(Cheap) MINI Cooper S convertible R52
Discussion
I sold my last car (an R8) before working abroad for some time. Now that I’m back I want to replace the R8 with something special, but a new job means the occasional commute, so I wanted to get a cheap-ish daily driver asap.
Criteria was for something sub 3k, not boring, ideally a convertible, and back seats so our 2 year old can enjoy the car as well.
A MINI seemed like a good choice and I’m already a fan of them having had 3 different ones before! Living at the end of Cornwall meant options were few and far between, but Facebook marketplace showed this car; 2004, 77k miles, some nice options (heated seats and cruise control) and FSH. It is tatty in places (interior is tired and the wheels are kerbed everywhere) but seems mechanically ok… I don’t want to jinx things. I paid £2150 which I think gives a lot of car for the money. Haven’t driven it too far yet as a nail has ended up in one of the tyres on day 2 of ownership! I hope it can be repaired!
Best thing so far is how much my daughter loves the car with the roof off, so hopefully it has been money well spent!
Criteria was for something sub 3k, not boring, ideally a convertible, and back seats so our 2 year old can enjoy the car as well.
A MINI seemed like a good choice and I’m already a fan of them having had 3 different ones before! Living at the end of Cornwall meant options were few and far between, but Facebook marketplace showed this car; 2004, 77k miles, some nice options (heated seats and cruise control) and FSH. It is tatty in places (interior is tired and the wheels are kerbed everywhere) but seems mechanically ok… I don’t want to jinx things. I paid £2150 which I think gives a lot of car for the money. Haven’t driven it too far yet as a nail has ended up in one of the tyres on day 2 of ownership! I hope it can be repaired!
Best thing so far is how much my daughter loves the car with the roof off, so hopefully it has been money well spent!
Not the most successful day of ownership so far… a totally flat tyre with a nail in it (luckily a repair and not replacement) and more worryingly, after a longish drive the idle got lumpy and it nearly stalled. This is something I’ll need to look at as it needs to be a reliable commuter.
ollyh1988 said:
Not the most successful day of ownership so far… a totally flat tyre with a nail in it (luckily a repair and not replacement) and more worryingly, after a longish drive the idle got lumpy and it nearly stalled. This is something I’ll need to look at as it needs to be a reliable commuter.
We spent £3k on a 05 Cooper S for the Mrs as a commuter car. We have had it a year now and its been reliable... ish! *shock* - You seem to have done well with this one.They all have oil leaks apparently but ours doesnt.. we did change the chain tenioner when the car started to started to sound like a tapping timebomb though, the death rattle is very noticedable, but the engines do sound tappy by design.
Ours does the rev hunting every now and then, could probably cleaning the MAP / MAF sensors but it doesnt matter, with it being a short communter car.
Its a little rough around the edgers but mechincally its a sorted and fun little steer.
Theres loads of guides out there for common problems. Now its summer, check the cooling fans work, as overheating can be a problem on these.
Edited by Martin_Hx on Tuesday 6th June 15:31
crofty1984 said:
Watch the camchain tensioner on these. I think you can get a better retrofit unit to prevent the famous "death rattle".
Crofty you must be thinking of the gen 2 R56 Cooper S with the made from chocolate turbocharged Pug/BMW engine. These Chrysler engines are pretty bombproof in the first generation model.chrisch77 said:
crofty1984 said:
Watch the camchain tensioner on these. I think you can get a better retrofit unit to prevent the famous "death rattle".
Crofty you must be thinking of the gen 2 R56 Cooper S with the made from chocolate turbocharged Pug/BMW engine. These Chrysler engines are pretty bombproof in the first generation model.ollyh1988 said:
Criteria was for something sub 3k, not boring, ideally a convertible, and back seats so our 2 year old can enjoy the car as well.
....
Best thing so far is how much my daughter loves the car with the roof off, so hopefully it has been money well spent!
Damn, I was considering the same type of vehicle with a similar budget but bottled it as don't know enough about MINI's even though I've enjoyed the ones I have driven. But the thought of my wee one around the same age squealing with delight at roof down is possibly going to leave me regretting my eventual choice!....
Best thing so far is how much my daughter loves the car with the roof off, so hopefully it has been money well spent!
Car looks great, hopefully you get to the back of initial teething troubles and get great enjoyment out of it.
Edited by beambeam1 on Monday 19th June 03:06
About 250 miles driven so far and no major problems to report. However I have a 6 hour journey in it later so fingers crossed the car stays happy!
This is my 4th MINI and it wasn’t until I’d looked at this end of the market that I’d seen all the forum posts about issues with them. They do seem to have a bit of a reputation - which is probably why it feels like a lot of car for the price.
My daughter continues to love it and always asks to go in this car, so that still makes it all worth it.
I wet-vac’d the interior carpets and the brown water that collected in the tank was disgusting. When I have more time I plan to take the seats out and really tackle the interior as that is what will make the biggest cosmetic change with this car. I’ll think about sorting some of the scratches later, but it sort of defeats the point of having a ‘cheap’ car if I have to spend lots of money on it!
And finally, the even though it is a bigger car than an original Mini, it can still look quite small!
This is my 4th MINI and it wasn’t until I’d looked at this end of the market that I’d seen all the forum posts about issues with them. They do seem to have a bit of a reputation - which is probably why it feels like a lot of car for the price.
My daughter continues to love it and always asks to go in this car, so that still makes it all worth it.
I wet-vac’d the interior carpets and the brown water that collected in the tank was disgusting. When I have more time I plan to take the seats out and really tackle the interior as that is what will make the biggest cosmetic change with this car. I’ll think about sorting some of the scratches later, but it sort of defeats the point of having a ‘cheap’ car if I have to spend lots of money on it!
And finally, the even though it is a bigger car than an original Mini, it can still look quite small!
Great stuff OP.
The only problem with daughters enjoying soft-tops is that it can lead to how we found ourselves on Saturday afternoon - looking at a One convertible! She's approaching 17 and loves convertibles, thanks to my Boxster and the NC MX5 I had a few years ago.
My old man's going to give her his tin-top R56 Cooper, but we couldn't resist nipping over to see what looked like a bargain MINI soft-top. Of course, it turned out not to be such a bargain so we walked away and it's back to plan A.
The only problem with daughters enjoying soft-tops is that it can lead to how we found ourselves on Saturday afternoon - looking at a One convertible! She's approaching 17 and loves convertibles, thanks to my Boxster and the NC MX5 I had a few years ago.
My old man's going to give her his tin-top R56 Cooper, but we couldn't resist nipping over to see what looked like a bargain MINI soft-top. Of course, it turned out not to be such a bargain so we walked away and it's back to plan A.
Well, the car made it, but it wasn’t a smooth journey.
About 3 hours in (halfway) the low pressure warning light came on. A quick check of the tyres showed one of the backs was lower (27 vs 35 psi). Luckily re-inflating to the correct pressure saw it get me to the end of the journey. It might be a slow leak. This is frustrating after the flat tyre I had on day 2 of ownership.
Finally, the back box needs replacing. It keeps spitting out the wadding and leaving a tail behind the car. As it is coming out of both exhaust pipes it needs doing sooner rather than later
Otherwise, over 250 miles done in one go and an average of 30.7 mpg - not bad as it was roof down for most of it and on motorway etc.
About 3 hours in (halfway) the low pressure warning light came on. A quick check of the tyres showed one of the backs was lower (27 vs 35 psi). Luckily re-inflating to the correct pressure saw it get me to the end of the journey. It might be a slow leak. This is frustrating after the flat tyre I had on day 2 of ownership.
Finally, the back box needs replacing. It keeps spitting out the wadding and leaving a tail behind the car. As it is coming out of both exhaust pipes it needs doing sooner rather than later
Otherwise, over 250 miles done in one go and an average of 30.7 mpg - not bad as it was roof down for most of it and on motorway etc.
Roof issue today. Tried putting it down but only the ‘sunroof’ section opened. The boot had been totally full when I did the long drive in the car and I hadn’t had the roof down since, so hoped it was something to do with that. After taking the seats down and having a good look in the boot, it turned out I had knocked the parcel shelf upwards and this meant it wasn’t pressing on the button/sensor in the boot, meaning it wouldn’t work.
I need to get the back-box replaced as it is making an awful noise and there is even more wadding coming out. The car sounds ‘rough’ but I’m associating that with the back box… I need to decide if I go for an OEM back box, or the local specialist has a Miltek exhaust he can fit for not much more. I’m tempted to go with that, but will need to speak to insurer tomorrow to see how much that would bump the price up by!
I need to get the back-box replaced as it is making an awful noise and there is even more wadding coming out. The car sounds ‘rough’ but I’m associating that with the back box… I need to decide if I go for an OEM back box, or the local specialist has a Miltek exhaust he can fit for not much more. I’m tempted to go with that, but will need to speak to insurer tomorrow to see how much that would bump the price up by!
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