Hey NAM!

I am looking at a 2005 Mini Cooper S with a JCW kit with 84xxx miles. The owners are getting an oil change within the next week.

The owners also said that the airbag light is on due to a bad battery cable connection. Has anyone had this issue before?

Are there any other known issues to be looking for when I'm checking the car out? I know the strut towers tend to mushroom overtime.

Thanks to all who replies!
Tracey :]

 

the airbag light is an issue that is talked about quite a bit here actually; but ive never seen the reason for it being on as a "bad battery cable connection"... that sounds strange. i would be weary of that. Take it to Mini, ask them why its on. You dont want the car if you have to spend 1k$ on an airbag, or airbag sensor / switch (yes, that is the price!)

how much does he want for it? are you sure its JCW? check the bushings on the suspension, ect. there are a lot of them. check the rubber pieces on top of the strut towers, those go too. check the coolant overflow tank, those go as well. oh, and try to listen for the "low speed fan" on the radiator. if it doesnt work, only the high speed fan kicks on, and will go off/on to compensate for the low speed one not working. if thats busted, its a 175$ part. look at the intercooler boots, those go also. ask to see his service records as well.

you can also call mini, and read them the VIN. they can tell you what should be on the car (options). they can tell u if its JCW or not also. ive seen plenty of minis for sale that claim to be JCW, but just have been dressed up to look as such.

 

Thanks for the great info!

Yeah, she said something about a sensor, but also said something about a bad battery cable.

I've been trying to figure out if it's true JCW by the pictures. I know it has a different exhaust than the stock MCS.

They are asking $11,300 for it.

 

should have "true dual exhaust", and JCW engraved tips. you should also have the JCW sticker on the engine head, with a serial number. the airbox should also have a JCW logo, and the brakes should be RED with JCW logo.

again, double check the VIN with mini. Most of those parts can be bought on ebay, and a car can be dressed up; but the exhaust should be a good indicator at worst.

 

I had a problem with the seat belt tension-er and that was causing an airbag light. But as suggested take it to MINI or a GOOD independent MINI shop.

 

Here is a picture of the boot.

I got the VIN, so I'm going to call up to MINI and see what all this car comes with. :]
Also, it is the battery safety terminal cable that went bad and is throwing the airbag code.. Which I searched and a bunch of links came up.

They have all service records from when they bought it in November of last year. They also bought it from a friend. It has a brand new supercharger and water pump.

 

Nice boot.

I hope it's the battery cable. If it's something else more local to the airbag sensors, it could increase the repair cost considerably, as indicated in post #2 above.

I just had the airbag light in my BMW reset at an independent shop, but if it comes back on and really needs a fix, it could run as high as $640 with tax ($183 for a seat occupancy mat, $136 for a seat pad, $17 for wiring, and $270 for labor).

 

I guess I should add the front also :P


Anyway, called the local mini dealership and asked about the factory options. It comes with Sport, Premium, and Harman Kardon sound. The only issue with trying to figure out if it is a "true JCW" is the fact they didn't do it from factory until 2006. The way it was before 2006 was the dealer would just put the kit on.

I also forgot to say it's been serviced by a BMW specialist since she's had it. And I'm going to try to figure out how to get a free history check.. Reallly don't want to pay $40 for one history check...

It's an out of state car.. so I'll be driving to look / if I like it get it, but my boyfriends stepdad owes a code scanner? thing... So we will hopefully find out the exact problem.

 

Nice looking otherwise too.

You may be able to get a complete service record by contacting the original selling dealership's service department and supplying the VIN number. That's what I did for our used '06, and they were nice enough to provide the complete service history for the car.

 

Ah, okay. Thanks! I'll definitely look into that.

 

Were the red JCW brakes only on the post 04 JCW kits? I have an 04 JCW R53 so I don't have the upgraded airbox or fuel injectors. I assume that the brakes must've also been part of this (hadn't heard that before though). Mine is serialized/has the JCW plate/diverter, and the exhaust engraved JCW. Just curiosity more than anything. :P

 

The JCW factory installed kits were not available until '06. Prior to that they were dealer installed. These dealer installed kits had nothing to do with brakes or suspension. The early kits were supercharger, cylinder head, exhaust, and ecu tune. The later kits added the 380cc injectors and uprated air box.
Steve

 

With the 50/52/53, the JCW (red caliper) brakes were an additional option over and above the "JCW kit".

And even though the '05 kits were dealer installed the dealer should have it listed as a JCW on record and the owner should have the certificate.

 

Yeah, I don't think they have a certificate. I asked her and she just said a manual box.

I asked for some more pictures so hopefully the engine bay will say if it was or not.

 

Alright.. so I got some engine bay pictures, and the airbox (I think that is what it is, correct me if I'm wrong.) has the JCW logo but there isn't any on the engine head.

 

Here are some pictures of the engine bay. I am not familiar with the mushrooming but the right strut tower definitely look like it.

I was searching some threads and people said the M7 Strut Brace is pretty good.
Any other suggestions?

 

Those are mushroomed BAD, it may be very dificult to get the front end aligned properly, not to mention the possible problems in handling, may be very difficult & expensive to fix.

It also doesn't have a JCW air diverter:



I would be very wary of it actually being a JCW car, it will definately take more digging into, esp. If you think there asking a premium because it's a JCW car.

 

I could tell the right one was. But how could you tell with the left? Apparently you could lift the front end up and just take a 2x4 and a hammer and beat them back down then out a strut brace on... I'm not sure what all I would have to do, I've been searching as much as I can.

And how much is expensive? I have some money to work on a car... If it has the "true" JCW package on it then they have 2k off already. It appears to have it but doesn't have a logo on the engine head. -- I've been trying to get information on it.. It has the aero kit and exhaust.. and some type of um.. other thing in the engine bay that says JCW.. It just doesn't have the sticker on the engine head.

Someone said that it should have a serial number for the JCW, where exactly would that be?
Would the record of the JCW package be on the carfax? Probably not.. but may be worth a try.

 

Wow those strut towers are really mushroomed..they must have hit a pothole or gap in the road at very high speed... Check to make sure the wheels aren't bent. I've never seen mushrooming of that kind.

As for whether it's a jcw or not...someone else needs to jump in here.

 

Man.. How much work will the strut towers need? Have to consider this in the price. I don't mind the work.. I have friends that can help me with everything.

There is a MINI dealership close to where it's located, so I may see if I can get it checked out while I'm there looking at it. They say a BMW specialist did the maintenance on it since they've had it and their friend had it. So I would think he would realize the mushrooming..

Yeah.. it seems like it's a hit and miss with the JCW. One of the dealerships I called said he couldn't pull up records or anything so he doesn't know when it was installed, or what options were installed.

They didn't put it into the price, so I'm not too worried about that.

 

Well...i don't know how much work will need to go into getting the strut tower back...but i would be concerned with metal fatigue..And it won't be precise..the strut tower was originally pressed in a mold now it's going to be pounded back with a hammer and 2x4...

Let's say they can go back to normal..i cant see how the upper strut mounts wouldn't be blown after strikes that were hard enough to do that kind of damage. So you will need these:

http://www.waymotorworks.com/oem-fro...rut-mount.html

Not super intense amount of work...but still work.

I actually just did what you are considering..but I bought my MINI clear across the country..and drove it from LA to NYC...only reason I bought out of town was to do the road trip.

With all the problems and sketchiness with this car...why not just move on to another one? I don't think the price is all that good..or spectacular that you should walk in blindly. Don't fall in love with cars at all and def don't get into the mindset that you won't find something better..I didn't have time on my hands so I took the best vehicle I could and it turned out pretty well..some maintenance items: brakes, a-arm bushings etc...but overall good shape.

Ask them to scan or fax you the receipts from the "BMW specialist" EVERYONE IS A SPECIALIST OVER THE INTERNET. If they are too busy or non responsive they are hiding something..And def don't deserve your hard earned cash.

Lastly..if you can't afford $40 for a carfax...you can't afford a MINI...buy or ask the seller for a carfax period!!! Even if they don't sell to you 90% of buyers will ask for it...it's in their benefit to have it.

$40 is nothing if you are about to spend $11k + $2k more for mods or repairs.

How far is this car from you? Anyone you know who knows cars AND better yet MINIs that can look at it and take 1,000 pictures from every angle for you? Or better yet take it to a dealer to be assessed? How about a member of this forum? Don't worry we probably won't buy it out from under you..we probably already have a MINI of our own....probably.

Look up the vendors on this site who ARE MINI specialists and see if any of them are near the car..ask the seller to take it there for an independent inspection..you will pay the cost...and call them and arrange it. Expect to pay at least $100 for this. Can't afford it? You can't afford this car.

Not sure how old you are...but you sound like me at about 22-23 or less...try not to be impulsive here.

 

Yeah.. My boyfriend has been looking online about the strut towers. And he even said that I would need new strut mounts probably. He found some strut plates on minimadness that apparently will fix the problem and also prevent it in the future.

The mini is located a little over 300 miles away. It would be a whole day to go down there and back in good daylight hours. I've been talking to the owners getting more pictures. I plan on asking about the receipts and the specialists they take the car too. I'll ask about the carfax also.

My boyfriend is going with me (He's actually studying to be an mechanical engineer) and one of our good friends is also going who is doing the same. But yeah I am looking for other cars also, just this is the first one I've come across that has everything I'd like in a MINI. I do agree it's a bit sketchy which I haven't discussed anything about looking at the car or even money wise. I'm just trying to find out more information about the car before I decide I really want the car.

It's in Jones (near Oklahoma City) Oklahoma. So if anyone is near there, feel free to PM me about it and I would love if someone could go check the car out for me. I did plan on asking them to take it to the mini dealership to get it throughly looked over.

Everything about the car seems okay, except for the strut towers / JCW works package confusion (which can be confused by "normal" people who don't know much about the cars. I didn't even know this until I went searching on the interwebzzz.) but there is a little sketch with it. Which is why I'm being cautious about it. I don't plan on looking at the car until next weekend (If I am still considering it by then)

And yes you are around the right age... I'm not being impulsive about it, it's just one of the few cars I have found near me (due to parents restrictions) that has the options I want. If I could, I would go to the east coast to get a car if I had too in order to get the right deal. Which I am taking into consideration the amount of work and money will have to be put into this car to fix it.. DEFINITELY not paying what they are asking.

Thanks for the input.

 

Haha..sorry about the impulsive comment..I just remember those good old days and wish someone had stopped me from making some bad moves. Bottom Line we at NAM are just trying to look out for you..check the classifieds here..sometimes you run across some good deals..plus just searching their username you could likely find out all the issues, mods, repairs they gave already completed

Those service records at that mileage had better have:

1) brakes prob twice
2) tires at least twice (would be end if life 2nd time)
3) a-Arm bushings $800 at least to do and lots of work
4) serpentine belt (hopefully in last 20k..I don't push them beyond 25k personally
5) coolant flush and fills
6) oil changes every 10k..although I don't reco this.
7) cabin air and engine air filters

Btw: what are the options / price you want for a car? Without pissing off the entire NAM community there are cheaper car options that are less costly to maintain..but won't give the same driving sensation...but close.

 

Yeah, it's all good. I've looked around here. I've looked on cars.com, auto trader, ebay, craigslist.. But nothing has really sparked too much. I was going to buy a brand new 2013 MCS and do the Mini Select program.. but I backed out of that and decided to go for a 2004-2006 MCS. (I won't go any newer than that because I want that pop burble sound xP) My boyfriends E36 has that, and I LOVE driving it.


Options:
Sport / Premium
Harman Sound (Preferred. Don't absolutely need)
Sunroof

Pricing: $10-15k
I've been looking for 2-3 weeks.

I'm also not following about the cheaper car options?
I've been looking into getting a new car but the money situations haven't been right, but they are now so I have the opportunity now to get a car I really like, and would like to drive.

I've looked at GTIs, Jetta GLI (VR6), Mazdas, 90s BMWs, Subaru Impreza.

My parents (I am 19, I am young and my parents have to co-sign so of course they get somewhat of a say) have this set list of what the car has to have/need .. My family is a big American Car brand.. we own all Chevy's and an old 67 Ford. They drive SUVs and then my dad has his "weekend" car which is a '70 Chevelle that he built when I was growing up. I'd like to get into cars more, I'd like to do work on them. (Which is one reason why it isn't bothering me that I may need to do some work).

I'm just trying to figure out what all is going on with the car, so I can get a good price range to work with. I know I won't pay 11k for the car just because of these repairs.

 

I can tell you, that is not a true JCW vehicle.

See that Mini logo in the engine bay right behind the rad? That's supposed to say JCW with a serial number.

https://i.imgur.com/4Hf3z.jpg

My car. It has three different JCW logos. That mini you're looking at is missing two out of three, and the exhaust tip/JCW air filter could've been done by the PO.

https://i.imgur.com/3Euf2.jpg

It's harder to see, but you should see four JCW logo's.


For reference, my cooper is also a '05 MCS with JCW installed by dealer. So when I run my VIN at a regular dealership, they only list the MCS options, not the JCW. For that, you'd need to find the original dealership that sold the car.