Mini Cooper S....R53 what to look for
Discussion
Afternoon all.....
Been in the market lately for another Cooper S, R53.
I owned a 3yr old 54 plate in the past but tht was fortunatley bought via the Mini cherished.
I sold the car due to curcumstances and i am now in the market to purchase another.
The car will be used for pleasure only as i walk to work and my budget isnt the greatest at £2400.
Having a look around most classisfieds, aututrader etc there does seem to be a few good cars worth looking at.
Unfortunately up here in Scotland there seem to be none tht fits the bill at the moment so looks like im goin to have to travel to find the perfect car for me.
So......what should i be looking out for? Obviously a FULL service history would be a good start, with receipts to back tht up but whats the common problems i should be checking and what issues should I definitely walk away from if they appear on inspection. Should mileage be an issue?
Any help would be greatly appreciated with helping me back into Mini ownership!
Ian
Been in the market lately for another Cooper S, R53.
I owned a 3yr old 54 plate in the past but tht was fortunatley bought via the Mini cherished.
I sold the car due to curcumstances and i am now in the market to purchase another.
The car will be used for pleasure only as i walk to work and my budget isnt the greatest at £2400.
Having a look around most classisfieds, aututrader etc there does seem to be a few good cars worth looking at.
Unfortunately up here in Scotland there seem to be none tht fits the bill at the moment so looks like im goin to have to travel to find the perfect car for me.
So......what should i be looking out for? Obviously a FULL service history would be a good start, with receipts to back tht up but whats the common problems i should be checking and what issues should I definitely walk away from if they appear on inspection. Should mileage be an issue?
Any help would be greatly appreciated with helping me back into Mini ownership!
Ian
I paid about the same for my R53 back in February. It had 104k miles, full history and was well specified (Chili, climate, pano roof, leather, factory CD changer etc.) It's a bit of a minefield at this price point, but it's possible to buy a good one. If you're handy with spanners, then ever better 
Firstly, it will leak oil. There are 4 areas where they seem to leak; sump pan gasket, crank pulley gasket, rocker cover and the O-Ring on the crank sensor. I'm slowly working my way through these!
Mileage isn't a big issue on them, provided they have been maintained. Mine is now on 110k and runs wonderfully. Being chain driven, there's no cambelt to worry about. Some seem to suffer with headgasket problems, so make sure you check that out.
If it doesn't feel very quick, it's possible the bypass valve isn't fully closing allowing full boost. Cheap fix, but you can knock the seller down for it. You may also hear a clicking side on WOT in 2nd and 3rd gear; that will be the crank pulley on the way out. Not the cheapest fix, but it can be sorted.
Clutch is a complete PITA to change, at least £500 unless you can do it yourself, so be aware if the clutch is slipping or feels heavy/high bite point etc.
If there a loud grinding sound at idle that sounds like a water pump failure, it's likely the supercharger is failing, or best-case it's running low on oil (they have their own reservoir). It's a ball-ache to replace the oil as the rear fill point is hidden behind the water pump and your car will end up looking like mine did a couple of weeks ago;
It's well worth doing as it's not a service item and likely never been changed. The punishment and heat they have to tolerate means they don't like being run low on oil or running in treacle. They seem to fail somewhere between 100-150k if they haven't been maintained, so keep an ear out for this.
Make sure all the electrics work too, especially the expensive to replace parts like Xenon lights, sunroof motors and AC pumps.
If the car is still on it's original exhaust, then check it very carefully for signs or rust. Many have been replaced by aftermarket stainless items which will last.
There's a ton of other bits I can't think of right now, but those were the main bits I can think of during my time with the car and spending time looking at them, if you've got any more specific questions then I'll do my best to answer Happy hunting!
Firstly, it will leak oil. There are 4 areas where they seem to leak; sump pan gasket, crank pulley gasket, rocker cover and the O-Ring on the crank sensor. I'm slowly working my way through these!
Mileage isn't a big issue on them, provided they have been maintained. Mine is now on 110k and runs wonderfully. Being chain driven, there's no cambelt to worry about. Some seem to suffer with headgasket problems, so make sure you check that out.
If it doesn't feel very quick, it's possible the bypass valve isn't fully closing allowing full boost. Cheap fix, but you can knock the seller down for it. You may also hear a clicking side on WOT in 2nd and 3rd gear; that will be the crank pulley on the way out. Not the cheapest fix, but it can be sorted.
Clutch is a complete PITA to change, at least £500 unless you can do it yourself, so be aware if the clutch is slipping or feels heavy/high bite point etc.
If there a loud grinding sound at idle that sounds like a water pump failure, it's likely the supercharger is failing, or best-case it's running low on oil (they have their own reservoir). It's a ball-ache to replace the oil as the rear fill point is hidden behind the water pump and your car will end up looking like mine did a couple of weeks ago;
It's well worth doing as it's not a service item and likely never been changed. The punishment and heat they have to tolerate means they don't like being run low on oil or running in treacle. They seem to fail somewhere between 100-150k if they haven't been maintained, so keep an ear out for this.
Make sure all the electrics work too, especially the expensive to replace parts like Xenon lights, sunroof motors and AC pumps.
If the car is still on it's original exhaust, then check it very carefully for signs or rust. Many have been replaced by aftermarket stainless items which will last.
There's a ton of other bits I can't think of right now, but those were the main bits I can think of during my time with the car and spending time looking at them, if you've got any more specific questions then I'll do my best to answer
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