Mini Cooper S

piobhan

Hi. Im considering buying one of these between myself and the girlfriend, budget isnt huge around 5-6k! There is a few around for that price!
What should I be looking out for, is there any particular model to be avoided, on previous threads people mentioned problems with the gearbox on older models, is tis common,
Thanks in advance Kieran

Owen

The gearbox isn't an issue on the S, it uses a different 6 speed box. It's hard to give you advice without knowing the mileage, or links to the specific cars.

Generally though, at that money, you're going to be at the 02/03 age bracket. Those are the earliest cars and problems can include :

Worn supercharger belts (Just get a new one)
Ruptured engine mount (Fluid leaks out, about 80 for a new one + fitting)
Steering column can be notchy, only cure's a new rack
BC1 control module can be tempremental due to where it's positioned.
Airbag connections under the seats can be finnicky.

The steering column you can check when the car's at a standstill and running. Turn the steering from full lock to full lock, if you feel it clunking, walk away. A new rack is expensive.

The BC1 is the body control module, it's positioned where it could possibly get wet if a windscreen replacement isn't done correctly. Later models had weather protection around the BC1. Ask the seller if there's been any problems with central locking/windows/mirrors.

The airbag connectors are fragile, and the best thing to do is replace the connectors with new ones if an airbag light shows on the dash. If there's no light, don't worry.

There's a specific new MINI forum at http://miniclub.ie which is full of advice on fixes/faults too.

piobhan

Ya checked out that site, cheers! Il be in England at the weekred, with the exchange rate I wonder is worth while checking a few out over there??

Owen

Not really. MINIs don't devalue in the UK, you'll find S models are still quite expensive, and because VRT is emmissions based, you'll pay a fortune bringing in the supercharged engine.

piobhan

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201113383139664/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/petrol/transmission/manual/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/price-from/500/price-to/6000/model/cooper_s/make/mini/radius/100/page/1/postcode/m602la?logcode=p

This back in Ireland for example is around €6000, thats pretty good

Owen

It's probably closer to 7 IMHO with flights and ferries, plus the exchange rate isn't being reflected in the banks. I converted 3250 sterling to Euro last week, and it was nearly 3750 euro in 3 banks. Have you run the VRT calaculator on it? I would, but I'm on my phone at the moment.

Bear in mind, a UK 9 year old will have 9 years of UK winter salt eating away at the underneath.

piobhan

PaintDoctor wrote: »

It's probably closer to 7 IMHO with flights and ferries, plus the exchange rate isn't being reflected in the banks. I converted 3250 sterling to Euro last week, and it was nearly 3750 euro in 3 banks. Have you run the VRT calaculator on it? I would, but I'm on my phone at the moment.

Bear in mind, a UK 9 year old will have 9 years of UK winter salt eating away at the underneath.

Il be in manchester at the weekend anyway so ive flights sorted already, vrt is around 1200-1300 on it, just over 6k or so, well not sure how much boat is, could get it a bit cheaper than asking price 2,
Wouldnt an 02 car in Ireland Have the same issues(rust) to look out for

Owen

We've only recently started to salt our roads, and we only do it in extreme weather.

piobhan

piobhan wrote: »

Wouldnt an 02 car in Ireland Have the same issues(rust) to look out for

Nope, when you're over there this weekend have a glance at cars that are of that age over there, many of them will have rotten arches etc. Even the like of BMWs and that.

piobhan

RoverJames wrote: »

Nope, when you're over there this weekend have a glance at cars that are of that age over there, many of them will have rotten arches etc. Even the like of BMWs and that.

Ahh right, I understand the point now, cheers for clairfying it, now to find a nice car

lifer_sean

Revenue VRT calculator is wrong for the Cooper S. It has emissions down as 163 (24% vrt) , which is the value for the non-supercharged Cooper. The Cooper S is 202g/km (confirmed by a cartell freebie check on the car you linked to) which is the 32% band, so the vrt is more like 1750.

I'd check your insurance also on the Cooper S, they have the name of being much more expensive to insure than the Cooper. I've had two Coopers but have avoided the Cooper S for that reason.

Also, if buying in the UK, be sure to run a history check on any car before you buy. Mini was/is very desirable in UK so a share of damaged/repaired ones around.

Good luck with search. They are great fun to drive. I'm sorry I sold the yellow Cooper that I had !

kona

Apart from a supercharger, what else is the difference between the cooper and the cooperS , for example, could you fit a Supercharger to the Cooper, or swap the engines?

Owen

Battery is in the boot in the S, so you'd have to do some serious stripping and rerouting. Control units are different too. And pretty much everything the guy above me said. [edit]except brakes on the R53 (Pre 2007) model. They're the same.

kona

Ah cool, is the gearbox better or just a different ratio and final drive? Would there be any reason you couldnt DIY Supercharge a Cooper with a de comp plate and bigger injectors ecu and sorting out a pulley?

kona

OSI wrote: »

Cost? For the money and time you'd spend you'd be well into Cooper S money anyway...

Yea I was thinking that, but you could probably get abit more power than standard with a well thought out setup Id imagine.
But your right buying the CooperS you get Manufacturer reliability as well as cheaper.

stevenmu

IIRC the Cooper S can be easily remapped for a good bump in power.

piobhan

Took a cooper s for a spin in galway today, should there be a fairly lound wine from the supercharger when It kicks in,??? It was lovely to drive and nippy enough!!

.Longshanks.

piobhan wrote: »

Took a cooper s for a spin in galway today, should there be a fairly lound wine from the supercharger when It kicks in,??? It was lovely to drive and nippy enough!!

yep!

piobhan

kev_Longshanks100 wrote: »

yep!

Ya thought so, it was this one
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1793891
The clock was slo changed from kms to miles on the display, I thought that was strange, I would prefer one in black or grey with more extras for less money

Zubeneschamali

piobhan wrote: »

should there be a fairly lound wine from the supercharger when It kicks in

Superchargers don't "kick in", they run all the time off a belt driven from the crankshaft, but yes, there is a noticeable whine.