Sorry for the long post. TL:DR: I totalled my MINI but want to keep it and fix it. Help we decide what to do.

So, I have a 2004 MINI that's an early Oct 03 build that I ordered brand new. Has 65,000 miles on it. Have a 15% pulley, K&N panel filter in stock airbox, Helix short shift and Ireland rear sway. When I needed bakes last year I did a slight upgrade but just better rotors and Mintex redbox pads (clean wheels for at least an hour, how nice) Has Sport and Cold weather packages. About 18 months ago I had to replace the PS pump after it died on me one day (but the dealer insists there's nothing wrong with them )

Over the last few years I've toyed with getting a 135i but just didn't love it enough to give up the MINI. Tried to get a 1M but with limited allocation things just didn't work out. Thought about getting a Countryman but just didn't love it enough to give up the current MINI. So, we just bought my wife a new Jeep a couple of months ago (man they are nice inside now) and I decided to keep the MINI a couple more years at least so I figured I'd fix a couple of things with it. New wheels and it is not too far from needing tires anyway. Figured maybe do some minor power train upgrades. A couple of interior items needed sprucing up like steering wheel emblem (not really fixable though), shifter and e brake boot, stuff like that.


I was just getting into deciding on some stuff, ready to place an order and on a run one Saturday I drove it off a hairpin turn and down into a little creek. Tore the left front suspension and front wheel up as well as set off both front airbags. Drivers side strut mount is torn up and the tower is mushroomed as well (though not as bad as some I've seen pics of). Minimal if any paint damage other than the front bumper cover (bumper bar is OK due to soft landing in the creek ), but due to the interior damage from the airbag and suspension adding up to about 65% of value, the insurance company is totalling it. However, I'm taking the option to keep the car with a salvage title. In my state, I can still sell it, though obviously its worth less than if it were not wrecked. I'm not really too worried about resale down the road. I might just keep it till its dead, who knows.

Overall the exterior and paint is in good shape and when it is recently washed and waxed it looks really good even to me. To non car people they say it looks 2-3 years old. There are upgrades like XM radio, parcel shelf, Dicelink iphone adaptor and others that are already there and the spec is mine from the initisl order. I know all the maintenance on it (have done most myself with oil changes at 7500 miles, rather than waiting till the indicator trips) all the damage is to things that need to be removed and replaced except the mushrooming which happens to these cars on regular roads anyway.




So, between the money I have coming from the insurance company and a little I have set aside already, I figure I can do the things I wanted and maybe a bit more. I've always talked about doing some HPDE or maybe autocross sometime, but i never have. If i do, i wont be doing things for racing really. Just like to drive sportily on occaision and a more ageessive look. I'm not looking to go crazy, but here's what I have in mind.

New wheels and tires. Looking at Enkei PF01 and BFGoodrich T/A KDW 2 ( had a set of KDW2 previously and loved them) I was thinking to stay with 17s? Running 215/40 tires now, figure I can go to 225/40 based on reading here IIRC.

Always liked the aero bumper and side skirts, so I figure I'll do that. Definitely the bumper since mine is toast. What is the best way to paint the MINI Aero bumper? I keep looking for pics but it's hard to see what I am looking at. It appears that if I want black to match the wheel arches it has to be painted that way.

Will need to address the strut tower. I see Craven Speed has reinforcing plates that are pretty highly regarded. I also like the M7 strut tower brace which has the bar and plates. Is it worth it? Maybe fixed camber plates instead.

Exhaust. would not mind keeping this under $750. Any ideas? Not looking for huge power. Slightly more aggressive, but definitely want to avoid droning on the highway. I'd heard decent things about Ireland Engineering and they are pretty cheap, but I have not looked at exhaust in a long time.

Probably will go ahead with the 2% crank pulley and tune. I also have the terrible flat spot around 3000 rpm with my current setup and I've heard varying things about whether a tune will fix it or if there is something else that needs to be fixed first.

Suspension - I can't really lower much if at all due to my driveway. The strips on the bottom scrape now. Would it be worth it to upgrade anyway? This is where I am least informed and most up in the air.

Interior - hey, I get a brand new emblem on my steering wheel! I have the two spoke, is there any reason to look into changing to the 3? I have the multifunction wheel. I'll do new boots, etc too.

Anything else obvious I'm missing?

 

If the electronics have been damaged due to water then you should let them total it.

 

Not really in the water. It was literally 8 inches deep. Just the bottom of the bumper got wet.

It did make a nice big splash though. Looked just like Luke crash landing on Dagobah in Empire. :D

 

Oh no, glad you didn't get hurt. Good thing for the soft landing. Can't help you with any of your concerns, sorry. But I would say don't throw it away.

 

looks like a scary ride down,,, glad to hear your ok..

 

Is it wrong to think that it looks kind of pretty in the picture? It looks like its gazing at itself in the water or contemplating deep thoughts. Anyway, I'm glad that you're ok. Good luck with the rebuild. It sounds well planned to me but I really don't know much about cars other than they can be expensive to maintain and can be really fun to drive.

 

If you're gonna rebuild it, you sound like you already have a plan of action. What is the total amount the insurance was going to give you? If you rebuild, you're gonna run into some things that might be hard to pinpoint, or could just end up costing a ton of money. I totally understand not giving up on it though. I would probably do the same thing, and I guess I already have. I've replaced just about everything you Don't want to have to replace, after buying a car. If you're financially ready to rebuild, no reason not to! Since you're a R53 owner, you probably wouldn't be happy with anything else. I guess you talked me into it!
Good Luck! Take lots of pics!

 

I'd rather not get into financial details just yet. Maybe once I have the check in my hands.

Incidentally, the adjuster who looked at it said he probably keep it and fix it if it were his car. The damage is just not that bad.

 

Glad you are ok, if it was me i would let them total it.
But i have a couple of questions for you.
did you have a passenger when you wrecked, and was your passenger seat air bag sensor still working properly? (was the passenger air bag light always on in the dash?)

 

No passenger. I didn't think there was a sensor to turn the airbag off in these model year cars, but I'm not totally sure. Never had any airbag lights.

The problem with totaling it is I can't get the color any more or the model and all the other cars I looked to that were similar were missing key options I would want. If I order a new one I'll probably end up specifying a $35k + MINI ( man those JCW Clubman are looking sweet and so is the Coupe, and the Roadster...) and while I could afford it, it's nice to have a bit of cushion in life and I can have a car just how I want it and not really have to come out of pocket too terribly much.

 

FYI, if you decide to fix it its not salvage, but they wont typically insure it with comprehensive anymore. I have a beater car that was hit by dumb teen and insurance wrote it off like yours, I had kept it up, decided to fix instead of replace as I knew a guy with body shop who did it for about 40% of estimated cost. But the won't do anything but liability now. Salvage title I think is when you turn it over to insurance and they mark the title as salvage. Keep the title it wont change.

Before you start getting all hyped up on mods, check to see what the thing will cost to rebuild to where you were. Hidden damage sucks. On the face of the picture, it looks like you are in good shape. I am rebuilding a Saturn Sky that was totalled and I can tell you that the damn thing has taken a lot of effort and parts. Airbag controller, airbag, seatbelt tensioners, impact sensors, etc That my friend will be the biggest expense. And pls have checked for frame damage on a rack, worth a few bucks before getting in too deep. Be prepared for a long process and get a second car or pay a shop a lot $$ to do the work.

 

You will be surprised at what is bent. The front supports that cradle the engine are designed to bend in the front end crash. The front suspension sub frame is designed to bend. All these things can be purchased from MINI or found at wreaking yards. Good luck.

 

might we well get experimental and strip it out. turn it into a rally beast or an SCCA trailer queen.