Hello all! First time poster here and the noob already needs help.

So I've wanted a Mini for a long time and I'm finally in the market for one. There are a lot of options for me around here so I was hoping I could get some input. The cars I'm looking at are as follows:

2004 Cooper S, 62k miles, fully loaded with cold weather, premium and sport packages. Aftermarket rims and stereo. 12,900

2005 Cooper S, black, 38k miles. Seems to have cold weather package but it's being sold at a Toyota dealership so they don't know the actual packages it came with. Can anyone tell me how to recognize what packages it came with just by checking out the car? This one is going for 14,300. Which is also strange since it only has 38k miles. But he says they have a clean carfax for it so I'm going to check it out.

2008 Cooper S, British green, 62k miles, cold weather package, reduced price from what he says was 18,500 to 14,900. Test drove this one already. Clean carfax.

So I'm going to check out the 04 and 05 tomorrow to try and choose one of these three. Can anyone give me some advice on these and which one is the better deal or which one I should be going for? The dealerships aren't very helpful. Mostly just tryin to get me to buy a car as soon as the test drive is over.

Thanks again. Looking forward to being a fellow Mini owner!

 

63 views and no responses? Did I post this in the wrong section? Haha

 

No... probably just too hard fir anyone to answer without seeing these cars or at least knowing more about them.

FWIW... I would go for the lowest mileage car unless there are any red flags on it.

And welcome!

 

If it helps here is a link to the 05. Hope that's allowed here.

http://www.lexingtontoyota.com/used/...aa14f2f9bf.htm

 

I would factor in all things like suggested. Low mileage is a definate plus but price is also a huge factor for me. I purchased an 02 Justa 4 years ago from a little old lady that had 30K on the clock for $10k and it was very clean. Just upgraded a couple of months ago to an 07 S convertible with 26K on the clock. Very happy with the S and probably would not go back to a justa any more. Look for exactly what you want. Color is important to me as well as options. Find something that meets all or most of your wish list options and then go for it. Good luck with your search

 

With the last 7 of the VIN, there is a thread in this very forum ("Find out all the options...") that will help you answer that.

 

Hey, I grew up in Lexington, MA! Graduated from Lexington H.S. and still have friends there. Small world.

Here is my 2 cents -- I'd be cautious about an 8 yr old car with 65K miles for an everyday driver. And ask if you can bring the car to Bert Smith to have them check it out.

That said, good luck and have fun!

 

Thanks for all the replies. The 05 has more options and almost half the mileage for 1400 more. That sounds like a definite plus. One thing I noticed is the steering is very tight. I know these have electric steering assist. I asked about it and they of course said they checked out the whole car but they're not a Mini dealership. Wondering if the steering is very tight on these by default or if I should have it checked out.

Retired Rev, I basically grew up on Hanscom AFB. Definitely a small world! Sorry for being a noob but who is Bert Smith?

Thanks again all

 

All Minis have "tight" steering by design. But if you test drove both the '05 and the '08, the steering should have felt about the same. I would worry about the one that felt less tight.

With the Gen 1 Minis, the question is not whether the power steering pump will fail, but when. Find out whether the '04 and the '05 PS pumps have been replaced. If not, make sure they get checked out by a mechanic who has dealt with them in the past.

 

Oops, Bert Smith is a dealer in St. Pete, Herb Chambers is who I meant.