Alright guys I wanted to stop in and say hi.

So last night I flew into San Francisco to purchase my second car in 4 months, I found an extremely clean nearly mint 2005 Mini S automatic with only 24,000 miles fully loaded for just over $10,000 and I couldn't be happier.

My other car is a new 2016 Z06 Corvette... The strange thing is that I am having more fun with my new MINI! I am going to mod it up in the coming months and it's a real pleasure to join this community!

I've read a few threads that are a few years old but wanted to double check, whats the best place to get the blacked out front grill and 15% pulley to get this party started?

Also if I peal off the white racing stripes on the hood do you guys think the paint will be visibly different after 10 years where removed?? (Updated Photo)

Thank you!!!

plasti dip the grill black, im not sure anyone has a black grill to sell, unless you get the aero grill. as for the 15% pulley, from any vendor who will offer the best deal =)


welcome to the club

Wow another Z06 , MINI combo. Congrats.

Congratulations. I wish I had discovered the Mini before I did. I would have saved a lot of money spent on other high end cars that weren't nearly as satisfying to drive.

I got the black aero kit from ECS. The hood grill is a direct replacement, the bumper grill requires some modification. Outmotoring.com also sells the aero grill along with another black abs grill that requires no modification. I went with the aero grill because it more closely matched the air vent covers on the cowel and I couldn't be happier. The other has larger openings which would have been fine but since the car was in pieces anyway and I was already painting everything, I went with the aero.

I ordered my pulls set from Way Motor Works. They have the pulley, plugs and belt in a nicely priced package.

You will notice the difference in paint if you take the stripes off. I pulled them off my car with 37,000 miles and it was noticable. I don't know if buffing the hood would blend it in as I didn't try it but I believe you could get acceptable results. I ended up painting my stripes on the hood and think it looks better than the stickers.

Not to burst your bubble or anything, but the automatic may have been a mistake. Hope you have fun in your new MINI welcome to the family Cheers Badge from SC

It's the CVT in the R50 that is notorious.

Wow! 24,000 is pretty crazy for that year. The lower section black aero grille is here and the upper section black aero grille is here. As stated, the lower will require some slight modification since you don't have the aero bumper. As for the pulley, Madness Motorworks has a great one here. M7 also has some M7 Speed Power Pak options here as well. If you pull the stripes off you'll probably notice a difference in the paint. If you're wanting to remove them and replace them with new ones we have a great DIY that can help you with the process. If you need anything else be sure to let me know.

i thought the r53 tans was bad too?

Aisin 6sp transmissions do have some issues but not near as much as the CVT.

Oh, ill corrct myself

And the car only has 24,000 miles!

He should be good for a very long time. Congratulations on a nice find, and glad you're enjoying it more than the Vette

Congratulations I guess dreams do come true.

I almost bought a new mustang and was going to keep my mini as a winter beater then realized I'd rather drive the mini so why buy the mustang... (New cars start that's why)

A late word of warning, Older low milage cars seem like the deal of a lifetime but lack of use can sometimes be as bad or worse then heavy use. The nice part is you can always drive the vet when the mini isn't running.

The car is going to look pretty different tomorrow, I am blacking out all the chrome parts with vinyl including the air intake on the hood, removing the stripes and putting carbon fiber vinyl on the roof.

In a month or two I'll change out the wheels and add all the bolt on mods.

Congrats!

Mini's are a blast to drive anywhere, anytime

Great looking MINI!

The stripes might not be a problem since SF isn't the sunniest place, and with only 24K on the car it might not have seen a lot of sun to fade the paint. I also have an '05 auto that was purchased with extremely low mileage. At the time, it was six years old with 8,600 miles. The only big problems I've had so far was the passenger mount leaking at 17K, and the coolant tank splitting. I would look into changing the trans fluid as it's definitely not lifetime like MINI says.

I've also heard low mileage cars can have problems, but one of the benefits of a low mileage MINI is the drive shafts probably haven't worn in to cause vibrations after lowering. Mine were still fine when I lowered it last year, around 37K.

Nice looking MINI. But I can tell you from personal experience that some aisin 6 speed automatic transmissions have problems. I had mine replaced at about 76,000 miles at the tune of $9400. But with that said I still love and drive mine daily. That should speak volumes in itself.

Totally know where your coming from. I have a Porsche turbo and I enjoy driving my stupid cheap $3000 2004 MCS more! Bought it 7 months ago.

Yes, that was a deal.

Nice! Now go buy me my dream car, please!

^ Hot.

Singer?

OP, two gorgeous rides!