So I’ve inherited a deferred maintenance 04 Mini Cooper S...

In reply to Ian F :

Headlight connector, trunk latch, parking brake cables (this is want is needed for inspection), various broken body pieces.

And that’s just from looking at it.

Coincidentally, I learned that putting a clutch in one of those things can cost $4k at a shop.  It's a ton of labor and you end up doing a lot of 'while i'm in there' jobs.

I was at my local Anything-Euro-but-we-like-BMWs shop one day and an early Cooper S was on the lift.  I noticed a little fan behind the block, pointed up.  "What's this?"  "Oh, *that* is to keep the power steering pump cool.  Until a bag gets sucked into it, causing the pump to overheat and fail."  "Huh, you'd think the oil pouring all over it would keep it cool enough."

My wife bought a new Cooper S 'vert a few months ago anyway.  They're pretty fun when they're not your problem.

In reply to Ranger50 :

How is it that you got stuck with a car with a car loan on it?  I'd think that if you didn't sign for the loan, you could just decline to accept them from the estate...

wait, hol up. There's someone that has a loan on a 1998 Buick? 

Maybe the 1998 Buick was collateral for the Mini.

In reply to noddaz :

Having owned a Mini- at least from a reliability perspective I'd rather have the Buick. 

In reply to Mndsm :

I think it was a sub 3k loan and included both vehicles. Bank said both have to be used as collateral for each other.

In reply to docwyte :

Well it’s not in my name but the cousin needs transportation to work so we don’t have to do it ourselves.

Ranger50 said:

In reply to Mndsm :

I think it was a sub 3k loan and included both vehicles. Bank said both have to be used as collateral for each other.

That must have been a personal loan of some sort- bizarre circumstances. HOWEVER- having been broke as berkeley and in need of a ride before, I know what this is about. 

On a more constructive note- the MINI isn't THAT hard to work on, as long as the majors are covered. Expect to find a sump oil leak, sketchy electrical if it has a sunroof, and a supercharger on its way out. I think it was the 05 that got the updated trans that wasn't as problematic, though I'll freely admit mine needed a clutch (thank GOD the trans was already out of the car for warranty work and they only charged me parts) at 80k. Plus, when they are working, they're a riot. Be aware of mushroomed strut tops in the front, that will eat your tires to death, and they're already really hard on tires. 

Ranger50 said:

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Number 2.

I'd love to dump this for something else but that loan consists of this Mini and a 98 Buick lesabre, that’s actually the better vehicle. So I have to make this pos work.

Build the world's first 3800 swapped Mini? 

In reply to Ranger50 :

Um, what?  I don't understand.  If the cousin needs transportation, than how is this your problem?  Other than being a nice guy and helping them out with doing the work?  Or am I misunderstanding and the cousin has the loan and not you?

Ranger50 said:

In reply to Ian F :

Headlight connector, trunk latch, parking brake cables (this is want is needed for inspection), various broken body pieces.

And that’s just from looking at it.

Oh yeah... those will be fun.  Use RealOEM to get part numbers and plug them into the Pelican website.  The trunk latch may take some diagnostics to figure out what is actually broken.  

In reply to docwyte :

Because we all work some sort of night shift. This just started out as a “needing a new bulb”, but just looking at that makes me point to this and that needing some kind of work.

Loan isn’t mine, but I hate seeing decent people screwed over on crappy cars that don’t have any resale value. Which their parents are very good at doing.

I've got an '03 Cooper S and it isn't a Korean car, so you have to do some stuff that will tick you off. BUT, it is a fun car, so there are some offsets. My MINI specialist can do the E-brake cables in 45 minutes (way less than book). The supercharger can be serviced at home if you're handy. I  had mine done just before it would have berkleyed the motor. It should almost be done as preventative maintenance because it's the gears between the supercharger and water pump that fail and allow the engine to overheat. The transmissions in the "S" are fine, it's the Midland trans in the regular Cooper than is made of glass. The power steering fan just needs to be checked occasionally to be sure it's free spinning. Dealer parts and labour pricing will cause cardiac arrest, so use Rock Auto. I actually supplied a Rock Auto A/C compressor to the dealer last year after they gave me their parts price.

Edit: My car has been through 16 Michigan winters and is till in pretty decent shape.

Trim pieces on MINIs seem to break often.  My fender flares are all glued together and stuck back on at low $$.  The front valence and fender liners are all suffering from low object hits like an unfortunate raccoon and ice chunks.  I put them back together with JB Weld and tuck tape.  

Supercharger should be serviced at 100k or time,  sounds like yours is due.  Not a fun job to do as favour.

I bet there is a whole lot of expensive suspension components in need of replacement.  Not absolutely necessary I suppose.  I also wager than there are at minimum 3 sources of engine oil leaks currently active.  The PS fan will be crap unless already replaced and the PS hoses will be leaking.  The coolant reservoir and thermostat and its housing will also be done for if not already replaced.  The crank pulley will be cracked and ready to explode.  Is the exhaust rotten? I am assuming this car has negative value even to a GRM type DIYer.