R52 Mini Skip.
Discussion
So after selling on the Tigra we were using for daily duties, and reducing the fleet down to are far more manageable and sensible 2 cars I was sat browsing FB marketplace last weekend when something caught my eye.
Now I didn't really want and definitely didn't need another car but you know what it's like you get carried away and all of a sudden you convinced yourself you do.
So I sent a message off to the seller requesting the reg number so I could check on the mot history, this proved favourable, not to many horror stories, current mot till next July with only a few advisories.
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Offside Front Inner Road wheel slightly distorted edge (5.2.2 (c) (i))
Rear Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint has slight play (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge both starting to step on edges (5.2.3 (e))
Rear corrosion to exhaust box
Oil leak, but not excessive engine (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Anyway with that out of the way I arranged to go and see the car, it was exactly as described so no unexpected surprises, it was however absolutely filthy on the inside, bodywork was cleanish but the interior, quite possibly the filthiest I have ever seen, it didn't put me off though.
Negotiations began, advertised price £1375, bought for £925, I'm happy with what I have paid for it although others may disagree?
So what have I bought? A 2004 R52 Mini Cooper Convertible with 128k on the clock 4 owners from new and a decent service history. And here she is in all her cleaned up glory. Sorry I didn't take any before pictures but I was desperate to get stuck in.
So the things to do.
The wheel has just been badly kerbed, will either leave as is or replace with a good second hand one if I can find one cheap enough.
Rear ARB, new drop links and bushes bought from ECP £55.63.
Rear tyres are almost new Marshall runflats, they do have slight wear on the inner edges but I suspect it maybe due to the movement in the ARB, they will be replaced as and when.
Exhaust corrosion is only surface but looks unsightly. FB market place turned up a brand new Bosal exhaust, cat back, advertised for £40 bought for £30.
Oil leak is a weeping rocker cover gasket. New gasket from ECP £17.08, I have also bought a new PCV valve from Mini for £28.
I have also bought plugs,leads,oil and air filter and oil again from ECP as I will also give it a service £86.72.
Hopefully all the above work will be completed in the next few days.
Things I have already done, well not much really. Apart from a deep clean, when driving it felt like it was holding back, a quick google suggested the coil pack might be at fault, another quick google suggested contacts 2 and 3 on the coil pack corroded for some reason and this can cause the symptoms I was experiencing. So I pulled off all the leads from the coil, contacts 1 and 4 were perfect but sure enough 2 and 3 were corroded. I cleaned them up replaced the leads and took it for a drive. What a difference, no more hesitation, pulls well through the entire rev range, job done.
I know these seem to have gearbox and power steering problems but both seem fine in this one.
So there we have it, I will document my progress and once it's all done decide on what I'm going to do with it. I know there not worth a fortune should I choose to sell it on but I would hope to get more than my money back.
Please feel free to share your thoughts, good or bad I'm all ears.
Now I didn't really want and definitely didn't need another car but you know what it's like you get carried away and all of a sudden you convinced yourself you do.
So I sent a message off to the seller requesting the reg number so I could check on the mot history, this proved favourable, not to many horror stories, current mot till next July with only a few advisories.
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Offside Front Inner Road wheel slightly distorted edge (5.2.2 (c) (i))
Rear Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint has slight play (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge both starting to step on edges (5.2.3 (e))
Rear corrosion to exhaust box
Oil leak, but not excessive engine (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Anyway with that out of the way I arranged to go and see the car, it was exactly as described so no unexpected surprises, it was however absolutely filthy on the inside, bodywork was cleanish but the interior, quite possibly the filthiest I have ever seen, it didn't put me off though.
Negotiations began, advertised price £1375, bought for £925, I'm happy with what I have paid for it although others may disagree?
So what have I bought? A 2004 R52 Mini Cooper Convertible with 128k on the clock 4 owners from new and a decent service history. And here she is in all her cleaned up glory. Sorry I didn't take any before pictures but I was desperate to get stuck in.
So the things to do.
The wheel has just been badly kerbed, will either leave as is or replace with a good second hand one if I can find one cheap enough.
Rear ARB, new drop links and bushes bought from ECP £55.63.
Rear tyres are almost new Marshall runflats, they do have slight wear on the inner edges but I suspect it maybe due to the movement in the ARB, they will be replaced as and when.
Exhaust corrosion is only surface but looks unsightly. FB market place turned up a brand new Bosal exhaust, cat back, advertised for £40 bought for £30.
Oil leak is a weeping rocker cover gasket. New gasket from ECP £17.08, I have also bought a new PCV valve from Mini for £28.
I have also bought plugs,leads,oil and air filter and oil again from ECP as I will also give it a service £86.72.
Hopefully all the above work will be completed in the next few days.
Things I have already done, well not much really. Apart from a deep clean, when driving it felt like it was holding back, a quick google suggested the coil pack might be at fault, another quick google suggested contacts 2 and 3 on the coil pack corroded for some reason and this can cause the symptoms I was experiencing. So I pulled off all the leads from the coil, contacts 1 and 4 were perfect but sure enough 2 and 3 were corroded. I cleaned them up replaced the leads and took it for a drive. What a difference, no more hesitation, pulls well through the entire rev range, job done.
I know these seem to have gearbox and power steering problems but both seem fine in this one.
So there we have it, I will document my progress and once it's all done decide on what I'm going to do with it. I know there not worth a fortune should I choose to sell it on but I would hope to get more than my money back.
Please feel free to share your thoughts, good or bad I'm all ears.
Bought one of these for my eldest daughter's first car - but the whole family absolutely loved it.
Entertaining to drive, reasonably reliable, cheap & easy to replace bits and simple roof-down fun all year-round. Ideal for transporting large Christmas trees too
For that money - an absolute bargain. Good luck with it!
EDIT: And you even got one with the best wheel style - so deffo refurb or replace with same
Entertaining to drive, reasonably reliable, cheap & easy to replace bits and simple roof-down fun all year-round. Ideal for transporting large Christmas trees too
For that money - an absolute bargain. Good luck with it!
EDIT: And you even got one with the best wheel style - so deffo refurb or replace with same
After reading up on the issues with the 5 speed "Midlands" gearbox, I found this online.
One of the weak points of the the Mk1 (R50) MINI One and Cooper up to the facelift version in July 2004 is the early failure of some of the Rover Midland 5-speed gearboxes, especially when tuned or driven hard.
Later MINI Ones and Coopers from July 2004 onwards were fitted with a stronger Getrag 5-speed gearbox but all Cooper S were always fitted with a 6-speed Getrag box. The MINI Convertible was only ever fitted with the Getrag gearbox from its introduction in 2004.
It seems the convertible uses the 5 speed Getrag box so hopefully that means no or maybe less issues with the gearbox.
One of the weak points of the the Mk1 (R50) MINI One and Cooper up to the facelift version in July 2004 is the early failure of some of the Rover Midland 5-speed gearboxes, especially when tuned or driven hard.
Later MINI Ones and Coopers from July 2004 onwards were fitted with a stronger Getrag 5-speed gearbox but all Cooper S were always fitted with a 6-speed Getrag box. The MINI Convertible was only ever fitted with the Getrag gearbox from its introduction in 2004.
It seems the convertible uses the 5 speed Getrag box so hopefully that means no or maybe less issues with the gearbox.
Nice purchase.
Would like to have a 1.6 version for a while, a colleague drove one around the mountain in France and raved about it, he likes his bikes and 6 cylinder engines so a good recommendation.
Can you share our the negotiation went, I've only ever managed to get £50 of a car, I think I show too much happiness on the test drive
Would like to have a 1.6 version for a while, a colleague drove one around the mountain in France and raved about it, he likes his bikes and 6 cylinder engines so a good recommendation.
Can you share our the negotiation went, I've only ever managed to get £50 of a car, I think I show too much happiness on the test drive
Negotiations were simple really, I do what I always do. That is I try to get as much off the asking price as possible, I do this by starting with a real lowball offer and go from there.
In this case I went to view the car armed with the mot history. After the initial look over I told the seller if I bought it I would need to address all the advisories so with that in mind I think your asking to much.
The reply was along the lines of, that's fair enough, what would you offer?
Me... well there are a few things to do so I'm only willing to pay £900.
Seller... let me go and speak to my husband......we have had a chat and will take £950.
Me... a little more than I really want to pay....I'll meet you in the middle at £925.
Seller... ok it's a deal.
Simple really.
In this case I went to view the car armed with the mot history. After the initial look over I told the seller if I bought it I would need to address all the advisories so with that in mind I think your asking to much.
The reply was along the lines of, that's fair enough, what would you offer?
Me... well there are a few things to do so I'm only willing to pay £900.
Seller... let me go and speak to my husband......we have had a chat and will take £950.
Me... a little more than I really want to pay....I'll meet you in the middle at £925.
Seller... ok it's a deal.
Simple really.
DevonLad said:
Negotiations were simple really, I do what I always do. That is I try to get as much off the asking price as possible, I do this by starting with a real lowball offer and go from there.
In this case I went to view the car armed with the mot history. After the initial look over I told the seller if I bought it I would need to address all the advisories so with that in mind I think your asking to much.
The reply was along the lines of, that's fair enough, what would you offer?
Me... well there are a few things to do so I'm only willing to pay £900.
Seller... let me go and speak to my husband......we have had a chat and will take £950.
Me... a little more than I really want to pay....I'll meet you in the middle at £925.
Seller... ok it's a deal.
Simple really.
Does sound simple, actually quite a nice approach with mentioning the advisories rather than just a low ball offer to start.In this case I went to view the car armed with the mot history. After the initial look over I told the seller if I bought it I would need to address all the advisories so with that in mind I think your asking to much.
The reply was along the lines of, that's fair enough, what would you offer?
Me... well there are a few things to do so I'm only willing to pay £900.
Seller... let me go and speak to my husband......we have had a chat and will take £950.
Me... a little more than I really want to pay....I'll meet you in the middle at £925.
Seller... ok it's a deal.
Simple really.
The public MOT records is a real blessing for the car buyer although most non car people I know where very surprised the service exists.
Last month from my desk I found out my partners car had passed its MOT before she did
So on to today's jobs.
As i said i have a new exhaust pipe to fit for which i was going to buy a new chrome tailpipe trim. Anyway before I spent £28 on a new trim I thought I would remove the old one and attempt to clean it up.
Once removed I soaked it in tar remover, it was covered in tar spots and gave it a good wipe over. With all the tar removed I cracked on with the soot and discolouration. Peek metal polish and fine wire wool worked a treat, Once all of the marks were removed I used a clean cloth to polish it with a bit more peek. Now I'm not going to say it's like new but it's pretty close.
On to the next job. The drivers seat back would not adjust, it was stuck firm in 1 position. Another call on google revealed a common problem with a free and easy fix. Kneel on the seat facing the backrest, pull up on both leavers and push hard on the seat back, 10 seconds later I have a working seat back. Only a small job but it makes a massive difference to the driving experience.
That's it for today.
As i said i have a new exhaust pipe to fit for which i was going to buy a new chrome tailpipe trim. Anyway before I spent £28 on a new trim I thought I would remove the old one and attempt to clean it up.
Once removed I soaked it in tar remover, it was covered in tar spots and gave it a good wipe over. With all the tar removed I cracked on with the soot and discolouration. Peek metal polish and fine wire wool worked a treat, Once all of the marks were removed I used a clean cloth to polish it with a bit more peek. Now I'm not going to say it's like new but it's pretty close.
On to the next job. The drivers seat back would not adjust, it was stuck firm in 1 position. Another call on google revealed a common problem with a free and easy fix. Kneel on the seat facing the backrest, pull up on both leavers and push hard on the seat back, 10 seconds later I have a working seat back. Only a small job but it makes a massive difference to the driving experience.
That's it for today.
Started to service the Mini today which unfortunately led to and unforeseen problem, luckily only a small one.
First job air filter replacement. I can honestly say the old air filter i removed was the worst I have ever seen, it was literally falling to pieces and it was absolutely filthy.
Moved on to the plugs and leads, and here lies my little problem. Plugs number 1 and 2 completely covered in oil, 3 and 4 bone dry but in a awful state. I replaced all 4 and have now ordered a set of plug tube gaskets, they will be replaced along with the rocker cover gasket. Replaced the leads and called it a day.
Oil and filter tomorrow weather permitting.
Nearly forgot a new pair of genuine wipers.
First job air filter replacement. I can honestly say the old air filter i removed was the worst I have ever seen, it was literally falling to pieces and it was absolutely filthy.
Moved on to the plugs and leads, and here lies my little problem. Plugs number 1 and 2 completely covered in oil, 3 and 4 bone dry but in a awful state. I replaced all 4 and have now ordered a set of plug tube gaskets, they will be replaced along with the rocker cover gasket. Replaced the leads and called it a day.
Oil and filter tomorrow weather permitting.
Nearly forgot a new pair of genuine wipers.
Not sure if this thread is of any real interest to anyone but I will continue nonetheless.
Never got round to the oil and filter this evening as I managed to get hold of a set of spark plug tube seals. So rocker cover removed and on with replacing them. The old ones were an absolute nightmare to remove but I eventually got them out. They were rock hard with absolutely no give in them whatsoever the new ones slotted back in nice and easy. New rocker cover gasket and new pcv valve also fitted.
Removed plugs 1 & 2 cleaned off the oil and refitted. Hopefully the oil leak is now cured and the little Mini will run a bit better..
Never got round to the oil and filter this evening as I managed to get hold of a set of spark plug tube seals. So rocker cover removed and on with replacing them. The old ones were an absolute nightmare to remove but I eventually got them out. They were rock hard with absolutely no give in them whatsoever the new ones slotted back in nice and easy. New rocker cover gasket and new pcv valve also fitted.
Removed plugs 1 & 2 cleaned off the oil and refitted. Hopefully the oil leak is now cured and the little Mini will run a bit better..
Please keep it updated OP. 
I enjoy reading about the more normal cars, especially when the poster gets stuck in to improving them.
Plus Mrs Tidy bought a new R50 One in 2003 which she replaced with an R56 Cooper in 2006 so I've got a bit of a soft spot for them. They drive really well too!
I enjoy reading about the more normal cars, especially when the poster gets stuck in to improving them.
Plus Mrs Tidy bought a new R50 One in 2003 which she replaced with an R56 Cooper in 2006 so I've got a bit of a soft spot for them. They drive really well too!
DevonLad said:
Not sure if this thread is of any real interest to anyone but I will continue nonetheless.
Never got round to the oil and filter this evening as I managed to get hold of a set of spark plug tube seals. So rocker cover removed and on with replacing them. The old ones were an absolute nightmare to remove but I eventually got them out. They were rock hard with absolutely no give in them whatsoever the new ones slotted back in nice and easy. New rocker cover gasket and new pcv valve also fitted.
Removed plugs 1 & 2 cleaned off the oil and refitted. Hopefully the oil leak is now cured and the little Mini will run a bit better..
Echo the other statements, love these threads about ‘normal’ cars, 👍 Never got round to the oil and filter this evening as I managed to get hold of a set of spark plug tube seals. So rocker cover removed and on with replacing them. The old ones were an absolute nightmare to remove but I eventually got them out. They were rock hard with absolutely no give in them whatsoever the new ones slotted back in nice and easy. New rocker cover gasket and new pcv valve also fitted.
Removed plugs 1 & 2 cleaned off the oil and refitted. Hopefully the oil leak is now cured and the little Mini will run a bit better..
Tomorrow I will have the rear drop links and arb bushes replaced, not doing this myself, a good friend of mine who owns the local garage will be doing it for me. Once done it will definitely cure the awful knocking, I am also hoping it will cure the slightly twitchy rear end.
On the whole I'm really liking the little Mini but 1 thing is driving me mad, to the point of actually spoiling the driving experience. Let me explain, the car Has a very hard ride, it's one of the worse I've come across, it also has run flat tyres, put the 2 together and what do you get??? that's right a car that does it's best to break your spine whenever you drive it. So what's the answer?? Non run flats?? new suspension?? I really don't know but I have made a decision on what I'm going to do about it.
Non run flats is the route I'm taking. The wheels currently fitted to the car are very badly kerbed and where an mot advisory, I really don't want to spend money refurbing them so I have decided to buy a good second hand set of wheels with or without tyres.
I really like the style of wheel currently fitted, I believe they are Bullet but these don't seem to be to readily available at a decent price, the alternative is the Crown, there are plenty of these for sale at varying prices so I might go for a set of these. I am hoping to buy a full set with tyres non RF but I would settle for a good set without tyres then get some fitted.
Either way at least it will now be clunk free this weekend.
Cosmetically I have decided to paint the mirror caps white and add some bonnet stripes, I like that look. I will do this myself this weekend weather permitting. Pictures will follow.
On the whole I'm really liking the little Mini but 1 thing is driving me mad, to the point of actually spoiling the driving experience. Let me explain, the car Has a very hard ride, it's one of the worse I've come across, it also has run flat tyres, put the 2 together and what do you get??? that's right a car that does it's best to break your spine whenever you drive it. So what's the answer?? Non run flats?? new suspension?? I really don't know but I have made a decision on what I'm going to do about it.
Non run flats is the route I'm taking. The wheels currently fitted to the car are very badly kerbed and where an mot advisory, I really don't want to spend money refurbing them so I have decided to buy a good second hand set of wheels with or without tyres.
I really like the style of wheel currently fitted, I believe they are Bullet but these don't seem to be to readily available at a decent price, the alternative is the Crown, there are plenty of these for sale at varying prices so I might go for a set of these. I am hoping to buy a full set with tyres non RF but I would settle for a good set without tyres then get some fitted.
Either way at least it will now be clunk free this weekend.
Cosmetically I have decided to paint the mirror caps white and add some bonnet stripes, I like that look. I will do this myself this weekend weather permitting. Pictures will follow.
Well what a difference a day makes. Just got the Mini back from my mates garage, work completed. New read drop links and arb bushes, no more rear end knock. The exhaust I bought for £30 was also fitted, the old one wasn't leaking but was very rusty this one is much more cosmetically pleasing. Not sure if I mentioned but the abs and tpms lights would come on every time you went for a drive, a new n/s wheel speed sensor fixed this issue and lastly there was no coolant in the engine only water this was drained a new header tank was fitted and the system filled with the correct coolant and bleed through. Best of all for all that work my mate charged me £70 happy days.
90% happy with the car now, need to get rid of the run flats and that should give me the other 10%.
90% happy with the car now, need to get rid of the run flats and that should give me the other 10%.
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