1st Gen R53 Cooper S Considering buying one... Need help.

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by alpinesun, Jul 12, 2012.

Tags:
Most Liked Posts
  1. alpinesun

    alpinesun New Member

    Jul 12, 2012
    5
    0
    0
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    #1 alpinesun, Jul 12, 2012
    Hello all, I'm new to this forum and new to the Mini Cooper world. I don't own one as of yet, but I am seriously thinking about purchasing one. I've been doing a bit of research on this site to see if there are any trends in maintenance issues and whatnot but haven't really found anything discerning to me. Is there anything that you guys would recommend I consider? And should I even be looking at a used Mini? And if I do look for one, what things should I be wary of when doing my inspection. That goes for both, first and second gen. I'm not bias as to whether it is supercharged or turbo. I just want the fun driving experience coupled with great gas mileage.

    I once owned an Audi S4 and decided to trade it in for a Passat to try to save myself some money and calm my spending habits down, but it feels like this Passat is draining the life out of me and taking away my driving spirit. I need a change badly. Maybe if it were at least manual, I could bare with it, but an automatic Passat may have been too drastic of a change.

    Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
     
  2. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

    Jun 4, 2009
    19,428
    10,034
    113
    Retired old fart
    Hooterville Ohio USA
    Ratings:
    +11,662 / 2 / -0
    #2 Crashton, Jul 12, 2012
    Life is to short to drive a boring car....

    I love my supercharged MINI, but saying that one with a snail on the motor will get much better mileage if that is important to you. For me the R53 MINI with supercharger is a more involving car to drive compared to the second gen R56. Others feel may different about that. Drive both & decide for yourself.

    Welcome to M/A & good luck on your search. :)
     
  3. Mr. Jim

    Mr. Jim Mudshark
    Lifetime Supporter

    May 22, 2010
    3,390
    1,213
    113
    North Carolina
    Ratings:
    +1,221 / 0 / -0
    #3 Mr. Jim, Jul 12, 2012
    Welcome to M/A! I'm with Crash on the subject.
     
  4. Justa Jim

    Justa Jim Well-Known Member
    Lifetime Supporter

    May 6, 2009
    7,422
    1,685
    113
    Ratings:
    +1,685 / 0 / -0
    #4 Justa Jim, Jul 12, 2012
    Welcome to the Alliance.

    Personally I love my R56 Justa. It is blast in the curves and 40 mpg as well.

    Jim
     
  5. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

    May 4, 2011
    2,099
    889
    113
    Columbus, OH
    Ratings:
    +938 / 0 / -0
    #5 Zapski, Jul 12, 2012
    I bought my 2008 R56 MCS used, (R56 is the generation with the turbo) and have had no serious issues with it at all. I got it still under the warranty period, and I did have the Timing Chain replaced for the cold-start rattle issue which was just barely there, but enough to concern me. The folks at the dealership were great and swapped it no questions asked. They also replaced my mirror-caps which had yellowed a bit in the sun.

    Since then, I've put on another 24,000 miles on it in a year and a half, and have no further troubles. In spirited mixed city-highway driving I average about 31~32 MPG. Using hypermiling techniques (developed in my old Subaru Legacy), I've gotten it up to 42 mpg.

    I've not done any engine tweaks at all so far. The only minor annoyance I've had is the driver seat covering developing a small spontaneous tear recently, but I can live with that.
     
  6. alpinesun

    alpinesun New Member

    Jul 12, 2012
    5
    0
    0
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    #6 alpinesun, Jul 12, 2012
    Thanks for the input guys and I look forward to joining the alliance shortly.

    I will try to find two equally settled and reliable mini coopers to drive back to back to see the major difference in driving the supercharged version vs the turbo version. The gas mileage is probably one of the most exciting features of the car for me. To be able to manage 40ish miles of fun per gallon would be an awesome change. My biggest concern is just finding something with masked deficiencies and after a month rolls by, issue after issue pops up. So far on my search throughout the forum, I am seeing mostly good things about both versions of the S models. I'm feeling much more confident in the purchase of one. It also seems like its an easy car to work on by myself anyways... For the most part. You guys would know much better than me tho.

    Again, thanks for the assistance and I am hoping to report back within a couple weeks with a purchase.
     

Share This Page