Buying advice

[Mike 402]

Hi

My mum is looking to get an R53 MCS. Can anyone shed any light on what we would need to look out for? I'm guessing from looking at the prices it'd be around a 2004 year car.

Also there seem to be less for sale than there were a few months ago. Has anyone noticed this?

Thanks in advance.

Mike

[mike9009]

Mike 402 said:

Hi

My mum is looking to get an R53 MCS. Can anyone shed any light on what we would need to look out for? I'm guessing from looking at the prices it'd be around a 2004 year car.

Also there seem to be less for sale than there were a few months ago. Has anyone noticed this?

Thanks in advance.

Mike

There was a facelift of the Minis around 2004. Best way to tell is the position of the reverse/ foglight. I can't remember which way round it went, but a quick check of a 2003 and 2005 car will let you know.

There were no major changes to the MCS - biggest change was the gearbox on the Cooper and One. There are a few cosmetic changes between the two.

There are a couple of issues

1) Power steering pump. TBH you cannot test or tell whether it will fail. All Minis of that generation have a distinctive whine. It would be good to know if it has been replaced though.
2) Airbag lights have a habit of coming on - usually linked to the connection under the passenger seat. On mine it would have cost £150 to put right, but mine failed under warranty.
3) Supercharger can need replacing at higher mileages - again no real way of testing/ finding out.

The runflat tyres can cost a bit to replace - so check how far they are from needing replacement. You can replace with non-run flats which will improve the ride.

There are probably things I have missed - but most other stuff should just be the normal things to check when buying a car. Also the issues I have written about do not effect all cars - and in general they are pretty reliable!

Have fun looking


Mike

[Justin S]

Look out for sump leaking . Its £20 gasket which we have just done and a couple of hours labour.
I did a search on our cars previous MOT's and nearly every one had advisories on bulging run flats or cuts etc. Also in the receipts was lots of replacement tyres, so definately one to look at. We have ditched them for standard tyres, not just because of ' better handling' but also cheaper to replace.
Just had the idlers done and tensioner arm on the aux belt. So 70 k miles is a life for them, so it seems.
Brake discs seem to go quick to, so worth a check and also wheel bearings.
As said before power steering pumps too.
Dont worry too much about the issues. There is many plus's that outweigh the minus's.

[darren9]

Thread hijack but my dads going to look at a 2004 cooper S JCW at the weekend anything in particular we should be looking at for the JCW?

[mike9009]

I have owned new Minis since 2002, and I don't recall any particular issues with the JCW over the regular Cooper S. So what has been stated in this thread stands for the JCW too and there are no further issues I am aware of.

HTH

Mike

[darren9]

Thanks what's the difference between a normal cooper S and a JCW? The car he's going to look at looks to have a different body kit and bucket style seats, is the JCW just body mods or is there anything under the bonnet/suspension changes?

[mike9009]

Completely from memory

Power up from approx 170bhp to 210 bhp, some styling differences and slightly stiffer/ lower suspension. Someone far more knowledgable will correct all my mistakes

Mike

[Justin S]

Supercharged JCW's is mainly engine work. Could be fitted at a local dealership after purchase. Different head, different supercharger, different exhaust. Badges and a few bits ( optional airbox). The bodykit is probably the aero package, which I believe was just an option. You could get better brakes as well if you specced it. All options as such.

[darren9]

Thanks. At least we have some idea now.

[Mike 402]

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

We bought a 54 plate MCS yesterday in Grey with 33k. Really good condition and fully specc'd. Pick it up on Wednesday.

Thanks again