Overview & Reviews

For their second season in the U.S. market, the 2003 Mini Cooper and Cooper S will now come with a second remote key and pre-wiring for a dealer-installed alarm system. Anthracite (smoke gray, that is) interior trim is available as a no-cost option for both cars, and the Cooper S is eligible for the high-gloss silver interior treatment found in the base Cooper. Sound systems will be satellite radio-ready this year, and the rear cargo area now has a power point.

• The thrill of owning a piece of history with modern underpinnings, BMW-engineered suspension and steering, chock full of comfort and safety features, hatchback utility, scheduled maintenance on-the-house for 3 years/36,000 miles.

• Not enough horsepower in base model, questionable seat comfort, not much room for passengers and cargo, price goes up quickly with options, limited supply encourages dealer mark-up.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 330.00

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  DISAPPOINTMENT - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By ril - August 3 - 2:00 am

  AT THIS POINT I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN MY MINI, CUSTOMER SERVICE AT MINI, & CUSTOMER SERVICE AT AUTOHAUS OF CLAYTON, MO. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THAT ANYONE PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE.MY MINI HAS HAD TO BE TOWED 3 TIMES.I HAVE HAD TO CALL TO FIND OUT THE STATUS OF THE MINI EACH TIME IT WAS TOWED, NO ONE CALLS I EMAILED MINI THE 2ND TIME MY CAR WAS TOWED & RECEIVED A CANNED LETTER.IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE 3RD TOW & EMAIL TI MINI THAT SOMEONE ATTEMPTED TO HELP ME BY CALLING THE DEALERSHIP. I THINK THEY SHOULD SPEND LESS TIME SENDING SILLY PACKAGES & MORE TIME ON THE QUALITY OF THEIR CARS (SUCH AS THE TOUCHY FIRST GEAR).

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  Think twice-Novelty wears off quick - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By Peter Rorie - February 21 - 7:10 am

  Im a medical rep. that drives 70 miles a day of hard driving. Ive put 10,000 miles and 3,000.00 bucs into the car!--all new brakes,fan assembly, electric windows,clutch, ect,ect. Its cool for the first month, then guess what? Its just another gutless little car. Resale is still good-(x car salesman). For a toy, its great. If your gonna make it your work car--buy something else.--If I had it to do again, Id of bought a clean used BMW 325. I paid 14k a year ago for it--Ill get 9500- in trade for it next month-(already had a quote)- make sure you love em if you make the purchase--your gonna spend a little $ on it. (Also, MAKE SURE theres a dealer close by) Youll be appreciated.

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  Why did I even bother with this car? - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By Jasen G - February 2 - 2:00 am

  It was a nice car at first, but then everything started to go wrong. In ten months Ive spent $2000 in repairs (half of which should have been covered under warranty), and Im about to spend more to fix the faulty brakes. The car eats through tires, the oem windshield is too thin and fragile, and the brakes have never been properly functional, and all the problems the car has, isnt covered by any warranty...

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  minis a gank - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By donbon - November 30 - 2:00 am

  The interior build of the minis leaves a lot to be desired. I chose not to buy one after *really* lusting after them.. the reason? The controls and gauges inside all have visible and poorly worked mold seams. Thats just inexcusable. The interior is also about as plastic as a Fisher Price toy car walker my 3-year old likes to put around in. The faux aluminum panels wont fool anyone. Performance-wise, I find the minis (the basic, that is -- i havent driven the "S") to lag really badly in 1st and do not much better in second. Yeah, it handles ok, but accelerates like molasses.

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  Ups and downs - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By Lambeth Man - March 2 - 10:00 am

  The Cooper is a brilliant little car. It looks good and drives like no other car in its price range and even some more expensive cars. MINI is only let down by cheap interior plastics, constant rattles that cannot be fixed and rather big fuel consumption. Also, the dealers can be rather arrogant towards MINI drivers and often seem to be annoyed they have to deal with a "lesser" car. After a bad experience with a BMW "wannabe" sales person, I would prefer to deal with MINI only staff (sales or service) rather than BMW.

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  Its a LEMON - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By Hale - October 7 - 2:00 am

  This car has been a problem since i drove it off the lot. It went in for service 2 months after i picked it up and has been in 6 more times. im waiting for the dealership to honor the Lemon Law. The GPS has never worked; i had a service agent tell me he would never recommend purchasing the unit on a Cooper. The major problem has been the acceleration and fuel injection. Two different software upgrades and the problem still exists. This error causes severe safety issues when pulling out at intersections. They tell me they havent had any complaints ont he automatic transmition, but who wants to drive an automatic MINI? Wait a few more years, or buy a Bug!

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  Electrical Mayhem - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By asdf;lkjasd;flkj - March 14 - 10:00 am

  Wait a few generations for them to work out all the bugs. There are a lot of them.

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  Cons outweigh the Pros - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By MIssMyVW - December 28 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car used in 2007 and I didnt even get 5000 miles on it before the clutch went out on it the first time. Six months after that replacement, I had to have it back in the shop because the clutch pedal had a master/slave issue and I had to have the cylinders replaced. Then, just this past week, after approximately 21 months and 9,000 more miles on the car, I had to have the clutch replaced again. Seriously, while the car looks really cool and is sometimes fun to drive, it is *not* worth all the extra money it will cost you for ownership. I cant wait to pay this thing off and go back to driving a VW again.

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  Cute on the Outside, Scarey Under the Hood - 2003 Mini Cooper
  By ddealminana - February 1 - 2:23 pm

  I was given this car in 2004 as a gift from my parents. I could not have been happier. After having it for over eight years now, I am ready to drive it into the Hudson. This car has been nothing but one major problem after another. The first year I got it I was on the highway and the car just stopped switching gears above third gear. Luckily that was covered under warranty. Since, I have had the air conditioning go out twice, the power steering go out, windows stopped, door locks stopped, numerous overheating episodes, etc. My poor father has spent numerous hours and dollars repairing this thing. Thank goodness I have him though, because I would have spent several thousands by now