I recently bought an '03 Cooper R50 with 149,000 miles. Overall I am really happy with the car except for one nagging issue. When driving at higher speeds (above 50 mph) and you turn the steering wheel to changes lanes, etc., it feels like the the rear end has a delay before it reacts. It's a bit unnerving when driving at highway speeds. I also noticed that when slowing from say 65 mph, the car seems to dive to the front right (passenger side) when you let off the gas, and when you accelerate again it it seems to pull to the right (like torque steer).

In an effort to fix the issue I have replaced the rear struts (needed to be done anyway), added the stiffening plates to the front struts, changed the inner and outer ball joints, and tie rid ends. However the problem still persists. The former owner had the front control arm bushings changed, so I believe they are good.

So, any ideas what's causing this? I had a Cooper S before and it didn't have this issue, so I know it's not standard for the car.

Is there somewhere else I should be looking. Sway bars, sway bar bushings, etc.?

Any advise is appreciated with tips to diagnose.

 

Has it been alighned recently?
Other thought is...has it been wrecked?

 

Yes, just had it aligned after the ball joint work. But it was this way before. As for wrecked, it did have a minor front end collision (per Carfax) many years ago, but I can't believe it has been this way since.