Everyone, I'm looking at potentially picking up a Mini Cooper - and looking at 2 models.

1 is a 2002 with 59,000 km's on it, the other is a 2005 with 155,000 kms on it.

I'm new to the whole mini scene. I've been involved with Evo's in the past and currently drive a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and have a Harley in the garage (which I'd be trading in against the Mini).

I am looking for some advice regarding these two models. Both are 5 speeds with the same options except the 2005 has a sun roof.

The 2005 with 155,000 km's - is this a high amount of km's for a mini? What issues will start creeping up? Are there any recalls I should be aware of? What are the most common issues? Should I just stay the hell away from this car? Dealer is asking $12,800

2002 with 59,000 km's - was previously owned by an older woman who babied the car. New transmission was installed just before the car was traded in. The car looks absolutely mint, only wear and tear is on the interior door pulls, my guess is from jewlery etc. rubbing up against it. Dealer is aking $13,500.

I have taken the 2002 for a test drive, and will be taking the 05 for a drive tomorrow. Does this pricing look in line?

Lastly - I have an obsession with customizing and generally blowing up vehicles in general. How robust is the cooper's powertrain? If I were to start throwing on some go fast goodies on either of these cars what is going to explode first? What's the best way to get some more power?

I'm not really interested in a cooper s right now as the initial buy in cost is too high - not interested in spending a big chunk of change on a car that I'll only drive once a week/girlfriend driving it.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

Rik

 

Bump!

Come on guys, it's a forum, everyone has a ton of opinions on this I'm sure..

 

Well you don't state what model regular or "S" so its hard to state much on them , I'd be leary as why the tranny needed replaced so soon (not heard many troubles on the manuals) I thoughts the S's came with 6 speeds versus the 5 speed
The "S's" are pretty stout for modifying , there are a bunch in the 300+hp range that are daily driven

 

sounds to me like eventually you want to do some modding... Do yourself a favor and go with a cooper S. I have a non s and i still kick myself today because you cant really make it that fast.. Trust me. Its worth it...

 

Don't touch either one, you are being overcharged by 50 per cent on both cars. With such high milage you would be buying trouble, and paying a high a high price for it in more ways than one.

 

So I've basically decided to go with a cooper S if I go this route.

Alastair - high mileage and high price? 59,000 km's on an 8 yr old vehicle is pretty damn low isn't it? Are people having problems with minis after less than 60k? If so I'm going to scrap the entire mini idea all together. Pricing - the single least expensive mini I've ever seen in our area is $11,900 which was a 2002 with 120,000 km's on it. The 155,000 km car is definitely out, was just curious what the forum member's thoughts were on it.

Is $12,000 - $15,000 for a used 2002 - 2005 mini a high price? Please note - prices are CAD and mileage notes are in km's.

 

Hi rik84, it seems to me that the price is very high indeed, $12,000 for a 2002 with 120,000k on the clock. I paid approx $10,000 for a 2003 in august last year for a mini cooper with heated leather seats,cvt triptronic gear box, traction control, sat nav, tinted windows, automatic suspension control, air con, rear parking sensors, with 3400miles on the clock. That price was the top retail dealer price in Britain, and the uk is supposed to have the highest car prices in europe. I know the milage was correct since it was my ex-boss that owned it. Which country do you live in, i guess Aussie as you quoted dollars and kilometers. I can understand your view on the mileage issue if you live in Australia as it's such a big country and the distances between town's can be vast. Never the less 59000k is still high milage whether on a three year old car or an eight year old car, it has still travelled the same distance so hence the same amount of wear and tear. I would like to know what you mean by CAD prices, it's a term i haven't heard used before. Cheers.

 

CAD - Canadian Dollar - at the time you purchased your car the exchange rate was approximately 1.9 UK Pound/CAD (if you purchased late July/early august 2009) - IE you paid $19,000 CAD for your car which is significantly higher than what I am looking at.

59,000 km's = 37,000 miles. the lowest mileage mini I've seen that's a 2005 or lower is the 50,000 km mark. That does not include 1 car that has 11,000 on the odometer but it is very rare.

Oh, and 120,000 is incorrect - there was a vehicle with 155,000 km's but that was just as a comparison. I am only interested in vehicles with less than 70,000 km's (43,000 miles).

And as far as Aus. having lots of miles... to put it in perspective, I live in Vancouver BC - a large metro area of Canada and I put on 60-100 miles/day in whatever vehicle I'm driving.

 

Hi rik, i paid 7200 UK pounds for mine, which i thought a fair price, around 15000 cad, i did my previous calculation based on us dollars (sorry). Thanks for responding.

 

Hi rik, maybe you would benefit from joining mini uk on facebook, they are superb at giving advice, with around 12,000 members i am sure they will be able to help you with info you seek. Look forward to seeing u on there.