Hello guys from Kansas City area! I have been in the market for a while to replace my 99 Dodge Neon coupe 5 speed 2.0 DOHC which is my daily. Fun little car. I want something newer and somewhat similar and I believe the Cooper S will fit as a great replacement.

Came across a local 2006 Mini Cooper S 6 speed with leather seats. Not sure what other options it has. Car has 57k miles, it is pepper white. Newer tires on it and brakes. Guy has owned it for about a year now. I noticed on Carfax it has spent most of its life in Wisconsin. :( (rust anyone?? Hope not)

Going to be checking it out tomorrow before work and looking it over. I believe his asking price is a little high at $7950.

I know most are generic guides but it gives me an idea what to ask for a vehicle.

KBB via Private Party has it at $5708
NADA RETAIL has it at $8387
Edmunds has it at $5631 Private party and $7403 RETAIL.

He says everything on it works as it should, he has the title clean in hand and ready to sign over which is a plus.

Just curious what you guys would offer if you were in my position. I was thinking at starting at $6400. Since I don't believe there are many examples like that around. I just don't want to pay too much you know.

Some research showed that the 05-06 S models were the best years to get of the Mini with the fewest problems. Anything I should look out for when test driving it and ask what has been replaced? I mean it only has 57k miles. Edit:
(I found great info going through random intro threads on what to look for!)

Thank you for your time!

Here is a picture of it:

 

Check the service history, either via the Carfax report or via your local Mini dealer . . and get a VIN report before going to see it so that you know all the options (you just need the last 7 of the VIN number . . and go to www.bmwvin.com).

I note that it has no moonroof, so may have been spec'd for lower weight, quicker speed, so maybe an LSD?

Personally, I'd start at $6k and be prepared to pay around $6,750

 

What are the options, I see there is no sunroof, and no HID Xenon's. Does it have heated seats, sport package, Harmon Kardon stereo. Were there any add-ons: Exhaust system, SC reduction Pulley? Even with the low mileage $8K is a bit high. Very important to get the car history. For me, I wouldn't consider this car, no sunroof or HID Xenons.

 

Welcome to NAM! Do some research on truecar.com, craigs list (in your area), cars.com, autotrader and see what MINI's with the same mileage/year are going for in your area. KBB is a good base, but vehicle prices vary on region. You need to see what they are selling for, not what places like those would price them at. If they're high in demand and hard to get a hold of, prices can go up. That's some great mileage too for an '06 so great find! Good luck with the purchase and if you ever need anything please be sure to let me know.

 

There is a purple one in Olathe that has all the bells and whistles with 90K for $7K that you might want to check out. It's on CL post 5858260335

 

Nice site here I copied and pasted the options. I don't think it has LSD. :( Carfax didn't show much when it came to service history.

S1CA Selection of COP relevant vehicles
S383 Roof and mirror shrouds, black
S429 Interior surface, anthracite
S450 Height adjustment, passenger seat
S645 BMW US Radio
S650 CD player
S692 Preparation, BMW 6-CD changer I-bus
S895 Additional fan
S8SP Control unit COP
S925 Dummy-SALAPA
S9AA Outer skin protection
Vehicle options
S214 Automatic stability control (ASC+T)
S228 Sports suspension settings Plus
S255 Sports leather steering wheel
S262 ITS - Head airbag
S385 MINI LA wheel, X-Lite 84
S441 Smoker package
S470 Isofix-System
S481 Sports seat
S493 Storage compartment package
S530 Air conditioning
S546 Revolution counter
S563 Light package
S657 Radio, BMW Business/MINI Boost
S736 2nd radio remote control key
S823 Hot-climate version
Vehicle options
S845 Acoustic belt warning
S853 Language version English
S876 Radio frequency 315 MHz
S992 Control of number-plate attachment

Those are 2 things I don't really care about. 1 less thing to go wrong lol. I am fine with base cars. The car is stock to my knowledge, but he added slotted rotors.

thank you! Everyone seems so nice here which is a huge plus. I was looking at Mazdaspeed 3's and joined a page and man they are brutal!

Yeah I saw that one too. It has over 35k more and an automatic. :( Don't want auto. But looks very nice and optioned out. Unique color too!

This is the one I am checking out tomorrow:
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/5858106991.html

 

Nice looking car!

 

I just bought mine from a dealer for a touch over 7k with tax and I registered it myself. But I'm in Virginia. Regions vary. Mine has 87k miles and has the sunroof and xexnon headlights too. Car is in near perfect condition. The mini dealership will do a prebuying inspection on it for around 250$ but the guy has to be okay with leaving it at the dealer for the day. They go into depth. Check the clutch wear, all seals joints control arms brakes fluids pretty much everything they would do when they receive the vehicle off the truck after shipping in. It's what I did and they found a few oil leaks and control arm bushings needing replaced. Check behind the access panels in the rear by the tail lights to see if it's got rust. Make sure no outstanding recalls are on it. Basic car stuff. But it looks nice and in decent shape. Good luck on ur search

 

Got my 06 R53 about 2 months ago 110K one owner car with full dealer service docs for $5,500 in Atlanta. This car sat for about a year, the original price was $7K. I think it sat because it was a 6speed. I had checked out another one that had the same specs that was an automatic which sold in 2 months.
HID Xenons
Leather Interior
Harmon Kardon System
Dual Sunroof
Heated Seats/Mirrors
Auto Wipers
Headlight Washers
Chili Red

 

Looking on autotrader. That $7995 asking price isn't that bad compared to ones available in a 500 mile radius from my house.

$8k 119k miles
$5900 $153k miles
$7k 98k miles
$10k 65k miles
$6500k 82k
$9k 76k

 

I would say that I lot depends on (a) how its been treated by previous owners; (b) how its been maintained (and by who); and (c) whether the various stock problems have been fixed / preventative maintenance has been done.

Don't just judge one on asking price and miles on clock.

For example, I bought a 2004 JCW with 84k miles on it .. but it was immaculate. Mechanic at Mini dealer said it was rare that he came across a R53 that was in such good mechanical condition. I paid $6,250 for it from a Honda dealer.

 

Various stock problems?

What is the coolant interval and does it have a timing belt or chain? Interference motor?

 

Engine mounts, strut mounts, oil pan gasket, power steering, crank sensor o-ring, etc. All of which you'll glean from a quick perusal of these forums

 

Thanks, I went through the sticky guide. I guess 06's didn't have PS issues from what I read. I will also check for rust in the rust prone areas like door sills and tail lights. Found a video on the CPS 0-ring leak.

Lots of great info on these forums. I will be prepared tomorrow

 

No sunroof means 80+ lb. you're not lugging around plus a lower CG. I'd invest in a couple hundred bucks to have a competent indy mechanic who knows MINI's to perform a PPI (pre-purchase inspection). If it checks out, I think the price is within reason but would certainly try to negotiate lower. Take any PPI issues found as rationale to subtract from the asking price.

 

Damn, 80lbs less is nice with no sunroof. Never taken a car for PPI. I doubt the private seller would allow that. I guess I will fix the problems as they arise. But will point out a lot to get the price lower. Just not sure what his "i need to get this amount out of it" Will find out @ noon today. Thanks!

 

Unless you're a fairly competent "wrench", you need someone skilled to check out the car. I'd be concerned if he balked at letting a mechanic look at it. Having only owned it 1 year, did he buy it to flip it, need a different type vehicle...or might something be amiss? If so, it could cost you $$$$.

 

Found this little informative video too.

Yeah I could just picture him saying he doesn't have time for that or along those lines. Guess he doesn't want to sell it then if acts that way. If anything I will enjoy driving my first mini.

I work on my own cars for the most part. Did a steering rack/ transmission removal, clutch setup, master and slave cylinder on my SRT-4 a couple years back. Also installed a bigger turbo and a have done a bunch of other things to it myself. But not sure I am looking for a daily to work on all the time like the Mini. Looks like a fairly easy car to work on for the most part... :/

He says he only owns cars for a year or 2. He says he likes switching it up quite a bit. I will be looking over it with a fine tooth comb. Kind of leaning away from it without even seeing it due to all the potential issues the R53 can have lol

 

As you've learned, issues with the 2005-2006 are not major. With your experience, you should be able to handle most anything that might turn up. You've done your research, know what to look for and have the background to objectively inspect the car. If he isn't responsive to a PPI, then it's your call. Best of Luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

Check around the battery box area for rust as well. Our site has a number of service and maintenance guides you can refer to and see if the maintenance has been followed up on. Please ask if you have any questions!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

With 56k miles on it, any of those issues I mentioned, and that you've no doubt been reading about, may have already been done by the original owner. My first two Mini's were bought with around 40k on them, and I had to do the same repairs / preventative maintenance to each . . and then the same performance mods of course!!! My current one had been well taken care of by the previous owners and everything had already been done. I do know that at some point in time I'm probably going to have to do a clutch change and a supercharger oil change, but as I'm only going to be driving the car 4 or 5 thousand miles a year, hopefully it won't be for a while!!

 

Well I checked it out today as planned.

Outside of the car, it looks awesome. I literally didn't see any scratches or dings anywhere on the outside of the car which is a huge plus. that pepper white looks great. He left the car running when he pulled up. I told him to open the hood. No unusual noises, inspected the tensioner. Wasn't moving or anything. Car sounded good. Looked for coolant leaks near thermostat housing. Didn't see anything. No unusual smells either. Engine bay was gross and had some random tar on it or something. Hard to explain. Had that surface salt crap all over the metal components in the engine bay from being a rust belt car. Passenger motor mount looked great. The strut towers were just about perfect. The rubber mounts had no cracking in them either. Tires were like new and so were the brakes. Then I peeped underneath the car starting from the rear. Notice the rear control arm/knuckles had rust on them. Not sure if it was surface rust or not. Everything else in the rear looked fine. Checked the battery area too, no rust or condensation. Had a white battery in there that could be original or it was replaced with another oem mini battery. Couldn't see under the front that much since the cars are so low, but I did see the oil pan caked in oil. So probably crank sensor o-ring is my guess. Power steering fluid was low so I followed the line and its leaking around the pump area. Pulled up the weather stripping by the doors and there was quite a bit of rust on the passenger side under it. Drivers side didn't have much at all just light surface rust. The subframe had a ton of rust and some places were rotting it looked like. That threw me off quite a bit. :( Honestly didn't want to drive it after seeing that.

Now it was time to drive the car. Noticed right off the bat the clutch pedal was spongy but firm. Everytime I pressed it I felt like something was binding/squeaking like it was connected to wooden joints or something. But it shifted perfect in all gears. Did a pull from 2nd to 3rd and it pulled pretty decent. Ride was very harsh probably due to having the original suspension. I could feel every bump in the road. It was a very fun car to drive, and was similar to my Neon but nicer inside and out. Giant autometer tach right on the steering wheel is clever with the little digital speedometer. Then you have the huge tach in the middle of the console area which is kind of odd. I enjoyed the interior though for how simple it was.

Overall it was an alright ride. I just feel like it would need quite a bit of money into it. Plus that rust. Yikes. He told me that he always asks high when he sells a car. But I didn't give him an offer. I said I need to think about it. Not really sure if its the car for me really. I like it, but I just wish it wasn't a rust belt car. I feel like I will be spending quite a bit of time wrenching on the car and fixing random crap quite a bit. My list is already extensive if I were to buy it. Just not sure its even worth it.

 

Jesus, yeah, I'd definitely stay away from that one then - you can do far better in your price range!

 

Pass! Too many nice cars out there to get one that has "rusties".

 

Yeah going to pass for sure. Thanks guys.