Sensible? Or daft as a brush? Your thoughts...
Discussion
We need to get a second car for the missus to bomb around in, needs to be cheap and cheerful as we'll only have it for station car/shopping duties.
My station commute however is looking like it may be twisty and rather rural.
So... with £3000 to go and grab something practical, quick and fun I'm considering an R53 Cooper S.
Good idea? Bad idea?
The examples I'm looking at seem to range around 2003/2004 and have 80-105k
Was considering buying from a dealer to use a credit card and gain the additional consumer protection that brings
Interested to hear from those in the know...
My station commute however is looking like it may be twisty and rather rural.
So... with £3000 to go and grab something practical, quick and fun I'm considering an R53 Cooper S.
Good idea? Bad idea?
The examples I'm looking at seem to range around 2003/2004 and have 80-105k
Was considering buying from a dealer to use a credit card and gain the additional consumer protection that brings
Interested to hear from those in the know...
Cheap and cheerful to buy.... running costs I'm not too worried about as long as I know what to look for when buying to miss out on the big bills.
Thanks for the comment @eatcustard - what kind of costs do you call "not cheap and cheerful" useful to judge alongside what I feel is palatable :-) Some cars are worth the extra and I do love a supercharger!
Thanks for the comment @eatcustard - what kind of costs do you call "not cheap and cheerful" useful to judge alongside what I feel is palatable :-) Some cars are worth the extra and I do love a supercharger!
dubbs said:
We need to get a second car for the missus to bomb around in, needs to be cheap and cheerful as we'll only have it for station car/shopping duties.
My station commute however is looking like it may be twisty and rather rural.
So... with £3000 to go and grab something practical, quick and fun I'm considering an R53 Cooper S.
Good idea? Bad idea?
The examples I'm looking at seem to range around 2003/2004 and have 80-105k
Was considering buying from a dealer to use a credit card and gain the additional consumer protection that brings
Interested to hear from those in the know...
In my experience dealers will not take credit cards as payment, the nearest I have got is several years ago buying an Alfa with the debit card. Most of them now require bank draft or money transfer between accounts. Good luck and I hope I am proved wrong.My station commute however is looking like it may be twisty and rather rural.
So... with £3000 to go and grab something practical, quick and fun I'm considering an R53 Cooper S.
Good idea? Bad idea?
The examples I'm looking at seem to range around 2003/2004 and have 80-105k
Was considering buying from a dealer to use a credit card and gain the additional consumer protection that brings
Interested to hear from those in the know...
If comfort is a consideration, get a Cooper; if fun is the priority get an S.
I bought one at the end of last year; I saw a lot of cars. All the cars I saw at dealers were universally awful - remember if they are selling at £3000 the car was bought for about £2000 or less. Private sales were better but you will need patience. Fuel consumption is terrible, ride harsh. But the one I bought is hilarious. Get one.
I bought one at the end of last year; I saw a lot of cars. All the cars I saw at dealers were universally awful - remember if they are selling at £3000 the car was bought for about £2000 or less. Private sales were better but you will need patience. Fuel consumption is terrible, ride harsh. But the one I bought is hilarious. Get one.
Bought a private one today.
Has a few issues to fix but was a hoot.
I didn't get any symptoms of the clutch on the test drive but just typical I got home and found it had a kind of rattle when my foot was of the clutch and the car in neutral, pump the clutch and the noise goes away (completely even when foot off the clutch, just pump it once to make it go)
Then when flooring it up to the red line it hit 6000rpm and gave me an EML and limp mode.
Have looked up a couple of these and will get it sorted - rest of the car was great.... shame these things didn't bloody happen on the test drive!!
Has a few issues to fix but was a hoot.
I didn't get any symptoms of the clutch on the test drive but just typical I got home and found it had a kind of rattle when my foot was of the clutch and the car in neutral, pump the clutch and the noise goes away (completely even when foot off the clutch, just pump it once to make it go)
Then when flooring it up to the red line it hit 6000rpm and gave me an EML and limp mode.
Have looked up a couple of these and will get it sorted - rest of the car was great.... shame these things didn't bloody happen on the test drive!!
Thanks for the reply - I've booked the Mini in to 1320 as they seem to be very knowledgable even if it is a trek for me to get to.
They have advised it may be one of the map sensors but, needs diagnosis as could be a number of things.
I suspected the clutch noise to be a thrust bearing and they agree - we either live with it or get the clutch replaced.
I've booked the car in with them for an Inspection II, full engine test, fix oil leak and EMF issue, then a possible pulley swap for an almost free power hike.
They have advised it may be one of the map sensors but, needs diagnosis as could be a number of things.
I suspected the clutch noise to be a thrust bearing and they agree - we either live with it or get the clutch replaced.
I've booked the car in with them for an Inspection II, full engine test, fix oil leak and EMF issue, then a possible pulley swap for an almost free power hike.
Clutch noise as described may not be the clutch at all but the gears chattering. Clutch in/out just helps stop the reciprocal vibration/rattle, it gets worse with light flywheels. Release bearing noises go at the first loading of the pedal mostly, and flywheel can be louder off the clutch or at the halfway point, either may cause a vibration underfoot. A heavy clutch is one to watch for on these Minis, and often people don't realise how heavy they're getting in daily use, while engine damage may be occurring or clutch failure drawing nearer.
Only my2p
Only my2p
I think PH is being a div, as I didn't receive the confirmation either.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
Altrezia said:
I think PH is being a div, as I didn't receive the confirmation either.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
Looks like a well-cared example and nice to see a decent set of tyres being fitted - always a good indication on the type of owner.http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
If I was looking for an R53 as a daily, this would be right up my street.
GLWTS.
Altrezia said:
I think PH is being a div, as I didn't receive the confirmation either.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
Ah a fellow SELOCer, I showed that to my son yesterday on SELOC, but being 19 won't consider anything without the JCW bodykit http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
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