Advice on buying an older Cooper S?

[Colly-S]

Hey guys, I hope you can offer me some pointers... I've decided I'm definitely getting a Cooper S next - but I want to make sure I get a good one and don't buy a lemon. I'm looking for some buying advice and what to look for when buying one.

So, I'm trying to spend as little money as possible so I'm looking at around 2002-2004 range. Naturally a lot of these have pretty high mileage. Is this something I should be scared of, or are these cars ok to do well over 100k miles? I know with some cars like bmw's etc that at a certain milage level they often start to develop a certain problems. I'm wondering if this is the case for Cooper S's?

So, when I'm going to go and look at a few of these cars, what parts are likely to go and what should I look out for that has been replaced or not etc? I hear power steering pump and steering rack need to be looked at - is this true, if so is there anything I specifically need to know? And are there any other parts I should be checking too?

Another question, is it definitely worth it to go for the JCW? I would like one but one concern is that it would be worse on fuel. How much of a difference in mpg is there?

Thanks in advance I really hope you can give me some tips and advice
Cheers
Colly

[mab01uk]

These Buyers Guides are a good starting point for the R53 Cooper S:
Buying guide : MINI 2001-2007 | AROnline

MotoringFile MINI R50/R53 Buyers Guide

[James burbidge]

Get a first gen facelift the 2004 to 2006
You will have less problems such as the bypass witch was a fault on the before.
Look and listen as if your buying any car. Make sure it's not been in a accident and the tyres are Kay because they cost a lot and could knock money off if there Are.
That's a good guide mab01uk putup there.

[Colly-S]

Cheers guys. I'll see if I can find a 2004, fingers crossed it would be a saver buy.
Thanks for the buyers guides I'll check them out, will also get a mechanic to look it over.

Still trying to decide on the JCW thing though

[James burbidge]

You'd love the jcw

[Charlie_Croker]

I bought a 2002 R53 last May (2011) and it still feels solid. Buy on condition rather than age and mileage is my advice mate as there are plenty of poor condition ill maintained low mileage cars out there that may only be 6 or 7 years old as opposed to a well maintained clean 10 yr old car.

[Caveman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Colly-S (original)

Quote: Originally Posted by James burbidge (original)

Get a first gen facelift the 2004 to 2006

I'll see if I can find a 2004 ...

The facelift builds started in July 2004 which was the 2005 model year.

[ihughes]

I've just bought a JCW's with 64000 miles on the clock. My advice would be:

- try to view as many as you can.
- buy on overall condition and with a complete service history.
- If the car has been serviced properly, all of the most common mechanical problems.....power steering pump etc should have been fixed already especially if it has a high mileage!

If you are looking specifically for a JCW's it is worth contacting some of the MINI specialist/Motorsport people; they are likely to know of a customers car that might be for sale. Also, highly tuned JCW's usually have loads of £'s spent on extras like suspension & brake mods.

Also, make sure you get the original dealer/John Cooper garages conversion certificates. If these have been lost, or the seller doesn't know what you are talking about I'd walk away. Without them and some other checks, it is really difficult to tell if you are buying a real JCW's or a fake with some badges and maybe just the exhaust system.

I bought a Sept 2003 JCW's with the official 225bhp conversion, 6 pot caliper brakes from the Cooper Challenge spec racing cars. It had been well looked after by the previous owners and serviced/maintained by one the ex JCW engineers. I ended up paying about the market rate for an ordinary MCS with the basic JCW (210 bhp) conversion but ended up with something quite special.

Ian

PS: don't worry too much about the tyres especially if it still has Run Flats on it. You should consider changing to non-runflats asap and these are considerably cheaper than runflats to replace; although I agree its worth negotiating on the price if it needs new tyres.