MINI Cooper Forum banner

Buying a MINI

1K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Milpol 
#1 ·
Greetings,

I'm looking to buy a used MINI for my wife. I've done a fair amount of reading about various issues. Pre-July 2004 gearboxes, steering pumps, track rods etc.

We have a limited budget of £3.5k. Any advice on what to go for? There seam to be a lot of MINI's about. My instinct is to go for a diesel. Did they always have the (better?) getrag gearbox? Failing that the petrol post July 2004 model? We can get ~85k miles for this budget on a 2004 facelift model.

Any particular areas prone to rust? Things to look for when viewing?

Any advice would be very useful. Seeing a couple tomorrow...

Many thanks
 
#2 ·
In rgds to a Gen 1 Mini, you have seen the common issues of PS pump etc but consider this in regards to the Midlands gearbox, there are many that have never had an issue. If you troll the forums, you will find identical issues with the Getrag boxes and not forgetting, most post about their woes on forums and not often, their positives. All mini gearboxes are filled for Life ! whos life ? the dogs, yours, the budgie ??

Back in the day, we would change our gearbox fluid (as per the manual) every 45-50 thou miles and the Diff every 100 thou miles. Considering that we use a trans axle, its prudent to change the oil every 50 thou km to help maintain it as well as not flogging the box or labouring in the wrong gear.

The older the car, the more chance of wear and tear.

As for rust, the gen 1 need to be checked under the door and tailgate rubbers (bottom). This being said, it also pays to pull the rubbers once a month to wipe the lips dry (we often use high pressure hoses to wash cars and therefore force water where its not meant to be) due to moisture and dust/dirt buildup as the dirt will hold moisture. Also look in the boot where the tools are stored in a Cooper , this is where the battery is in a Cooper S.

Also check for signs of water ingress in the foot wells in case you have a leaking window seal as this can drip onto your electronics!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top