1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Hello fellows! 18 year old guy wants to buy his first car!

Don't turn up your nose at an R50 either. Sure it has less zip, but that means it has almost certainly not been raced, and it will be at least $1000 cheaper than the same features but an S. You'll also get much better gas mileage AND there's no supercharger to go bad and need replacing!

 

Once you find "the one" have an unbiased professional check it over and print a report before making your purchase. I wish I had done this before I bought mine. Recently I had my clutch replaced. If I had had taken it to my trusted mechanic and had an inspection done I would have known in advance. I don't regret my purchase, but it would have been nice to have had a little extra bargaining power, and know what to expect.

 

Welcome to M/A.
As much as I love the way that my MINI looks ( cool as he@@), and the way it drives, I would never recommend to an 18 year old to buy one as a first car. My eldest son is 14 years old, and his first car will not be a MINI. These cars can be very expensive to buy, maintain, and repair. I am a journeyman tool and die maker, with an Engineering Degree, (that means that I make a very respectable wage) and my 2006 R50 stretches my budget.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but that is just my 0.02 cents worth.

Good luck, and happy motoring.

 

Welcome, thanks for joining Motoring Alliance, the FUN and Friendly MINI Community.

 

There are still pleanty of clean R53's around, to many people they are more of a fair weather car. Good luck with your search and be sure to post up some pics when you find one.

 

Welcome!!
My suggestion...
Buy a "good" car....and you can only afford it if you have enough leftover cash to fix it if it brakes...
Clutches fail, power steering pumps die, and things wear out...
Affording a car is more than gas, oil and insurance, ESPECIALLY with a MINI. The fun does come with a price. If you have tools and skills, you can save a few $$, but since time is $$, it may/may not make sense to diy it.
Be honest with yourself....nothing is worse than having a good car you cannot afford to fix......
MINI'S do well in the snow/ice, especially if equipped with the optional DSC (as opposed to the asc+t), tires really make the car...ground clearance is the only issue, but if basic plowing has been done, leaving you with only a couple of inches of snow, you are good to go!!

 

Milteck is well known in the us....the other one is unknown.
The aux was NEVER standard in the US spec cars....and only works on newer model radios..2004+ one I think..(compatible with newer, so just swap with a used unit, looks the same, but added mp3 capability and can be identified with a different volume knob)....here in the US, The "MIDLEVEL" CD PLAYER was the base radio....same unit as the up level HK, that just got better and more speakers and an amp.