Author Topic: '10 MINI Cooper S -- Too New a Car to Qualify as a Barn Find but.... (Read 5254 times)

Angry Chicken · « **on:** May 24, 2020, 08:57:06 am »

I'm going to be looking at a 2010 MINI Cooper S Camden Edition today. It's a 6MT. Needs work and I need another car like I need a hole in my head but if it's half as good as I think it is and at the price he's offering it, it will be a steal. Needs new struts and a Floor Control Module (he has the recall letter for this) and it's relatively high mileage but I can't pass up the opportunity at the $1800 asking price.

It's not really a British car because it has German blood in its veins, but all these rebuild threads by Firm and Arthur Dent are motivating me :-)

JohnnyMac · « **Reply #1 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:59:47 am »

That's fun. If course these vehicles aren't known to be the most reliable but man oh man are they a hoot to drive. If you end up buying it what are your plans for it? Daily driver, track day car, etc?

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #2 on:** May 24, 2020, 09:04:28 am »

Quote from: JohnnyMac on May 24, 2020, 08:59:47 am

That's fun. If course these vehicles aren't known to be the most reliable but man oh man are they a hoot to drive. If you end up buying it what are your plans for it? Daily driver, track day car, etc?

I really don't know! Maybe an occasional track day car. Tires are cheap and the power-to-weight ratio is very good. It would easily run with the Miatas. James (aka Wing) wrote a day-by-day review of it on autos.ca -> http://www.autos.ca/mini/day-by-day-review-2010-mini-50-camden-cooper-s/

Bubba · « **Reply #3 on:** May 24, 2020, 09:06:30 am »

Gurgie · « **Reply #4 on:** May 24, 2020, 09:45:09 am »

Oh boy... after what Chaos went thru with his 06 R53 Mini (which was supposed to be more reliable than the R56) I'd be wary of one unless I was a mechanic, lol!!

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #5 on:** May 24, 2020, 09:51:43 am »

Quote from: Gurgie on May 24, 2020, 09:45:09 am

Oh boy... after what Chaos went thru with his 06 R53 Mini (which was supposed to be more reliable than the R56) I'd be wary of one unless I was a mechanic, lol!!

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You are a wise, wise man. I am a fool. Geez, man.... $1800. What could go wrong?

aquadorhj · « **Reply #6 on:** May 24, 2020, 10:20:59 am »

For 1800, I would chance it.

I dunno how such cars are so cheat out east. Even with some suspensions work needed, 10 yr old mini would be few grand minimum here, and not special edition..

HeliDriver · « **Reply #7 on:** May 24, 2020, 02:56:11 pm »

Show ‘n Shine for a car you haven’t even seen yet? Now you’re committed, bud.

Better be some pics of it in your driveway later today!

rrocket · « **Reply #8 on:** May 24, 2020, 05:09:28 pm »

Ask Chaos...see what he thinks LOL

2JDM · « **Reply #9 on:** May 24, 2020, 05:46:25 pm »

Quote from: aquadorhj on May 24, 2020, 10:20:59 am

For 1800, I would chance it.

I dunno how such cars are so cheat out east. Even with some suspensions work needed, 10 yr old mini would be few grand minimum here, and not special edition..

More inventory. Also salt used in winters kill cars out east.

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #10 on:** May 24, 2020, 07:35:54 pm »

For those who asked, I PM'd Chaos actually. He hasn't replied back but he's a FB friend so I'll reach out to him there. Yes, I know he had some fun and games with his MINI. :-) The car pulls smoothly and strongly. The brakes bite nicely and evenly and w/o pulling to either side. The front end is all mushy because the struts are completely gone but there are no creaks, knocks or pops or crunches lock-to-lock and the electric steering feels linear and good weight. All the electrics which aren't controlled by the FRM work great (wipers, heated seats, mirrors, 2-panel moonroof, etc.) The rear end seems planted and I neither smelled nor heard any exhaust leaks. I had a good look underneath (geez, these cars are low!) and it looks really nice. No puddles. It is late production (June 2010) 2010 model.

I'm going to lowball the seller tomorrow and see what happens. I offered to take the car to the dealer to get the FRM (the computer bus module located in the driver's kickpanel) replaced per the recall and pay for an hour's diagnosis at the dealer but he says he just wants to get rid of it. He's had it for sale for a while so I think he just wants to see it gone. I ran the CarFax for it and there were no red flags and it shows a fair amount of regular service and a total of 3 owners. Sure enough, I scanned the codes on the car with my Carista bluetooth OBDII dongle and iOS app and it came up with a bunch of codes but 90% of them were codes that would result from a lack of communication with a number of different car systems, said systems being controlled by the FRM. This is what I think it needs:

Mechanical
========
1. turbo inlet/breather hose (~$100) and I can install it easily myself;
2. thermostat, thermostat housing and associated hoses (pipes). That is worst case. $1500 installed, maybe less if don't go to dealer
3. 2 x front struts ($500 installed but will take some shopping to get the best price)
4. pads all around ($200 and I can install them). Rotors are OK

Exterior/Aesthetics
============
1. Reinstall upper grill trim (just needs clips but have grill)
2. Reinstall driver's side headlight trim (just need clips but have trim)
3. Buff out headlight lenses
4. Clean and buff the whole exterior
5. Deep clean interior

This is all getting ahead of myself. If after the FRM is installed and programmed there are too many systems which are crying out for help I will immediately cut my losses and get rid of it. A bit of a calculated risk.

rrocket · « **Reply #11 on:** May 24, 2020, 07:41:27 pm »

Sounds like a plan, anyways.

HeliDriver · « **Reply #12 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:00:00 pm »

Seems odd that he’s making basically zero effort to get the car ready for sale. Can’t even be bothered to get free warranty work done at the dealer? And doesn’t want to let you do it on your own dime and time as well? Seems fishy.

Of course, maybe he’s not hurting for money and really doesn’t care. Just wants the car gone, as you say.

I suppose the price is right, and worth taking a gamble on. I give it 50/50 odds that replacing that module will fix whatever issues have been blamed on it.

aquadorhj · « **Reply #13 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:01:42 pm »

Quote from: rrocket on May 24, 2020, 07:41:27 pm

Sounds like a plan, ~~anyways.~~

looks to be in decent shape exterior wise, and like i said, i would chance it.

is this your 3rd FGC then? or 4th? (technically FBC but we all know where it was designed..)

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #14 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:02:43 pm »

RUN

RUN VERY FAR AWAY

HeliDriver · « **Reply #15 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:05:14 pm »

Quote from: ChaosphereIX on May 24, 2020, 08:02:43 pm

RUN

Back to the seller while waving a wad of cash?

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #16 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:22:39 pm »

I dunno. The guy doesn't want to do the 200 km round trip to the Ottawa-based dealer (he's in Brockville) and is worried that he's going to get screwed over for unnecessary extras. Until a recent management change, the MINI dealership's service department was staffed by a bunch of morose Eeyores who rarely returned phone calls, never seemed to have convenient times for appointments available, and worst of all didn't make people happy to part with their cash. There's a new sheriff in town and the new Service manager is a MINI enthusiast and they have certainly changed things around. It's possible the seller was just plain fed up.

Anyway, that's not how I roll. A freebie is a freebie and that module replacement is a $1000 freebie from the dealer. Chaos was nice enough to spend some time with me just now on FB messenger and he had some good advice and which boiled down to....run away. Which I might well do. I'm in no hurry and yes, if it's too good a deal to be true then it usually isn't a deal.

Slow news day.

OliverD · « **Reply #17 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:33:30 pm »

Well, the price is right.

We had a 2007 Cooper S for a bit. When we bought it we got a really good deal. It had been traded in to the VW dealer and they offered it to me as is for cheap. Unfortunately we had a lot of issues. Do you know if the timing chain has been replaced? The N14 engines are notorious for timing chain failures. Mine began making the "death rattle" sound and I was literally driving it to the shop to have it looked at when it broke and that necessitated a top end rebuild. So that's definitely something to look out for.

I'd also try to find a shop that you'd trust to do the repairs aside from the FRM. I didn't realize there was a recall for those. Mine was busted as well due to some corrosion. We replaced it with a used one, but never got it programmed so some of the lighting functionality didn't work (like the adaptive headlights).

I know most people seem to prefer the R53 but I'm a huge fan of the R56. I think it's the best looking of the modern Minis and it's a lot more fun to drive than the new ones. The 2011+ models are much preferred as they have the newer N18 motors but for under $2k the N14 could be worth the risk.

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #18 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:48:22 pm »

If he has my luck, the repairs will quickly outstrip the purchase price. Possibly within a few months.

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #19 on:** May 24, 2020, 08:50:34 pm »

Quote from: ChaosphereIX on May 24, 2020, 08:48:22 pm

If he has my luck, the repairs will quickly outstrip the purchase price. Possibly within a few months.

To be fair, you can't extrapolate a curve based on a data set of one. But....I hear you. There's lots of anecdotal evidence of slippery electronic slopes with these little beasties.