Hi All,

I used to be a proud 2002 Cooper owner but all the maintenance hassles caused me to part with that charm.

I'm looking at getting another MINI, this time an S. I know the 2005 year got the new getrag tranny and I'm hoping it should be a bit more reliable then the launch editions.

So I think that year is best bang for buck when looking at a used option.

Any other suggestions? Thoughts?

List of options:
s.f. bayarea craigslist > > cars & trucks: search for "mini cooper s" (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/car?query=mini+cooper+s&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max&addTwo=)

-Tom

My reference for the 2005 year Getrag change is from here, but other threads on this site seem to contradict this.

"New for 2005 ...... The supercharged 1.6-liter engine in the Cooper S gets a boost to 168 horsepower and a new Getrag 6-speed manual transmission."

2005 MINI Cooper - Detailed Pricing and Specifications - MSN Autos (http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2005&make=MINI&model=Cooper)

Yes the gearbox changed on MCS with the facelift, the ratios were all that changed though as the MCS was always a Getrag box unlike the Cooper

I'd agree a late '04 through '06 facelift car is probably the way to go. With the new model out I'm guessing the prices are down a bit on the SC cars. Not about to trade my '04 (pre face-lift) for one of the Turbos.
Spring for some winter tyres up there.