I’m looking to buy this 2006 s,manual,clean title,97k miles.The owner has a ton of service records with receipt's.Hes asking 6500$.can you guys please tell me what you think if this seems like a good buy.going to go check the car out in person in two days and drive it.from what the owner has told me the car is bullet proof has no engine lights and runs flawlessly(unconfirmed taking the owners word for now)from the pictures I’ve seen the exterior of the car is 8.5/10.let me k ow what you guys think based on the services done and the list of parts installed and the ones uninstalled.thank you

 

First thing you need to do is actually look at the car, under taillights and boot lid for rust. Then try your best to look underneath for rust, subframe, brake lines, etc. Next drive the car, seriously, take it out get it up to temp, then get on it, run it through gears. 20-30 minutes you will know if there are any check engine lights, hard pulls will let you know if clutch is good. Play with every button to see if everything works. Now comes price, it varies so much due to mileage, specs, and everything else. It really is hard to tell you if it’s a good deal with pics of the car, judging by what you have listed. It seems like a fair price.

 

If you know or have access to a MINI expert mechanic, it's worth considering a pre purchase inspection; we get a new-to-us 2007 R52 S last summer and had the inspection done. Good piece of mind to know what might be going wrong etc. A thought..

 

If there is rust you may want to avoid unless you do body work or have access to a good body guy. I would inspect the vehicle and then ask for receipts (as proof of parts/service claimed)- If the parts/service is as claimed, it's worth a fair bit in parts and labor- at least a few grand (ask me how I know)-

If you want to get a better idea of costs and work associated with all of this check out my previous rebuild post here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-ideas-10.html

Post #280 has a cost breakdown as well.

 

The list is pretty solid and has several indications the owner did care about that Mini.

A few outstanding missing lines are about fluids:

• when was the supercharger last serviced? That's often question n°1 for R53. If the answer is "never", that's a red flag (the supercharger could be on its last leg, and it's an expensive part)
• brake fluid / coolant changes? Not as important as the previous one, but still indicative of the level of care.

Gearbox oil has probably been changed when the clutch was changed, and power steering fluid was changed when the PS pump was replaced, so those are good.

As others said, see and test the car, and if you can get a pre-purchase inspection.

 

Question - If I see aftermarket performance parts do I think this has been a well maintained car or that it has been driven hard, or can it be both? I am a non mod kinda guy so I lean toward OEM but like the idea of an improved car, but never do it.