Yesterday I picked up this 2003 Mini Cooper S from a friend of a friend. It has been sitting in a field for a few years and because of this it has numerous issues. The car has 141k miles on it and runs but one of those numerous issues is the electronic throttle not working so I have only idled around my dead end street. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet but with it being free even if I scrap it I'll make a little money.
The issues:
- numerous electrical issues, both driver and passenger footwells have moisture in them and this has caused several problems. The aforementioned electronic throttle issue, the tach doesn't work, ABS.ACS doesn't work, and it is throwing 12 codes. Worse part is someone started ripping into the driver side footwell to try to find the issue and it is a rat's nest down there.
- exhaust is missing after the cat, found a cheapy exhaust on eBay so not too worried there
- forward O2 sensor is missing and the wires have been cut
- no brakes, major brake leak judging by the puddle under the car after I tried stopping the car when it was rolling off my trailer.
- transmission does not shift into the lower gears, will only shift into R, 1, 3, 5 and even then it is extremely hard. I am guessing this is just a result of sitting in the field.
- a few missing trim pieces although they are sitting in the car
- heavy dent in rear hatch
- small dent but it is at the edge of the driver's door
- rust starting under the driver side rear light
- missing front lower air dam- again, found this cheap on eBay too
- carpet is shot (don't care too much about this one)
- seats are shot
- driver side window works only sometimes
The good:
- it runs
- the the lights work (headlights, taillights, hazards, all work)
- the sunroof opens and closes
- the radio works
- glass is all good
- rest of the car is mostly rust free
- ummm, that's about it other than it was freee and I love the look of these Mini's (as does my wife which is a plus)
I haven't even gotten it in the air yet to look further at the car, I will make my decision after I do that either today or tomorrow. That is if I can get it up my driveway which is a hill and get it stopped before I crash through the backside of the garage. I think I may pull the seats and carpet and investigate the electrical issues further. I would love all of your opinions on what to do as well though. For me, I am much more comfortable tackling mechanical issues vs. electrical issues. I am a bit lost as to where to start really, I plan to just look for borken wires, corroded connectors, etc and hope I get lucky.
You can see the streak of brake fluid on the ground from where I tried to stop when coming off the trailer.
