Older MINIs - how are they holding up?

Older MINIs - how are they holding up?

Author
Discussion

Martyn76

Original Poster:

616 posts

116 months

Wednesday 20th May 2015
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Hi All,

Thinking of chopping in our 2nd car (Mazda 3 used for school run and around town) for something else a bit more fun, as I'm looking to spend no more than £5k this limits me to older and mainly leggier models (2002 onwards ?), how are these models holding up, any major problems I should be aware?

I'm looking at Cooper and Cooper S models (preferably the S).

Thanks in Advance

mike9009

6,917 posts

242 months

Wednesday 20th May 2015
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There was a revision in the model about June 2004. (check the position of the reverse/ foglight for easy definition of revision change)

Before the revision change, the Cooper and One gearboxes were not very reliable.
Power on the Cooper S increased at the revision change (161bhp to 170bhp from memory)
Various interior bits were changed/ 'upgraded'.

In general they fair well, if serviced well. No rust problems etc.

Power steering pumps can fail on larger alloyed versions (ours failed on 17" alloys) But the pumps always make a noise whether about to fail or not.

Airbag system can fail - but usually an easy fix. It is usually caused by a connector under the seat.

Otherwise just check the usual things on an older car.

Mike




0llie

3,006 posts

195 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
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My 2002 R53 is on 108.5k and it's tight as a drum. Sure I've had to spend a little bit of cash to keep it perfect, but it's a 13 year old car (new AC pump, rocker cover gasket, else just consumables).

It's just come back from a 1k mile trip to the Nurburgring where it had a weekend of pounding round, hit 144mph on the GPS on the way home, and cruised at 100-120mph the whole way with ease.

I've had 3 early cars;

  • 2001 Cooper which I took from 72k-95k, only needed a gearbox and consumables. Drove it hard everywhere, still in contact with the owner who says it's still running faultlessly.
  • 2002 One, didn't have it for long but needed a water pump. Again, still running fine with the new owner.
  • 2002 S, only had it for 3 1/2 months, so perhaps a little early to tell.
I've never had a facelifted car so it's difficult for me to advise, but I've never had an issue which wouldn't have happened if I had purchased a later one.

The facelifted One and Cooper got a Getrag gearbox instead of the old Midlands, but they're now becoming very prone to failure due to age.

Zippee

13,440 posts

233 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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Had my 55 plate Cooper S JCW for 2 years now and aside from fuel, a litre of oil and a wiper blade I've not had a thing go wrong nor had to spend a penny on it over 10k miles.
5k will get you a lot more than an 02 BTW.

IanCress

4,409 posts

165 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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We sold our 52 plate Cooper earlier this year on (just) over 100k miles, and it was still on its original gearbox. Only major issue we had with it was that the thermostat was stuck open so it didn't heat up in winter. Impossible to reach the thermostat as the bolts holding the battery tray were seized.

For it's age it was still in good condition. No rust at all, and everything still worked. They feel rather rough and unrefined compared to more modern cars, but then you probably know this already.

Zippee

13,440 posts

233 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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Forgot to add a friend of mine has a nice 2005 Cooper for sale in laser blue for around 3.5k, in Bedford if you're interested?

Challo

10,043 posts

154 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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I have a 2002 Cooper S on about 77k. Fun to drive, no rust, no major issues so far and still on original gearbox and exhaust i think (although its starting to corrode).

The ride is hard, and pretty bad on rough roads. Mine is on 17" Non-Run Flats and SS+ which makes it firm.

Washed and Polished the car looks great, and plenty of life in it. Interior wise the plastics are brittle and currently got lots of creaks, rattles etc.

Great cars, plenty of options to tune and customise if you wanted.

CarsOrBikes

1,135 posts

183 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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Your budget will get you a nice facelift car, I had a One and Now an S, both good. I'd have another One with a/c and sports cloth seats tomorrow, I remapped it and fitted a cam, left the standard non rft tyres and it was a hoot.

You can buy OE pas pumps from factors, the size of the wheel has nothing to do with it, if anything holding the car on lock might, but they just fail, sometimes intermittently. Expansion tanks leak on the S, but cheap and easy to fix, if you buy on just change it anyway.

Pas hoses leak and are an assembly, but they are a slow leak mostly and clean up well. Some rear calipers stick, rear discs rust due to low effort if a town car. Early gearbox's can fail, later ones are remarkably often low on oil, engine sump gaskets leak but easy to do, if unlucky rear mains leak, bigger job, and watch for a heavy or noisy clutch. If a clutch is heavy and the seller doesn't appear to think it is, beware as they can screw up the crankshaft thrust washers causing lateral crank play and a big engine problem. You'll know if it's heavy. If noisy, change the clutch, the release bearings are plastic and let go sometimes.

Just my2p, they're great cars actually, easy to repair on 1st gen than 2nd which have other costly issues.

scorcher_70

70 posts

202 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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I opened this thread with trepidation - pleased it's all positive so far!

I'm planning on picking up a 2002ish Cooper S in June/July, so really glad of the advice.

Two quickie queries...

1 - As long as it's been regularly serviced, are 100k+ milers going to be ok? (I'll only be doing 2k a year or so)

2 - Are the half leather seats actually better than full leather for grip and comfort?

Thanks!


Challo

10,043 posts

154 months

Tuesday 2nd June 2015
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scorcher_70 said:
I opened this thread with trepidation - pleased it's all positive so far!

I'm planning on picking up a 2002ish Cooper S in June/July, so really glad of the advice.

Two quickie queries...

1 - As long as it's been regularly serviced, are 100k+ milers going to be ok? (I'll only be doing 2k a year or so)

2 - Are the half leather seats actually better than full leather for grip and comfort?

Thanks!
As long as it has been regulary serviced then you should be ok. They do need the pulley changed about 60k so check if that has been done. If not then you can change it for a 15% to increase the BHP. Also check the bushes on the lower control arm has been changed. You need to drop the subframe to do it, and can be expensive labor wise so something to bear in mind.

I have the half leather seats on mine and i like them. I do think the full leather looks better though.

If you are looking at these the spec can vary so make sure you choose one with a good spec.

CarsOrBikes

1,135 posts

183 months

Tuesday 2nd June 2015
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I don't understand the pulley change mentioned, the belt is often overlooked, so change that, or the tensioner perhaps, where the little hydraulic damper loses its oil. You can spot this if it's jumping about, and belt wear if the tensioner stop is near its limit, and it has two holes, one should be about a cm above the casting.

The suspension bushes yes, they wear quickly, but tools exist that eliminate the need to remove the entire subframe. Also consider your budget for supercharger service, so new oils and inspection, and clutch as I said earlier. Otherwise, for mileage, check the U.S. forums for silly mileage cars. As these can be tuned for daft bhp with a standard bottom end it is claimed, the engine is good in lower states of tune, to go a long long way with good maintenance. I suspect these Gen 1 cars could outlast their replacements with an original motor and box.



Edited by CarsOrBikes on Tuesday 2nd June 13:03

DavidLScott

1,048 posts

223 months

Tuesday 2nd June 2015
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Full leather is ok in principle but they end up looking as baggy as boot sale leather jeans.
Just look at all the ads for leather seat cars - 99% are baggy and rucked.
Both my jcw and wife's cooper are half leather and they still look like new.
You don't get a cold backside in winter or scorched in summer with half leather.

scorcher_70

70 posts

202 months

Thursday 4th June 2015
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Thanks guys - I'll be sure to get it service by either the local mechanic I discovered on Checkatrade who just did a fine job on the wife's Qashqai, or these guys are only a couple of miles away http://www.croydonminisonline.co.uk

I'll be going the reduced pulley, belt and remap route after a thorough service.

TBH I only do a couple of thousand miles a year as I work from home, so that's why a car with high miles already isn't really an issue.