I am thinking of buying a 2003 Mini with 81000 miles. Owner has paperwork for new fuel pump, power steering pump and rebuilt engine when the serpentine belt broke as well as a new exhaust. Total is over 4500 in repairs.


Car is yellow with white roof, no sunroof, 5 speed and electric seats. Owner wants 5000. Car looks excellent cosmetically and the car drives fine. Carfax is clean.


Anything else I should look for on the car and is 5000 a good price.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

5000$ for an 03 with 81k is pretty good, is it an S? If it's and S it's a great price. I'm assuming it doesn't have all the options available bc it doesn't even have a sunroof. The thing id be nervous about is all the repairs done before 100k miles, but the fact that the owner had them all fixed and kept the paper work tells me that whoever had this car loved it enough to have it all fixed. Good Luck! MOTOR ON!

 

Engine rebuild when the serpentine belt broke? Why?

 

Bet they Kept driving...no water pump...trashed the motor...

Question...
New or used motor?

 

The garage told the owner it would be nest to put in a rebuilt engine because of internal damage(not sure why). It is a rebuilt engine and the total cost was $2800 for the engine and install.


The car is not an S model. The owner has all the paperwork for the last 2 years he has owned the car. It was his sons car while in college but he wants to drive a bigger car, hence the reason he is looking to sell.


I have all the paperwork for all maintenance work done on the car during his ownership.

 

Should be a decent car...
Only real weakness of the cooper 2002-2004 is midlands tranny...theyvtend to fail if driven hard...
Then the normal stuff, strut tower mushrooming, suspension bushings, etc...
I would STILL get it looked at...
You know the prior driver drove the SNOT out of it (look at the repair list).. hense the engine swap(if he had just stoped when the RED lights come on, would have been a tow and a $100 fix)......and not sure a rebuilt one at that price is possible...bet it was a junkyard swap (most places install "similar" miles motors)...rebuilt motors on a mini are about $5000...plus install....than add a clutch while at it...
I would look closely...but know there are others...
The fact this car has had MANY parts swapped is a slight plus, but a onminous warning...so keep your eyes open....
Story of " wants a bigger car" for school troubles me...more it sounds like it might be hiding the fact he is "done" with some issues...just a guess...

 

Thanks for the advice. The son drove the car from NJ to West Virginia to school. He kept driving the car after the red light came on and that's when they put in a rebuilt engine.

I have driven the car twice. The seller is local and had all work completed at a local garage. No warning lights, rattles or shimmies. Clutch feels strong and the body and interior are immaculate.

I'm not a mechanic but just going on my gut and the receipts for all the paperwork. The son found a job put of state and the owner has the car sitting in his driveway and doesn't want to keep paying insurance. He has been trying to sell for a few months now. The car would be used for weekends only and not a daily driver.