Hi All,

I am new to NAM and am looking to buying my first Mini. I am looking at an '05 MCS with 213k KMs. The current owner has changed/upgraded a few things such as a Sprintex s/c, Powertex bushings and a Borla exhaust. The car still has issues such oil leaks and a coolant leak. Have a look at the link below. Could it be the belt, tensioner and/or pulley? The "squeeking" goes away once the car warms ups and is driven.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2EyqbbKTwBBbWdyU2

TIA,

--Soul

 

My ears are shot so got nothing from the video. If the noise is coming from the belt area then the belt, idler pulleys, and crank pulley all could be suspects.

 

Super dry squeaky pulleys. Yikes.

Are you looking for a project car? If so, then yeah, maybe. What's the rest of the car look like? From the video, looks like there's a bunch of dirt and rust in the engine compartment though difficult to say.

Like r53coop said, could be belt, pulleys, crank pulley. at 213K, there's bound to be plenty of opportunities for rehab.

So if you like the car, handy with tools, not fearful of tight spaces, have plenty of money to support the effort, go for it! If not, I'd look at something else with less miles, more known history, and better taken care of.

 

What ZSM said.

There's a few things... Sprintex is obviously aftermarket. It removed the common failure point of the OEM supercharger, which is the water pump, and replaces it with an electric pump. Look at the wiring on the drivers side of the radiator. See how clean their work is. It'll probably give you some insight as to how they work in the rest of the car.

At that mileage, expect to have to refresh the entire suspension and some miscellaneous parts here and there. Also expect to do a LOT of "while I'm in there" type of repairs... At that mileage things are just old and wear out. Best to refresh everything while you're there.

If it's a great price and the rest of the car is clean, go for it. Just make sure to take it to a shop/mechanic to get checked out first. I neglected doing that and found a cracked head... $1k expense that could've easily been avoided.

 

Thanks for the replies! The mileage on the car is 231000 KMs (or 144000 miles). The car is winter driven, that might explain some if the rust in the engine bay? I will get it inspected tomorrow. The owner knows that he has some issues so I think I should be able to talk him down to around 3000$ USD for his car. See a picture below of the engine, let me know if you see anything that "jumps out" at you:

 

Where are you located?

 

You said it had coolant and oil leaks. What does or did the oil look like?

- Engine harness on the driver side near the A/C port or is supposed to be is not anchored.
- left side hood latch is super rusty.
- mis-matched bolts (hard to tell) on intercooler cover.
- air filter looks nasty!
- shock towers both, passenger side especially is mushroomed even with the brace!
- Does the dipstick have it's full length?
- front bumper cover appears to have some riveted on brackets. Mismatched bolts holding it on to frame.
- Appears to have an oil catch can?

I'd run far away from this one!

 

I am in the Montreal, Canada area.

 

I think I'll agree with ZSM. I think the harness on the driver's side is the wiring for the electric WP, but with current leaks and the condition it looks like its in, I'm going to recommend a pass on this. I think it'd end up being similar to the car I bought - which was $3,200 - and then I spent about another $3,500 bringing it back to decent condition. Buy something better up front.

 

Taking a second look, what's up with the wiper arms? Looks like the current owner put wound some wire around the arms to act as a spring???

 

The "springs" on the wiper arms, I think is to put more pressure on the arms to push onto the windshield to wipe the windshield better? I did not mention that the owner says that he does "track" the car. My thinking is with the fairly new S/C (40k miles), exhaust (5k miles), Powertex bushings and new front bearings and CV boots, I could get the price down and repair the well-known leak issues. I have driven a few '05-'06 R53s and this one has more performance then the other ones. The clutch feels fine.

 

Are there no other options, MINI-wise in your general area? Between Montreal and with Ottawa to the west, and Quebec City to the east, both not very far away, there should be more than a few MINI R53s for sale...

On face value alone (and along with all the issues you DO know of) the MINI you're inquiring about doesn't appear to have been well cared for, and IMO, is going to require a fair amount of TLC (and dollars) to get sorted. The fact that it has been tracked doesn't work in your favor...

Just as an FYI, I've spent just over $4000.00 (US) on my 2004 R53 over the past 2.5 years and I've done ALL the work myself. If you're planning on having a mechanic perform all the work that will be needed, which is likely to be most of everything I've already done, that figure can easily be tripled.

You might want to see what else is out there.

Are you set up for working on the car yourself?
Do you have tools? A garage?

See pic below of my engine, which I've kept on top of, sorted all the oil leaks it had when I acquired it, replaced every oil seal and gasket, along with all the pulleys, tensioners and the drive belt. It's currently not in need of any repairs... Also, I do drive the car in the winter months here in New England, but the car is garaged, which helps.

In the coming weeks, I'll be replacing shocks, struts, bushings & suspension components, all somewhat worn after nearly 140,000 miles...

And there will surely be more to tackle after that...

Back to you; I'd recommend trying to find a more well-cared for example. It's out there, somewhere.

 

AoxoMoxoa: Thanks for the input. Great looking car! My thinking is that if I get this one cheap, I will start by spending less and then I will have more money to spend on repairs. From what I read on the forums, these repairs will have to be done on any R53. There are lower mileage R53 on the local markets but they are all 2500 to 3000$ more. I do a have a friend who is a mechanic; I am trying to convince him to work with me on the car :-)

 

Hey man, welcome to NAM. You're in the right place if you want to learn to wrench on these things. Figured I'd chime in. I've owned two R53's in two years. Both under the $3.5k mark.

I bought my current R53 for $3300. I ignored signs of abuse in my need to replace my previous one that was totaled while stationary by a texting driver, and rode a bus 9 hours to buy it sight unseen. As soon as I got it home, I discovered the oil was mixed with coolant. A few months of troubleshooting (and a few head gaskets) later, I replaced the cylinder head, fixed my problem, and then still had to perform all of the maintenance that was my previous R53 needed. Then, the transmission failed. Replaced the transmission a few weekends ago, setting myself super behind in work and class.. Less than 10 miles into breaking the clutch in, the motor threw a rod bearing.

So yeah, we're not kidding. In the last 11 months of owning this particular R53 (which is albeit a very extreme example of what might happen if you jump into saving an abused R53 on a budget), I've been able to drive it less than 60 days.[/U] Had I been smart, driven a few, and waited for a better example, I would've had a relatively reliable daily. Instead, I get to skate miles to uni.

[I]Don't put on rose-colored glasses when buying cars. Be extremely critical, and don't be afraid to walk away. It will still be there tomorrow, and you'll have a clearer head. These cars are disposable, consumable, infinite money pits. But no matter what you end up with, a little TLC and they'll drive like a dream. And when they work, they'll get you grinning like a five-year-old on Christmas.

So make sure you buy one that works. As my friend once told me:

"With used cars, you make your money at the purchase."