[Tuned n Slammed!]

Hi everyone,

Ive been trawling this forum for some time trying to educate myself. Ive decided that I want a 1st Gen MCS, but I still need your help and advice.

I am planning on keeping this car for a long time and want to go down the modding route. I would prefer a low mileage car but is not a priority if a clean mid/high miler turns up. I eventually want to end up with a 220-230 conversion, sort out the chassis and upgrade seats.

My concern is that if I am to have the engine conversion done at some point, what manufacture year car and mileage should I be considering as an ideal base?

Should I stay away from high mileage cars or are these best suited for 220/230bhp conversions?

I want to make the purchase in the next few weeks...or is there a better time to buy eg just before March 1st.

Ive got a lot of questions but I will wait for feedback before unleashing the onslaught. All help is definitely appreciated. Thanks

[Ant FR]

nothing wrong with having a 2002 which usually still have low milage, then with the money you have saved on the purchase use that for the mods.

Look at mine and with its private plate on it nobody knows whether its a 2002 or a 2006.

[Tuned n Slammed!]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ant FR (original)

nothing wrong with having a 2002 which usually still have low milage, then with the money you have saved on the purchase use that for the mods.

Look at mine and with its private plate on it nobody knows whether its a 2002 or a 2006.

Ant I have read a number of threads saying that the early 2002 cars had a lot of problems. My thoughts were to do what you said with the money saved, but then reading some of the comments put me off the 2002 car.

[Johal87]

ive just brought a 2002 52 plate, and there is no problems so far! its got 42 on the clock....

the only problem was the body work and now its having a full body respray so get a mint one or sort the body work like i did, other wise if you get the right one i dont think there will be a problem

im only 21 so im no expert on this but my dads been in the trade for 20 years so id trust him to by me a good car and he hasnt let me down with the 3 cars ive had in the last 2 years

guess the point im making is, any car can go wrong, just depends on how its been treated etc

[Tuned n Slammed!]

Johal, I came across your thread as well, people were telling you to walk away...I would have, but your dad obviously knows better. You got yourself a bargain, it helps to know people. Good luck with your project

I want to get a mint car and want to concentrate on modding it...I just want to hear from the people out there with a 220bhp mod, whether they can advice me as to what mileage cars they were running before they had the 220-230bhp mod

[ScottyBoy]

Hello mate,

well at the moment im running around the 230bhp mark but with various tuners parts etc i would see no harm in buying an older car and if you are taking it to a tuner for a complete conversion then id say most of the time it will come back in better condition.

MINI Tuners on hear have great respect for these cars and there owners.... Ive recently been thinking of selling my MCS for the time being as im changing jobs soon and this month alone its cost me £900 to keep driving it and keep it on the road and the new job will be self employed and i wont have a permanent wage coming in at first.

So.... my thoughts are..... buy a cheap diesel and then when i can afford it again im going to buy an older car 2002, and then take it to say GT Tuning and have Roland do a complete conversion and check every last inch to see if all is okay.

Then i maybe even happier than i am now but when i drive my car i just cant seem to think that ill ever sell it really, and there just sensable thoughts lol.

Get one and take it to a respectable tuner from on hear and all will be fine.

Scott

[Tuned n Slammed!]

Thanx Scott, just been on your gallery, your car looks mint by the way.

Love the wheels. I remember seeing them on the Ray West car some years back in a magazine write up. I love the way they fill the arch. Are you running Goodyear F1's?

I think I will look for a clean car, run it standard for a while, get used to the handling and then take it in for a 2230/230 conversion.

How much you selling your car for?

[drainaudio]

Hi,
If I were you I'd be going for a low mileage post face-lift S - better put together, less problems and the big thing if you want to be able to put the power down........... LSD!!.

Enjoy it and mod it when you can - if you plan on keeping it for a long time you should definitely be trying to find the best car possible.

Lots of them out there, just be patient - I wanted an ultra high-spec, low mileage car and had to wait almost a year, but finally one came along and I got an 05 S with 12k on the clock for almost £9k less than the (crazy tick every box) original owner paid.
It's a toy so the mileage won't rack-up and because of that I'll always leave it exactly as it rolled out of the factory.

Have fun with the mods tho'.

Cheers, Geoff.

[Tuned n Slammed!]

Quote: Originally Posted by drainaudio (original)

Hi,

Lots of them out there, just be patient - I wanted an ultra high-spec, low mileage car and had to wait almost a year
Cheers, Geoff.

You waited a year I havent THAT much patience, but I will look for a good one as i w ill be keeping for a long time. But I will be using it on a daily basis.

Thats interesting about the post facelift, I didnt know about the LSD. How much is an LSD cost retro fit?

Cheapest facelift Ive seen is around £10k with 27k on the clock on an 04 plate if I recall, or were the facelifts on an 05 plate?

I wanted to keep the cost around £10k including the engine mod, and then slowly mod the rest by doing the chassis, and finally the interior seats.

I appreciate all the views and advice so far, its definitely helping.

[ScottyBoy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tuned n Slammed! (original)

Thanx Scott, just been on your gallery, your car looks mint by the way.

Love the wheels. I remember seeing them on the Ray West car some years back in a magazine write up. I love the way they fill the arch. Are you running Goodyear F1's?

I think I will look for a clean car, run it standard for a while, get used to the handling and then take it in for a 220/230 conversion.

How much you selling your car for?

Thanks mate, its took sometime getting it there, a year in fact and alot of money £3500 for everything and only £300 of that is labour, ive done everything myself!

Yes im running 215/35/18 GSD3's and they are an awesome tyre.... The wheels are 1 of only 46 sets so even if i did sell the MINI they'd be kept for sure as ill always be buying another one someday but i cant see me selling it.

[drainaudio]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tuned n Slammed! (original)

You waited a year I havent THAT much patience, but I will look for a good one as i w ill be keeping for a long time. But I will be using it on a daily basis.

Thats interesting about the post facelift, I didnt know about the LSD. How much is an LSD cost retro fit?

Cheapest facelift Ive seen is around £10k with 27k on the clock on an 04 plate if I recall, or were the facelifts on an 05 plate?

I wanted to keep the cost around £10k including the engine mod, and then slowly mod the rest by doing the chassis, and finally the interior seats.

I appreciate all the views and advice so far, its definitely helping.

Hi,
I already had a very high spec 05 Cooper with the JCW kit hence the patience.

LSD to retrofit will need to be aftermarket and cost north of £1000 at least.
Face-lift cars from sometime in the first quarter of 05 were able to be spec'd with the LSD option (£100 bargain).

04 plate is pre - face-lift I believe, 54 plate should be post face-lift (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

£10,000 inc the engine mod?
Sorry but you are dreaming - 05 to 56 plate cars are still fetching somewhere between £14k - £17k depending on the spec and mileage.

I would forget about the mods, save a bit more money and get the best post-facelift car you can.
A totally stock S with good options is a great car.........bottom line.
If you are planning on keeping this car for a long time then don't rush - spend your money wisely and enjoy the car for years to come without throwing money down the toilet to repair an older car that has led a hard life.

I don't want to diss the guy who bought an S and then paid for a full respray but that is simply ridiculous on a 5 year old (or less) car, I had a 12 year old Mercedes Benz with totally original paint, 96k on the clock and it was stunning - if a car needs a respray at such a young age who knows how badly it's been abused in other areas.

Cheers, Geoff.

[Tuned n Slammed!]

Quote: Originally Posted by drainaudio (original)

Hi,
I already had a very high spec 05 Cooper with the JCW kit hence the patience.

LSD to retrofit will need to be aftermarket and cost north of £1000 at least.
Face-lift cars from sometime in the first quarter of 05 were able to be spec'd with the LSD option (£100 bargain).

04 plate is pre - face-lift I believe, 54 plate should be post face-lift (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

£10,000 inc the engine mod?
Sorry but you are dreaming - 05 to 56 plate cars are still fetching somewhere between £14k - £17k depending on the spec and mileage.

I would forget about the mods, save a bit more money and get the best post-facelift car you can.
A totally stock S with good options is a great car.........bottom line.
If you are planning on keeping this car for a long time then don't rush - spend your money wisely and enjoy the car for years to come without throwing money down the toilet to repair an older car that has led a hard life.

I don't want to diss the guy who bought an S and then paid for a full respray but that is simply ridiculous on a 5 year old (or less) car, I had a 12 year old Mercedes Benz with totally original paint, 96k on the clock and it was stunning - if a car needs a respray at such a young age who knows how badly it's been abused in other areas.

Cheers, Geoff.

When I said £10k including engine mod, I wasn't referring to a post face lift car, I was considering a reasonably priced'02-'03 car, plus a GTT 220bhp at £1k. I had budgeted for £8-9k for a car. `there are many good examples available in autotrader. Yes its nice to have all the mod cons, but I'm not too concerned with having a fully specced car. Some mod cons would be nice though.

I was looking for a Lotus Elise recently and £14-£16k was my budget. But due to losing my no claims, insurance was extortionate. So had to resort to plan b, which was to also own a Cooper S. The Lotus will have to wait.

You have got me thinking about the post face lift car. What you are saying makes total sense to me, but it is about budget in the end.

Will carry on looking, I'm sure Ive come across cars at £12k, but didn't take much notice due to the price, as I was looking at cars up to £10.5k with a view to negotiate, which will get me an '04 plate.

How much difference does the LSD make on the Cooper. I had an E36 M3 Evo with it on, but obviously a different beast being RWD?

[Tuned n Slammed!]

Just an update....as you all know I viewed a car at the dealers on Sunday, which I want. I have not had a follow up call from the salesman. So either he is cr@p or is playing the waiting game.

What is my next move...do I just turn up on Saturday and do a deal after a test drive, or should I ring tomorrow and book a test drive, and have a bit of a conversation as to all the cars that are available at the dealers at the moment etc etc?