1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Buying the perfect R53 - what would you look for?

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  1. Eric@Helix

    Eric@Helix New Member
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    #12 Eric@Helix, May 18, 2015
    I would add or subtract nothing from your list. It's spot on.

    Personally, it's more likely that I'll buy an older car with a bunch of broken stuff for cheap, but if money were no object, you got it.
     
  2. minintrigue

    minintrigue Active Member

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    #13 minintrigue, May 18, 2015
    But we don't all have your skills Eric. Or frankly any of them in My case...

    As for your list, I'd have to have heated seats. I didn't think it was a big deal as I had them in my R53. But when u bought my R52, which didn't have them, I figured out quickly that it was a must have item. At least here in the mid West.
     
  3. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    #14 fishmonger, May 18, 2015
    I like the heated part in the seats I have now, however, that's about the only thing about the seats I like. Uncomfortable, don't support where it matters. I plan to install aftermarket seats once I find the right car to put all those goodies into.
     
  4. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    #17 fishmonger, May 18, 2015
    red is also 20 percent more likely to get pulled over, if that's what you mean by "faster" :)

    color is not that important to me. there's always that vinyl wrap option if the color makes your stomach turn.
     
  5. Savvy

    Savvy Well-Known Member
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    #22 Savvy, May 19, 2015
    The checkers and bonnet stripes are easy enough to ditch. And if it was garage kept..... I'd be willing to bet the paint fade is minimal with that odometer reading. So, the sooner you yank them, the more likely you won't have to deal with that issue.
     
  6. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    #24 MCS02, May 19, 2015
    I like it! its a great looking Mini.:Thumbsup:
     
  7. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #26 Dave.0, May 19, 2015
    Blah ^ Get rid of the strips as the vinyl is old and let the paint breath and see the sun. You can always buff it out and apply some wax.

    If you want the stripes back you can always buy new stripes at the dealer and put them back on or put them in storage until you get rid of the car in the future.

    OEM stripes are worthless for resale value.
     
  8. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    #27 wmwny, May 20, 2015
    For me, buying the perfect R53 nowadays would be to find one with low miles and basically bone stock. After all, WHY buy one that may be modded with stuff I would never use or even appreciate? If I bought a modded R53, how would I ever know how it had been maintained, especially if it was bought off a car lot?

    Nope, I would buy an unmodded, low mileage R53 and start from scratch with just the mods I wanted to have. THAT is MY idea of a perfect R53.

    That's EXACTLY what I did when I bought my wife's '06 MCSa, 26,500 miles in early 2012. It's Pepper White, sunroof, checkered flag mirror caps, has DSC, Harmon Kardon, Aero kit front and back, side skirts, Xenons, 17" R91 wheels with non-runflat tires, and heated pleather seats. I installed Rogue Dragon Eyes inside the bonnet, a Light-in-Sight on the inside of the windshield, a set of used strut tower reinforcement plates, a few stickers that SHE wanted the world to see, and an American flag antenna topper. As of today, it has just under 52k miles and she is in love with HER MINI! :cornut:
     
  9. Goldsmithy

    Goldsmithy MINI Alliance Ambassador
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    #33 Goldsmithy, May 23, 2015
    I bought my MINI in January and did nothing but obsess about MINI's until I took delivery in April. It is 2005 R52 S that was bone stock with 3,648 original miles. It lived in a garage in Key Largo. I left for the Dragon a week after I took delivery of the car. I modded it with Detroit tuned at the Dragon. (CAI, 15%, 19mm RSB, strut tower braces) The biggest mistake I have made with the car is letting my wife drive it...
     
  10. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    #36 MCS02, May 24, 2015
    Ok rub it in!:lol:
     
  11. AAONMS

    AAONMS Well-Known Member
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    #41 AAONMS, May 24, 2015

    Or, The Flat Earth Society as I like to call it :)
     
  12. AAONMS

    AAONMS Well-Known Member
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    #43 AAONMS, May 24, 2015
    I prefer 'provocateur'
     
  13. Savvy

    Savvy Well-Known Member
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    #5 Savvy, May 16, 2015
    What?!
     
  14. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    #11 fishmonger, May 18, 2015
    as for the big brakes - I love good brakes, and the Wilwoods I have in my current car are probably the best thing about the car. It's well worth doing, although I know you can stop the car with the R56 setup just fine. I would not pay extra for JCW brakes because of that. Basically, if I found a car without brake kit that otherwise checks many boxes on my list, I'd eventually add that myself. Not a must have. There are few MUST have items on that like/want list, such as 6-speed and hardtop. But everything else, especially if it can be adjusted with aftermarket parts, is optional.
     
  15. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #18 Dave.0, May 18, 2015
    That Red stat is a Myth and I drive with a very good V1 radar detector. :devil:
     
  16. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    #19 fishmonger, May 19, 2015
    my personal color/ticket stats:

    Red 100%
    any other color 0%

    just saying.

    Anyway - the cars currently for sale somewhere in this country I am interested in are blue, red, thunder gray and the color isn't a reason I hesitate on any of them. One lacks a cat, seller sounds like a slick used car dealer, the other is an '04 and costs too much, while the thunder gray is just overpriced like any other GP.

    To get back to the suggested alternative of just buying a cheap fixer-upper: there is one in the area that fits the bill, but I am afraid that the total cost to get it all fixed will easily go well past a very nice car that needs nothing. What are the numbers that would make a "dirt cheap car" work out as a good buy?

    Let's look at a real world example - the only cheap R53 currently offered in my area - 168k miles, needs a hood, probably more body work and trim pieces and who knows what else, but is still listed as 'condition good' :D
    https://madison.craigslist.org/cto/5014439547.html

    Let's say I can get it for $3k - that's optimistic, but hey, it's a busted up old car...

    new hood, paintwork, some plastic parts, super charger rebuild, engine rebuild? new clutch, new everything pretty much. Then the add-ons such as LSD, exhaust, suspension and brakes, etc - is it all possible under $11k and come out with a car that matches a nice one for that price? I have no idea what it would cost me to rebuild a motor on these things - I'd do the remove and install but really don't have a clue where to even take the thing, what to buy new, etc. All I know about engine rebuild comes from Mod Mini's Youtube channel :)

    I actually feel this may not be a bad route to take - I'd like to know every bolt in my car and having two of these things in the family means I probably won't suffer extreme R53 withdrawal while the car sits on jacks for a year or so.
     
  17. packimocity

    packimocity New Member

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    #28 packimocity, May 20, 2015
    I'll never forget my first week of R53 searching back in APRIL 2010...my wife had just bought her 2006S and I wanted one. Hers came with about 36K and many packages.

    I found one nearby (BMW Allentown, PA) a PW 2006 S, manual, with SEVEN thousand miles on it...and I wasn't quick enough to move on it that evening.

    I often wonder who got that beauty.

    pac
     
  18. fishmonger

    fishmonger Well-Known Member

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    #29 fishmonger, May 20, 2015
    I do agree with the less mods the better. Most mods on the Mini I have were done half ass. The suspension is toast now, was done on the cheap (FSD Konis on Alta lowering springs??? who thought that was a good idea. Also no rear control arms to bring the toe and camber in check). The brakes on it were a great upgrade, though. Never had a car with that kind of pedal feel and aggressive bite when you step into it. Exhaust is a cheesy one-ball mod, checkered mirrors? Cheap aftermarket rims, didn't even get the originals with it. However, the car was in excellent to mint shape, so I overlooked the things I didn't like.

    I could buy a 10,000 mile 2002 Mini Cooper S nearby - the guy wants $11.8k
    2002 Mini S Cooper Like new, 10,000 miles

    But then I could also get a mint 55k mile 2004 JCW with features like LSD less than that, which is where I am leaning right now.
     
  19. Piston

    Piston New Member

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    #30 Piston, May 20, 2015
    I just sold a 2006 R53 JCW, manual, cloth seats, 55k miles to FLOW MINI in Raleigh, NC.

    JCW Exhaust, JCW brakes, high flow air filter, and Dinan strut tower brace -- I sold it with two sets of wheels -- 17 aftermarket and 18" JCW "additional option" wheels.

    Space Blue Metallic/ Silver Roof

    They were a solid dealership, and this could be a good start (I am not affiliated in any way -- I picked up a Clubman from them in exchange).

    2006 MINI Cooper S Hardtop for sale in Raleigh - WMWRE335X6TN27680 - Flow MINI of Raleigh

    Could be a good start
     
  20. Tall Mini

    Tall Mini Member

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    #31 Tall Mini, May 23, 2015
    Looks like the one above is already gone...

    I just went through this exercise when I bought my latest Mini. I wanted a late run convertible with as less than 40k miles. Wanted sport suspension and limited slip. Preference for non-jcw and no mods unless it had a spectacular service history (and even then...) Ended up finding an 08 sidewalk loaded with only 32k on the clock with a good history and bone stock. Honestly I paid a bit more than I wanted but low mileage is getting harder to find
     
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