Rear struts (leaking), shocks, & oil housing are now noted by my shop as things to replace. What should I fix? Some? All of the above? Nothing catastrophic has happened. It rides a little hard, but no weird noises.

It's a Cooper, 5-speed, no bells and whistles. I've fixed most things that have come up over the years (except rear wiper fluid assembly). Replaced the clutch in 2018 when I decided to keep it.

I've been scanning the car market for my next car for...3 years, but a nearly 24-year old car has been inexpensive to maintain (low insurance, no ad valorum tax; no care with no garage aka I don't have to care that acorns and snowcrete pummel it throughout year). I don't plan to get another MINI as I'm tall and would like something further off the ground in the future (though still with decent gas mileage in case I get back to roadtrips).

Thanks!

 

I’m pretty particular about my suspension, so I would replace all four struts, personally. I noticed some concerning wandering under heavy braking (think panic stops) when mine were worn. The oil filter housing gasket depends on how bad it’s leaking. Minor weeping is okay with me, but at some point it will become problematic.

 

Thanks - helpful.

 

Having a shop perform the repair(s); oil filter housing vs struts; I imagine the estimate to be equally expensive.
If you don't mind acorns pummeling your Mini, then perhaps just a few drops of oil in the driveway may not be much concern either (?)
Weighing out priority on a budget; I think I would tend to having the struts replaced first. (If budget is a concern).

​​​​​​Replacing the oil filter housing and oil cooler gaskets can be a tight area to access in order to replace the them - That is probably why an indie shop quoted me $650.

​​​​​*I ended up replacing the gaskets myself....It was not a fun day.

 

Oil Filter Housing gasket - I have a 2005 with 185k. The car is now with my kid. Losing oil at a high rate due to the housing gasket. The engine comes first. I paid $500 to have a shop do it in San Diego. Do the rear struts after the oil issue is fixed.

 

Fyi the oil filter housing gasket on a Cooper isn't that hard and easily accessible .Compared to a S there are no oil cooler and coolant lines so a mechanic can change it from above and clean the block using the wheel wel. I changed it in an hour and the part is like $10, paying $500 to me is quite expensive.

Do change it though. Minis leak oil from different places when they get older but when you keep up with those leaks the engine will last forever.

 

Your assessment of what I'll tolerate is spot on! Thanks for the thoughts.

 

Yeah, this makes sense. I'm going to have them look over everything tomorrow (annual oil change, coolant flush, plus I need to pass Virigina safety inspection -- used a headlight restoration kit successfully today). All of the inputs here are helpful as sometimes things get added as "recommendations" when they probe a problem I reported. As I recall, I didn't replace the oil housing when it first came up because they couldn't get the part easily (parts for 2002/ R50 are getting a little harder to obtain?). I also have been on the fence about how long to keep it. If the hybrid/electric car market wasn't such a mess, I might have bought something by now. Still, nothing else drives quite like a Mini. Anyone had any major electrical or a/c issues?

Many thanks!