[murtz]

Hey Guys.. Im new here!.. And hoping to get a Mini Cooper for myself!

Im 23.. and it will be my first car.. so Im really excited.. nervous.. anxious.. you name it! Just need some advice from some mini owners!

Here are the specs..

2002 02 Reg MINI Cooper 1.6


3 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 55,000 miles, Metallic Pure Silver. ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Head restraints, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Lumbar support, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Remote locking, Radio/Cassette, Side airbags, Rear headrests, 17" Alloys, Black Leather, Air-Conditioning. Insurance Group:8, Independent BMW Specialists.

The price I managed to talk them down to is around £5800. It has full service history.

Does everything look ok?.. what sort of stuff do I need to ask and find out when I go in and have another look at it?.. What tax band do they usually have?

Also.. the dealer said that he normally gives 3 months free warranty.. but he'll give me a 6 month one out of good will.. isnt it standard to have a free 12 month warranty?

So many questions I know.. But I just want to make sure everythings perfect!

Thanks Guys!

[W44NE G]

The warranty doesn't have to be standard so 6 months isn't too bad... although consider if they're a decent garage first (so they'll honour it) and make sure you get in writing what the warranty covers. With it being a second hand car, if the warranty is with a third party company such as Warranty Direct (they were very good for me in the past) it might be a good time to spend £200+ or so and extend the warranty for peace of mind.

Id it isn't with a third party I would still ring Warranty Direct when your 6 months is up. It was costing me approx. £20 per month on a Bora with 40,000 miles on the clock so not too bad at all.

The car sounds like a nice spec and maybe someone on here that knows about MINIs and lives near you would go along with you to check it over?

[murtz]

Hey thanks mate.. I had a look at Warranty Direct yesterday.. Its most likely the route I'll go down.. What things should I check over that are common problems with the Mini though?.

Oh and by the way.. there's a BMW specialist working there.. and the garage is near my house so Im ok with that!.

[Rakey]

Quote: Originally Posted by murtz (original)

Hey thanks mate.. I had a look at Warranty Direct yesterday.. Its most likely the route I'll go down.. What things should I check over that are common problems with the Mini though?.

Oh and by the way.. there's a BMW specialist working there.. and the garage is near my house so Im ok with that!.

Just what I was going to suggest, make sure you have it under some kind of Warranty, and read up on the gearbox threads for the Cooper so that you are not shocked later if it fails

[designer_label]

Whats your insurance quote for a cooper? as your a new driver?

[W44NE G]

I found this thread so hopefully it will help. I know it's a lot of points but don't let it put you off... they're great cars and very reliable.

Quote: Originally Posted by the-ruff-puppy (original)

Just a personal opinion here guys, from what I've seen and experienced, the top faults with R50 MINI are as follows,



#1 - Power Steering Pump failure

You only need to do a search on here for power steering and it'll bring up a whole host of threads where people have had theirs replaced under warranty. Then there's those of us who had to pay for their replacement. If your power steering pump kicks the bucket and you're left with heavy hands and sweat running down your forehead (On a journey from Birmingham to St Ives!), BMW will put a 'good-will gesture' towards replacement. My dealer managed to get the parts free, but I had to pay for labour. I believe later MINI's had their power steering pump/fan modified slightly so it's mainly an issue with older MINI's. I don't think this affects MINI One D.



#2 - Early seat mechanism.

Only on very early MINI's, rectified well before 2003 build year. Known issues where seat won't recline or return to its position. Very cheap mechanism nicked from Peugeot 206... (it would seem!)



#3- Halogen headlight adjustment

When MINI is fired up, his (or her!) lights will initialise themselves and do a self test. Basically they seem to 'move' up and down until they get themselves ready for light throwing. Sometimes one light won't flip up but the other will. Not a major problem, but definitely noticable. You'll still have light from it, but it won't be at the same level as the other. Usually a quick slam of the bonnet fixes this temporarily. Other times it'll work without failure for months.



#4 - Boot lock problems

Boots that flip themselves open, boots that refuse to close and worst of all boots that refuse to open. Again, modified I believe in later builds. I should think this would be a warranty issue, as there have been reports of problems with water getting into the lock mechanism, certainly a few owners have reported rusting of their latch.



#5 - Dirty bum!

Not so much a fault but you'll have to get used to washing your car on a regular basis if you want to see anything behind you! MINI's kick up more muck than most hatches due to the design of the rear, there's about 50mm between the back wheels and the back of the car, so everything that's flicked up ends up on your rear. The rear window wiper's hardly sufficient, either... but at least there's one on the tin top.



#6 - Peeling steering wheels

Quite a few people out there have had their steering wheel replaced under warranty with issues relating to leather peeling off their wheel especially in hot weather. It happened to mine twice. Thankfully, third wheel along it's been fine for over a year now! I think this only affects 2-spoke wheels, not the newer 3-spoke offering.



#7 - Squeaks and rattles from pre-2004 dashboards

Hit a bump in a pre-2004 dashboard and it'll creak around like a barn on mini-lites. Very easily fixed by a squirt of WD-40 here and there, most offending parts are the five facing stick on bits that were later replaced by three stick on bits (The silver bit in most MINI's.)



#8 - Cigarette lighter cheapness

Be careful with it, it's delicate. Not up to the quality of the rest of the car. If you're forever changing between mobile phone/sat-nav/ipod/laptop chargers, be very gentle with it.



#9 - Spending too many £££!

You'll keep buying new toys. You'll fuel up more than you ever did before. Your right foot is to blame. You'll burn rubber through bends and corners less so than the burning desire to go back round the roundabout twice! You'll spend a fortune on car cleaning products, and if you're really posh... you'll have him valeted.



I wouldn't turn my back on my MINI for the world (Even though I've lost my temper a few times)

[humph]

Good find Wayne. I would say though, as the others have, that the Midland Gearbox 01-07/04 is probably the single most expensive problem. Listen for odd noises, or anything that feels odd when changing gear. Do a search for Midland gearbox, and also clutch bearing.

[murtz]

Thanks for that post mate!.. When I took it for a test drive.. the only thing I noticed was that the gearbox was slightly more stiffer than Im used to. I drove a Mini One for in my driving lessons.. and dont think it was like this. Its not a problem for me.. but just wanted to know if thats the way things are.. or if its something I can get the guys to fix when they are valeting/servicing it for me to pick up?

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by murtz (original)

Hey Guys.. Im new here!.. And hoping to get a Mini Cooper for myself!

Im 23.. and it will be my first car.. so Im really excited.. nervous.. anxious.. you name it! Just need some advice from some mini owners!

Here are the specs..

2002 02 Reg MINI Cooper 1.6


3 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 55,000 miles, Metallic Pure Silver. ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Head restraints, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Lumbar support, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Remote locking, Radio/Cassette, Side airbags, Rear headrests, 17" Alloys, Black Leather, Air-Conditioning. Insurance Group:8, Independent BMW Specialists.

The price I managed to talk them down to is around £5800. It has full service history.

Does everything look ok?.. what sort of stuff do I need to ask and find out when I go in and have another look at it?.. What tax band do they usually have?

Also.. the dealer said that he normally gives 3 months free warranty.. but he'll give me a 6 month one out of good will.. isnt it standard to have a free 12 month warranty?

So many questions I know.. But I just want to make sure everythings perfect!

Thanks Guys!

Where is the service history at? Sounds like a good price, but have you had an insurance quote on a cooper without any no claims - you may find it very expensive and a one would be cheaper!

[RooniusMaximus]

This is my personal preference when buying SH and not everyone feels it necessary to do.

Get a full RAC/AA report.

Will cost you about £160 (IIRC, they cahrage about £10 per 100cc) and will check over the car from top to bottom. Anything major that fails that they OK'd will be covered by their warranty.

We've never had to claim against the ones we've had, but did reject a car because their report highlighted that the car had been in a crash and therefore was worth about £3k less than we were about to pay for it.

Money well spent as far as I concerned.

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by RooniusMaximus (original)

This is my personal preference when buying SH and not everyone feels it necessary to do.

Get a full RAC/AA report.

Will cost you about £160 (IIRC, they cahrage about £10 per 100cc) and will check over the car from top to bottom. Anything major that fails that they OK'd will be covered by their warranty.

We've never had to claim against the ones we've had, but did reject a car because their report highlighted that the car had been in a crash and therefore was worth about £3k less than we were about to pay for it.

Money well spent as far as I concerned.

He's right - in autoexpress an ex MG Rover production worker with lots of experience bought a cut and shut. The car was a death trap, and in theory, could have cost him his life. So spending £160 is well worth it - you don't know what you are buying and even though it sounds like a perfectly reputable dealer, I remember Reg Vardy or Victoria (it was called one of these names but owned by Sir Peter Vardy) was in court and fined thousands of pounds for selling customers alloy wheels which they were claiming were OEM when actually they were 'fakes'.