Thats a first Gen Cooper. That is probably the most reliable engine around. The S would have Intercooler on top of the motor and a supercharger on the front.
Okay. For some reason I thought it looked a little different, but I may just be thinking of the Gen 2s. It looks like it got hit between the driver fender and door. He's got it listed for 2800, but he seems like he wants to get rid of it so he may go lower. He says it only has 118K miles. I think I may go check it out to see exactly how bad the damage is. He's the photo he has of the damage. Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
If you're looking at GEN 1 this may be helpful. http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/
Good luck on your search. Take your time & find the right one. My belief is that there is no such thing as a cheap MINI. In fact a cheap MINI more than likely will become an expensive one. Paying more up front for a better MINI will pay dividends.
Personally, I'd keep looking. First, if you're hauling kids, I would think a Clubman would be important--I can't imagine trying to put anyone or anything in the backseat of my hatch. My dog rides back there, and he loads through the back. You don't say what your budget is, but that car doesn't look like a bargain, it looks like a money pit. Take your time, do lots of reading, decide on what model/year/options best suits your needs, then use the internet and take your time to find the best possible car for you that you can afford. Don't let your itch cause you to make a rushed decision that'll cost you more later. It took me almost a month to find mine, but I got a great deal on a solid car that's perfect for me. It seems to me that you're still kinda all over the map--Gen 1 vs Gen 2, hatch vs clubman, S vs Justa… keep researching until you narrow those decisions down. Getting the right car will be worth the effort.
Yeah, I realized that yesterday. I do really want a Clubman, but I don't know if my budget will allow it right now. I may have to skip on a Cooper for now and make it a long term budgeting goal. Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
oh yes, and while you're over there, don't forget to look at this one https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-mini-gp-12/
if the budget is just 3k, just get a mid 2000 subaru or camry and call it a day. Anything Mini for that price is going to be a money pit. Any generation. They will either be beat to death or have a salvage history that will come back and bite you. My son has been looking for a "beater" R53 for almost a year now, and so far nothing below $5k has even been remotely worth touching. We don't want to rebuild it from scratch, but we also don't want to pay top dollar like those two Bring a Trailer auction cars will bring. I generally try to buy single owner Minis. A car that has changed hands is likely not going to be a loved car. And after 15+ years of just being a machine to some owner means the car is likely near the end of its life. It will not have been serviced as needed, and likely been taken too far between oil changes and all the lifetime fluids are coming to the end of that lifetime now. Any repair at that stage to return to make it last another 100k miles would likely cost far more than just to buy a lower mile nice car. Shady seller, yeah, walk far away, even if you are getting another 1000 off that thing. Looks like crap in the photos, likely is crap. Steering stiff with those skinny R50 tires? should not be unless you are comparing to a Cadillac Eldorado. And what exactly is the deal with not knowing that it is just a plain Mini Cooper not a Clubman? One of my ground rules: don't buy cars from people who don't even know what they are selling.
Sorry if I was confusing. I went to see a Clubman. That was the shady dealer. I was also looking at a regular Cooper that I shared photos of. Ironically, my last car was a '99 Cadillac DeVille. That thing drove like a cloud. I loved it. I did not love seeing that gas pump tick up every time I filled it up though. I test drove manual on Monday. It felt really groggy (?) At high RPMs. I'm not super experienced with manuals so I'm not sure if it was me or the engine. It also had some consmetic issues that were not apparent in the ad. Walked away from that one. (He even lowered the price more after I walked away, but I still didn't want it) I'm checking out an automatic later this week. If this one doesn't pan out, I think I'll broaden my search to more cars. I went to a dealer yesterday to walk around to see if anything interests me. The only problem is other cars are so boring compared to the Cooper. Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
That is a damn nice GP but it looks like the 2nd owner messed up the inside drivers door and seat. Let’s see if it hits 20 K. I think 15-18k
I think we are hitting that time these cars are beginning to go up in value. Nice JCW and any low mile R53 are starting to go for more money than just 2 to 3 years ago. I bought a super clean 29k R53 slicktop in Florida in Dec 2016 for $8k - not going to happen in 2019 any longer. My son has been looking for a "daily" driver R53 around $5k and it's hard to find anything that doesn't need major reconditioning and has 100+K on the clock. The fact hat he wants a black with white top car doesn't make the search any easier
Hey, guys. Opinions on an '08 Clubman S with a Boost leak? Auto transmission. He says that occasionally he'll get the 1/2 engine warning and then it goes away. I don't mind doing the work to fix the leak, but I don't know if that will have caused more severe damage internally. Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
Miles, condition, service records? If it is just a boost leak why din't the seller fix it? Maybe he likes losing money by selling a broken car? Just being the devils advocate here.
110K miles. Exterior looks really good. Still waiting for a response from him on any more info. He claims he doesn't drive it much anymore so doesn't want to bother fixing it. He has a hitch on it that he used to tow a sports bike. Maybe he's more of a bike guy and doesn't want the car anymore. Who knows? My main concern is, I'm not familiar with boost leaks. Can they cause permanent damage to the engine? If so, how long does it take for that to happen? Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk