I have finally convinced my wife that she should replace the 94 Miata that I fixed up for her two Christmases ago with a convertible Cooper. We have 2 kids so she rarely gets a chance to drive her "fun" car. With the Cooper she can still drive the kids so she isn't forced to drive our Highlander just because she needs to pick up the kids after work.

So, we are looking at a 2005 Cooper S with the Sport, Premium and Winter packages. The car has 6 speed stick and 68,000 miles on the clock. It's had one owner and all of the maintenance was done through the MINI dealer. Early on it had the top replaced and the last tune up done around 60K included replacing a pressure hose to the supercharger and the seal on the oil pan.

Aside from running a carfax report, driving the car, and poking around everything with a flash light, what should I be looking for?

2005 was the first year for the MINI convertible in the US so are there any problem areas to watch out for in this first model year?

Oh, and by the way, its yellow

Price is $15,500 which I think is a little steep for a privet owner sale (KBB is around mid 12K)

Any help on things to watch out for and price would be helpful.

Thanks, and hopefully we will be truly joining the club soon!

 

That's a lot of $. I paid 13 k for an 06 with less miles plus auto trans and chrono plus snows on alloys. Check the top well, they are expensive if they break. Power steering and strut mushrooming are issues. Also oil leaks and the right engine mount.

 

I saw the car today and it is well kept but it has a few blems. I'd say it meets KBB's "very good" based on maintenance and that is $12,500 not his asking price of $15,500.

He came down to $14K which might seem like a big discount for him but he was so over priced to begin with.

Recent fix included a motor mount and some bushings (beyond the other things I listed) but there is a pretty deep lip on all the rotors so its going to need new pads and likely rotors as well.

What do break parts run generally (all 4 pads and rotors)?

Unfortunately he really seems in love with the car and feels he did a lot of "factory customization" but that's really the MINI experience right? It seems most of the cars have some level of customization and I've never seen that actually add value to a car as its everyone's personal preference.

Who knows, maybe he will come around. In the meantime the hunt goes on.

 

And in several weeks when he still hasn't sold it, he might come WAY down.

 

oil pan and bushings are common probelms. i would also check the power steering fan and aux fan. aux fan has two stages and the only way to check it is to take it to the dealership. with diagnostic equipment they can activate each stage individually. if its bad you are looking at about $700 repair, but if youre mechanically inclined you can replace it your self. as far as the power steering fan, its activated with the aux fan. and if its bad, its very easy to repair. its held on by two 13mm nuts. not sure on how much the fan is.

 

Check with Way Motor Works for a good package price on discs and EBC Red Stuff pads. Any automotive shop can install those, there's nothing special or hocuspocus about the MINI binders than any other make. If it doesn't come with one, search ebay for a wind deflector. You'll both love it. You can actually visit with each other in a normal voice at highway speed with one. Keep the top clean. Dust and grit will eventually cut the fabric. RaggTopp is one of the best canvas treatments. If she gets OCD about detailing, study Detailing 101 here on NAM.

Here is a list of URLs I've found useful.
http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?
http://www.lightinsight.com/ You really want one of these.
http://www.motorcycleroads.us/index.html
http://www.motoringfile.com/
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...3&mospid=48019
http://soopercooperinfo.com/ Also has a state by state directory of independent MINI shops.
http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

Well, guess what, I went on CL tonight he reposted the ad for $13,750. I guess he listened but he is still high.

I sent him a text letting him know I meant no offense by my offer and that it was only reflective of the reality of the market. Hopefully we can work things out.

 

Thanks for this. I would plan to have it checked out. I am pretty handy on cars so usually my concern is parts price and free time.

 

Thank you much for the links and top care advice.

I've replaced a couple tops on my Miatas but I have a feeling the MINI top would be more expensive and more complicated to replace :-)

 

The canvas top is one thing and they do tend to wear in the area around the rear side windows. The bigger issue is all the power mechanism guts. The sunroof often breaks, as do the clasps at the windshield, then there are assorted sensors and motors. Make sure they are all working well, some squeals and squeeks are normal.
Be sure to lube all the moving parts about every six months.
A failed top repair can easily run over $3k.

 

Ya, that is like 10x more than the Miata tops I'm used to! Is there a good mantinance book that I can get that covers the first gen MINIs and also covers the convertable items a bit?

 

Yes, there are some on eBay. Search for mini Cooper service manual, and you can download one for $8.

It covers everything, including convertibles.

 

Before you buy a Mini, make sure you can actually fit the kids in the back. Depending upon how far back the front seats are positioned, you can go from enough room for legs to zero room for legs. I'm 6'1" and with the seat positioned properly for me, there's about enough room between the back of the front seat and the front of the rear seat for a leg about 1.5" in diameter with no room to move.

 

Yes, there isn't much back there but in truth this car will mostly be a 3 seater with my wife driving and my oldest in the passenger seat and youngest in the back.

It beats having no rear seats in her Miata

We have an older Highlander with a folding 3rd row if we want to move lots of people around.

 

I'm 5'4", DD is 5'6 & DH is 6'2" and we all fit in my convertible very comfortably.

 

I just wanted to let everyone know that we bought the car in the end for $13k on Halloween.

I had the PO take it to the MINI dealer one last time for a check over. Top was checked and confirmed to be in good order but they did find a nail in one of the run flat tires so that got replaced.

We got a bag full of records on the car and the CARFAX report valued it over the typical blue book due to its mantinance history.

My wife has been pretty much driven it everyday since.

 

At some point fairly soon, she will comment about the harsh ride. That is a function of run flat tires. Also, you will be needing to replace them more often than all seasons. Just a heads up...
Congrats on your new motor. As one around here often says: "Without pictures, it didn't happen".

 

Good luck with it!
You might want to change the SC belt if it was not done at the 60k service. It can do a lot of damage if it breaks on you.

 

The good thing is my wife seems to be pretty immune to harsh rides etc. But the down side is that she not very good about reporting when there are problems or noises change. Oh well, I guess I'll have to insist on driving it on a semi regular basis to keep an eye on the car for new sounds etc.

Let's see if I can post pics on my phone. These are from the CL ad.

 

Yes, I need to take inventory of everything that has been done on the car. What is the maintenance interval for the SC belt? I'm hoping less than 66K and then the PO would have already done it through MINI. He seemed pretty religious about bringing it to the dealer for regular check ups and from the notes he pretty much did whatever repairs or maintenance was suggested.

 

I think the belt is recommended as part of Inspection II at 60k miles, so it may have been done. You should be able to tell by looking at it for cracks, it also turns brown and shiny in places when old.