2002 MINI Cooper - cheap, should I?

Hello again,

Well the E46 I wanted is gone or is on it's way to a new owner so a trusted local used car dealer just got an '02 MINI Cooper in as a trade. Here's the info I have, Original owner, 162,000kms - Here's the interesting part: New crate engine installed at 79,000km due to hydro lock of the original motor. Owner was stuck over a man hole cover and water came up through the cover and motor seized. City paid for insurance claim and MINI dealer installed new engine. So ideally the motor only has 80,000 ish km's on it. No water got in the cabin. Just took it for a spin and it runs really well, brakes are good and suspension is tight. Exhaust rattles and airbag and tire sensor lights are on (should be an easy fix). Shifts well and clutch has good bite. Also found oil under the engine under the passenger side. I'm going to take it to my mechanic tomorrow to check it out. I've always wanted one of these and at $3500 it's seems like a good deal. I know parts aren't cheap but these days there are lots at the wreckers, so cheaper parts are possible. Has some slight rust on hatch and below one of the rear tail lights. The rest of the body is good. Needs a good buff and clean up. This will be a daily driver/winter car. As always your input is muchly appreciated.

Thanks Glenn

$3500 is indeed a pretty good deal. 2002 is the first year though and by far the most problematic from my understanding. If it has the panoramic sunroof, expect electrical problems down the road (they leak internally).

SlickDizzy wrote: $3500 is indeed a pretty good deal. 2002 is the first year though and by far the most problematic from my understanding. If it has the panoramic sunroof, expect electrical problems down the road (they leak internally).

No Sunroof, which I like as I've heard the same thing. More room for my helmet.

Um- over a manhole and it hydrolocked? The intake on these isn't THAT low. I'd be extremely concerned about other water damage. That is dang cheap though.

The air intake is at the top of the motor. Hydrolocked sounds odd but whatever. There were issues with the tranny as well. The CVT for sure but I think the manual 5 speed had issues as well.

Purchase price is low but it is a BMW after all...

amg_rx7 wrote: The air intake is at the top of the motor. Hydrolocked sounds odd but whatever. There were issues with the tranny as well. The CVT for sure but I think the manual 5 speed had issues as well. Purchase price is low but it is a BMW after all...

I know the whole hydro lock thing sounds fishy (see what I did there). There is a receipt in the glove for $11k for the repair. I will read it properly tomorrow.

I wouldn't worry too much about water damage that may have happened over 80000 kilometres ago

Yes, the Midlands 5 spd in the early Coopers has a history of being problematic - to the point where MINI changed to a Getrag version towards the end of the R50 production.

Oil leaks on the passenger side is relatively normal for the Tritec engine. MINI's really show their British roots there. The valve covers leak as well as the oil filter housing among other areas. I've yet to work on any Tritec (a dozen or so over the years since new) that didn't leak oil to some extent.

Fun cars... but they are both British and German... with good and bad attributes from both sides...

Took the MINI to my mechanic today, he said truthfully it's going to require a fair amount of work and expense to get it back in order. I knew already parts for these cars are expensive but the price was tempting. I'll keep looking... Thanks for everyone's input.

In reply to rustysteel:

Good idea. That airbag light was a deal breaker for me. It is very expensive fix requiring a new passenger seat bottom. The oil leak repairs are pretty labour intensive as well.

One of my MINI friends just picked up a '03 Cooper S for $750. Needs a clutch (he owns a Euro shop, so easy fix for him), but said it's otherwise pretty clean... Damn...

Ian F wrote: One of my MINI friends just picked up a '03 Cooper S for $750. Needs a clutch (he owns a Euro shop, so easy fix for him), but said it's otherwise pretty clean... Damn...

Now that sounds like a great deal, and it's an S no less. Nice.

wtf? how does someone find a car like that for that price

In reply to kanaric:

He owns/runs a German car repair shop in a somewhat wealthy area. The nearest MINI dealer is on the other side of NJ, so he does quite a bit of service on them. I didn't get details, but it's likely the car belonged to one of his regular customers and the clutch may have been the "last straw" and the customer didn't want to deal with it and blurted out the first number that popped into their head.

Oh, how about seven hundred and fiILL TAKE IT SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY RIGHT NOW!