I have just sold my Land Rover Discovery and am looking at getting a Cooper S.
I went to go test drive one last night and came across a number of problems that I would like some of this sites wisdom on.

Its a 2003 Cooper S with 120k miles

Problem 1. Power Steering not working. I have noticed this seems to be a common problem. Approximately how much is it to fix this problem?

Problem 2. Severe road noise. Sounded like it was coming from the front of the car. Not sure if it was the tires or what it was. Tires looked fine. Any ideas?

Problem 3. There was a piece missing from the engine that the guy said was just a cover for the place that you hook a battery up to "jump" a mini off. It seemed like there was an electrical hookup there that wasn't hooked to anything. Any ideas at what this is and how much it costs?

Problems 4-10.. Brake pads, rotors, could not get oil to even register on dip stick, paint chipping in a few areas, check engine light on.

Interior was clean.

I normally would not even consider this car but I really want a MINI Cooper S and this one is priced at only $5,000

I don't mind putting a little TLC in the car but can't invest $2,000 in the car. Any suggestions or recommendations? The guy obviously didn't take care of the car but Im hoping to rescue it and hopefully save some money. Thanks for your time.

 

Yes, run, don't walk away from this car. Your initial savings on price will cost you much more to "sort it out", unless you are a MINI mechanic and then you likely would not have posted the question you did. There are much better examples out there then what you have described. That car sounds like it was ridden hard and put away wet.

 

Completely agree with ACEkraut11. From my mechanical experience on cars (new to Mini), this car has several potential serious issues. There will probably be major reapirs in its near future.