Bolksey85 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I got mine with ~45K and traded it with maybe 66K. In that time, I put brakes on all 4 corners, new plugs within 2 days of me getting it, new air filter, bunch of oil changes, and had the trans serviced. That was it. I had 1 CEL come one when I was sitting at a light. It shook a little then stopped. I look down and the light is on. Went from there and immediately checked it. Cylinder misfire. Wait, I just got gas. Bad batch in the tank. Cleared it, it went away. I bought some Red Line fuel treatment and the next fill up, I dumped it in. Never ran better. Got an average of 29.3MPG combined. With the history that car has, you should be safe and happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 I checked with the dealer that owned the car prior to selling it. It was a fleet vehicle for a company that has a large fleet of Minis. He said while the vehicles were under warranty they were serviced dead on when they were supposed to. Afterwards the company went with a Firestone contract and he wasn't able to pull up those service records. The Mini had the driver's CV axle replaced because it was clunking, the thermostat housing (sprung a leak) and something else that I'm forgetting about. I can't make it out there until the Friday of next week and I'm hoping that I'll be able to find at least two other Minis in the area in case this deal falls through. The guy offered to take a deposit and hold the car but I'm reticent to do that, I don't want to feel obligated in anyway. He admitted to having it on the lot for a month now, people are put off by the high miles I guess. Will go check with the credit union today to get the check in hand and ready for the deal, they've got some great rates too at 4.2% for 5 and 6 year loans. I'm more excited about the prospect of getting a Mini a lot more than my wife is I think there will be some arguments at first over who gets to drive it She's driven my LGT only once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Here's what you do if you get it. Fill it up with gas, go out for a good long drive, find some twisting back roads and have some near go-kart like fun.;)After a little bit of stock suspension fun, get some cheap, light wheels and a rear sway bar and be even more amazed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Will do! The drive back home ought to be long enough (400 miles). Alas, boring as well, unless I engage in darting from lane to lane shenanigans I HATE WAITING. I want to go this week-end and check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 Our Focus finally sold today, so we are good to go on starting to look for a Mini now, for real. It's a good thing we didn't just buy one before we sold our Ford, we'd have ended up double-paying on everything for all this time. If anyone spots a Mini in good condition, 2005+, automatic (wife's car, so ...) NA or S (I prefer S), no more than $13,500, definitely let us know. We're checking out every site like vultures now. I'd rather have an 05 MCS with 60+K miles than an 06 MC with 20K miles for 13 grand; you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHiway Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Here's a suggestion. Join the Mini forum and see if issues / problems crop up with cars that have ~ 80 K miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 I'm already on the North American Motoring forums. I've heard conflicting details on the CVT. The consensus is that one should probably stay away from Minis older than 2004, regardless if MC or MCS. There's been a good amount of CVTs that failed in those years and I read that the issues were squared away on the newer vehicles (the MCS does NOT have a CVT, but a 6-speed autos, but there were other issues on the MCS as well). Well, come to read on another site that the MC essentially has the same CVT, they did not change the mechanics of it whatsoever and a potential reason for less failures reported is that 2005s or newer do not yet have as many miles as the 02s-04s. Which is disheartneing. I sent an e-mail to MINIUSA but I don't expect to hear anything else besides company propaganda "our CVTs are bulletproof, bla bla bla". Those are my only two complaints with the CVT MC: I'm weary of the reliability of it and the car just feels weird driving, as if it has no balls. I have a 95 Sentra which in terms of engine power and vehicle weight is pretty much dead on with a MC. 115 horses on about 2500lb. We did test drive MC and MCS manual and the difference was definitely there. HOWEVER, the CVT takes getting used to. I think a big thing was that we were expecting the car to kinda jump forward and then shift, shift shift. Being alone on the test drive with no cars next to us to kinda, you know, relate to another moving object was tough. I did stare at the speedometer and the car actually did accelerate faster than I was feeling. But again, I'd rather have a MCS automatic. Better transmission, quicker. The downsize is that it needs premium and the gas mileage is not as good, two things that my wife is paying attention to. I told her worse come to worse if the MC CVT really is THAT castrated, it'll just be part of the charm of the car. And it's primarily my fault for conditioning my wife to pay attention to gas grade and mileage since I sometimes point out to the mpg of the LGT and the price difference at the pump. Other common issues I've heard about is mushrooming strut mounts on run-flat equipped Minis, leaking gasket on the coolant overflow recipient and possible rust showing in the door sils (car seems to ingest some water around the window trim). I can spot a failing, malfunctioning, fatigued, etc traditional automatic, but I have no such experience for a CVT. I called a local MINI dealer and asked and surprisingly the tech was VERY helpful so I think I am now well prepared to listen and watch for the right tell-tale signs. There is an attractive MCS in Sparta, Wisconsin, alas it is hundreds of miles away so I asked some of the local Mini owners clubs if anyone was willing to check it out for us. But I think we'll end up driving there ultimately, IF everything checks out. Regarding the abovementioned CVT failures ... what a big part of me can't help but think is that some owners have dropped down money for the Mini without considering the cost of ownership. As such, I wonder how many have gone to your average oil change boutique and had an ATF flush with whatever they had on sale. The CVT unit has to use a certain-spec ATF. Use the wrong kind and you ruin it ... There are members that are running their CVT Minis in rallies and they are holding up just fine. I'd probably flush it out first thing and install a tranny cooler if it does not already have one from factory. I did see a small cooler but I don't know if it's for oil or ATF, right in front of the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 First off, NAM sucks balls, period. I told that place and a lot of those people to go f0k itself a while ago and never looked back. It's got some good info if you can weed through the BS but don't say anything negative about the cars or else it's flame city. I asked about a Forester XT/LGT while I still had mine and never heard the end of it. Plus I disagreed with some asshole on there and he went above and beyond to try and prove me wrong and make himself look like a king. Anyway, back on topic. Both cars need 91+ octane so you're pretty much locked in on the MC and MCS. Second, the mushrooming can be taken care of with a 2x2 board wrapped in a towel and a hammer. It's been done plenty of times and it works. Just bash them flat. 3, if the car for some unknown reason still has runflats, lose them. As quick as possible. The ride is horrendous on them. The rust I never had an issue with and my cars saw plenty of time in rain and salt covered PA roads in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 You know, the more I start digging for info on that forum, the more it's starting to look like NASIOC. Just today I saw one. Some guy proposed a VTEC swap (K20) in a Mini and I was expecting him to get flamed to oblivion. The opposite! And then it went downhill in a Mini vs Honda. That, and statements such as "if you want a reliable car, don't buy a Mini, get a Toyota or Honda". I mean, really? Seriously, some ricers are still stuck on Honda = walk on water mentality, as if that K20 is an LS1 or some shit, I kid you not that's how the motor was being touted. Do you care to recommend another forum that's at least at somewhat of the level of maturity we enjoy here? I like forum drama and I'd enjoy reading up on what said guy got into an argument with you about, if you care to share, PM me. That, and what they were saying about the Subies We found a great looking Mini S in Wisconsin. A 2006, clean, 58K miles, $14K. Dealer won't budge on the price though and it's just about 1,000-1,500 over our budget. DAMNIT! SO close! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 The more I read, the more it seems there has been a rash of failed CVTs. Anyone know more on this? I'm sad to say it confirms my suspicion for their switch back to traditional geared trasmissions, but if it turns out the failures are due to people putting in the wrong ATF or not servicing it at the right interval, maybe we'll be lucky. Nice, another 5-6 grand tranny.You really need to get on a mini forum before you jump into this, if you don't have money to burn. Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 You know what? PM PGT. I met him while he still had his MCS. There's a new forum that started within the last few months that doesn't have the NAM BS but the name escapes me right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 You really need to get on a mini forum before you jump into this, if you don't have money to burn. I'm pretty sure I've done all the research that I can do at this point. I've read a bunch of threads regarding people and problems on the CVT, I've even downloaded the technical manual on the tranny, looked at posts, etc etc. What is not very clear is what ratio of those failures are related to one or both of these factors: a) ATF not changed every 30K miles (we're looking at Minis with around 40-60K miles, so it should have been done at least once). Some dealers out there insist it is a lifetime fluid, which it is clearly stated it is NOT both in the maintenance manual, service manual of the tranny AND technical manual of the tranny. b) drained and refilled with the wrong, non-OEM ATF There are many that track their cars and the CVT is holding up fine on their daily driven Mini. Their secret? 25-30k drain intervals. The thing that sucks is that in typical BMW fashion, the CVT does not have a dipstick, so there is no way for me to check the color and overall condition of the ATF upon purchase. The way the ATF is drained and refilled is very symilar to a typical differential. It's got a fill bolt and a drain bolt. But it's something I'd work out with the selling dealer, I'd either make them look at it for me, or take it on good faith on the written condition that upon inspecting it myself, if it looks bad they would throw in a warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 You know what? PM PGT. I met him while he still had his MCS. There's a new forum that started within the last few months that doesn't have the NAM BS but the name escapes me right now. motoringalliance.com - still small but the important players are there with respect to vendors who work on these cars Any talk of a K20 swap was probably about an original Mini, not the MINI BMW sells. Its a common swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 We found a Mini that we like. An 06 Cooper S, 56K miles, owned by a middle-aged woman that traded it in for a Ford Fusion. Wife wants an auto. Any of you have any tech info by chance on the 6-speed Aisin AW TF-61SN unit that the Cooper S is equipped with? What sucks is that it is a sealed unit, so it has no dipstick. I can't check the condition of the ATF but I'm sure everything is in order. Just curious what the drain interval is for the ATF and what fluid to use. My guess is that since it's a Jap unit, it's just as picky as the JATCO units in the auto LGT Later edit: according to our local Mini dealer, the ATF does not need to be serviced until 100K miles. I still think I'm going to change it though just to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 ^^^ Couldn't hurt to do it. In for results of test drive and initial thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 FINALLY got our Mini. YAY! In British racing green. It's a 2006, S of course. Unbelievably fun to drive and practically brand new. Had to drive all the way from Nebraska up to Sparta Wisconsin so all in all we were up for about 18 hours straight, out of which 15 were spent driving. A pain in the neck but it was well worth it. Unfortunately all I have is a crappy garage picture for now. http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4759/1001473a.th.jpg http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/5938/1001471i.th.jpg Wife made me verbally promise I will NOT MOD the car and I'm sure soon here she'll draft a contract and make me sign it in blood. Le sigh! Brenengen Ford of Sparta Wisconsin was a GREAT dealership to work with. Scott Siver was our salesguy and if you're looking for something in the area, I would definitely give him a call first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05pearl Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 congrats on the new ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbrjason Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Congrats on the sweet new ride.. Love the British Racing Green! This no modding is nonsense though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I had to run to a local Honda dealer a few days ago and they had a car just like that out front. Don't know if it was the 6spd or auto but it was a BRG Cooper S. Same wheels, too. Congrats on the sweet ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Thanks everyone, definitely liking the ride although I think BMW could have done a much better job at interior refinement. Just too much of the "brushed aluminum" plastic around. rtbjason: no modding makes no sense. I know, right? But it's the wife's car and she already thinks I poured too much money into modding my LGT. I have no choice but to comply. For now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 You gotta convince her that when certain parts need replacing, it's maintenance, not an upgrade. AKA, HPS's when it needs brakes. Sticky rubber instead of runflats. Konis instead of OEM struts. Camber plates instead of new mounts. Things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 I'm definitely doing stuff like that, I just can't touch the motor/supercharger. I have already purchased a pair of OSRAM Rallye 65+ bulbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHiway Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Looks great, classic color & stripes (even if it is German underneath). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 Now I just hope we're not going to have any major mechanical problems with it.Tranny fluid is supposed to be changed at 100K but I'm doing it soon as a preventive measure.Supercharger lubrication is also supposed to be lifetime, but what they don't tell you is that "lifetime" may very well mean the life of the SC. So if it goes at 70K, the fluid was lifetime >_< It's a pain to do but worth it imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qikslvr Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Nice one. I've actually looked at these too. Let's kick this pig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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