So i drove a baby blue cooper s last week and fell in love with the sound and all around performance of this car it seems like it was very well taken care of and has just under 75k miles with 1 owner. Ive been doing my research and i think i know the jist of the things to look for(mushrooming bushings, bad supercharger noises, all the window and lock buttons work etc) im still bringing it to my local mechanic but im still on the fence about this car.

To fill you guys in right now i have a 2000 sierra with 95k miles great truck worked great while i did union work. Although now, i dont work in the union anymore because i decided to go back to school and major in nursing and minor in microbiology. The school im going to have to commute to is about an hour away so i'll be driving about 2 hours a day(on highway) and while i know its gonna be biased, will this car be good for my needs? Im pretty mechanically inclined as i competed at the high school level on motorcycles and got 2nd best in Pa. So i can work my way around problems then can come up but i wont be able to go crazy on serious repairs with a college budget. Help me out guys from everything ive read on your forums yous seem great👍

 

Oh and they have it listed at 8500 which is exactly at kbb but im trying to get them down to 8k.

 

By all means, Have your favorite mechanic take a look, pay attention to the lower suspension bushings, and the top of the front strut towers.

Brakes, tires, and exhaust...

Check the stereo, each speaker... (fade and balance)

Check the serpentine belt, and evidence of coolant leaks by the Supercharger (the thermostat gasket) and check for any codes.

If you do all this, I'm sure you'll find a few things that are not up to 100% and with that it gives you a little play to manipulate for a reduced price.

Oh, don't freak out if you find any of these things needing work. These are common items that need regular service. Most of it isn't that expensive. With suppliers like ECS and the like you can get the parts and pieces fast.

Good Luck.

Motor on!

 

Thanks for the answer ill look at all that stuff when its up on a lift too this way i can look underneath for leaks too. I also have to look up and find compression #'s for it. But i mean this car shouldnt leave me stranded on my commute and so ive been reading they get pretty good mileage obviouslt much better then my truck

 

And it already has a borla catback on it that looks like its in good condition from laying under the car and looking ill be able to tell better when its up on the lift obviously

 

i cant tell ya if the car is good for your needs. if your asking if the car will run for an hour down the highway, it sure will.

for repairs, some parts are costly, but if you do your homework and the labor, much cheaper

 

A MINI can be a great car if it was well treated by the prior owner...
but can be a nightmare if it was wailed on....
Sounds like you MIGHT have found a great one...
but ask yourself...
Can I afford $2000+ for a clutch.....or more if it is an auto if it goes...
One tip..
The MINI S REQUIRES PREMIUM fuel....so that negates much of the MPG gain...many folks get 22-25 mpg highway...I DO get 28-30 with nice driving and careful tire choice....
My suggestion...
If you have a job, the MINI is a great car...they do need a few $$$ to buy parts and maintain....even a good diyer can spend some $$ and have downtime..parts take time to ship...many r53 (cooper s) parts take 3 days from a DEALER...
If i was back in school, driving 2+ hours a day....I would get the same car I had when I was school...
A unexciting, but painfully efficient Honda civic....you can get anypart in about an hour..and any shop can fix it..
Just me...I love my MINI...but in some cases reliability beats love in a car.

 

So the carfax checks out and its a one owner car and has 8 pages of maintenance under its belt. Has an intake and exhaust im not sure if it has a pulley or not though not sure how to check that. It has a dead battery from sitting still but would run if you jumped it so that means alternator is okay correct? And it has a check engine light for vss malf. But other then that it has koni shocks nice michellin pilot tires all switches, and heated seats work, along with the clutch and everything. So im definately considering buying it but im a little worried about that dead battery possibly hiding other codes that may or may not come up in near future

 

dead battery or not, the code would pop up instantly or within a couple miles if something was wrong, if i can be jumped, and then runs without the cables, the alternator is fine. sounds like you found a well kept one!

to see if it has a pulley, look near the dipstick, this is where the supercharger lies. there will be a half moon with some piping on it, the pulley inside there is the pulley of the supercharger, if there are bolt heads sticking out or if theres any writing on it, its aftermarket

 

well i still would be leary about buying a car that has a cec and i dont know much about repairing vss anybody experience one of these? i know theres more then one and i just dont want to get stuck with the one in the trans or something that would be expensive to fix. its different if i already owned it then being in the process of fixing it. and another thing its doing is pullin hard to the left under heavy acceleration, the lca bushings looked fine and the strut towers didnt have any mushrooming from what i could tell. is this just torque steer?