Haha, alright so as some of you know.. I've kind of been bouncing back and forth between a R53, and a R56.

I was talking with some dealerships about buying a new MINI by financing through the MINI Select program. While I was doing that, I was still looking at R53s close by that my parents would be happy with. I was suppose to go to a dealership next weekend (Oct. 6th) but turns out I may be taking a trip to get a R53. Plus, after much talk with the boyfriend I think the R53 will be a much more fun car for me, and I'll have a little extra money to give it nice presents.

I found a 2005 Mini Cooper S. It's black (not sure if it's jet black or astro black.)

The packages:
Sport
Premium
Convenience
Chrono
Cold Weather

It has the iPod hook-up. Also, would it come with bluetooth?

It has about 37,500 miles on it. Has had 2 owners. The 1st owner was a middle aged woman. She did the oil changes every 3-4k at a MINI dealership and followed up on all the recalls.
The person who owns it now gets the oil changes done every 3-4k at a BMW dealership. Never been in an accident.
Both owners only put Shell V Power 93 Octane in it.
ABS sensors were replaced, and spark plugs changed as well.

The airbag light is on. He said it came on after replacing the battery.
Not sure how the strut towers are. I'll ask for pictures of them.

The asking price is $15,000. Which seems a little high, but it seems this car is in pretty darn good condition.

Hopefully, this Mini won't be a disappointment in the end like the last R53.

 

Looks to be in pretty good shape but -- asking price does seem a little high but thats why its asking I guess...have you run the carfax on it yet?

 

I do agree asking price is a bit steep. I plan on getting him down a little.

I have not yet. I plan to call the original dealer tomorrow and see if they can't give me the service records.

 

Definitely don't buy that car without having the AIRBAG light checked out though -- could be costly. I think a few people have mentioned the seat weight sensor being an issue that can cause the airbag light; very costly ~$1,000.

Good luck.

 

+1 on the airbag light!!!!

 

Yeah, I'm taking a code scanner with me.

Will it throw a specific code for the weight sensor?
--If it is the weight sensor, does it absolutely need to be replaced right away? The only time I actually have a passenger is when my boyfriend is in town..

Then again this will probably change because I'll actually love the car I get. Haha.

 

Agree on getting the Airbag light checked out. I've disconnected the battery multiple times on my car, the Airbag light never came on after reconnecting so that doesn't make sense.

Everything else sounds good on it. Low miles = their higher asking price. But search the seat sensor issue on 05's - 06's. Its a 'common' issue and can be reoccurring even after replacing the mat. Most people report around $1500 for the fix because they can quote the whole seat as the sensor mat cannot be purchased separate.

Anyways, good luck!

 

Ah, I see.

I know it's a common thing on 05/06 MCS. He knows it too.
He plans to get an oil change this weekend or within the next week, so I'll ask him to get it checked out by the dealer.

 

Car looks awesome! Low mileage. Price is not out of line.

 

wow that is one DAMN nice cooper! I wouldn't let the airbag light stop you from buying it......but then again when I am back home I drive mine with the airbag light on because I refuse to pay $1,500 for a damn sensor. hardly have passengers anyways

 

Don't buy this car until you pay for a complete Car Fax report.
Do this yourself on-line and get some answers even if its cost you some $.

Remember, owners may not report accidents and pay for the repairs out of pocket so
pay for a complete inspection to find out if anything else it happening.

Car looks GREAT, but don't buy it on looks alone. Do the reports and inspections so you are not sorry later.

A better way to cut into the price if things turn up on the reports & inspections . . . .

 

You figure out the color yet?

Jet Black and Astro Black have obvious differences that you should be immediately able to notice in person.

Astro Black has a blue hue and is a metallic paint. Jet Black is truly black, of course, and is non-metallic.

IMO, Jet Black is one of the best paints available.... and a bit rare. Hope you found one!

 

I would immediately discount $1500 for the airbag light and no your code scanner only reads the check engine light codes I think. Air bad has its own control unit on some cars. Don't be afraid to low ball him. It's a bad economy..minis are limited use vehicles (a lot of people have to ditch when they have a family) and there is an airbag issue..his story is also fishy. He is pricing this car as if its pristine..it's not. Airbag light means it needs some sort if conditioning. Then again who is to say there isn't an actual airbag issue that to me is a safety concern..what if he already deployed them and there is no airbag? Please take it to a MINI dealer for diagnosis..this is just as serious as an ABS light.

Welcome to the community (soon) we dish tough love :-p

 

'Tis true, it does only read engine cods. Silly me.

I plan to call up to the dealership after work today to get some background information. I'll talk to him about getting it diagnosed.


Thanks.

Yeah, I will definitely get the reports and get an inspection.


Haha, well.. If it is the sensor, I'll let it go for now because I hardly ever have passengers.
But will still bring the price down on the car.

 

Hmm, really? I would think it would be the most common.. Interesting.

 

Negative.

Find the Jet Black Owners thread. See how few pages it has compared to other colors. That will give you an idea.

There have been several variations of black paint but Jet Black, sinfully, wasn't around very long.

 

nice r53 agree with everyone on the airbag light. I noticed that the exhaust tips are missing..

 

haha -- eagle eyes... ask why that happened?

 

Ah, gotcha. Well I think either black will be good.

Wow, agreed. Eagle eyes. O.o

Well, the exhaust is there. The chrome tips are missing.
This may be a better picture.
Definitely will ask about that.

 

I am more questioning why the tips were taken off? Is that a stock muffler .. did they have body work done and someone forgot to reinstall the "little bits" -- also eagle eyes -- bottom right corner there is a hair tie.

...Indicating to me there was a struggle..in which the female victim lost her hair tie..
...or maybe he has a mullet -- which means he is not trust worthy?

Just a little bit of levity... :-P

 

Alright.. Info on the exhaust.

He removed them and still has them. He was planning to get a bigger exhaust due to not liking the stock.

He plans to get an inspection when he gets the oil changed (if he doesn't I'll pay for the inspection.)

 

Hahahahaha! At first I was thinking what in the world is he talking about?! Then I inspected the image more. :P

But with the tips..

 

Everything is set up with my bank.


Now I'm waiting to see if he gets an inspection and what the airbag light is.

I attached a picture of the engine bay. The strut towers don't look mushroomed. But then again I'm not too experience with that stuff.
I am ordering a strut brace and some plates.

 

The left side one looks mushroomed actually...but hard to really say from that angle of a picture -- you need it straight on shot to really tell. You also want to take a look at the bushings themselves -- I posted a video from Promini in your old post that showed how to actually check for mushrooming (even slight) and also shows what a torn upper strut mount looks like. The mounts themselves are not expensive ($80 each from WayMotorworks, and the install involves limited tools) but a non MINI shop is probably not going to know to look for this.

Also - when you say have the car "inspected" is that an independent mechanic -- a MINI dealership or the state inspection?

Usually when I buy a car -- I pick a 3rd party that has no affiliation with the buyer, because well I want a fully objective point of view.

Let us know how it all turns out.

 

Yeah, it does look a little mushroomed.

I have a friend in the area that could go look at the car for me. He isn't a MINI person, he is a mechanical engineer.. So the only thing he would really be able to look at is the struts, and the other little things to look for.

He takes the car to a BMW shop for oil changes. So I'm assuming he'll take it there.