Hey Everyone,

I am a constant on forums, so I know how most of them work. I used to be the Administrator at a large rimfire forum and I am a regular at a few forums for my 09 Lancer GTS. So, here goes with my introduction.

We are looking at getting an 03 Mini Cooper S. It has 96K miles on it and is obviously the 6 speed manual. This car is for my Wife to drive back and forth to work.

We owned a brand new (5 miles on it when we bought it) 05 Mini Cooper that we bought down in Jacksonville, Florida. It seemed to have a "rubber band" effect when accelerating. It seemed like I had to get the RPMs up to 2500 before it would even move. It was very strange and we only ended up getting 22mpg at best in the car and it was rated for something like 34mpg. We traded it in on a brand new 05 Infiniti FX35 three months later.

So...Onto the questions....

1. Do the manuals have the same problems?

2. I have heard a lot of problems with clutch reliability. We just test drove an 04 MCS and I think the throwout bearing was out in it because I could feel it "grinding" very badly every time I pushed the clutch in. Is there an aftermarket clutch I can install if we have to replace this one, that is better than the OEM clutch?

3. The car is a silver/gray color. Not the bright or pure silver, but almost like a gunmetal gray. What color stripes would look best on this car?

4. Can I replace the head unit on it and put something with navigation in it? I don't even remember what the dash looks like in the MCS I just drove, so I don't know if it is even possible to switch out the radio in an 03 or not.

5. And I think lastly....Is there anything in particular I should look for when test driving the car tomorrow? Any major TSBs that I should look for that would help in negotiating price?

Thanks so much and I am glad this forum is out here. I am going to peruse the forums to look for more information now. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

To answer question #1 - no, a manual should not have the rubber band effect nor will the auto in the "S". The CVT auto in the regular MINI is prone to the problem you described.

 

1.) I own an 03 MCS and never experienced this issue.
2.) I replaced my clutch setup due to a bad throwout bearing... quite a few kits available... I decided to go with a Clutchmaster FX300 setup and love it per a recommendation from a reputable tuner here.
3.) Not sure... that's a matter of personal opinion.
4.) Yeah, the headunit is standalone, single din type, so it's definitely interchangeable.
5.) I'd consider bringing it to a mechanic familiar with MINIs to give you an idea of any potential issues. It might drive fine, but better safe than sorry.

GotMINI

 

If you read the stock problems, you will see just about every issue possible.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lems-issues-9/

Stripes are personal. You can match the roof (black/white) add secondary colors and that doesn't factor in the huge selection of styles.

http://houseofgrafx.com/products/ind...ort=20a&page=1

http://www.aestheticreations.net/minicoopergallery.htm

http://www.cooperflags.com/bonnets.cfm

These are just the first three I found in my favorites.

 

Welcome to the forum, have the MINI checked out by experinced MINI service tech even if it cost a couple of bucks could be well worth it.