Looking to buy a Cooper S

[Mon the fish]

If you want warranty, the only one worth having is the BMW one IMO. Every other company will find an excuse to avoid paying out. If you go the R53 route, nothing that goes wrong is that difficult or expensive to fix

[N16SHP]

Hey, I am an early R56 S owner and for what it's worth, I'd rewind and buy an R53. Don't get me wrong, I love my R56 but I have had problems (now all fixed thankfully) the length of my arm. Had the dreaded death rattle, power steering pump failure (twice, fixed second time under warranty) and also the constant niggle of coke build up in the engine. Couple that with the usual dash rattles, squeeky windows and boot rattle I'm probably just about average on being an R56 S owner I have to say, after driving the R53 and R56 back to back, the drive in the R53 was hands down better. The supercharger whine and the go-kart handling are gone in the R56. Although the R56 had a better equiped interior and for me the finish was much better so it's swings and roundabouts.

My wife also has an R56 S (Aug 07 build) and compared to mine (Jan 07 build) they are two totally different cars. The gearbox and clutch on hers is much slicker. My Mini feels like you really have to drive it hard, where as hers feels much more refined.

Anyway, good luck on the search and welcome to the forums.

[nickyboy]

Damn now I really am lost

I am drawn to the 56 because of the better interior fit & finish among other reasons, thinking the one I drove was just a bad example. If i had to choose between better interior but more rattles, squeaks and niggles than a sorted 53, well it would be a tough call tbh. I have warranty on one hand, but that wouldn't cover rattles, they always stop at a dealership, or they create another one whilst fixing the original

[stoney]

rattels are murder to fix

as others have said i would go for a late R53 and mod it i have a GP and love it :) but then the R56 is much better on the petrol

[N16SHP]

Yeah. The dash rattle on the R56 is pretty common. I tend to find it happens on a really hot day with the sun beating down and presumably expanding the dash slightly, or on a cold day when the heating is pumped right up. I have chosen to live with the rattles as I can always put the radio up a little louder but once the BMW techs starts prising the dash apart and leaving screwdriver marks in the dash there aint no going back

Another thing I would say in regards to warranty and service history. Don't be nervous about a car that doesn't have a full BMW service history. In my experience, BMW charge you more for less. I for one, like others on here, use local mini or BMW specialists who, like it should always be, put the customer first and respect the customer. I'm not saying all 'Stealers' are like this as some are very good, sadly not up in Aberdeen though. When my power steering pump went, JC Aberdeen wanted over £1k to fix it. My local specialist bought the parts from JC's and fitted it for £500...that speaks for itself really.

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rattels are murder to fix

as others have said i would go for a late R53 and mod it i have a GP and love it :) but then the R56 is much better on the petrol

What sorta MPG are you getting from your GP Stoney? I am only averaging around 31mpg on a good day around town but my car is needing a service which will help (slightly)?

[nickyboy]

Aye I have no problem with specialist service history, what I mean is are there things that need special attention that would be missed at Kwik Fit specials

[N16SHP]

Aye I have no problem with specialist service history, what I mean is are there things that need special attention that would be missed at Kwik Fit specials

Yeah very true. And it's hard to justify driving the length of the country for what looks like a good car only to find the person selling it was talking rubbish about the service history. Take each car as it comes and weigh up the options. Which ever way you go, you'll have a blast :)

[stoney]

around tound around the 26-28MPG at best but if i am up and down the M74 then can get 35MPG if being very good even got

this was a very boring drive tho

[N16SHP]

around tound around the 26-28MPG at best but if i am up and down the M74 then can get 35MPG if being very good even got

this was a very boring drive tho

Was that last one stuck behind a tractor by any chance lol...Good effort though.

[Craig]

I think it's that GP club tbh, cos when I got mine it was showing 38.6 mpg..... Now showing 19.2