Keep us updated on your driving/repair/maintenance experiences. Congratulations and enjoy.

 

We worked it out at $8750.00. I am ok if something semi major goes T.U. at that price.

Car has Bilstein Sports, SSR's, Spare Kosei K1's, 15% pulley, Conforti remap, an intake of some sort, new crank pulley, belts, tensioner, legal dark tint all the way around, some interior goodies: cup holder, glove box organizer, Alpine Ipod control stereo, OEM stereo, "disco ball" tail lights (those need to go away!), Hella driving lights wired to the high beams. Sunroof, blue. black leather, DSCT, cruise

It doesn't have perfect paint or headlamps with lots of tiny rock chips, but the rest of the paint looks good.

I am a happy with it

 

Change all the fluids right now. Oil change is about the easiest I've ever done (do a search), change belts, hoses, everything. Good thing about a high mileage maintained car is that it's proven itself. Changing (and checking) the fluids will provide additional peace of mind. Consider a blackstone (I think that's the name) oil analysis as well - can tell you a lot about the engine.

Congrats and welcome to the club! Now... head on down to MOTD and celebrate!

 

All the oil is only about two weeks old. Crystal Clear. Changed at 3500 mile intervals with synthetic.

Even the PS fluid is beautifully clear.

Gear box swapped to redline recently.

The car was owned by wife of friend of mine that builds race and rally cars for a living.

I do think I will strip down the IC and pull the SC shortly and see if there is oil in there!!!

Now I have to wait for the DMV to open so I can get tags to drive again and it is killing me.

 

Sweeeet!

Gotta get some pics up here, let's see the beauty!

 

pictures! And you can register for Minis On The Dragon (MOTD) until the end of the day today... c'mon down!

 

The SSRs and K1s are worth $1.5k right there. The Conforti map was good when it was new, but there are lots better now. Personally, I ditch the aftermarket crank pulley, but that's just me....

Anyway, welcome to the club, and you DID get a good deal.

Rear hatch rattles can be eliminated with adjusting the latch mechanism and the rubber bumpers out back.

Matt

 

Congrats on the purchase....For a car thats as much fun as the MINI is,...and considering what they cost new,....and you like it,....the price seems great!
Ric in .....Richmond...Virginia?

I'm Steve in Clifton Forge, VA

 

Ric, unless U plan to Auto/X or track this car, beleive me when I say this: changing fully synthetic oil every 3,500 miles is a waste of an expensive and good product. Even die-hards stuck in this Dino-oil standard interval rut are beginning to understand that 7,500-10K, depending on driving conditions, is perfectly fine for a top quality fully synthetic like M1 or the Castrol BMW reccommends. A friend of mine changes out the M1 in his WRX every 10K, but changes the filter every 5K to keep it fresh. this, to me, is the best balance. Then again, he doesnt race it, and it's pushing 120K with no engine issues whatsoever.

I know I will get flamed by the "3500 die-hards" for telling you this but frankly I dont care. I have two mechanics with over 50 years or experience with old and new cars and they will back me. good luck with yr new car, JB

 

I'll second with Sequence......normal every day driving--10,000 miles w/synthetic plenty often enough, oil filter every 5 not a bad idea.
If someone is insistent on 3500 mile oil changes,....then save the money difference, and use petroleum oil.....theres not a modern engine/name brand oil combination on the market today that cant easily handle 3500 mile change intervals.

Steve
'05 MC
'80 Mini 1100

[I said modern,.....thats why the 1100 gets changed at 2000 miles....!]

 

I agree with both of you....but if you owned your own shop and you had all the products on the shelf whenever you needed it and a lift and employees you could have just do it you probably would do the same.

I am glad he did. But I likely will spread that out a bit.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Ric in Richmond (VIRGINIA!)

 

Ric....I have fond memories of the '02 MINI introduction, and Crown in Richmond.....on the official intro date of the '02,...Tuesday, April 16, I think,...my '80 model got to sit on the showroom floor there for a day, for the "open house" activities. I drove there early that morning, parked the Mini in the showroom, then was given a Mercedes to use for the day,......left to come back home about 7:00 that evening.....320 miles round trip for the old 1100, which was an 850 at that time,....and a nice day in Richmond!

Steve

 

Rattles in common are general. Get handy with your torx set, some felt, and glue gun and you'll be alright on that front.

The truth is even a well-loved/maintained MINI can have its issues, as we've well seen around here before. The difference is whether or not you got a fair price and how much of future work you can do on your own. The MINI, for the most part, comes apart like Tinker Toys. I've never had a car that I felt I could take apart and put back together like my MINI.

Congrats on the new ride, enjoy!

 

Being an expert in the car business, it sounds like a deal if you have service records and trust the history on the car! Good luck.

 

The new (old) mini and the 318i. It had just rained and that is what the smudge on the side is.

Car wasn't cleaned or detailed when i got it. That is this weekends job!

Glad to hear these are easy to wrench on. I always loved my E30's for that!

 

As a fellow Lapis Blue leather owner I dig the seats . My car was one of the last ever made with the Lapis Blue leather interior, the discontinued it but I got my car slipped into the previous production week .

Looks like an older version of my car .

 

I have an 06 R50 that I bought new, car spent 3mo. in the shop in the first year of ownership. So low miles is no guarantee of a trouble free car.