Hi everyone!

So I'm in kind of a weird situation for potentially buying a MINI and I need help staying objective and making a smart decision. My dad knows I've been doing a lot of reading on here, and the other day he showed up with a MINI. Apparently he was just in a position to get it for what he thought was a good deal and snatched it, because if I don't buy it from him he's going to flip it. My question to all of you is if you think I would be overpaying, or if the car is worth keeping. I'm having trouble staying objective because other than the fact it's a model year with a CVT it's the exact car I want. (And honestly as nervous as the CVT makes me from reading on here, I really love driving it.)

The car is a 2004 justa (pre-facelift) with the CVT. It's got 98k miles and 1 previous owner. I took it to an independent mechanic today for a PPI, and it does need a couple repairs. Being nervous about the transmission though, I was sure to talk to them about that. They said they recommend a fluid change just because of it being new to me and the mileage, but other than that the transmission seems fine. It does, however, need a new oil pan and gasket because it looks like someone did some weird patchwork on the current one. It also needs a new window motor on the driver's side. Total cost of repairs and fluid change, including labor, is going to be just under $1500. The total cost of the car without repairs (but including tax, tags and registration, FL's impact fee etc.) is going to be just under $6100.

So basically the total cost of the car with everything is going to be about $7500. Is this too much or a decent price? Should I take the plunge or walk away? It's so hard! lol ugh it's so hard to be objective after having so much fun driving it around today.

 

I wouldn't get it.

 

Run, run very fast....

 

What he said.

 

Oh man. Okay. Do you mind me asking what specifically screams run? Is it the price, the transmission...?

 

a 10 year old MINI about to turn 100K? I would not pay $7K for it. If I could fix it up at the paying price of $6k, I still would have thought it was steep. Hope your dad can get what he paid for it.

 

Everything....
High price...$7500 for a 2004 COOPER CVT?!?!!!
CVT tranny....
"Patch job" repair on oilpan gasket...
Other repairs that are needed...
Bet there are others...the oil pan gasket is a clue as to how much the prior owner spent on the car...skimping on a mini is VERY $$$...if they did a shortcut oil pangasket, think the trannt got flushed? Oil changes? Inspections? Lower control arm bushings? Think the owner dumped it cause a big bill was looming?!
Keep looking... There will be other cars...
The car you are looking at is overpriced, needs repairs, and has evidence of shoddy mataince work...if the tranny goes, it will total the car...
Heck...if somebody thinks the car can be flipped at a profit....must be the same buyer that bought some swampland.....

 

Yeah, I understand. In the back of my mind I guess I knew that would be the response, I just needed to hear it (or, read it). It's just hard to be objective when it's basically in your driveway and it's such a joy to drive. Plus im not seeing any MINIs in my area for a better price. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places?

I'm honestly kind of amused at the whole situation because not even a week before he showed up with the car I was telling him how I was planning on avoiding the first gens because I don't know how to drive a manual and the CVTs are notoriously bad.

 

Don't be afraid to broaden the area you're looking in. I've flown to California to buy a car. I flew to Cookeville, Tennessee to buy a Harley Sportster. I considered the extra costs incurred as the cost of a neat little vacation.

 

I would suggest learning to drive a stick first.

 

If you think an automatic r50 is a joy to drive, learn to drive stick and for the same price buy a decent r53. I can promise you it will be exponentially more fun than whats sitting on your driveway.

 

+1000000000000ⁿx9999999999999999999999999999999999 999

 

7500$ (fixed)is just a ton of money for a 10+ year old car with a cloud (CVT) hanging over it...
$4000 cash, then fixed, with the extra $$ held in reserve for repairs might make sense...but still risky.
It is a one owner car...but you don't know if it was a good loving owner or a person that waxed it all day, but did not understand anything about cars....

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nvestment.html
Read this...gives you an idea of how far off your $$$ is ...and CT is usually a VERY high priced area...

 

Sounds like you are going down the right path by not letting the fun blind you to the risks. A little patience and I bet you can find one that is both fun and less of a financial gamble.

One of our cars was a CVT with high miles, and things were fine, but that felt like luck. We actually sold it because the car had value. Value which would literally go to zero if the CVT would have failed.

Although I'm a big fan of automatic transmissions, when I found a great manual JCW I took the plunge and learned to drive a stick. If I, as a 25-plus year auto transmission driver could learn and enjoy the manual, anyone can. :-)

As long as you don't have any other factors that make it a bad idea (such as a long daily commute in tons of traffic), I wouldn't rule out a manual. It will be cheaper, and less liability versus a CVT.

That's assuming you are set on the years that the auto transmissions were CVTs. If you start to consider cars from the "conventional" auto transmission era, I wouldn't be concerned about getting an automatic at all.

Good luck, and hope you get to become a MINI owner! :-)

Don