Hello,

This is my first post. I might be picking up an '06 Cooper S with 20,000 miles on it this weekend and was wondering if I should be on the lookout for any problems? Any help would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to more posts on this site.

 

Absent running the usual carfax ect., it's a great mfg year and last one for the Supercharged Coupes. Is there any of the factory warranty left ?

If you have a good mechanic who is somewhat familiar with force induction engines, may pay to have him give it a once over.

 

Yes the warranty is good until 10/26/10. I ran an autocheck on it and the car comes up clean. My brother is a wholesaler and the car is being sold by BMW financial. Premium pkg, pano roof, 17's, heated leather for $14,800.00 I figure why not!

 

Look for a pool of black oil under the hydraulic upper engine mount. That's the can-like thing on the passenger side. They are prone to failure.

 

Sounds like a nice MINI at a decent price, with a warranty to boot. What are you waiting for?

 

The auction is tomorrow. Once that happens I'll drive to Chicago this weekend and bring it back to Columbus.

 

Good luck at the auction....MINI sounds like a very good buy.

Safe travels.

 

Oh, really??? I'll have 2 check mine out! Recently took her in for service and they didn't mention anything about it, so it must be OK--I'll look, anyway.

To captnmustache: Excellent! Have fun on the drive home, and welcome 2 the 06 MCS Club!

 

Seems to be a hit or miss problem. I have 42K miles on my '06 and its just fine.
I keep an eye on it whenever Im under the hood.

 

Another common problem is a thermostat housing leak. You might be able to see liquid or dried white residue near the housing.

 

If your motor mount hasn't already leaked (as mentioned above), it will. The newer thermostats have new gasket material which seems more reliable--your car might already have the new stuff. Later in your car's life, you will have to replace your control arm bushings which isn't cheap, like the motor mount and thermo gasket. You probably won't experience problems with the bushings for at least another 20k miles. Once in a while the power steering pumps can go, which are expensive, so keep that in the back of your mind. Otherwise MINIs (especially an 06 MCS) is a pretty hardy car--and a good year too.

 

I had a very slight undetected leak until the housing was exposed and removed. Here are some shots I fired off.

 

I just bought an '06 MCS with 25k for $15.5 and I thought i got a killer deal. I did notice that the motor mount had been replaced by BMW, but it was under warranty. I've had the car for two weeks and it is by far the funnest (not really a word, but i like it) car i've owned (next to a '79 280Z, and my '67 Firebird). Since the warranty is in place, you should be fine. I would definitely look into getting rid of the ugly cup holder.

 

i hate to butt into this thread, but ive got an 06 mcs as well. we boght our car with 6k miles on it. everything is pristine except that when you first turn on the car with the AC on, it smells pretty bad for a good 15seconds or whatnot.

 

Looks like everyone has mentioned the common stuff. Maybe your new car will have warranty left and you can get it all replaced for FREE

As for the A/C smell, I actually have some cleaners that we put in the A/C system that will fix that.

 

I'll second the hydraulic motor mount. When I bought my 06 MCS, the independent dealer had taken it in and the dealer replaced the mount and the thermostat because the care was still under warranty. I guess it was already bad. The car had 29K on it.

 

I didn't know the '06 MY still have this problem. So what should one expect to know? A clunking sound, steering feel a bit off?

 

No you won't hear a clunking, you'll just see the evidence on the frame rail below the motor mount. Kind of like when my three year old has an accident, he is quiet, but there's a suspicious puddle at his feet.

 

Oh, I wasn't clear. Didn't mean to ask about the motor mount.... already had that done.

I meant to ask about the Control Arm bushings. Didn't know that '06 MY still had that problem. So I would think it would make a noise or affect steering when it's gone bad?

 

If it has the aero front or side kits, check to make sure all the parts are in one piece, sometimes they take abuse by curbs /car washes etc. Most or the pieces can be re-attached with readitly available clips and fasteners, but the actual side skirts can be pricey if they need repacement. A fair abount of play in the side skirts is normal.

Another area I've had repeated problems is the front wiper reservoir/tank. its pretty simple to repair on the right side, but requires a fair amount of dis assembly.
sounds like a good deal

 

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. Now I know what to look out for. I also know that I can not wait to get my car. Good times will be had!

 

Check for oil beneath the supercharger if possible. It means an expensive rebuild is needed soon.

 

And one other BIG thing to be on the lookout, or should I say "earout", for is a Chewbacca type noise coming from the clutch on chilly mornings. There was a problem with the dual mass flywheels deteriorating and excreting something onto the surfaces which in turn becomes glazed causing a nasty noise. Dealer replaced my flywheel, clutch disc, throwout bearing and pressure plate at 20k something miles under warranty. About a $2500.00 job if I'm not mistaken.

IMO, the '06 is the best of the 1st gens (flamesuit on, proceed).

But then I did have an early build un-flashed '02 MCS that was an absolute animal. Rode rough, but gad was it quick!!