Hi guys, i havent been here in the longest time and apologies if this isnt the correct section to ask.

but, i'm looking at buying a BMW mini.
i'll list as much info as i can.

Mini Cooper S R53 2003

close to 100k mileage on the clock,
all break pads and tyers were recently replaced (few thousand k's ago),
New Odyssey dry cell battery, and apparently just had a stage 2 service from BMW (whatever that means)

has a few problems tho

Air-conditioning relay or compressor clutch just went
Coolant Bottle developed a leak
Master door (driver) unlocker needs replacing
Relay inside cooling fan needs replacing as it sticks
Power steering pump might/will need a rebuild

how much would all that cost to fix up? (if thats all thats broken)
and how much would be a good buying price, personally i would like to stick around the 15k mark. but i dont really know.


any help and advice would be greatly appreciated



-jack

I have recently brought an 04 MINI COOPER and have found the MINI2 site very helpful, Tony

gear boxes have a habbit of blowing at around that milleage!

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You won't get a good, reliable MINI cooper S for 15k. Even wrecks go for that from time to time!
Cheap Cooper Ss average about $20,000. Avoid high milage cars and ones that have been modified without a good service history.

Things to watch out for:

Gearboxes are known to have troubles in rare cases on Ss, but most of the box problems were in the 5 speed Midlands cars (all Ss had 6 speed Getrags).

Early cars were known to have issues with power steering reliability. From what I'm aware, it stems from the exposed cooling fan under the car getting damaged and the system overheating. The factory solution was a bolt on shroud, which can be fitted to early cars too (something I should do some time).

The other issue that's a know (though rare) problem is superchargers and waterpumps.
Stay tuned for updates on what happens there, but in short if it's ticking, walk away!