Bangernomics Cooper S
Discussion
Hi All
I've been looking for something relatively cheap and fun to whizz to work in and a Mini Cooper S (2006 on wards due to cheaper tax) looks like it would fit the bill. Cant believe I didn't think of it sooner.
Budget is 3K max, so itll be a higher mileage car - manual.
What do I need to look for other than the usual tyre condition, brake condition, good history? What goes wrong on these things - what things will the Mini forums tell me to look out for? What are the must have options? What about cambelt.
Many questions, any experiences welcome
Just spotted the buyers guides! Still open to opinion though
I've been looking for something relatively cheap and fun to whizz to work in and a Mini Cooper S (2006 on wards due to cheaper tax) looks like it would fit the bill. Cant believe I didn't think of it sooner.
Budget is 3K max, so itll be a higher mileage car - manual.
What do I need to look for other than the usual tyre condition, brake condition, good history? What goes wrong on these things - what things will the Mini forums tell me to look out for? What are the must have options? What about cambelt.
Many questions, any experiences welcome
Just spotted the buyers guides! Still open to opinion though
Edited by 8-P on Friday 8th November 08:58
Having recently done something similar you will find that you can soon spend a lot of money. I bought a 2003 Cooper S back in March for £1000. Fortunately I knew what I was getting into and spotted 90% of what needed replacing before I bought the car. My budget was £3500 including the purchase price of the car.
They are old cars now and so you find all the normal stuff which cars need replacing when they get 16 years old also now needs replacing. Most of these will be on around 100,000 miles now also and due to the low value, owners do tend to neglect things such as the supercharger service, as the labour costs involved mean a hefty bill.
However, if you are handy with spanners, pretty much everything can be done DIY.
On mine I started by doing the supercharger service. I also had to replace the radiator as that was rotten. Whilst the charger was off I fitted a smaller pulley, new drive belt & colder spark plugs. And whilst it was off I fitted a new waterpump as its easy to do when charger is off. Next was oil, oil filter, pollen filter & air filter. All easy items to do. Gearbox oil had never been changed so I did that alongside the fuel filter which had also never been changed. (Both are classed as "lifetime components" by BMW).
The front lower wishbone bushes were worn out so I dropped the subframe and changed them, along with inner & outer ball joints as they are easy to access. Whilst the subframe was off, I took the gearbox off and changed the clutch as that was slipping. Replaced the exhaust manifold as that was blowing. The car had a mushroomed strut tower and damaged top mounts and the shocks were past their best, so I replaced them with AP Coilovers & adjustable top mounts. The bakes needed replacing, so I took the opportunity to replace them with R56S bigger brakes - off the shelf from ECP etc. Some new brake hoses & lines needed replacing due to rust. One CV joint was shot so I replaced that.
All in, I reached the £3500 budget pretty quickly. The clutch was something I hadnt factored in as it wasnt slipping when I first got the car. That was £300 (£60 for 3 piece clutch and £220 for the flywheel). But the advantage now is that the car drives like new. And if all these bits lasted 100,000 miles and 16 years theres no reason they shouldnt last that long again.
They are old cars now and so you find all the normal stuff which cars need replacing when they get 16 years old also now needs replacing. Most of these will be on around 100,000 miles now also and due to the low value, owners do tend to neglect things such as the supercharger service, as the labour costs involved mean a hefty bill.
However, if you are handy with spanners, pretty much everything can be done DIY.
On mine I started by doing the supercharger service. I also had to replace the radiator as that was rotten. Whilst the charger was off I fitted a smaller pulley, new drive belt & colder spark plugs. And whilst it was off I fitted a new waterpump as its easy to do when charger is off. Next was oil, oil filter, pollen filter & air filter. All easy items to do. Gearbox oil had never been changed so I did that alongside the fuel filter which had also never been changed. (Both are classed as "lifetime components" by BMW).
The front lower wishbone bushes were worn out so I dropped the subframe and changed them, along with inner & outer ball joints as they are easy to access. Whilst the subframe was off, I took the gearbox off and changed the clutch as that was slipping. Replaced the exhaust manifold as that was blowing. The car had a mushroomed strut tower and damaged top mounts and the shocks were past their best, so I replaced them with AP Coilovers & adjustable top mounts. The bakes needed replacing, so I took the opportunity to replace them with R56S bigger brakes - off the shelf from ECP etc. Some new brake hoses & lines needed replacing due to rust. One CV joint was shot so I replaced that.
All in, I reached the £3500 budget pretty quickly. The clutch was something I hadnt factored in as it wasnt slipping when I first got the car. That was £300 (£60 for 3 piece clutch and £220 for the flywheel). But the advantage now is that the car drives like new. And if all these bits lasted 100,000 miles and 16 years theres no reason they shouldnt last that long again.
Edited by rabbitstew on Monday 18th November 11:57
As others have said defo go for the R53 out of the two cars. They are cheap now but some examples have not been looked after.
For little money they can be made into a few quick car. Only issue I had with mine is space is limited, so labour can be expense when changing bushes as you need to drop the subframe. If you do get one make sure the clutch has been changed as its expense to get changed.
Loads of cars about so you can be picky.
For little money they can be made into a few quick car. Only issue I had with mine is space is limited, so labour can be expense when changing bushes as you need to drop the subframe. If you do get one make sure the clutch has been changed as its expense to get changed.
Loads of cars about so you can be picky.
Is here in the country are you? I’ve got a 2005 Cooper S that I’m thinking of selling if your interested? 69k on clock and usual extras as expected plus the chrono pack ( makes dash look loads better ). FSH also - and had 15% pulley and cold plugs done since I’ve owned it.
PM for more details.
PM for more details.
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