I will take delivery of my 'new to me' 2005 R52 S convertible in the middle of April. The car has 3,700 miles and has been driven only 4 months during each of the years. I plan on driving the car to MINIs on the Dragon at the end of the month, aprox 800 miles round trip.

What would you do before such a trip? What fluids would you change? I know that certain types of lubricants will lose their effectiveness just by sitting and I am wondering about the oil in the supercharger.

Also, if anyone has any tips or tricks to foster the reliability of my mini, I sure would like to hear them. As always, TIA for any help or advice you can give.

 

Congrats on the new car. Sounds like it's basically new!

If you haven't already asked, you should find out what maintenance has been done to the car recently. As you are probably aware, time takes its toll on some components just as wear does. If I was buying the car, I would definitely bleed the brakes, change the oil, and flush the coolant for starters. Most of these cars are running around still with their supercharger oil that was original factory fill and 100k miles on the clock. Could it have leaked out of yours?...I suppose, but not likely if it's just been sitting all this time. It's quite a job getting to the supercharger to check/change the oil (like a four hour job involving putting the front of the car in service mode, etc) so not sure I would go through all that unless it will just drive you crazy not knowing.

Something else to consider....if the car still has original tires, they are now 10 yrs old. Are they safe? Who knows....but they likely are not going to handle to their potential as they have hardened over those years and perhaps flat-spotted from setting idle so long. If you are planning to tear it up on the dragon, you're not going to want to do much spirited driving on old, hard tires....unless you feel like living dangerously.

Finally, I would probably get a new battery. If it still holds a charge, it is still likely to leave you stranded someplace at some point if it is still the original. I just replaced mine...it lasted 9 yrs and 65k miles of regular use before it croaked.

Good luck and have fun!

 

New tires for sure....with many things, age is more of an issue than wear...
They have a date code, so can be checked...
As stated, full service....
So brake flush...
Coolant flush...
Oil/filter change....
Cabin filter....
New belt...do this fast, it drives the sc, water pump, etc....inspect radiator and heater hoses...
And as suggested, a battery might be better now than at a random place in the future....
Look up inspection 1 and inspection 2....(very long, but includes lots of inspections)..
If you cover all this...you would be fine...by I would add remove the sparkplugs... If they sit too long, they can size from corrosion...so cheap to swap them too!!
Wow!! New car....so all new car issues... So might want the check with a dealer to see if you have any recalls, etc....both to get your name listed with the vin#, and begin a relationship if you ever need it...
Congrats!!

 

As far the sc...
Has it (the oil) slowly seeped out or not...big debate...when it goes low ...it WILL fail....
But here is the thing...if it IS low...labor to swap it or just lube it is the same...around 5+ hours plus $100 in gaskets....so if you pay to have it done...and don't put in a rebuilt unit for another $800 it is IMO a waste of $$.
In most cases you will hear a sc make a slight rattle if you pay attention...
And if it is low...maybe due to bad seals, does spending about $1100 to add $40 in do save you much if it will go low again in my be weeks?! I'd run it till it fails, the replace...same labor/parts as said before, but can be rebuilt for $800-1000, even YOUR unit if you wish.

 

Nice!!! I bought my 08 R52 18 mos ago with 3300 miles on it. Then drove it 800 miles home from the east coast. I hate the run flats but couldn't chuck new tires. getting new tires next week. I did replace the brake pads as i much prefer hawk pads to stock. tthe supercharger was noisier than my 06 that it replaced, but it seems to have quieted down.

Irritatingly, everything that was leaking on my 06 with 90k, is also leaking on my 08 with only 25k. Oil pan gasket, power steering lines, crank position oring sensor. you should expect those too.

 

" 2005 R52 S convertible in the middle of April. The car has 3,700 miles "


Wow nice find , post up some pics


Even though it has low mileage , i would check item for age, like the serpentine main belt, tires for flat spots and cracking. Change the oil. Check the filter and do look over the whole car. Get a new full tank of gas. Also since it was stored check for mice and rodents that like to chew and hang out ( nest ) in the engine bay.

Good luck.