Could do with some advice on buying a Mini!

johnty56

Looking at Minis for a friend, and to be honest I really don't know much about them.. would appreciate any advice on what to look out for etc.. going by her budget, it looks like maybe a 02 or maybe a 03

puzzle factory

apperently there not great
http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/06/30/2002_mini_ranked_3rd_worst_in_reliability/
i remember reading about some clutch problem and then theres the problem with spontaneous combustion http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/04/mini_update.html

ShadowHearth

Weren't their gearboxes very bad too?

Early ones have the R65 gearbox, if it's not noisy/whiney when buying there should be a good lash of miles left in it. Recon replacement would be €800 ish I suppose along with a new clutch, not the end of the world or anything.

The folks in the know will be along soon

bazz26

Power steering pump was a common failure on the early models afaik. Not cheap to replace either.

Owen

Some ****e on this thread already. A *handful* out of the few million sold caught fire because the owners were too thick to sort out the power steering pump failures if it happened. Again, 95% of MINIs out there have never had issues with the pumps, but you only hear about the negatives.

If the gearbox is whiny, a rebuild with new bearings will sort it. I can recommend a place.

As for all the pros and cons, do a search, I've written loads on them here before. Also, take a look at http://miniclub.ie - just like buying a BMW from BMW-Driver.net, sometimes it's good to buy something from an enthusiast who's sorted all the issues out themselves already.

Bulletproof engines that will do 300k without a bother (I've a mate in the States who's just clocked that up on an 02 and it's still going strong).