Early cooper S pitfalls
Discussion
Hi guys, feels strange asking for advice on a car as for a living I'm a professional buyer in the motor trade but I don't have to live with them afterwards so after some product knowledge 
Anyway I've always had fun driving the Cooper S including a JCW version and have pretty much decided on an early Cooper S as my next project for a mess around/track car. It will get very little use over the year but hard use when it is and I'm wanting to bolt on one of the 260hp kits that I've seen from a few tuners. My plan is to lighten it as much as possible by buying a non sunroof or air con car and ripping every bit of trim out of the interior, removing all seats and having just two light buckets seats with harnasses. What I'm after is some owner experience of 80,000 ish mile cars, any issues with major components like supercharger or gearbox? I know the normal cooper 5 speed boxes aren't great at 90k ish generally but cant rrecall on my travels a Cooper S with a fooked box. So any comments/ideas or input welcome, cheers.
Anyway I've always had fun driving the Cooper S including a JCW version and have pretty much decided on an early Cooper S as my next project for a mess around/track car. It will get very little use over the year but hard use when it is and I'm wanting to bolt on one of the 260hp kits that I've seen from a few tuners. My plan is to lighten it as much as possible by buying a non sunroof or air con car and ripping every bit of trim out of the interior, removing all seats and having just two light buckets seats with harnasses. What I'm after is some owner experience of 80,000 ish mile cars, any issues with major components like supercharger or gearbox? I know the normal cooper 5 speed boxes aren't great at 90k ish generally but cant rrecall on my travels a Cooper S with a fooked box. So any comments/ideas or input welcome, cheers.
Defcon5 said:
Cooper S is a different better box. Other issues such as PAS pump and wishbone bushes still stand
No need for a tuner 'kit', intercooler/ injector/pulley mods will see you with very good power for a fraction of the cost. Check out minitorque
Was pretty sure the box was a totally different one but just wanted someone to confirm. Thank you for the advice on minitorque, really appreciate it.No need for a tuner 'kit', intercooler/ injector/pulley mods will see you with very good power for a fraction of the cost. Check out minitorque
I've recently done a similar search - not exclusively for track but for a quick runabout for me for not to much cash.
My criteria was for a car that was as close to original spec as possible - no after factory tuning apart from the JCW kit and with a decent history. I ended up with a 75000 mile 03 Cooper S with JCW kit - pile of history and only a couple of owners. It's had the super charger changed but not the PAS - there are a few other issues that I've budgeted some for in the coming months to get it where I want it.
When I started looking I thought I'd be able to negotiate the price based on if the car had had the common failures replaced/repaired but what I found was that a decent car that hadn't been messed about with it actually pretty rare and most of the owners know that they if you ask for a reduction they can always wait for the next caller who might not be as well informed!
My criteria was for a car that was as close to original spec as possible - no after factory tuning apart from the JCW kit and with a decent history. I ended up with a 75000 mile 03 Cooper S with JCW kit - pile of history and only a couple of owners. It's had the super charger changed but not the PAS - there are a few other issues that I've budgeted some for in the coming months to get it where I want it.
When I started looking I thought I'd be able to negotiate the price based on if the car had had the common failures replaced/repaired but what I found was that a decent car that hadn't been messed about with it actually pretty rare and most of the owners know that they if you ask for a reduction they can always wait for the next caller who might not be as well informed!
eatcustard said:
Post July 2004 MCS are the better ones, as most the silly problems have been sorted
The 6 speed gearboxes are bullet proof
Because I plan to go so far with the lightening process I want to get an early a car as possible as to 99% of the market if I sell it they will see it as ruined I might as well buy cheap and fix as I go. Have found plastic windows, carbon boot and bonnet so should be a light lil car by the time i'm done The 6 speed gearboxes are bullet proof
My R53 MCS will be coming up at an auction soon (just traded in for a JCW).
At 104k it's had the alternator, super charger, water pump and auxiliary belt changed. The gearbox and clutch were still fine. Only thing on it that was non standard was a Milltek exhaust.
TBH it was pretty bomb proof until it hit 100k, then it got very costly very quickly. Keep it below 100k and you should be alright.
At 104k it's had the alternator, super charger, water pump and auxiliary belt changed. The gearbox and clutch were still fine. Only thing on it that was non standard was a Milltek exhaust.
TBH it was pretty bomb proof until it hit 100k, then it got very costly very quickly. Keep it below 100k and you should be alright.
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