Son Looking for a car Civic Type r or cooper s

[Pip1968]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Not sure about the Honda, but I've worked with Mini's since they were re-introduced into production by BMW

For that price you're looking at an early supercharged version. Little if any engine issues, very reliable.

As always try to get the highest spec possible.

Areas to look out for:
Noisy gearbox -whine when driving. Seen a few
Heavy/noisy clutch - relatively long labour time to replace
o/s engine mount - leaks black fluid on chassis leg
Sump gasket - leaks
front wishbone bushes - wear and split, a lot!
rear exhaust silencer brackets - break and leaves exhaust moving around
front seats - make sure they move forward on runners when flipped forward
dashboard - rattles. Easy fix if its the early 2 piece dash
BC1 - water ingress into o/s/f kick panel ruins main control unit
Airbag light - normally a repair loom under the seat required

Few other bits and pieces but by and large they're a cracking little car. Just make sure you check it over properly to avoid any issues.

Easy to tune too, a smaller supercharger pulley is about 1.5hrs to replace and gets you 30bhp easily

Good luck

Is not the power steering pump another weak point on Minis pre 2006?

Monkey, what is the score with a fix on the airbag light. I bought a Mini GP last December and the light was one pretty much day one. Do I just need to check continuity on the wiring under the seat and wiggle the connections???

MarkCSL best of luck with your son's choice of car.

Pip

[Monkey]

Hi Pip,

yes the PAS pumps can fail, the only reason I didn't mention it is there's not much you can do to check it!

Actually that's not strictly true, this was the test BMW set out - Sit in the car with the engine idling, & not touching the steering. Switch the fan to speed 1. If you cant hear the pump, its ok!!

In all seriousness there is nothing you can do to check it - just because its noisy doesn't mean its going to fail. They are pricey though, Approx £400 from memory. Actually just thought that the PAS hoses are prone to leaking.

As for the airbag, yes get the faults read and see which fault is stored. Either pre-tensioner or side airbag(depending on seat spec) will be stored. There is a repair loom for approx £17. its actually the plug contacts which are poor, so you get a new plug with loom attached. Dont bother going all the way back to the MRS control unit, just join it where is comes through the carpet.

You can make the light go out temporarily by jiggling the connectors/wires, but it will come back again.

[Mark CSL]

Ok the mini is out drove it today and it had a few problems big oil leak and with all your knowledge on them i will give the cooper s a miss

Its a Honda Type R
But he has seen the new civic type S 57 plate he likes and its the ctdi

I like the new one and being a derv he should have less trouble with it and the insurance will be cheaper

Any thoughts on the above ?

[O'Neill]

Originally Posted by Mark CSL

Ok the mini is out drove it today and it had a few problems big oil leak and with all your knowledge on them i will give the cooper s a miss

Its a Honda Type R
But he has seen the new civic type S 57 plate he likes and its the ctdi

I like the new one and being a derv he should have less trouble with it and the insurance will be cheaper

Any thoughts on the above ?

The clutch is the only problem on them, check for slipping.

[Mark CSL]

Originally Posted by O'Neill

The clutch is the only problem on them, check for slipping.

If that's the only thing that is a problem it sounds like the car for him