Gotta LOVE when your able to say you got the better end of the bargain from a dealership.
they didn't know what they were sitting on. They also when pricing it were pricing it as justa cooper not even the S. Lol , so then I had to try my haggling skills and was able to get it down to a price im very VERY happy with. I got it for under 3k.
it is higher miles with 170k but has paperwork showing complete timing service done under 10k miles ago , 100% stock and all the receipts looked like it has been dealer serviced too. It also came with a 5th matching rim and tire.
Its body other than a little crack and few chips in front bumper , its in outstanding condition along with the underbody. It definitely DEFINITELY needs a deep DEEP cleaning along with a good detailing.
it also had no cel on BUT abs light was on so ille address that along with a complete full tune up and new fluids.
My only plans for the car are I will probably port my extra head i have and install it along with a ns1 cam , 440cc injectors , facelift sc and 19% sc pulley ,catless header and I'd like to get jcw exhaust, cold air intake and possibly 65mm upgraded intake setup if i havent sold my last set by the time i get to hopping up the car. I will ofcourse then have adriancl tune it then.. suspension seems very firm still so hopefully nothing needs replacing with it though I seen the upper passenger engine mount was bad but I'm probably going to leave the suspension stock I miiiight might maybe do re9 coilovers just to get ride height exactly where I want it..
here's a few pics.. I will post more soon as I get it home around the 2nd..
Lol now you guys see the reason behind my massive listings of parts i listed and been selling..

 

The Aero-kit is worth $3000. Nice find.

I highly suggest getting the VibraTechnics upper motor mount. The factory one will fail.... again and again and again. I replaced mine 4 times with the 4th time being the VibraTechnics. I am 99.9999999% certain that it will never fail. I got mine by buying though the .co.uk web address...... Life hack - it was about $80 cheaper (5 years ago) even after paying $35 in 3-day shipping.
From the .com site it's listed at $322.35.
From the .co.uk site it's listed at £156.82 which converts to $193.97 as of 12/13/22 conversation rate. It seems that they will still ship direct. With the £45.00 shipping fee, you are still saving $87.70 over buying from their .com site. I do not recall paying any import fee - may have been rolled into the shipping.
https://www.vibra-technics.co.uk/min...53_12_03_07_06
However, I would not recommend the competition mounts. Get the Street mounts. The amount of NVH that was sent directly into the chassis will not be for everyone. It smoothed out A LOT at about 1500rpm though. I will say that the competition mounts stopped all rocking of the engine, even at start up.

 

That is a $ nice find $ , Adam.
Funny - About 3months ago I was driving back home from a local car wash and happened to pass a used car lot with an '05 MCS "for sale". It was fairly new on the lot . Stickered but had not been priced.
While walking around the Mini, unsolicited, looking at the (neglected) condition of the car - the salesman walked up ready to make a sale. I listened to his pitch for awhile and then I finally asked what they were asking.
Again he started another spiel about how rare of a find the MCS had become. I stood there with a poker face quietly listening. Until I inadvertently made the mistake by gesturing to my R53 and saying: "Yeah, I've had mine since new and have loved working on it ever since....So how much are you asking?".
He turns to me and begins to back-pedal "Well the car isn't really for sale right now" WTF??? I just spent 20min listening to this guy who was obviously looking to make a sale.
I would've like to have scored that Mini. But...Oh well....I'm really looking for a Clubman anyway.

Again, nice score

 

Good find. It'll be a fun project.

 

lol I played dumb too like I knew nothing of cooper's and just made sure to point out obvious faults I seen.. this lot actually had alot of pretty nice euro and German cars.
they also had that early 2000 slk v12tt lol I woulda LOVED to test drive but i headed down just at the start of todays blizzard so i couldn't putz around too long down there. They also had a super super clean Subaru svx 2x tone black top white bottom ALSO an 06 impreza sti and from the looks of it it had big turbo ,exhaust, intercooler ect ect ect. I bet that thing woulda been a ripper ! It was also that cobalt blue color.
the other car I had in mind if this cooper wasn't gonna pan out because I was 95% sure the car wasn't even at the dealership and it was a hook line and sinker kinda thing because I ran into that a few times car shopping for my daughter but anyways , the other car was an 06 volvo s60r awd 5cyl turbo BUT it was auto and that was a big turn off for me because those trans are very very limited to what they can hold. The block too woulda needed to be sleeved for anything reliable past 350hp. But it was a good base being awd and turbo 5 banger AND brembos. The volvo was cheaper than the cooper but also not in as nice of condition, same mileage too but a much better maintenance history.
I will be making making thread then for this car once I get it home just like I've done with my others.. thing is though I kiiiiiiiiiiinda told my wife I got this car to flip again but I've regretted selling my last aero ever soooooo I just am gonna have to butter her up.

 

What do you bet the lot manager is saying the same thing right about now.

And have you not had enough punishment with these cars already?

Just kidding; great score. Always liked the pepper white; bit surprising / refreshing to see it on the roof as well, always seems to be paired with black up top. The interior looks good with it too; very warm combination. Looking forward to the progress reports / ABS and other issues discovered and conquered. Always learn a lot from your knuckle busting and frustration informative value-adding threads. Well done sir!

 

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/f...paign=atempest

 

Yeah it's still up on the local craigslist too. I hope Adam has the title or a bill of sale

 

That one popped up in my searches, too far north during the winter to even think about picking it up. 8 hours south though 😉

 

yes I have a bill of sale and receipt for the money i put down im going back with rest and taking it home the 2nd , though id prefer to get it towed home so im trying to work that out but I have to work around other people because their not my trucks....and i checked exact mileage when i left and lol i took the for sale sign and locked it up befor i returned the key.
I seen their reviews and honestly I was 95% expecting the car to not even be there on the lot and it be a fake ad to draw people in .
Luckily everybody i dealt with there was very nice and accommodating. I think alot of bad reviews come from idiots who buy a car because it looks pretty and not even bother to pop the hood or look at the underbody befor purchasing..
theyre selling used cars they either get on trade in or auction purchase.. They're not new cars , like , what do these people expect from 3k$ car ? Lol cmon now.. OF COURSE it's going to need work and OF COURSE a shop is going to charge shop rates...geez these entitled people nowadays..just yuk.

 

Nice car. I got 02 MCS in the summer for $2k but it was running pretty rough. I love the interior of your car. The more I learn about these cars, the more impressed I am with the variety of options, colors and styles

I also love the aftermarket support for the MC. My last tinker toy was a Triumph Spitfire. Decent aftermarket but definite condemnation from purists of modifications

is the Aero kit an aftermarket thing or was it installed by a PO?

 

What brand of axle did you buy? Any to stay away from?