Just purchased an 08 Cooper S Manual with 40K on the clock. Dealership was asking 18,999 and ended up paying $15,960. As a diehard car guy I went over this thing with a fine tooth comb.

Technically didn't pick the car up yet because of two outstanding issues. I should probably post this in another catagory but for now here it is.
-Brake light stays on while driving. Without doing any research here's what I think. Brake Fluid is good and close to full... for that matter pads aren't bad... plenty of life left. Scrolling through the computer (after figuring out how to use it) I discovered either the brakes were serviced at 29K miles... OR more likely it's been 29K since they were serviced. My guess is this is a standard 30K mile brake reminder saying "take me to a dealership". Your thoughts.
- 2nd issue is that the tires were more worn then I would like... so they are putting new rubber on the car and then delivering it to me.

After they get the above issues squared away they will deliver it to me. All paperwork is already done.

I really enjoyed the drive. What got me started on the Cooper S was an almost accidental drive in a 05 S Automatic. That car really surprised me. It wasn't in the best shape, but it was a RAW and entertaining drive. I loved it. After reading about the changes made to the car in 07 I figured I'd like the new one even better. I kinda do, but I kinda don't. Much more refined car.... and that was the bad part for me. I loved the raw nature of the 05 I drove. The newer turbo car was really enjoyable and probably much more liveable.... but not nearly as entertaining. Neither car had the sport suspension, which at this point is fine with me. I've never been one to leave my cars alone suspension wise... so why pay for the better factory option when it'll all come off anyway. Anyway, after lots of pricing research I bought the 08 even though it wasn't the same car I fell in love with mainly because it really seemed like a smoking deal in comparison. Plus, it's my communter car and I still own two other toys (Heavily modded 04 GTO and a mostly stock 08 Z06)..... so maybe I should just enjoy the more tame nature of the 08 and enjoy the gas mileage while I'm at it.

Anyway, glad to be onboard here. Hope to meet some new friends. Live in upstate NY and I regularly put together "cruises" of the NY and PA backroads for all my GTO friends... maybe I could join in on one for Mini's

 

Welcome aboard! I adored my 06 and lament some body styling and handling differences in the second gen. On the other hand, with those compromises come improvements in engine, mileage, brakes and suspension quality, and I think its just one of those things to live with... Until you pull it apart and do it your own way that is!
Congratulations on the great deal, too!

 

Thanks for the reply. Already found the sticky in the proper forum for the brake light thing. The dealership is a Nissan/Ford/Cadillac (yea... weird right) franchise... so they probably aren't going to figure out this break light issue. So I forwarded them the proper link. I already know the pads are still and good and there are no hydraulic leaks in the system.... so I'm sure it's just needing a reset. They are suppose to have tires mounted tomorrow and then bring me the car Thursday or Friday.

 

Welcome to the forum, sounds like you did some hard ball negotiating on the car, congratulations and hope it is as good on the road as it was in the ''deal".

 

Congrats, and...

 

Thanks again.

Update. Dealership could not find any info regarding why the brake light would be on. So they put all new pads on the car and "some other part" (some other part was unknown by sales and manager). The brake light of course did not go off. They also claimed the pads and rotors looks fantastic.... but they replaced them anyway. So I emailed them the reset procedure.... figured a non-mini dealership would struggle to find the info. Needless to say, that of course took care of the brake light. They also mounted four new tires and are delivering the car to my office tomorrow afternoon. I thought I had emailed the link the other day..... but it was apparently rejected somehow. Great.... I got new pads and rotors out of it.

Looking forward to becoming part of the forum.