I bought this turd at a auto auction last week. It wouldnt start, it had to be jumped at the auction. Got it home and replaced the battery and it still wouldnt start. I hooked up jumper cables to it and I dont know what I did but it started. I killed it & went to do something else and when I came back it wouldnt start again.
What am I doing wrong here ? Is there a special switch I am overlooking ?

What's wrong with this MINI ? This is a 2003 Cooper S hardtop...

Also anyone know of a mechanic in Fort Worth Texas ? I figure I am going to need one pretty soon....

 

If you can jump it to start it, then there in nothing wrong with the car itself.

I would go back to the battery. Is it a new battery? If not, it might not be charged either. Do you have a volt meter that you can check it with to see if it is charged? Even new, while unlikely, the battery could be dead. Is it hooked up right? Red to "+", etc. Sorry, got to ask. If all of that is all ok, then the next step - I assume you are jump starting it at the battery, so likely there is something at the battery that is causing the battery to not make connection with the cables. I would pull the battery cables off the battery and clean the inside of the cable connectors with sandpaper.

Once running I think you will find that the car is anything but a "turd"