Howdy Folks
So I just bought a 2003 Mini Cooper S Coupe, with 91,000 miles on it. British racing green, white roof, what appears to be a black air kit around the bottom.

Mainly bought it because my car got totalled and had to buy something quick, this had all the features I wanted and was inexpensive because of the miles. Its a little worn, but should still be a lot of fun.

I drove my Mazda6 for 6 years, it was my baby, and joining Mazda6club.com was one of the best moves I ever did, so I figured I'd join this place and start perusing the information that is out there for the mini.

Some basic starting questions, with this high milage what are some things I should look out for on an 03 MCS? I figured I'd take it to a mini dealer soon and have an oil change done just to have a starting point, but are there some problem areas I should keep an eye on?

Second question, while I have some small experience with turbos, I believe this has a Supercharger, not the turbo I originally thought. I have no experience with Superchargers, what are some things to watch out for? I had originally planned on getting a boost gauge and temp gauge for the turbo, are those still usefull for superchargers?

Finally, I'm working on figuring out what all the switches do. There's one left, its on the dash to the left of the stearing wheel, down low, there's a button with what looks like the fog light logo, except the lines are straight instead of angled, and it has the number 2 above it. Wazzat?

Thanks!

 

welcome to NAM. I would get an oil change for sure and if you have a MINI dealer near you it wouldn't hurt to have them give it a once over. Since you're close to the 100k mileage point you can just have them do the factory maintenance that would be scheduled for 100k.

you can certainly get a boost gauge if you want, but not really needed for your every day driving. If you plan on putting on a smaller pulley or doing any mods to the car then that might make more sense .

Finally, I'm not sure what the switch you're talking about. the switches under the A/C controls are the toggle switches that control the windows, locks, fog lights (if you have them) and DSC (if you have it). Near the speedo you have the interior lights dimming button and hazard lights.

Hopefully that helps!!!!

 

With 91K on the clock would think a checkup at dealer or a reccomended service place is a good idea. Somebody who is really familiar with older MINI's should be able to advise what to be on the lookout for.

Hope any news is good and welcome to the world of MINI .

 

I can't remember whats part of the 100k service, but for sure that would be one to run at this stage!

 

Welcome to NAM!

Congrats on your new MINI!

 

Welcome to the family! Post some pics when you can!

 

Thanks folks!

I want to try and get some pictures up, but of course it started snowing the day I bought it, so its none too clean. Fun in the snow though.

I'm enjoying the little car, its lots of fun to drive, and I can see it being good long term. So far it seems to be in good shape, other than the fact that the power locks don't seem to work.

The switch on the left I figured out, it actually operates the two external driving lights, which I had thought to be fogs but are actually high beams. Don't know if I'll use those, for now they look cool with the black covers on them.

Got my first warning light on tuesday, and of course the 2003 MCS owner's manual I downloaded did not have that light in it. Oddly, the 2004 did, and shows it as a Brake Pads warning. Looks like a circle with three marks on either side. Easy enough, but it brings into question what year the car is. Have any 2003's had this warning light?

 

Congrats...

You might want to have a BMW/MINI mechanic look at your Supercharger...My friends said that the Supercharger probably needed replacement around the 100K mark.

I just bought an R52 in October for my wife's fleet...

 

That is a brake pad indicator.

My suggestion would be to find a good mechanic nearby that works on BMWs/MINIs and have them do a complete look over for you. Also, if you do not have service records, you might want to do some preventative maintenance like oil change, coolant change, brake fluid change, spark plugs, etc. to get the car up to date and make sure that everything is current.