Hi everyone! I have a 2003 Mini Cooper R50 Base. I bought this car as a salvage title about three month ago and put 10K miles on it since I got it. When I purchased it, I was warned of an overheating issue, but it hasn't come up since now.

I am not getting an codes or dash alerts other than the red coolant temperature indicator. About a week ago, the temperature would rise when idling, and bringing the RPM to 3.5K would cool it back down. It holds coolant okay, I have had to top it off once a month. Recently, it has been overheating while driving. Today I replaced the thermostat and gasket, and it seems to be back to the state of overheating while idle.

Has anyone come across this issue? Any ideas on parts to replace (water pump, etc.)? Any input is appreciated!

 

First thing I would check is the low speed operation of the radiator fan. It's extremely common for the in-line resistor to fail which prevents the low speed operation of the fan. There's lots of how-to's out there on how to check it and fix it without replacing the whole fan assembly.
If your fan is working, then perhaps it's a water pump issue but I would check for a leaking head gasket first (the coolant can be tested for hydrocarbons).