No Service history!

[paps]

So I'm in the market for Mini and went and saw a Cooper D on 60 plate @95k miles.
£3500.
Good bits: great spec including Pan Roof and satnav, drives smoothly, sept MOT, two keys, good condition throughout. 6mth RAC warranty included (for what it's worth)

Bad bits: no service history, EGR throwing up a code, AC fan stuck on low (controls work but don't alter the speed). Consumables; rear tyres need changing and the battery needs replacing so the Start/Stop will work.

He's offered to do an oil change and sort out the EGR and Fan issues and sell for £3300.

Question: would you go for it at this price? My main reservation being the lack of history, and EGR (he could "sort it" by just clearing the code).
Thoughts?

[E-bmw]

Your service history (main dealer at least) can be got from Mini if you get in touch with the UK customer services dept.

Ref EGR. To me, if they just clear the code it will come back, so surely that isn't "sorting it" why not ask them rather than us what "sorting it" means to them.

[paps]

E-bmw said:

Ref EGR. To me, if they just clear the code it will come back, so surely that isn't "sorting it" why not ask them rather than us what "sorting it" means to them.

Be was somewhat vague when I asked him, just saying he'd get it cleaned or replaced if needed. Needless to say I'm a little sceptical as to how much time and effort he'd go to to sort out the problem.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Popular car - anything else out there with a similar spec but with service history? To be honest, for that kinda money I'd be less bothered about the service history than the EGR causing problems. That said, I've recently sold my Golf and despite it being rough around the edges, the service history is what sold it to the guy who bought it. Tidying cosmetic stuff up I guess is pretty cheap vs a car thats mechanically not been looked after.

[stevemcs]

A battery is going to be £200...

What’s the registration number ?

[itsnotarace]

Halfords stop start battery can be had for around £100 and you can use e-sys or ISTA or even Carly to register the new battery with the car, no need to pay main dealer prices. As stated if the car has Mini service history it will be recorded on their computers but not if it's had independant garage servicing

My advice would be to pay for an inspection at an independent before purchasing

[stevemcs]

Halfords want £157 plus fitting for a battery and Indi’s can update service history direct with mini/Bmw

[Darren93]

My local Halfords wouldn't fit a battery to our R56 FYI, apparently it's on the do not attempt list

[stevemcs]

Darren93 said:

My local Halfords wouldn't fit a battery to our R56 FYI, apparently it's on the do not attempt list

If you get it wrong you can fry the FRM

[paps]

I had the same issue with my 2010 E90. Start stop wouldn't work and it needed a new battery. £250+ for the battery plus coding by an independent.

[paps]

UPDATE:

Just picked this up, Cooper SD, 70k miles, full service history, tidy inside and out. Very pleased with the power/torque and got 64mpg on the motorway run home (140miles).

Anyone else got some experience with SD, real world mpg, problems they've encountered any useful mods etc?