I'm new here, so hopefully I'm in the right section... Need a little input as I feel my heart is getting in the way of my head right now.
My last car was recently written off so I'm in a bit of a time crunch here. I've only ever owned early 2000s American built cars, and have always tried to do the repairs myself, but currently do not have a garage to work in.

I've located a 2002 Mini Cooper S manual Japanese import (right hand drive). The car only has 85k km on it and the ad says they've recently replaced the clutch, the pictures show the body in good condition (no rust that I can see), so I'll be going to see it later this week. I've always wanted a mini but with it being my daily driver I wouldn't want to be working on it all the time. All the reading I've done (and I've done a lot) points me to watch for seal failures throughout the engine bay so I will be watching for that when I go look at the car.

Unfortunately the research I've been doing hasn't really swayed me in either direction but all the comments about the engine bay being cramped scare me a bit for when it comes time to get my hands dirty. Side note- I can drive manual but have never personally owned one.

I'm trying to stop myself from making a stupid decision, so any thoughts or recommendations you have would be greatly appreciated.

 

Here are my thoughts as a not-so-experienced recent owner of a 2002 Mini Cooper (not S)
It's a 20 years old car at this point, and it doesn't have a reputation for reliability. At least you are going to maintain it yourself, which makes the proposition of owning one not a disastrous decision, just perhaps not an ideal one if you don't have a backup car.

While I bought my Mini a few months ago (so limited ownership experience), it's as a project/week-end car. I would personally not choose a car that old for a daily driver. Especially the S ones, that have more parts, which means more failure points. Things can and will break (hopefully at a moment it's not too inconvenient). So far my experience has been "nothing to major, but a lot of attention needed to due poor maintenance by previous owners" (luckily nothing irreversible so far).

Another note is that 2002 to 2004 Minis are pre-facelift. They have quite a few oddities that have been corrected with the facelift (2005+ Minis) and especially 5-speed manuals have the less desirable Midlands gearbox (6-speed and later 5-speed Minis have a Getrag gearbox that's more reliable). If I had to do it over, I would only look for a 2005-2006 Mini because of that.

As for common failures, check the top strut mounts, which are prone to cracking or mushrooming. It's not a big issue, but a good bargaining point (and not that expensive to change if you do it yourself).
While lurking here, one common issue for S ones is the supercharger not being serviced, leading to premature wear and failure (because Mini doesn't specify an interval for it). Ask if it has been serviced. Again, a good bargaining point.

It's the only car I've ever worked on, so I lack basis of comparison, but yeah the engine bay is cramped, which adds to the time needed for a lot of jobs. Pulling the starter has been a major PITA for example. On the other hand, there are lots of resources about doing pretty much anything (ModMini youtube channel is the main one) since the car has a great community.
Changing the clutch is a very involved job, it's a nice thing that it has been done recently.

 

I can’t really comment on the reliability of the pre-facelift S, but my 2006 R50 has never left me stranded in the ~16 years I’ve owned it.

It’s actually not difficult at all to work on once it’s in front end service mode, and I would argue there is actually better engine bay access than many cars I’ve worked on as a result of the lack of fenders.

 

My biggest issue would be buying a 20+ year old Japanese import... The better cars stay there. The cars they don't want, they sell to North America.

 

The one I'm looking at does have the 6-speed Getrag so I guess I get some bonus points there. But definitely a good point about the age and early model... I'd be curious to see a list of the changes they made with the face-lift and why. Guess that'll be my next research topic.

In working on yours have you found the bolts seized beyond workability? I feel that might be a big problem for me...

 

All the pre-facelift R53s got the 6 speed Getrag.

 

Solid point, the seller is an importer, so who's to say how or why they acquired it. I also do not yet know how long this car has been in Canada, I'll be sure to add that question to my list for my viewing. Does anyone know if there's any way to check for possible claim history on an imported vehicle?

 

I don't have a list, but the 2 things I've seen are:

• the oil filter housing and its plastic cage. Facelift models don't have that very easy to break/lose cage. More details here: https://www.minimania.com/MINI__02_0...roblem___Hints
• the fan and its 2 connectors and super weird electric schematic (one relay for it is in the fusebox, the other one inside the fan, and it has a total of 5 pins split into those 2 connectors) and non-replaceable low-speed resistor that often fail. Facelift models have an easy to replace low-speed resistor and only 1 connector.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to discover more oddities as I go, but experienced mechanics should know more about that.

So far, no bolt seized beyond workability, but my car has virtually no rust due to being only used in a place where rust is a non-issue. Starter has been a pain to remove, but that mostly because I was lacking proper tools.

 

Nothing of value to add from me except to say that I can totally relate to the heart over head thing.

They say that the definition of romanticism is the triumph of emotion over intellect --- sometimes that's a very grand thing, and sometimes it ain't.

These cars are maintenance-heavy in my opinion, but the reward is worth it to me.

I'd love to see you buy it and kit it out with a smorgasbord of JDM stuff as it would be highly unique, hell, it may already have some choice bits already fitted?

Would be fun to see here in North America!

 

If you want to daily it, factor in another grand or so, and replace all the wear components now. Suspension, tie rods, ball joints, mounts, etc. Service the supercharger, check/replace idler pulleys, ball joints. Do it all at once and you'll likely have a mostly trouble-free ownership experience. Things will still happen, as this is a 20 year old unreliable car as everyone else has stated. But if you put the legwork in up front, you'll greatly reduce the chance for headaches and surprises.

I daily a 2006 with 150,000 miles during the summer and drive it across the country without worry. Buy it. It's by far the most enjoyable driving experience I've had.

 

i think it depends. you don't have a garage. does that mean you won't be able to work on it at all? and if it's your daily, does that mean you don't have a second car?

if you have a space to work on it yourself and have access to another ride while the mini is down, then go for it.

it's going to need maintenance like any other car. and it's 21 years old, so there may be some things ready to replace.

if you can work on it yourself and have alternate wheels while it's down, then go for it. they're not fragile vehicles. and let's be honest, it's not like "early 00's american made cars" are some hallmark of reliability.

 

Definitely agree that american made are not overly reliable! And no second set of wheels. I do have a space available to work, but not at my home so I'll still be able to do repairs, just only on weekends. Leaning towards what megaDan suggested and getting through all the typical wear items first and servicing the supercharger as a precaution. I'm going to see the beaut later today so I'll be sure to let you all know how things go!

 

Well I went to see it, and it is in good condition. No visible rust, body or undercarriage. The engine bay looked good minus what I think is the power steering pump, which appears to be leaking a bit. The strut towers were already addressed which is reassuring. I did find some underglow lights in the wheel wells and what I can only assume was the switch to activate them in between the front seats. Unfortunately it wasn't connected for me to check out. A little bit of wear in the interior, and the headliner fabric has separated from the foam over the front seats. There is a missing piece of trim along the outside edge of the passenger window. All in all a beautiful little machine that needs just a little bit of love.

 

^^^ Sounds interesting as a fun project car if you're of a mind for all that entails but as primary transportation daily driver?
Not me...

 

The power steering lines always leak after a few years. I think I’m on my third or fourth set at this point. Easy fix if it’s just the lines.

We probably should have told you to check the front LCA bushings. The OEM ones last maybe 60k miles. Motors mounts often fail even sooner, though I think the older style upper mounts are a bit more robust than the stupid facelift ones. The stock struts are also garbage as far as durability is concerned.

 

I bought mine 3+ years ago as a DD. I dropped over $2k after purchase on an 85k miles 06 S to address all wear and weak points. The car has been pretty reliable. The engine rebuild I did was because of me hammering it too hard on a 3 hour road trip. Plus I wanted to build a motor.

Ive worked on cars all my life, have a well-equipped garage, and my wife's car as a fallback. I would NOT recommend on 02 import as a DD. If you are going to follow your heart, find an independent mechanic with a good reputation for these cars, and have them evaluate it for you.

I'd suggest continuing to look for an 05/06 that has been babies if you really want an R53.

 

Edited condensed version. No more walls of words. Okay maybe a smaller one
If you maintain these cars, especially fluids and battery like most cars they can be reliable and definitely are fun.
The only things that have left me stranded: clutch slave (2x), coolant tank, crankshaft pulley, oil pan drain bolt stripping out from fatigue / over-torque (get a Fumoto, and never take it to a quickie place)
Certain things will be expensive and involved like clutch and suspension parts, lower control arm bushings in particular.
Other critical or failure prone items to be concerned about:
fan resistor
supercharger oil - BMW lied, claiming "lifetime maintenance free" big nope there
belt tensioner / damper
timing chain tensioner
oil drain back valve
oil cooler
gaskets and seals, all of them, everywhere
anything cooling system plastic replace w/ aluminum if you can find it - all-aluminum radiator, thermostat housing, upper radiator hose connector pipe etc
pack up kit: OBDII scanner, multimeter, tire repair kit (if you don't have run-flats), Optional: belt + de-tensioner tool

Avoid the stealership, always. Good luck.

 

A Japanese import to Canada? Off hand I'd say no. Nothing against a Japanese MINI per se just well,....A used car rule is to buy the best example car you want and can find and afford. Is this 22 year old RHD Japanese car that car?

I think you could find a newer example and one built for and sold in Canada or if not too much trouble one built for and sold in the US and one you could easily import into Canada.

And one newer than a 2002 MY...

 

I've daily driven and R53 since 2003, I've only been stranded due to mechanical problems a couple of times. Most recently due to a broken fuel injector that was spraying fuel into the engine bay. I do almost all my own work and i'm fairly handy, but i'm by no means an expert mechanic. My biggest hesitation on that car is driving a RHD car in a LHD country (or vice versa) is between inconvenient and unsafe. The blind spots are a little different, and making right turns and some angle entry's can be hard to see.

 

Well I bought it. Thanks everyone for the input, some very helpful information that was greatly considered as part of my purchase. My goodness she is a beauty! It's in excellent condition considering the age, and indeed a joy to drive! I've got big plans so you can be sure to see me active in the forum's going forward!

 

Congratulations on your purchase !
I hope it will be good to you and you won't encounter too much of the issues we warned you about.

But if it does ... you can find community support for pretty much anything on those

 

Congratulations, looking forward to pictures if you'd care to post some.

 

Congrats on the purchase! I have two as well. They will both be our daily. I also have 2022 1LE camaro thats going to be stored when I get the other mini done with the rebuild. Mini's are fun thats for sure, and the parts are cheap and easy to get.

 

Finally got out a couple weeks ago and got some good pics, still have a lot that I want to do, but this is going to be an ongoing project for years to come!

 

Looks great. Really like the wheels.