have had the problem fixed on these models who are perfectly happy, so it is a personal preference.

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Pluses and minuses between the two?

http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/ctd/5683352388.html

And this one...

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/5693034339.html


This first has REALLY low miles, and it's cheap. But it has a salvage title and no real proof from the seller as to what was damaged and how it was repaired. I inspect helicopters, and I have been around cars a long time, but it's still hard to really know what your getting, especially inspecting a car in the parking lot of a used car dealer, a cheesy used car dealer at best too. But 27K miles, that like new.

The second is a 2010 with 44K miles. Still low. It's a turbo, which as I gather from this forum, might serve me better. It's at a reputable dealer that's been around as long as I can remember, so probably not much BS involved in the sale, plus it's in the same state I am, so tax and license will all get done at the time of purchase with no out of state inspection needed, which might be a PITA with a salvage title.

So in general, if staying out of the 2007-2009 MINI Cooper S Hardtop R56 models for fear of a bad timing chain, whats the better way to go? 2010 is an R57 engine, right? Isn't the body also slightly larger?

 

If you say you want something for those country roads, get an R53. The R53 is the only true driver's car of any MINI has ever made. After 1st gen, they started softening them and making them bigger to make them more family-friendly. Sounds like you already have a Jeep for the family-friendly role.

You will simply have more fun driving the R53 IMO. The supercharger sounds great and fits the character of the car. There are many ways to modify the car and make it a real animal on the track or street.

 

I have to admit to being totally biased since I own an R53, but totally agree with sevin. Regardless of the model you decide upon, here is a good upgrade guide:

http://new.minimania.com/MINI_Cooper...ecommendations

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

That's actually the reason I am a little more inclined to the later model. It's still more of a sports cars than most things, but softer and a little larger equals a little easier to drive for multiple hours. For instance, over the last 2 days...

Drove into work at 2:00 AM to fix the helicopter. Swerved around multiple deer, but was the only car on the road. 70 miles round trip.

Drove to work again at 7:00 PM, again, broken helicopter. Finished at mid night. Saw a couple cars on the way home.

Today, went in at 11:00 am, needed a part. Drove some really rural beat up road past Grand Coolee dam to meet up with an employee driving toards me from Spokane. Several hundred miles today. Had a detour onto a gravel farm road to go around an accident (perfect rally course)

I used to love raceable cars, and still do. But for this purpose, I wouldn't mind a little softer.

My other vehicles include:

2006 Jeep Hemi commander with heavy duty 2" taller coils and some other overland mods, plus intake, exhaust, chip.

2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited with a full pre runner set up on it. It's bad ***, I can jump it, and it handles like a rally truck. Pretty much a Dakar style Jeep.

2015 KTM 1190 Adventure R, 160 HP and knobbies.

2006 Ducati Sport Classic with more done to it than I can even go into here.

And then I have some vintage bikes, and my wife has a few bikes too.

The Mini will fill a void of an easy on gas little car, and I will try not to midify it much. I will either buy or make some sort of sump guard or skid plate, and I want 4 big rally lights on the front, and a second set of wheels with studded Nokian snow tires on the stock wheels.

 

Why do so many have sun roofs? I really hate sunroofs and small cars

 

The one with the salvage title says it was minor damage with no frame damage. It also says they have a copy of the full history report. I would ask them for that to see what all was done with it. If it really was minor damage, I would go for the 2005. Turbo is fun, but I loved driving a supercharged one before I got my turbo MCS. The mileage really can't be beat!
I hear ya on the sun roof. I don't like them in the Minis. I've driven one, as a loaner when my car was getting fixed. The only use I found for a sun roof is standing up and sticking your head out to take pictures during a fun drive, obviously with someone else driving.

Either one, the colors are great. I just picked up my third MC on Wed, and it is the dark silver metallic.
Welcome to NAM! PS, we wave at other Mini people like we do with Jeeps. ;-)

 

9k for a salvage r53 is crazy high! that is a 4000 $ car here on the east coast

I would shop around, your budget puts you into JCW R53's or even the low end of R53 GP's

I prefer the r53 2005-2006 I've owned 2 R53's and 2 R56's (one justacooper and one S) I kept the R53's

 

Avoid the N14 engine. I'd say go with a 2011 and fwd.

 

Also looking at GTI's today. Not finding the right Mini. The salvage title mini is still a possibility, but the place selling it seems crooked to me. Not that I mind saving on sales tax when I register it in Washington, but the guy offered (over the phone) to write whatever sales price I want on the bill of sale. Plus, according to the NADA guide, that car should be priced at around 6000, with a clear title, As a Salvage, less. No records of the repairs either.

Yesterday I had to do yet another part run to Wilbur WA, to meet the co-worker from our Spokane shop. I was on my KTM 1190 and had time to kill on the way back to Brewster WA. I took a detour through a crooked 2 lane over the wheat fields and then a beat up winding paved (barely) road for about 20 miles down into Grand Coulee. Good day to be on the bike. I was thinking as I was going 90 on the 50 MPH 2 lane, how would a Mini work here? Seemed like a great road for a bigger BMW, or even something American. When I got to the canyon, I thought a Mini would be perfect for the 10 to 25 mph marked corners with a little gravel in the road here and there to keep it interesting.

I'll need some HUGE lights on what ever I end up with. These drives are often at night, and must be done in all types of weather. Nokian Happakalita 8's with studs will be installed by December.

 

Yes. Here it's a 5500 to 6000 car because we don't rust. I live on the dry part of the state, but even in Seattle, there is no need to salt the roads.

 

They don't salt here either

 

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/ctd/5656623416.html

Not a bad option. I am heading to the Seattle area Thursday and plan on driving back in a Mini. There's enough there to choose from that I am pretty sure I'll find what I want. I have just about given up on finding a car without the sun roof.

So confusing on "good" years and years to avoid, plus, if the timing chain tensioners are all that wrong with the "bad" years, timing chains are not that big of a repair. I've done more than I care to remember both for myself and as a professional. I just don't have a lot of time right now and would rather not spend a weekend working on a car I bought so I can avoid working on my other car a bit.

 

not bad, but not a 2005 or 2006 it's worth going for those

I think the only way to Not get a sunroof was to order a car without one, I prefer my non sunroof car, far less rattling on the gravel road I live on

 

Okay, a JCW. It's a long drive away from the others I am looking at, and I am not totally fond of white or off white cars, but it's a JCW with under 100K on it, and in my price range with money left for maintenance/tires/rally lights.

What kind of questions should I be asking this guy about the car?

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...13277250&Log=0

 

I regards to my previous post, I am not sure this is actually a works GP. The guy seemed like he didn't know the difference. Hmmm. I can't find a Works GP with a rear seat, in any color buy dark grey, and without badges. Plus, why would anyone remove the JCW wheels?

 

That's definitely not a GP. They only came in one color, no back seats, and very specific options, including no xenon lights, halogen only.

No pics of the engine or tailpipes, so no evidence of it even being a JCW. It's probably just an S, but a VIN check, or engine pics would help. Also, it's described as a turbo. The seller doesn't seem to know anything about the car, so that can be a good thing if it checks out and the price is really low.

 

The guy can't even tell me why he thinks it's a JCW. Not worth going 100 miles out of my way to look at it. I decided I am focusing on the Bellevue WA area. I should be able to see at least 10 there.

 

It's not a GP and not even a factory JCW:



The seller describes the car as having a turbo and there are no pictures of the engine bay or rear of the car to even confirm that it has a dealer installed JCW Tuning Kit.

OOPS ... RB-MINI beat me to the punch (while I was decoding the VIN)

 

I was just about to post the VIN check and you beat me to that

It's "justa" S , and not a great price with a bad description.

 

And a bra

 

Where do I find the VIN check? Googling now.

 

VIN Decoder. MOST AWESOME SHOPPING TOOL EVER. Thanks for that.

Also, thanks for the help in shopping. I am sure I'll be contributing member of this forum before too long. I can never leave anything stock, and fix all my own stuff. Part of being a helicopter mechanic is I can't trust anyone who's not also a helicopter mechanic to fix things right. I'm hell to fly commercial with. Recently on a flight from Seattle to Atlanta, I made the other two passengers in my row get up so I could properly reattach the seat belts.

 

Good detective work. You really have to do your research and then check/test drive the car yourself.

Drive hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.