Hey all, I'm currently living on Long Island and debating buying a used Mini. I've looked around a bit, but I'm trying to keep the price under 13k or so. The problem I'm having is, although most of the cars that price point and lower on Autotrader LOOK really nice, they all have a very high mileage count (70k+), which I don't find terribly surprising for this type of car. My question is really what peoples experience on here are with these high mileage minis. Since I'm on long island, the car won't see heavy mileage use (it's a 16 mile total commute for school), but I am pretty inept when it comes to dealing with car maintenance.

Basically, I'm wondering if picking up an 04-05 for 12k with 80k miles on it makes any sense, or if I'm going to end up paying so much on part replacement that it becomes a money pit. Any help/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

 

I would start off by looking at service history and carfax first

 

I'd definitely do that, as well as have a mechanic check out any used car before hand. I was just wondering how they hold up in general. I've heard that BMW's themselves are pretty notorious for having expensive maintenance fees, but I'm not finding a lot on mini's. My only other car has been a 2002 buick, and it only has about 50k miles on it but is falling apart (GM though, so who knows). Thanks!

 

we only have 12K on Mini Mee so I don't know about high mileage on a MINI .. But I can say that I had a SLK that I sent on it's way when the 50K bumper to bumper warranty expired.. Looking at the used market there seems to be plenty with over 80K so you know they will do that much... I would expect to spend some money on repairs on anything with that kind of miles.... my last vette went 100K with nothing more than oil, filters, belts and a coolant flush.. not even a bulb needed replacement.. My current one has 70K and the same story.. My S10 has 234K and a has required a few more parts but nothing over a few hundred $... I think you should go into this knowing that repairs will happen.. and if they don't great

 

High mileage isn't necessarily something to be afraid of - it could simply be indicative of a car that has been used mostly for highway mileage. Given a choice between cars of a same age, one with say 75k highway miles and another with 40k city and local stop and go driving, the higher mileage one is likely to be in better shape.

It's a case by case thing... get any MINI you're looking at checked out by a good MINI mechanic.

 

Minis in that mileage range start to need a few things, such as front control arm bushings, motor mount replacement, potential power steering pump issues, etc... Having said that, if you buy an older Mini that begins to develop a bit of old age, you can replace these parts and feel comfortable that you'll get another 80K miles out of them...

I bought an 04 MCS last year that had 68K miles and have had to replace some of what's listed above... The car runs & drives well and I'm not at all sorry I bought it...

 

A lot of sound advice in the above thread. You should know there are a few MINIs running over 200K miles right now on the same motor. My MCS has 65K, but I don't consider that high mileage, especially for an eight year old car. It still looks and runs like new. What is much more important than mileage is maintenance. You can't get good information about maintenance by looking at the car unless you know what to look for. CarFax reports don't have the details you really need either. This is why you should take any used car including the MINI to a knowledgeable mechanic for a complete inspection. They will tell you if the car has been maintained well or not. If not, than expect to spend some extra bucks getting all the maintenace items done that the previous owner neglected to do.

 

By "pretty inept"...can you change the oil in a car? An oil change at the the MINI dealership is typically $200. Yeah, now you know how they can offer the new owners years of free maintenance.

I bought a 2006 MCS with 25K miles about three months ago from a MINI stealership. For what I wanted to pay, they didn't want to include the Certified Pre-Owned warranty extension, but I got them to keep it in, and I'm glad I did. I've had the oil pan gasket replaced under warranty, and soon intend to have the "Chewbacca" transmission howl fixed, too.

You don't have to believe everything you read on the internet, but in my experience, MINIs do exhibit a lower than average reliability. I remember my first hint about this when I visited a MINI parts counter, and told the parts guy about my new car purchase. He shook his head, and said, "Oh, man...you're going to have troubles. Leaks, little parts, hard to fix things...you want to buy a shop manual? If you do your own wrenching, you should get the shop manual." I thought he was just being an a-hole, but now I think he was just speaking the truth.

I've only put 5K miles on the car, and they've been a very fun 5K miles, but from the sounds I hear, the things I read, and from what I've had to fix already, I wouldn't suggest a used one, unless you've got money set aside to fix it, or can fix it yourself.

 

Carfax shows how many owners too.
I just bought a base 2005 with 74,000. It had one owner and everything seems tight and solid. I have to think that makes a difference too.

 

Rainsford,
Good debate you started. In our traffic intensive area the mileage is different thing than that in, say, Midwest. I would recalculate the finances and decide either new or ... new without any options. You will love this car and I am positive you will keep it. MSRP for base model is still OK comparable to others. Just my personal opinion.

 

I too am of the school that I am not sure as to the longevity of these vehicles, (in general). So far, I needed a new clutch at 35,000, new motor mounts at 38,000, a new head gasket at 48,000 and a few other minor repairs.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my MINI, and if I were to purchase another vehicle, it would be a MINI convet, but, I doubt that I would purchase one used. (Most of my other vehicles were pre-owned).

For 13 grand, you could find a fairly healthy preowned Honda that would make a great commuter and be very dependable to boot. Honda's longevity is never questioned and the maintenance is usually minimal.

Something about these cars sort of bother me for the long haul.

 

I've read through everything, and I really appreciate everyones opinions (this is tougher then I thought..). Another question is that I've heard the Cooper S is pretty much the way to go, but to what extent? Would a slightly newer (2005 v 2003) standard, convertible cooper be a logical challenge to the older, slightly more driven S? Or is the S version so necessary, that I really shouldn't bother with the standards? Thanks again, everyone!

 

I don't know if you're dead set on buying something local or not. I'm in South Florida and looked at a few used ones before I picked my new one. In my travels I came across an 03 MCS with 56k for 11,9. An 05 MCS with 56k for 14,9 and an 04 MCS with 27k for 13,9. The 04 was really clean and definetly worth considering a road trip for if it's what you're looking for. Let me know and I'll post it up for you.

 

I purchased a used '05 MC which had only 5k miles and was owned for about 5 months by the original owner. I had it for about 2 1/2 years and when I traded it in for my Clubman. That day, I found out that it had been repainted, possibly due to hail damage. Even though it was perfectly detailed, never had a reported problem, and had 25k miles on the clock, I got SEVERAL thousand dollars less in trade-in allowance. My wife and I were in shock to say the least. Since we were almost 300 miles away from home and I really wanted the soon-to-be released Clubman, we just at the cost. Please please please, buyer beware!

 

As tempting as a justified road trip to S. Fla sounds, I have a family friend mechanic up here who I'll have check anything out before I pick it up (he's familiar with Mini's, and I feel like it's mandatory, considering the mileage I'm looking at), so it would be pretty hard to buy something that far out of state. The farthest I've got him agreed to go is Jersey without adding a few hundred bucks to my budget to pay for any recreation I'd be forced to offer for such a haul. Regardless, I definitely appreciate the consideration!

 

high mileage used 1G MINIs = potential money pits. avoid.

 

I wouldnt buy a used 1G Cooper if my life depended on it. I had way too many of them as loaners when my 1G S shop queen was in for its monthly "problem dujour." slow, sluggish, and terrible build quality. Now, a lightly used low mileage 2G Cooper? Different story-- better built, more power, and more refined. Plus if U go 08 or newer y'll still have some warranty remaining, depending on mileage.