Yes the car is brand new, 1000 miles roughly. some nuthead car collector decided a 03 Black MCS would be a perfect addition to his collection, car has been stored for the past 2 years in a private warehouse where he keeps his other million dollar jewels. I will be paying top dollar for this car and wonder if its worth it or not, i will be daily driving this car winter/summer and doing a Pulley and tiny mods to it nothing drastic.
Should i be paying the extra money for this car compared to others?
coopers in town are ALLL dealer cars and with No premium package with around 30000 miles on it best deal i found was 24K canadian for a MCS. Other deal was a Full load (navi, Sport, premium) 2002 with 20 000 miles for 24K

this guy wants 25K and i will be dealing him down to 23 (he wanted 29K HA!) Is this car worth it? I was planning on spending 20-22K canadian for a MCS. The only reason this guy's car is cheaper is since hes a private owner and NOT a dealership.

Why not just order a brand new '06 for the same price?

The warranty is miles OR time, so it's got less time on the warranty. But you can get extended warraties, and it's an added cost.

03s have the different gear ratios in the tranny, so it won't be a quick off the line as an 05 or later

LSD wasn't available then (I think, I got an 02)

how does the price compare to a new car? Then you get the time and miles. And can option it like you want it.

Just because he's a car collector doesn't mean he's selling anything other than a low mile used car. Pay accordingly, independant of the man's pride or arrogance.

Matt

when you convert 23K Can to USD it is a good price. I would pull it down to 22K and buy it.

well a MCS equipped like this which is 100% what i want to the period is 41K canadian + tax which comes out to 47K canadian
this car is a 22K saving but i dont get LSD, warranty or shorter gears....

If the guy hasn't driven the car much you will have to work out all the new-car bugs that happen to it & you don't have much warranty left. Starting w/the '05 models Mini had finally gotten a lot of the problems worked out of the car. I would buy a new one & stay away from this '03

what kind of problems am i looking at?

I don't know what to tell you on that. I have an '05. I have read a lot of posts about '02 & '03 models having problems. Maybe it would be good if you could start a thread asking for people to list their '03 problems & then go from there

I have an almost trouble free 02. It really depended on the car....

1) Windshield cracking, oh, they STILL do that.

2) Rear hatch adjust, but it's just an adjustment.

3) Dash rattles. Easy to fix, 4 screws and some felt.

4) HK door speaker rattle....

I'm sure there are some more, but like I said, mine was pretty much problem free so I don't know the rest. It sounds like it's about half off new. Get an extended warranty and have fun!

And don't forget that reg or sales tax will be less too.....

Matt

Mine is a Sept 02 build, 03 model year with 102,000+ miles and have had the following problems
1) coolant tank leak (if its white it will leak) replaced w/ forge tank
2) rear latch - replaced by dealer
3) recall on rear suspension bolt
4) no four, that's it

One plus on the early 03's is the stiffer suspension, I forget when they went soft, but I believe it was late 03.

Hope that helps,

Nik

Dr Obnxs, I'm looking at used MINI's right now. If I buy an 02' (warrenty ends in June, 4year 50k mile) will I still be able to get an extended warrenty?

How much is an extended warrenty?
What problems will I have with a MINI without a warrenty?
Is worth getting the extended warrenty on a 4year old (40k miles) car?

Thanks!
-Cody

Do a search for stumble and yoyo.

(seriously)

Why not get an '06 for the same price??

He's quoting Canadian dollars. Look at post #5.

sspikey - another known issue with '03s was a leaking coolant tank (warranty item).

Don't forget, No More Black.

Or is that a US only problem?

Get a new '06 or at least try to stick to an used 2005 MCS. Too much risk going with an older '03 MCS (even if the car has seen little use) just because you don't have much time left on the warranty.

The build quality and reliability improvements found in the 2005 and 2006 MINIs are reason enough to second guess the purchase of a MINI older than the 2004 model year.

Also, the performance improvements (Shorter gear ratios, better supercharger, better exhaust, more power, etc) found in the 2005+ MCS make it a much better buy than the older '02-'04 MCS not matter how you cut it or slice it. Pay a little more, you won't regret it.

PS: I used to own a '04 MCS with the taller gear ratios and I was never really happy with the off the line performance. That's why I sold it and ordered a new 2005 MCS, which I bought exactly 1 year ago. The shorter gear ratios give the car the true edge it should have had from the beginning. Have never looked back since.

Changing to slightly shorter diameter tires and dumping the S-Lites, if it has them, will fix the gear difference and make the 03 get through the gears just fine. With stock power I only get slip on wet or dirty roads. Slip isn't a problem on dry roads. Not sure how much power you need to put down before the LSD is kicking in on dry roads.

Isn't it scary to think that a 3 or so year old car only has 1000 miles on it. That's alot of sitting around

There's a vendor that sells extended warrantys in the vendor section. Send 'em a PM. I think it's cheaper to buy the extended while it's still under the factory, but they can help you out for sure, and not with speculation.

Matt

I had an Aug '02 MCS with only minor warranty issues.

1. Coolant expansion tank leak - replaced under warranty
2. Flaw in fabric of drivers seat - replaced under warranty
3. Steering column creaking - replaced under warranty
4. Rattles in dash - repaired under warranty
5. Squeeks in drivers seat - replaced under warranty
6. Various stumbles, yo-yos, coughs, farts and burps - introduced during an ECU upgrade and never fixed (greatly reduced or eliminated by the installation of the VGS fix, search MINI2.com or this site)

All minor problems that never left me stranded. The car was 100% reliable mechanically.

If you want the LSD you can always take some of the $20,000 that you saved and have one installed, it might cost $3,000 Can. Someone else already mentioned using lower profile tires to lower the gearing and that is a good idea. Also loosing the 17" factory wheels for something lighter will help make up for any gearing changes and improve the ride and handling.

But I would still get the extended warranty because you do not know what has been repaired under warranty, but you can be sure that some things will need to be replaced.

I had an '02 and now have an '06. Before you decide, compare the features and test drive an '06. This should your choice alot easier.