stripping and changing a door on R56 - how hard?

[Harleyboy]

Hi, I've just bought an 08 MINI One. It was cheap (well, I think it was!) but one glaring issue is a poorly painted (and no doubt filled) drivers door. The colour match is off and the finish is flat. It's a cheap car for my daughter to have at Uni and she's not bothered but I have found a replacement door in the same colour (Mellow Yellow) for £50. Its just the door though so I'd have to remove everything from the current door and swap it over.

My question is - how hard is this to do for a just competent DIY-er? I've got the tools and the space but the only doors I've stripped recently were on my 91 Range Rover which is a lot more basic?

Further question is that I presume I'd need to change handle to keep the original lock in case the remote locking fails? Is this integral to the handle (the door I've found has a handle on it but nothing else).

Or do I just not bother and run it as it is?

Car has 96,000 and a clean MOT history but no service history so it will at the very least get an oil change. It had a recent health check at the local garage and almost everything was green. It had a replacement belt (not sure which one though) and oil top up. air con needs a re-gas (don't they all - LOL). Drives well though

Cheers

Cheers

[Big_Dog]

I did an 06 convertible. Was pretty easy. They are a bit heavy but sat on the hinge pin lovely. Door open and closed with no hinge adjustment needed. The window has a bit of a trick to it but all in all easy.
As you can see I am super tidy and organised.

[Pastor Of Muppets]

Easy enough job on a Mini, the glass is simple to remove, as is the regulator, then just undo all the wiring inside the door and feed it out where
it enters by the hinges, the lock is in 3 parts, the latching mechanism, the handle, and the lock itself, nothing overy complicated to remove,
attaching the cables back onto it can be a bit of a mission at times.

Have you tried giving the door a buff with compound?, it might come up ok with just a good polish.

[Harleyboy]

Thanks for the replies. I thought about buffing it and it would be loads easier (I don’t have the stuff though).

Might be worth giving that a go first but doesn’t sound swapping it all out is that hard

Here’s a pic of the door…

[Harleyboy]

Big_Dog said:

I did an 06 convertible. Was pretty easy. They are a bit heavy but sat on the hinge pin lovely. Door open and closed with no hinge adjustment needed. The window has a bit of a trick to it but all in all easy.
As you can see I am super tidy and organised.

that looks a bit like my garage! Old Range Rover, kids uni stuff, lots of bikes and the usual bits of wood that I keep because it might be useful one day

[Pastor Of Muppets]

That door has definitely been painted a different shade, If you go the route of getting another door you should match it against the
car before buying it, the chances of an exact match isn't great but you might be lucky.

[Harleyboy]

yep, it's a really crappy DIY job I think. Overspray on the sill cover so obviously done in situ. I'm hoping a Mellow Yellow door from the same year would at least be closer than this one!