Hey guys,
I'm looking into to purchasing a 05 Cooper S. It's black with a white hardtop. About 47,000 mi for $14,917. Is there anything you guys could educate me before the purchase. Anything I should look for or ask???

 

manual or auto? I'd go with the manual for sure! Especially if it's an S. There's a 05' Cooper S in my city at a dealer. They want $18,899 - fully loaded with manual transmission. It has about 25,000 miles. Definitely look at the Carfax to take a look at its history. I never buy a car unless I see a Carfax. Good Luck. Post pics if you do purchase it!

 

Just a word of caution on CarFax. It only catches the incidents which have been reported by insurers, body shops, police, and so on. If a damaged car has bypassed these official channels, CarFax reports may not be all-encompassing. Read the CarFax warranty thoroughly before paying for the report. It is not fool proof.

 

I have an 05 S, bought new and I still love this car. I have not had any problems except for the need for a new dipstick. Mine cracked last week, almost in two. I have 40k miles on mine.

This car begs to be a manual transmission car, so it would be less appealing to me if it were automatic.

Others can correct me, but without looking at the books, 15K seems reasonable for the price.

Check if it has the runflat tires. Consider changing them, the ride will be less "sporty" (ie stiff) that way. Since you won't have room for a spare, get a cell phone and a towing reimbursment option on your insurance, or some of that stuff you spray into a tire to seal and re-inflate it. Then you can enjoy a better ride and not worry about being stranded.

Just my two cents. Buy it, I Love This Car!

 

I just bought an '05 MCSa 2 1/2 months ago and love it. Had just shy of 50k on the odo, and purchsed for $16,500 (including $1500 for an extended "warranty" in case anything decides to blow up). Without knowing the details, the price they're asking for your MCS sounds reasonable.

While some may disagree, don't necessarily be dissuaded by an automatic transmission: the Sportshift on the MCS can still be a lot of fun! It really depends on your personal preferences and driving style. I came to my MINI from a 5-speed A4 Quattro and am perfectly happy so far.

My MINI also came w. runflats which will need replacing in the next couple of months. I will certainly replace these with a set of "getsflats" (I forget which NAMer coined that wonderful phrase!), cellphone, and AAA Plus w. 100-mile towing. My tire guy strongly discourages Slime, fix-a-flat, etc., as -- he claims -- it can bond the tire to the wheel and be a real mess.

You might also check out this link for general info on buying a used MINI:
http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/

 

Here's a list of used Mini purchase questions we've collected that may help.

 

Thanks for all your help guys. I'm going manual all the way!!! Still try to teach my wife how to drive just so when I drive her car it won't be so boring.

I definitely still need to check out the CARFAX. I did test drive the car yesterday boy it was QUICK! I was very impressed. Right now I have a Scion tC and the HP/Torque are pretty close but I could tell it was quicker immediately after pressing on the gas.

DINAN intake under the hood! HUGE plus!!! I'm trying to figure out how do I know if they've done a performance chip upgrade when the intake was installed?

I'm glad you guys informed me that there is no spare I totally over looked that.

I'm still thinking about purchasing this one but need to check out at least one more 'S' maybe turbocharged.

 

[quote=Elite112;2868546]DINAN intake under the hood! HUGE plus!!! I'm trying to figure out how do I know if they've done a performance chip upgrade when the intake was installed?
quote]

Can't speak for other chips/software, but Dinan software increases the redline to 7300 RPM. So you could redline it and see where the limiter kicks in (I'm sure the dealer would love that ).