I've been in the market for a used mini for awhile now. One just popped up on Craigslist so I went to check it out. It's being sold by a father whose son got into trouble driving it (lost his license for a year). It needs 4 tires, suspension work, and who knows what else. It started pretty good and runs drives, shifts, very smooth. His asking price was $5100, but I got him down to $4800.

I'm a little hesitant to buy a car with this many mods on them, but here it goes. Pasted from ad. Car currently has EXTREME (-) camber and severe inner tire wear on the rear tires.

6 spd manual w/stage 2 clutch, leather interior, Alpine Stereo, panoramic sunroof, Stage 4 supercharger, Alta upgraded pulleys, Bosch 550cc injectors, performance cam and headwork, full Magna flow exhaust, DigitalA/F ratio gauge, Tuned ECU , Konig Suspension, Tenzo Rims &, Set of stock rims

Should I STAY AWAY? or Consider with Caution?

 

Camber can be fixed however the arms look like they may be too corroded to adjust anymore. What does stage 4 supercharger mean? I dont kno I prefer to buy stock cars so only I can beat them up.

 

Are you near Oceanside CA? König makes wheels not suspensions. A quick Google search shows a shop called König Motorsports in Oceanside CA. The rust on the bottom makes me think this is not a southern Cali car. Anyway, those lower control arms are an easy fix for about $200. For $100 or less you can probably take it to a local shop and have them check it out if you're not comfortable making a decision on your own. Could be a well spent $100. That kid is lucky he's not dead speeding on tires in that condition. They would absolutely need to be replaced immediately.

 

Yah, the first flag for me is the stage 4 SC... That's not a thing around these parts.... So, what is it? A Sprintex? Ignorance on the sellers end? Yes the wheel issues can be fixed, and you know it's been driven hard, so it comes down to how much are you able to work on it yourself?

Edit:
You didn't mention the mileage, with that in mind, it may not be as smoking of a deal as you'd consider. Aftermarket parts rarely add to the value of the car, and with tires on that condition (!!) you can infer that it hasn't been maintained so well.

With all that rust, that price and those mod's, I'd stay away unless you have an extra $1500-2500 to dump into it to refresh the failures

 

My main problem is that the car is a 2hr drive from where I live. And I'm only available to make that trip on weekends. No shops in his area open on weekends.

 

... Then I'd say pass... Be patient and something better will come around.
At $5K CDN you can easily pick up R53's up here with the same amount of rust and is not questionably molested.

Also, if you haven't test driven a lot of R53's you may not know what to look/feel for with these mod's. My guess with those mod's he's putting down possibly 225 Whp or more... That's an entirely different beast than a stock JCW with 185 Whp

 

What year is the car? ... the supercharger in 2002 - 2004 models was a 4th Gen Eaton M45.

How many miles on the car? Who tuned it?

Now doubt the car has been driven hard

 

2003 110k miles. Seller bought it last fall with the mods. He's probably repeating what he was told. As far as suspension, I think he meant Koni. It looks like Koni to me anyway.

Supercharger looked stock to me. I should have taken more pics while I was down there.

I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to cars. No matter what Mini I go with it's going to be my "project" car. That's why I'm trying to keep the initial price down. 35 years old and I haven't so much as changed my own oil..... yet

The internet is a wonderful tool for trying new things.

 

Walk away. There are better MINI's out there for that price. My '06 doesn't have that much rust, and it has been my daily driver over 2 of the worst winter's in recent times.

 

I agree in what others are saying. At that price it's not that good of a deal for the risk. At a minimum you know you'll need to spend some money on tires, suspension parts, and some basic tuneup items. Also run a carfax on anything you think of buying to make sure it doesn't have a shaky history. Maybe sub $4K, I could be tempted, but if you keep looking you'll likely find something better. Check the classifieds here, autotrader, cars.com, etc...

 

I would never buy a car from someone who drove on those tires. I suspect that all maintenance was ignored.

 

that about sums it up

 

I paid $4700 for a perfect 05 r53 with 130k and a ton of mods. It only needed tires. Check out my thread for mods. Their all legit and good brands

 

I would walk. I payed 4k for mine. Bone stock with a full engine rebuild in anaheim ca. I live in burbank. Be patient. Also ads on CL are always leaving something out. Test drive the mini's you check out. Then take them to a mini shop for a quick inspection.where are you located? Maybe I can recommend a good shop near you.

 

Pass, if the kid lost his license he was probably beating on it pretty hard.