Is the R56 Death Rattle really as bad as forums say?

[magic354]

Hi everyone,

Currently selling our family Abarth 500 and my Clio 182 and considering moving into a Cooper S. I've been to see an R53 that was very lovely, but trying to find a facelift with the right spec and in low miles is proving very tricky! I'm considering an R56 as well, and the fuel consumption/road tax savings would certainly be very welcome but the appears to be a lot of horror stories about the infamous Death Rattle. I'm looking to get a car with no more than 40k miles but it even appears to be a potential issue at this mileage.

I have seen that Lohen offer a service to fix this, at a cost of around £600, but from my research it seems the issue can still come back? The budget could potentially stretch to a post 2010 F18 engined car but would rather be in the £5-6k ball park as opposed to the £7.5-8k the F18s seem to start at.

Any advice is most welcome, looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Cheers,
Tom.

[mon the fish]

I wouldn't worry about mileage on a facelift R53 - they take it well. Plenty well over 100k with no issues, so if you found a nice one at say 60-80k miles I wouldn't worry.

Oh and if the seats are worn in any you see, I can sell you my spare blue/black front and back seats at a good price

[MrC986]

magic354 said:

Hi everyone,

Currently selling our family Abarth 500 and my Clio 182 and considering moving into a Cooper S. I've been to see an R53 that was very lovely, but trying to find a facelift with the right spec and in low miles is proving very tricky! I'm considering an R56 as well, and the fuel consumption/road tax savings would certainly be very welcome but the appears to be a lot of horror stories about the infamous Death Rattle. I'm looking to get a car with no more than 40k miles but it even appears to be a potential issue at this mileage.

I have seen that Lohen offer a service to fix this, at a cost of around £600, but from my research it seems the issue can still come back? The budget could potentially stretch to a post 2010 F18 engined car but would rather be in the £5-6k ball park as opposed to the £7.5-8k the F18s seem to start at.

Any advice is most welcome, looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Cheers,
Tom.

The dreaded death rattle could return after replacing the chain etc. although it would be primarily down to poor maintenance as the initial chain issues apparently came about from cars running low on engine oil as they can be known to like a drop of th black stuff. I have an R56 that previously had the chain replaced and although mine isn't used as a daily driver, I regularly check the oil and have also moved to a slightly more specific oil as I'm now running circa 250bhp! I'm also aware of warming the car up properly before giving it any spirited driving, and also letting it cool down after a prolonged spell of enthusiast driving.

[magic354]

mon the fish said:

I wouldn't worry about mileage on a facelift R53 - they take it well. Plenty well over 100k with no issues, so if you found a nice one at say 60-80k miles I wouldn't worry.

Oh and if the seats are worn in any you see, I can sell you my spare blue/black front and back seats at a good price

Its less that I am worrying and more that I would just like a low mileage car for a change haha.

[magic354]

MrC986 said:

magic354 said:

Hi everyone,

Currently selling our family Abarth 500 and my Clio 182 and considering moving into a Cooper S. I've been to see an R53 that was very lovely, but trying to find a facelift with the right spec and in low miles is proving very tricky! I'm considering an R56 as well, and the fuel consumption/road tax savings would certainly be very welcome but the appears to be a lot of horror stories about the infamous Death Rattle. I'm looking to get a car with no more than 40k miles but it even appears to be a potential issue at this mileage.

I have seen that Lohen offer a service to fix this, at a cost of around £600, but from my research it seems the issue can still come back? The budget could potentially stretch to a post 2010 F18 engined car but would rather be in the £5-6k ball park as opposed to the £7.5-8k the F18s seem to start at.

Any advice is most welcome, looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Cheers,
Tom.

The dreaded death rattle could return after replacing the chain etc. although it would be primarily down to poor maintenance as the initial chain issues apparently came about from cars running low on engine oil as they can be known to like a drop of th black stuff. I have an R56 that previously had the chain replaced and although mine isn't used as a daily driver, I regularly check the oil and have also moved to a slightly more specific oil as I'm now running circa 250bhp! I'm also aware of warming the car up properly before giving it any spirited driving, and also letting it cool down after a prolonged spell of enthusiast driving.

You provide an interesting insight- in theory, providing the car is maintained post timing chain change it shouldn't cause any further issues?

[bazza white]

Check with owners as many will of had them changed, I had mine done in December if not just budget it in.