I just bought a 2003 MCS. It had a car fax but that is just for crash history and registration. I would like to know what issues should be dealt with right away, such as oil change, serpentine belt, etc. I rotated the tires at Les Schwab and they had to beat the wheel off because the hubs had rusted. I am going to go in and have the oil changed and inspect for rust and look at the belt. Anyone come up with other items that can become an issue?

TIA

jim

 

You can contact any MINI dealer, and with the VIN number, they can pull out its service history from the central database. This is assuming the previous owner had the car serviced at an authorized MINI dealer frequently since new.

How many miles on the car? If the car has over 40K I would replace the engine belt. Rotate tires every 4K miles. Also have your mechanic check the top front strut mounts for cracks in the rubber seals and mushrooming of the strut towers themselves.

Check the suspension alignment is a good idea too to make sure the car tracks correctly and there are not any other issues with the suspension.

Change the brake fluid, gas filter, probably a little quasi-obsessive but a good idea too.

How's the clutch? Is the original part? If it is, replace that as wheel if you suspect slipping or have noises or akward pedal feel.

 

i recently purchased a 2003 R50 w/ 36k miles. the dealer it was originally purchased from (original window stick was in glove box) were and are total a-holes- universal mini of north hollywood. they would not tell me the history over the phone. told me i had to come in person. i will never give them a penny. another option to see if there is a service log is to join up over at MINIusa if there are any service logs by a dealer you should be able to see them after you creat an account and input your MINI's VIN.

anyhow, these are the issues i would have checked as these are the things i have had fixed. also i would look for a good MINI mechanic in your area. better price and service.

first thing i did at my MINI mechanic was the inspection 1 service- brake fluid, power steering fluid flushed. oil change. tranny fluid (i have CVT), fuel filter, cabin filter etc. you can find a few threads that go over the inspection 1 in full. and as the poster above mentioned- check strut mounts- i had one cracked but, no mushrooming. i had them replaced with ireland fixed camber plates. my MINI mechanic did all the inspection 1 plus th fuel filter AND the camber plates for roughly 1/2 of what a dealer charge is for inspection 1 alone.

with that initial stuff satisfied i then replaced front brake pads and rotors.

here are some other things i have had issues with that you may want to look for-

door lock actuators - my drivers side was out when i bought it- wouldn't unlock via remote or toggle. had it fixed at the same time my passenger side window went out 1 month later. that was the cabling inside the door. alhtough no sense in doing anything if they work but, be prepared it is common.

power steering pump- mine is now leaking very slightly and is another common issue of the MINI at this age. will be replaced in the next few weeks. if you find yours leaking- make sure you top it off with the correct PS fluid- pentosin. pricey at about $25+ a litre.

battery. the original owner replaced with a weird size and when hitting a bump the positive cable would sometimes disconnect. OEM battery is garbage from what i read. you have an "S" there are tons of threads on the best aftermarket battery here.

various little things like plastic covers under the hood or interior trim stuff. on the R50 many things like the injector tube cover, battery box cover, airbox cover etc have plastic tabs which break, depending on how OCD you are, you may want to replace. i did - look at realoem.com for part numbers and then go to pelican parts online and paste in the number. they have reasonable prices and good customer service. good sources for all your OEM parts.

coolant flush- again use only the bmw approved coolant.

these are all things that i would plan on replacing with almost any used vehicle - except for locks and windows i guess. other than that the MINI has been great.

if you are good with a car mechanically alot of stuff you can DYI. but, i can't stress finding a good MINI specialist in your area enough. also if you can, and depending on what mods- if any- you are planning on- you may look into an aftermarket extended warranty to ease your mind. you will first have to make sure everything is good to go though as they will probably require an initial inspection before the warranty will kick in but, worth it IMHO. you're in oregon so probably no weird warranty laws like in here california, so check into warranty direct. decent prices with a payment installment and from all accounts good service. it may seem like a waste but, i don't feel it is with a used MINI. if your only choice IS the dealer- a couple little repairs like door locks and a power steering pump will pay for the warranty on their own.