RE: Mini Cooper S: Spotted

[ChemicalChaos]

I'm sorry but reliability wise these are terrible.

They rust (badly)
The overly hard suspension causes mushrooming of the front shock turret mounts - if you catch it in time you can fit a bracing ring, if not its a costly bodyshell realignment
The engine mounts go
The timing chains get slack and cause a death rattle
Coolant tanks split
Crank oil seals leak and starve the bottom end bearings

They are not a quality car

[cheddar]

ChemicalChaos said:

I'm sorry but reliability wise these are terrible.

They rust (badly)
The overly hard suspension causes mushrooming of the front shock turret mounts - if you catch it in time you can fit a bracing ring, if not its a costly bodyshell realignment
The engine mounts go
The timing chains get slack and cause a death rattle
Coolant tanks split
Crank oil seals leak and starve the bottom end bearings

They are not a quality car

No bedroom action lately CC?

[RBH58]

I loved the fact that the supercharger whine emulated the gearbox whine on the original. Seriously though, it's only when you see one of these alongside the current one that you realise how much the "Mini" has grown

[Dr Interceptor]

ChemicalChaos said:

They rust (badly)
The overly hard suspension causes mushrooming of the front shock turret mounts - if you catch it in time you can fit a bracing ring, if not its a costly bodyshell realignment
The engine mounts go
The timing chains get slack and cause a death rattle
Coolant tanks split
Crank oil seals leak and starve the bottom end bearings

1. They don't rust as badly as a classic Mini - I've not had a single rust issue on any of mine
2. Mushrooming of the front towers can be avoided by fitted a strut brace, again never had an issue
3. Engine mounts do go, they are £75 from BMW, and a couple of hours to change, not the end of the world
4. You're thing of the turbo R56 engine
5. The later coolant tanks were fine - replace an early one with a late one and never have a problem again
6. Never heard of that issue?

[Matt UK]

I ran an R53 for 18mths / 20k miles. Lovely little thing but very small if you ever need to carry stuff / people.

I quickly put 15" pepper pots on with some skinny winter tyres to deal with back roads in the winter. Really reduced the hard ride and lowered the grip so it was always slithering around.

Liked it so much that the 17s only went back on when I sold it!

[Vroom101]

cheddar said:

ChemicalChaos said:

I'm sorry but reliability wise these are terrible.

They rust (badly)
The overly hard suspension causes mushrooming of the front shock turret mounts - if you catch it in time you can fit a bracing ring, if not its a costly bodyshell realignment
The engine mounts go
The timing chains get slack and cause a death rattle
Coolant tanks split
Crank oil seals leak and starve the bottom end bearings

They are not a quality car

No bedroom action lately CC?

Does bedroom action include sleeping with one eye on the phone?

Back on topic, I'd love a Cooper S as a fun run around one day. I'd certainly pay a bit extra and go for one of the later facelift models, though.

[s m]

Matt UK said:

I ran an R53 for 18mths / 20k miles. Lovely little thing but very small if you ever need to carry stuff / people.

I quickly put 15" pepper pots on with some skinny winter tyres to deal with back roads in the winter. Really reduced the hard ride and lowered the grip so it was always slithering around.

Liked it so much that the 17s only went back on when I sold it!

Imolas - lovely wheel

[court]

I've been deciding on an R53 as a new daily driver, but not sure if to get a rareish non-chili pack car and strip it for track work, or just screw it and go for a great spec one. I've heard they're all pretty weighty anyway so I guess if wanted a light car it's be best to go for a 172/182.

This one has nothing, just electric windows, the light 16" wheels and that awful 2 spoke steering wheel.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Be really easy to stick a half cage in, some good tyres and get straight down to Castle Combe. Does it need the Chili LSD?

or spend the extra and get a great condition one with some great choice options for example
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262862269491


I'm not sure the latter is quite worth the asking price, but these things are always negotiable.

[s m]

court said:

I've been deciding on an R53 as a new daily driver, but not sure if to get a rareish non-chili pack car and strip it for track work, or just screw it and go for a great spec one. I've heard they're all pretty weighty anyway so I guess if wanted a light car it's be best to go for a 172/182.

This one has nothing, just electric windows, the light 16" wheels and that awful 2 spoke steering wheel.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Be really easy to stick a half cage in, some good tyres and get straight down to Castle Combe. Does it need the Chili LSD?

or spend the extra and get a great condition one with some great choice options for example
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262862269491


I'm not sure the latter is quite worth the asking price, but these things are always negotiable.

I had a non Chilli pack 55 - LSD was a no-brainer as a £120 new option - I personally thought it made quite a difference after trying cars with and without ( friend had a Chilli pack with, one dealer demo I tried didn't ).

It's the GKN Super LSD, same as in the Mazda 3 MPS, and is a torque apportioning one.

I didn't go for the Chilli pack as other than the Xenon lights it seemed mostly bling stuff like big alloys, added to which my friend's car had a lot of trouble with his lights - one of the mechanics told him it was because he maybe shut the bonnet too hard ( lights obviously part of the bonnet ). That put me off although I think that problem was just restricted to his car. I spent a bit of time deliberating on the spec as back in 2005 there was quite a wait for a new one. Local dealer was only allocated 4 per year, 2 on each plate change

[Challo]

s m said:

court said:

I've been deciding on an R53 as a new daily driver, but not sure if to get a rareish non-chili pack car and strip it for track work, or just screw it and go for a great spec one. I've heard they're all pretty weighty anyway so I guess if wanted a light car it's be best to go for a 172/182.

This one has nothing, just electric windows, the light 16" wheels and that awful 2 spoke steering wheel.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Be really easy to stick a half cage in, some good tyres and get straight down to Castle Combe. Does it need the Chili LSD?

or spend the extra and get a great condition one with some great choice options for example
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262862269491


I'm not sure the latter is quite worth the asking price, but these things are always negotiable.

I had a non Chilli pack 55 - LSD was a no-brainer as a £120 new option - I personally thought it made quite a difference after trying cars with and without ( friend had a Chilli pack with, one dealer demo I tried didn't ).

It's the GKN Super LSD, same as in the Mazda 3 MPS, and is a torque apportioning one.

I didn't go for the Chilli pack as other than the Xenon lights it seemed mostly bling stuff like big alloys, added to which my friend's car had a lot of trouble with his lights - one of the mechanics told him it was because he maybe shut the bonnet too hard ( lights obviously part of the bonnet ). That put me off although I think that problem was just restricted to his car. I spent a bit of time deliberating on the spec as back in 2005 there was quite a wait for a new one. Local dealer was only allocated 4 per year, 2 on each plate change

The Xenon's are a known issue on the early cars. They where a complete sealed unit so could only change the ballast at the back, but often the ignitors failed. The facelight cars have a different light and I think they had more changeable parts which reduced the cost to fix. A new Xenon was around £350 from BMW.

[V8A*ndy]

ChemicalChaos said:

I'm sorry but reliability wise these are terrible.

They rust (badly)
The overly hard suspension causes mushrooming of the front shock turret mounts - if you catch it in time you can fit a bracing ring, if not its a costly bodyshell realignment
The engine mounts go
The timing chains get slack and cause a death rattle
Coolant tanks split
Crank oil seals leak and starve the bottom end bearings

They are not a quality car

Ours is a 2006 example.

Problems so far.....

Leaky stat housing and the rear of the exhaust had to be replaced (with a Milltek).

Ours had the waxoyl treatment from new so it's fairly tidy under there.

Without tempting fate it's been the most reliable fun daily driver car we have ever owned to date.

[Sir_Dave]

Vroom101 said:

Sir_Dave, can I ask why you run that set-up? I would've thought the smaller wheels should have been a better choice for the road.

Purely as i had the 17's from my previous GP1 & the 16" 888's are nowhere near road legal

They're a lovely looking wheel as well imho, had them on most hot hatches ive owned over the years (variety of 1*2's and a 306 Rallye):


Now on my R56 as it happens, the Brembos are too big for 16's.

[aelord]

Been mulling over getting one for a fast road-track project weekend runabout.

Earlier supercharged S as a base car, or the later turbo?

[mark seeker]

V8A*ndy said:

ChemicalChaos said:

I'm sorry but reliability wise these are terrible.

They rust (badly)
The overly hard suspension causes mushrooming of the front shock turret mounts - if you catch it in time you can fit a bracing ring, if not its a costly bodyshell realignment
The engine mounts go
The timing chains get slack and cause a death rattle
Coolant tanks split
Crank oil seals leak and starve the bottom end bearings

They are not a quality car

Ours is a 2006 example.

Problems so far.....

Leaky stat housing and the rear of the exhaust had to be replaced (with a Milltek).

Ours had the waxoyl treatment from new so it's fairly tidy under there.

Without tempting fate it's been the most reliable fun daily driver car we have ever owned to date.

To be honest I thought the steering pump was one of the biggest Achilles heels? Frustratingly mine went after 9 months of ownership, but you can get them rebuilt fairly cheaply, in just over 5k I've mainly spent money on consumables (tyres/exhaust/servicing), it does add up though.

[NordicCrankShaft]

Jumping in on the R53 Cooper S bandwagon. That supercharger whine even after two years of ownership is still addictive as hell!! The mpg however is not

[I Am Milk]

aelord said:

Been mulling over getting one for a fast road-track project weekend runabout.

Earlier supercharged S as a base car, or the later turbo?

Buy the one in the article, I'd say it was the perfect base for what you want.

[aelord]

I Am Milk said:

Buy the one in the article, I'd say it was the perfect base for what you want.

Ty - certainly has caught my eye!

[Vroom101]

Sir_Dave said:

Purely as i had the 17's from my previous GP1 & the 16" 888's are nowhere near road legal

They're a lovely looking wheel as well imho, had them on most hot hatches ive owned over the years (variety of 1*2's and a 306 Rallye):


Now on my R56 as it happens, the Brembos are too big for 16's.

I agree, yours look great. I've always been a fan of the Turinis, but if I do end up buying a Cooper S, I think I'd stick with the 16". I think the R50 Minis are one of the few modernish cars that look good on smaller wheels. Plus it can only be a good thing for the ride quality.

[pdavison]

Here's mine (just a nice excuse for sharing a pic!)

[Roncee]

After waiting for my family owned weekend R53 for 10 years I finally have it but have a garage of 5 cars already. I just can't justify the tax and insurance on this one as well as the others. Doh! Alas its for sale with 43k miles on the clock with 0 mods (listed on PH).