On the hunt for an R53 Cooper S. To Buy or Not To Buy.

[TinyCappo]

That is the question.

Im after something thats fun and practical as currently I have a S80 T6 (Ballistic missile quick but barge) and a Suzuki Cappuccino (scary mental forged engine suzuki sport suspension and plate diff telepathic handling), A Cooper S is a nice in the middle meeting point with the added bonus of the wife will actually drive it...as she wont go near the cappo

So I have been looking around for a few weeks now gauging prices and on the usual haunts PH classifieds MiniTorque, and TotalMini it seems you can get quite decent metal for around £5k.

Question is. Am I better off going for the newest lowest mileage example I can find, somewhere around a 04-05 with 50k ish? Or am I better off going for one with higher mileage thats well looked after but has had a few more toys like catbacks upgraded superchargers even some John Cooper Works models feature around this price now but with more like 90k mileage. Which im not too fussed about as ill be putting miles on it as a daily driver.

Im just not sure whats better to do buy a nice low mileage 60k ish one for top budget that in 15-20,000 miles im going to have to spend another 2k on getting a new flywheel, clutch, steering pump etc fitted or buy one with higher mileage at a lower cost that has had the weak points fixed.

Any suggestions and I apologise for the slight ramblingness of the post

[Defcon5]

I got the other half an 03 Cooper S last year, and I have to say it is very good.

At your budget make sure you get a facelift one, they are a lot better.

[Marcia]

Get one,i have a 55 Reg Checkmate,the last of the R53's,had it 15 months,i love it to bits,loads of fun to drive,i would rather sell a kidney than get rid of it

[TinyCappo]

Hows this one assuming the wheels have been changed to anthracite as he says in the description.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

[Defcon5]

46mpg? Bit optimistic isnt it!

[TinyCappo]

That is what I thought. However if its been remapped on a rolling road properly economy would improve but 46 is a tad optimistic 35 maybe.

Other than the economy is there anything else that screams Run away (other than the orange wheels?)

[Defcon5]

Well its an auction so I suppose it depends what the reserve is and what it sells for.

Its also a pre-facelift, the facelifts are better in every way (apart from engine mounts)

[JamesK]

Can't speak for a Lohen tuned car personally but I'll eat this iPad if it does 46mpg off a cliff let alone under it's own power. The supercharged cars are not as good on fuel as the later turbos and I struggle to get much over 30 in my JCW even on a run.

Having said that buy one. Amazing fun!!

[TinyCappo]

Thanks for all your comments.

I have seen and had a drive in a newer turbo but I just don't like them as much has the supercharged ones something addictive and A series gearbox-esque about the supercharged ones.

If you had 5.5k what ones would you buy from the classifieds ebay etc?

[Defcon5]

No I mean a facelift R53. I think post '04 is when they changed.

Facelifted cars have

better xenons
better supercharger
more power
better gear ratios
more pops and bangs from the exhaust

[Marcia]

For £5,500,i think your naturally going to end up with an old S,say 52 reg,if newer than that it's going to be high mlieage that needs stuff doing.

When i purchased my S i set myself a budget of 6K,when i saw what was on offer for that money,i realised i had to increase my budget for what i wanted.

[Defcon5]

Marcia said:

For £5,500,i think your naturally going to end up with an old S,say 52 reg,if newer than that it's going to be high mlieage that needs stuff doing.

Nah, I got my '03 last year for 4.5k, with 50000 miles.


'54 with 40k for £5.5k http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3767913.htm

Edited by Defcon5 on Saturday 14th April 22:13

[Marcia]

Defcon5 said:

Marcia said:

For £5,500,i think your naturally going to end up with an old S,say 52 reg,if newer than that it's going to be high mlieage that needs stuff doing.

Nah, I got my '03 last year for 4.5k, with 50000 miles.


'54 with 40k for £5.5k http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3767913.htm

Edited by Defcon5 on Saturday 14th April 22:13

I got my '55 last january with 37,000 miles on it at the time,paid £8,000 from a dealer,but it is a limited edition model,which will have made it more expensive.Does that sound over the odds?

[arfur daley]

Dont forget to budget for replacement rear brake discs and rear exhaust.

[Justin Cyder]

I'm eyeing up an '04 with 19.3k on the clock. Black & tan full leather, sat nav, cruise, panormaic & HK audio for £6.8 asking. The seller keeps changing th ad price between 64 & 6800. Sounds high-ish? It is a strong spec & hardly used.

[TinyCappo]

Im a little gob smacked at how much the minis on minitorque and totalmini drop before they are sold. Everyone puts them up for £6-7k at the start, and within a month-two months they are dropping down to £4-5k is this just the market or people being too optimistic.

Thanks

[scotty_d]

TinyCappo said:

That is what I thought. However if its been remapped on a rolling road properly economy would improve but 46 is a tad optimistic 35 maybe.

Other than the economy is there anything else that screams Run away (other than the orange wheels?)

I have had 43 mpg out of our r53 on a round trip of 400 miles on a steady motorway run. It can be done and that is not going on the computer that was calculating it tank to tank full.

Most if the time town driving we see 28-30mpg but nice to know it can be not too bad on a run.

[si_xsi]

Justin Cyder said:

I'm eyeing up an '04 with 19.3k on the clock. Black & tan full leather, sat nav, cruise, panormaic & HK audio for £6.8 asking. The seller keeps changing th ad price between 64 & 6800. Sounds high-ish? It is a strong spec & hardly used.

The tan leather (think they call it sahara) is quite rare but IMHO but whatever floats yer boat. Would have said £6k tops for the one you're looking at, good spec and low mileage but 8 years old. If you are after an R53, if you can, try to go for 04-06 plate, much better spec and engine. Think facelifts came with LSD's as well.

Goodluck with your searches. Perfect car for some spring / summer weekend fun. Regrettably, from an owners perspective, i think values will continue to take a tumble - especially if fuel does hit £1.60 later this summer. If you look on the pistonheads classified, not many have actually sold and there are loads for sale, so if people want to get rid they will be forced to drop the price. Its a shame as they would normally hold value very well.

[Defcon5]

si_xsi said:

Think facelifts came with LSD's as well.

An option I think, although IIRC it was only a couple of hundred.

[TinyCappo]

Sorry to sound like a complete Mini-Newb but is it 04 or 54 that the facelift came into force? Also how do I check if the car has a LSD? I know how to check on a rear wheel drive car but what about a front wheel drive one?

Thanks Ben

PS is there any way I can change the title as i have just noticed the "an R53" and its annoying me now