So I'm looking to buy a 03 Mini Cooper S but the owner says it burns oil. He said he has to add a quart every 4000 miles or so. Is that normal? Should I buy it?

 

i wouldnt. i go 10k btwn oil changes, rarely do i have to add oil... maybe half a quart? closer to the 8k mark, and i have over 100k on my engine.

 

So it is an OIL consumption question....not fuel? As the headline asks....
Some mini's do burn oil....much depends how it was broken in when new or how ha d it was driven...
Many more leak... Oil pan gasket or crank position sensor o-ring are common cause...both leak and get blown back...so no tell tale drip spot....

 

1 quart every 4K miles is nothing.
Anything above 1 qr/1K miles is MINI/BMW spec, though usually oil burn rate is much smaller than that.

You have run into an honest seller that is sharing very useful and information with you. Most sellers would never volunteer this info to a perspective buyer, or even bother to check the oil level to keep track of oil burn rate. If the seller also changed oil every 5-7.5K miles, you stumbled onto a rarely well maintained car.

I would proceed to a pre-purchase inspection if the price and condition of the car warrant your interest.

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OIL OR fuel consumption here?