Looking at buying an R53...

[coupe king]

Hello people,

Always like the new mini, more so after we got to see some of your fine examples at a combined meet we had with the BMW car club scotland, i think it was at Scone a couple of years back, ever since then the missus has wanted one! Now we are in a position to buy one i just wanted to ask a few questions.
We have been thinking about buying a 2003 / 2004 ish mini Cooper or Cooper S. Having only really started reading up properly, something that seems to come up several times is gearbox failures. Most of the moaning from here....
http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-review-readers.aspx?RT=2309
Also a friend of my wifes, tells us she has had three new gearboxes in her cooper S in the last year, all replaced under warranty! Can this really be true, is it just bad luck?
Can you advise of any major worries such as the above or are they generally pretty reliable?
Heard about the rattles squeeks etc but not really bothered about that, we would be buying it for the fun factor.

Thanks
Neil

[AndyP & Lenore]

Neil, welcome to New MINI Scotland.:D ;)

I can't comment on the gearbox question as we've always had Automatics, but I'm sure there will be someone along soon to answer your question.

I was at that combined meet with BMW car club, it was in Scone. From memory, it took about 3 hours for the restaurant to get the food out to us, but then, when I'm at one of these meets, that's not unusual.

Good to see you want to move into MINI ownership, I'm sure you won't be disappointed; we're on our 4th MINI now, and still loving them.

A.;)

[Craig]

Neil,

my advice would be go for a face-lift car which puts you mid to late 2004. If it's a 54 plate on, it will defo be a face-lift model, but there were some 04 plates also. Easiest way to tell is change of headlights and front and back bumpers.

I had a problem with an 03 plate gearbox and even although the car was still under warranty, my local garage refused to fix it, so I traded it in for a new 05 plate car (at the time) and it had no problems with the gearbox. (It is a Gertrag box). The originals (Midland) were prone to faults, some major, so if you can stretch the budget, I would go for the newer model. :)

Other things to watch out for is.... discs and pads corroding, knocking or notchiness in the steering, faulty headlight levelling, doors locking/unlocking intermittently... DON'T WORRY THO..:eek: ;) my 05 plate car had NO faults and I should never have sold it (long story).

I think most will agree that 54 plate cars onwards are better built and didn't have as many faults with them... As for cooper or S, depends how much power you want and how you drive. I've had both and prefer my cooper as I feel more involved in the driving, having to think more about what gear for what overtake etc, whereas with the S, put yer foot down in most gears and it will just pull away. I found I got really lazy when driving. :D

[Gismo]

Other things to watch out for is.... discs and pads corrodingAgreed, but, don't buy BMW replacements when you do have to replace them, go aftermarket cause they are cheaper and better



I think most will agree that 54 plate cars onwards are better built and didn't have as many faults with them
You won't be able to modify a Cooper engine very much, max about an extra 10 - 15 BHP, so, if your looking for a wee bit extra oomph then the S is your choice.

Also, i would advise to go the Mini Cherished route, at least that'll give you a years warranty

[coupe king]

Thanks for the welcome & thanks for great advice so far folks, keep it coming!!! :D

@Andy, still keeping my coupe (dont know if you remember it from the meet!? see link below), but this will be "for the wife" heh heh. If it was really just for the wife she would be getting a corsa or fiesta!!!

http://www.bmwccscotland.co.uk/images/coupeking/BMWCC6.jpg

Interesting to hear you thoughts on getting the cooper instead of the cooper S, craig, good point! To be honest, the power isnt overly important (otherwise i wouldnt own a 320 lol) i am more concerned with the handling. We just thought we might as well consider the cooper S as the insurance was only 75 pounds more and not an awful lot more £££ to shell out at that sort of age of car.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Thanks for the welcome & thanks for great advice so far folks, keep it coming!!! :D

@Andy, still keeping my coupe (dont know if you remember it from the meet!? see link below), but this will be "for the wife" heh heh. If it was really just for the wife she would be getting a corsa or fiesta!!!

http://www.bmwccscotland.co.uk/images/coupeking/BMWCC6.jpg

Interesting to hear you thoughts on getting the cooper instead of the cooper S, craig, good point! To be honest, the power isnt overly important (otherwise i wouldnt own a 320 lol) i am more concerned with the handling. We just thought we might as well consider the cooper S as the insurance was only 75 pounds more and not an awful lot more £££ to shell out at that sort of age of car.


I do remember that car. That's some splitter!:cool:

Handling - really no difference between an S and a Cooper. Our first MINI was a Cooper CVT (the days before you could buy an S with a auto box), and it handled very well indeed. Like Craig says, if you're not looking for mega power and the ability to engine mod more than a few BHP, I'd stick with a Cooper. It will handle just as well, be just as fast as an S on twisties (home of the MINI), give better MPG and cheaper to insure. At the end of the day £75 is £75. Better in your pocket than the insurance Co's.;)

A.:D

[Gismo]

A Cooper isn't as heavy as an S and defo handles better because of teh weight reduction.
A well driven Cooper will easily keep up with an S ;)

[Scottie]

I like the wheels on you Coupe:cool: I have these on mine.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/scottiecoop/BMW%20E36/th_P1000384.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96/scottiecoop/BMW%20E36/P1000384.jpg)

Sorry for going off topic.:o hope you don't mind.;)

[KenL]

A well driven Cooper will easily keep up with an S ;)

Only on roads where the limiting factor is the road, not the car ;)

[KenL]

If the Midland gearbox is the weak link, it was only the pre-facelift Cooper, not the S, that had the Midland gearbox.

If I were you, I would go for a facelift Cooper (looks better than pre-facelift) with nice seats etc.

Consider buying privately, a car with a year's manufacturer warranty. You will get a newer car for the same price a dealer will be charging for a car that is older.

[AndyP & Lenore]

A Cooper isn't as heavy as an S and defo handles better because of teh weight reduction.
A well driven Cooper will easily keep up with an S ;)

65Kg really make that much of a difference Alan? Didn't notice a reduction in handling when we went from our R50 to our R53.:confused:

A.:D

[Gismo]

65Kg really make that much of a difference Alan? Didn't notice a reduction in handling when we went from our R50 to our R53.:confused:

A.:D
Yes it does and you're obviously not driving it right

[Craig]

Yes it does and you're obviously not driving it right

well we know that..... :rolleyes: ;) :D

[AndyP & Lenore]

Yes it does and you're obviously not driving it right

Not biting.:o

[Sheilz]

A Cooper isn't as heavy as an S and defo handles better because of teh weight reduction.
A well driven Cooper will easily keep up with an S ;)



John's keeping afa quiet;):D:D:D