Hey guys, new to the mini community and looking for some advice. I'm in the offroad industry and don't want to drive my long travel f250 everyday so I've been eyeing mini's to be my daily commuter. Wife wants me to get a honda but I'd rather walk. I'm looking in the $4K-$6K area as i need to keep it reasonable. My credit union is desperate to get me into a loan so this would keep my payment around $80 per month for which the fuel savings would far offset my payment.

After reading a bunch, I've settled on a 2005-2006 Justa with the Getrag. Question is, if the car's got 150K with just maintenance, is that a good sign or should i fear the storm to come? I can snag this one for $4,500 and it looks like a car with 60K on it, the guy used it to commute. It is clean, shifts smooth (Original clutch!) and he kept great maintenance records. The car needs to be reliable and semi-cheap to maintain (thus me looking at a base cooper). Also, do the 2005/6 5MT still have the CVT or did they do away with that for the Getrag?

Any insight or things to lookout for on the mini would be greatly appreciated!

 

as long as there is no rust, not really much else can go wrong with a late model r50, i would see how many alignments have been done, if there has been alot, its a good sign that there is mushrooming damage to the strut towers.

the CVT would be an automatic, but i think they may have stopped the CVT in 04 going into 05. it could potentially have a power steering pump issue, but we are still covered by the extended warranty for now. i hope you enjoyed driving it! much more personality than a honda

 

No sir, i'm in Southern California and we don't know what snow or rust look like! lol I heard the CVT was manual and automatic which is why i asked. It's the original owner and he said he's never needed an alignment but had it done last time he had the tires done. I'm not too worried about suspension as I'm in the suspension business and will probably throw a Bilstein B12 kit with new mounts all the way around when the time comes.

 

easy way to help reduce the warping of the strut tower is to get some camber plates or strut mount plates, then you wont have to worry about it, some strut bars have them built in as well.

CVT could potentially be a shiftable automatic, but it still wouldnt have a foot operated clutch =)

 

Interesting.. I know trucks well but this stuff is all new to me. The cooper i want is one on eBay that has 88K miles on it and it's a 2002 but the guy said the transmission is getting increasingly noisy. After a bit of research, it has me scared the input shaft bearing is going out. He told me its a CVT but it's a stick?

 

well apparently that guy doesnt know what he is talking about. If its actually a CVT, just a gas and brake pedal, stay away at all costs.

if its a manual and making noises the dual mass fly wheel could be knackerd

 

Mine was just like you described when I bought it two years ago. 2005 Justa, not a spec of rust anywhere, 150k miles (also, still original clutch, which is strong). I have had two issues with mine since buying it.

[] a sunroof drainhose came loose, leaving me with a puddle of water in the passenger footwell, til I figured out how those work, and...
[] a Water pump leak, which caused me to replace it about a year ago.

Since then I have put brand new brake pads and rotors all around, but only because I figure that after 150k (not known if they were ever replaced), it was a good idea... yes, my indicator light came on, so I did them all myself and saved about half what it would have cost.

I am totally elated with my car, and, like you, I hate paying $80 to fill up my truck when i drive my 300-mile round trip to monthy Guard Drills across the state... my Just has saved me a TON of money in that regard. I hardly drive my truck in the summer, but mostly drive it in the Winter... I want my Cooper to last me a long time, and the salt here in Iowa is AWFUL on cars.

But, things could go bad for me tomorrow, who knows? Life is a crap-shoot...

Good luck with your decision.

Wayne

p.s. I also bought my r50 via an ebay listing, and flew to New Jersey to pick it up and complete the deal, then drive it home...! I have been smiling ever since. Truly. It worked out well for me.

 

That's exactly the feedback for which i posted, thank you! I Think I'm going to go for it. Appreciate your insight, Wayne!