On my Mini Cooper S, 2005, when I close my hood, the driver side clearance from the rest of the body is about 1inch, while the passenger side clearance is less than 1/2 an inch.

Is this screwing up the headlights and how easy is it to fix?

 

Common issue. likely not screwing up the bheadlights but it'd pay to pull up to a flat wall while on a level surface and check them.

Common (especially if the front bumper cover has been removed) that the front bumper cover is not fully aligned. Do a quick search, there are threads on how to remove/reinstall that will show you which fasteners to work with to re-align. I have to re-align mine after installing the air horns back there, but I'm replacing the air horns with louder ones so I'm waiting until then!

You can also check that the hood closes straight, I believe there are adjustable bumpers (and of course the catches themselves).

 

Nitro,

When I first purchased my Mini, I thought there was an issue with the hood as well, but after a few open/close attempts I figured out the supercharger was not allowing the hood to close "softly". So I put a little muscle into it and wala... (got the used car dealer not familiar with mini's to knock off a few hundred off the price because of the hood).

Come to find out the scoop was not letting the drivers side close without some force applied to closing. Either close it hard or I would have to press down on the drivers headlight and let that latch close completely. Not sure if that info will help, but it was worth a shot.

 

AK.JCW: I had a similar problem when I took one of the first picture of the car here:


I get it shut fully, finally.

I checked it out in my garage, and I think the bumper cover is a bit crooked. Not too worried about it because it looks like the headlights are straight enough, at least to my eyes.