Help me buy a MINI

Alright, in my previous post I mentioned I was selling my 06 Legacy GT because of back issues. And you guys helped me go over lists of other cars that would work. Well after talking with my wife we decided that we have a perfectly servicable car already in the garage that suits my needs for now, a 09 Fit Sport.

That being said she has always been enamored with the new MINI. We plan on moving in a few years and while we have a nice miata in the garage, it does not do well as a daily driver for her. Plus then I can sell the miata we will be back down to two vehicles, makes it easier to move as well.

So, I did a search and read up on a couple of postings. I read some info but it was a couple of years old, and not sure if there has been a Buyer's guide in one of the mags yet.

Budget cap is going to be 12K. Regular or S will do. Probably going to be looking at 03-06 (trying to avoid the first year cars).

Tell me what I should look out for.

So you want advice on how to do something that will end up with you selling your miata and ending up with only two cars? Does not compute.

Hmmm..our 05 S has had repeated issues with leaking coolant around the thermostat. It's not a life or death issue unless ignored, but t is hard to get to and annoying to fix. Red flag for any coolant smell from the center of the engine bay.

Also, the strut towers can mushroom from heavy driving or abuse. Make sure the tops have the normal flat area and aren't domed like a ...well, mushroom Again, it's not a really hard fix, but it does cost a couple pennies and you shouldn't buy one with the problem.

Interesting thing to check - when you first crank the car, on the odometer you will see a readout of the miles driven since the last service reset. Usually the counter is reset at each oil change, so this is probably the miles since oil change. Unless they didn't do the reset procedure, in which case it means nothing......but high miles listed there should invoke some questions abuot maintenance

And, no, the non-s WON'T do. Get the S. Period.

mw wrote: So you want advice on how to do something that will end up with you selling your miata and ending up with only two cars? Does not compute.

I understand, a bit more of an explanation. The mini is more practical than the miata, and the miata has not been driven until today in 6 months. Right now it is just taking up space for the most part. I could actually autocross the MINI without hurting, can't do that right now, and I have not auto crossed in a year because of the back issue.

Great cars overall. We have an R53 model - 2006 S with the 6 speed paddle shift automatic trans.

Generally speaking, the newer the car the better. Some small improvements over the years with regards to power steering pump/fan, supercharger internals, passenger side motor mount, front struts and other odds and ends. I think the 2005+ cars got all of this.

The thermostat housing is made of plastic. I would think that by this point most [of the housings] have been replaced under warranty once they start leaking.

The passenger side hydraulic motor mount tend to fail. I'm on my 3rd. The first two didn't last longer than ~15-20k miles each. The 3rd seems to be holding up well. The aftermarket co Texas Speedworks has finally developed a replacement motor mount that is not hydraulic. The word is still out on NVH.

Front lower control arm bushings are replacement items. Replacement interval varies according to road conditions and usage. So far, only the driver's side lca mount has gone on my car at ~50k miles.

The stock sport suspension is surprisingly good. The shocks are actually quite nicely damped and stock spring rate is a good compromise for DD and spirited weekend romps. The suspension is travel limited so lowering springs compromises ride quality. Stock shocks feel great after 55k miles of CA roads. We now have Koni Sport Adjustables and they feel sportier and livelier.

For a DD, 16" wheels and non run flat tires are an excellent compromise of looks, sportiness and comfort.

There have been some reported cases of superchargers failing on high mileage cars due to the supercharger oil being consumed. The oil is not readily serviced w/o removing it from the car. Some hypothesize that this is aggravated by smaller diameter pullies running the supercharger outside of its efficiency range.

The Mini aftermarket doesn't seem very experienced. A lot of first time modders out there with little understanding of what works. I'd favor a stock car over a modded car as a result of all of the above factors.

We don't ever plan on selling ours.

Thanks AMG, that is the type of info I am looking for.

On the first gen (S and non S), the front top strut mounts must be examined for tears in the bushing material. The towers may not be deformed, but a good hit can result in damage to the bushing in the strut mount. OEM replacement from a dealer is about $80 each.

Get the Bentley repair manual. RealOEM.com has a breakdown by subsystems with part numbers.

BTW, 05-6 models have a refresh in appearance and some of the mechanicals, nothing major.

On my 05 Cooper S, I run KONI FSDs with stock springs; with 205/50R16 tires, it's more than enough for the street.

I have torn apart and put back together more MINI's than anybody I know of who isn't paid to do it (everything from oil changes to a clutch/trans replacement). I pretty much echo amg's comments. We have an '03 MCS w/ 85K (g/f's DD) and a '07 MCC w/ <20K (occasional w/e car). While the S definitely has more get up an go (especially with a 15% pulley), the Cooper is still fun. You just have to rev it out more (hard for me since my DD is a TDI). The Cooper has been my occassional auto-x car as well in HS (the S gets lumped int oSM due to the pulley).

Early cars (02-04) have the less annoying engine mount, but have more early car teething issues.

Later cars (05 & 06) have better gearing and in general, seem less problematic. Facotry installed LSD was also available.

LCA bushings do tend to go. The easy fix is to install Powerflex bushings. I've installed 6 sets of these and all owners have been happy.

Strut tower muchrooming can be helped by a set of Craven "strut tower defenders". These actually work... unlike the M7 version (speaking from experience here; had both).

A 15% pulley is practically a given as long as being competitive in auto-x isn't a concern.

In case you go looking for it, the company making and selling the replacement motor mounts is Texas Speedwerks, Inc. (link to website)

(full disclosure: I am the Chief Engineer for Texas Speedwerks)