Hey guys,

Below is the first post I made a while ago in a different section. It didn't get much traction so I figured I would post it here.


I am the new owner of a 2007 Mini Cooper. I have some issues with the vehicle but first some background:

I am a car guy an have been since I was a kid. I am fortunate enough to have an income that allows me to have nicer than average cars but I do not have the income to support the dream supercar. I was on YouTube and ran across the TEDx talk about the guy who started with a paper clip and made several trades ending up with a home. I figured if someone could do that starting with a paperclip, why not do the same thing with a car and end up with my dream car(hence the name Mini2AMG).

My plan is to help both the buyer and myself. The buyer will get a straightforward deal with nothing hidden and a slightly below market price point while I will make a small profit off of each vehicle, rolling the profits into the next vehicle. Rinse and repeat until I am the proud owner of an SLS AMG.

Here is where the Mini comes in.

I purchased the vehicle sight unseen from a local online auction. Normally I go to these things to see the car but with COVID still circulating I decided to purchase online and avoid the crowd. The auction site is usually pretty good about answering questions real time as well so I wasn't super worried about getting something with major issues.

I wound up with the winning bid on a 2007 Mini Cooper Hatchback, red with stripes.

The good:
It has 98,800 miles and the exterior is a 8.5/10 and the interior is a 9.5/10. The car fires right up. Steering, brakes, and suspension seem fine as I had it up to 70 mph on the freeway and I didn't notice any vibration or odd noises.

The bad:
The car has 2 main issues:
1.) Once warmed up the throttle blips rapidly between 1000-2000 rpm. This is powerful enough that you need to hold the brakes down hard to keep the car from launching from a dead stop. The car shows code P0507 Idle Control System RPM - Higher Than Expected <--- this is an understatement to say the least.

2.) Something is up with the transmission. It doesn't want to shift (up or down) all the time and when it does shift, it's pretty hard (up or down). It seems much worse when cold as once I got it on the freeway it got much better. I can manually shift between gears when it doesn't want to select the gear.

I also have a code P0128 which shows as "Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature". I drove the car about 20 miles and didn't see any signs of overheating but once I parked it, I saw steam coming from under the hood. It appeared to be water that had pooled under the hood as it sat at the auction yard, and the steam disappeared after a minute or so of sitting, but it will be something I am going to monitor.

I've been researching and what I've found is the idle issue could be throttle body related and the transmission issue might be valve body and/or motor mount related (or transmission related...)??

These cars are going for around $5k-$6k in my neck of the woods and I was hoping to pay it forward and sell this one for $4k-$4,500 depending on how much it needed for repairs.

Hoping to start the journey to super car with this Mini, any help would be greatly appreciated

 

UPDATE:

1.) I replaced the engine coolant temp sensor and it cleared all the check engine lights and cured the idle issue ($11 and 20 minutes, MAJOR win!)
2.) I have ordered and received the valve body kit from Wolfsburg tuning and expect this to cure the shifting issue
3.) I have ordered friction wheel and water pump as there is a howling sound when idling
4.) I will be replacing the thermostat as there is a small leak (the water that pooled under the hood...)

Hopefully this should cure all of the issues. I will be all in for around $3,800

 

When replacing the water pump, closely inspect the hard plastic pipe going to the t'stat housing. It's known to deteriorate rapidly at each end. Might even be this pipe or the housing / gasket instead of the pump that's leaking. I've got about 101K on my pump but replaced both the t'stat housing and its pipe a couple times.

 

Just realized the radio doesn't work. It has navigation and I can move through the menus but there is no sound and it appears to be stuck in AUX.

I've read about an amp failure causing issues with sound but why would it be stuck in AUX? I would think I could still select CD or Radio????

Any ideas?

 

thank you!

I edited my post as it is the thermostat that is leaking and not the water pump. I'm replacing the water pump to cure the howling sound.

 

If you replace the thermostat housing do yourself a favor and replace the water pipe as well. Remove the intake when you do it as it makes the repair much easier.

I just recently bought a 2007 Mini but with a 6-speed manual and replaced the the above mentioned parts as well as the water pump and friction wheel. Have fun working on your Mini as you have a long way to go to achieve your goal, owning an AMG Mercedes.

 

I already own a couple AMG's, just not an SLS I imagine this will be a LONG road but should have some fun along the way.

Thanks again!

 

Making a profit by buying a car that needs work and selling it for a profit is likely an extremely difficult task.

I suspect you could buy a $4,000 car, put $3,000 in time and repairs and sell it for $5,000 more often than make a profit in the process.

You may have more luck buying a car that needs little or no work at wholesale, cleaning it up and selling at retail.

 

Yeah, need a dealers license in Oregon to buy at wholesale auctions :(

 

That's the requirement in all states, I'm not aware of any that don't.
I got to say that you're brave doing these sight unseen online auctions, and given the path gone down with this recent mini purchase, that's likely to be a repeated case now days. Do you even have a profit margin now given what you've already spent? I know if had you seen it prior, you may have picked up on all these things you mention on repairing, but to each his own on purchasing methods.

Good thing your not buying from car auctions online where I live in MD. Place is littered with dealer crooks at the auctions out here, and the online auctions are full of junkers that are money pits. Yes ive had my dealer license and personally know some guys that purposely are getting rid of cars via online because covid restrictions makes it easier for them to get rid of cars. I'm amazed at the adjustments these guys make to get a sale, I DONT KNOW ANY that are honest sellers! Out here its a buy at your own risk type of thing, but I'm surprised you cant go to the lots to check the cars out BEFOREHAND, to ensure yourself on what your bidding on. That's only way to play in my book!