My new Cooper S

[turbolucy]

After owning 4 <£1k cars since I got my license, I thought it was high time to buy a nice car, one that is fun yet reliable. Here is my new 2002 Mini Cooper S -





Xenons
Full black leather
Full panoramic sunroof
Chilli pack

I'm in love

Next steps - I'm having the wheels refurbed by a friend and he wants to paint them white, but I'm not so sure. Also bought some clay and going to give it a good detail once my exams are over.

• * UPDATE PICS ***

A new sticker!



Shiny after spending half a day claying/polishing/waxing/beautifying!



My loves of my life

Edited by turbolucy on Sunday 18th July 00:28

UPDATE - April 2012 - To possibly help those with similar problems with their cars...

I've now owned the car for nearly two years. It has been brilliant! Can't fault the Cooper S for what it is, at all. The only problems I've had:

* I had a new clutch put on it 6 months ago, as the release bearing was rattling, and although the clutch worked perfectly, I had planned to sell the car and thought I'd change the clutch to stop buyers being put off.

• Coming up to traffic lights, I couldn't get the gearstick to select a gear, so had to get towed - this ended up being a pipe that had burst from rubbing on the gearbox over time. £150 to get that sorted, included getting towed to the garage.

• In the coldest bit of Winter, the car wouldn't start. AA came out, said the battery was fine (although it was the original 2002 factory battery!) but the problem recurred so I spent £45 on a new Bosch battery. Job sorted.

• Around the same time as the battery problem, the car started having odd electrical problems. It would lock then unlock itself when using the fob, the headlights would not come on straight away when you turned the switch, and the indicator display would flash randomly. It never indicated inappropriately outside the car, so I lived with it for a while. The problem went away when I had a new battery, but then came back about a month later. Apparently the BC1, which is an ECU behind the bonnet pull in the driver's footwell, can get water in and cause these problems. It was a dealer recall on earlier (2001) MINIs, they fitted a cover over the top of it to stop water getting onto it. The dealers no longer stock the BC1 covers, but eBay came up with one for £7. Problem sorted.

I've finally put my old S-Spokes on, after having 15'' Cooper wheels on for most of the time I've owned the car! I bought 4 brand new Falken ZE 912s - she now looks the part. Next stop is to replace the factory spotlights on the front with Wipac stainless steel ones as the original ones are rusting.

Edited by turbolucie on Saturday 7th April 09:54

[Uwe Seeler]

Very nice. But I had to look at your username to make sure you were a girl!!!!

[iggletiggle]

Nice car ..

Theres something about a MCS in Red.. just looks right! Love the extra lights on the grill too!

Well done!

[deevlash]

Id get the wheels done in white on that particular car

[Defcon5]

Nice. How much was it out of interest? The missus wants one

[turbolucy]

iggletiggle said:

Nice car ..

Theres something about a MCS in Red.. just looks right! Love the extra lights on the grill too!

Well done!

Thanks...I really wanted a grey one but this came up and even though I don't like red usually, I've come to like it, and it's a good car for the price, I think.

[iggletiggle]

turbolucy said:

iggletiggle said:

Nice car ..

Theres something about a MCS in Red.. just looks right! Love the extra lights on the grill too!

Well done!

Thanks...I really wanted a grey one but this came up and even though I don't like red usually, I've come to like it, and it's a good car for the price, I think.

Yeah, i dont often like red tbh but Mini's always look good in red with white roof/mirrors

Also the pan roof is a great option - summer with the roof down and blasting a b road is awesome!

Enjoy it!

[Waugh-terfall]

Some white wheels and some white stripes would set that off nicely!

Nice choice!

ETA: Oh, and, shouldn't it be 'SuperchargedLucy' ?

Edited by Waugh-terfall on Friday 9th July 18:02

[Mini_Lund]

A friend of mine has just bought one, having owned numerous Ka's. Its not an S, but still a Cooper. Shes really pleased with hers, she has white wheels. It does look good, I think you should do it!

[turbolucy]

Waugh-terfall said:

Some white wheels and some white stripes would set that off nicely!

Nice choice!

ETA: Oh, and, shouldn't it be 'SuperchargedLucy' ?

Edited by Waugh-terfall on Friday 9th July 18:02

I know! I only just changed my name to turbolucy due to my love of turbo power, then go and buy a bloody supercharged car!

[gareth.e]

Was about to call you gay until I saw your profile

And I think white wheels would set it off well

[Rob_F]

Lovely car, but I deffo wouldn't go for the white wheels. Look ok when completely clean but if they're at all dirty or worn they tend to look quite cheap IMHO.

[russy01]

Nice little cars, having owned a one d, my other half has got her r53 mcs, in grey with the aero kit.

Great fun little cars, goes well plus handles like a treat.

Good effort, enjoy it!!

[anonymous-user]

nice car, dont bother re doing those wheels they weight a tonne and you can get good money for them second hand

get yourself on minitorque.com too

[turbolucie]

Update - got these Cooper wheels for the snow and still got them on! Much worse grip on normal roads but were a godsend in the snow. I think they look pretty cute too.

Looking to sell it in the next few months anyhow, I'm after something a bit more economical.

[steveyt88]

Stick some decent tyres on and they'll probably be better than the S Spokes you had on. The weigh much less which helps turn-in and also helps the ride a bit.

I've just switched from S Spokes to OZ Ultraleggera over the weekend and the difference is massive.

[turbolucie]

What would you say are decent tyres? It's got Pirelli 3000s on at the moment.

[pist nbroke]

turbolucie said:

Update - got these Cooper wheels for the snow and still got them on! Much worse grip on normal roads but were a godsend in the snow. I think they look pretty cute too.

Looking to sell it in the next few months anyhow, I'm after something a bit more economical.

So what you going to buy?

Saying your going to buy something more economical sounds a bit boring to me.
Expand and increase your carbon footprint, it's the way forward!

[steveyt88]

turbolucie said:

What would you say are decent tyres? It's got Pirelli 3000s on at the moment.

Depends on your budget really. I've used:

-Uniroyal Rainsport, outstanding in the wet, decent in the dry.
-Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3s, great in the dry, ok in the wet
-Falken FK452 (fronts only), seem ok at the moment but haven't had chance to push them either. Will also feel completely different as they are fitted to the new wheels I've fitted.

[steveyt88]

Oh, if you sell the Pepperpot wheels seperate to the car I could be interested...

Just saying