RE: Mini Cooper S (R53): PH Buying Guide
Discussion
dukebox9reg said:
They do rust like like the classic mini's. Boot lid is one of the worst offenders
A few rust prone spots on the boot lid above the number plate lights, and around the tail lamps in the back wings - but they rot nothing like a classic Mini.The sills, and floors on the R50 series are very well rust proofed.
My youngest classic Mini is 1998, so 22 years old. At 56k miles it has had new inner and outer sills, front floors, scuttle, front wings, front panel, a rear subframe, a door skin, and repairs to the rear quarters.
dukebox9reg said:
J4CKO said:
The guide still says "Available from £5000", can only assume thats a throwback to its original 2014 details, loads of these from a couple of grand.
A bit like TT Mk1 these last well on the whole but develop niggles as they get older, but can only see prices going one way. I remember original Minis being super cheap. I know some will say its "Not a proper Mini", yawn, well to most folk original Minis are a distant memory, nice thought or an irrelevance, for anyone in their twenties, thirties and even forties now, these are the Minis they grew up with on the whole and to them they are a Proper Mini.
Supercharged, manual and good fun, good looking and robust, cant see how these wont attain classic status, buy now whilst they are just cheap old bangers.Too numerous and rust resistant maybe to go like 60s Cooper S's but they definitely have a loyal following. Buy a half decent one I reckon it will be depreciation proof and still modern enough to use every day, all year round.
They do rust like like the classic mini's. Boot lid is one of the worst offendersA bit like TT Mk1 these last well on the whole but develop niggles as they get older, but can only see prices going one way. I remember original Minis being super cheap. I know some will say its "Not a proper Mini", yawn, well to most folk original Minis are a distant memory, nice thought or an irrelevance, for anyone in their twenties, thirties and even forties now, these are the Minis they grew up with on the whole and to them they are a Proper Mini.
Supercharged, manual and good fun, good looking and robust, cant see how these wont attain classic status, buy now whilst they are just cheap old bangers.Too numerous and rust resistant maybe to go like 60s Cooper S's but they definitely have a loyal following. Buy a half decent one I reckon it will be depreciation proof and still modern enough to use every day, all year round.
Not heard of an R53 with terminal rot like 7/8 year old ones used to get.
s m said:
If I can find a really nice late one - don’t mind the new one eithet
I’ve seen a few nice JCWs being sold recently, but prices seem to be on the rise. For a long time I think these were a bit of a bargainThe price of some of the optional JCW bits has gone through the roof lately too. Have you ever tried the JCW Sparcos? They’re fantastic
I’ve always fancied a Hartge, but not seen one for sale for quite a long time
I'm in the market for one of these as my family wagon is going back and cant see us needing a "big" car till spring time so thought with the lease drought i'd get one of these, always wanted one when they were new, wife will be impressed picking the kids up in it i'm sure 
I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
I bought an 18 month old 52 plate, Chilli red, black roof 2002 S, from its first ( a Lady ) owner, in Redruth Cornwall. A non sunroof car, fortunately, with 13,000 miles on it. Think I paid £13,700, a lot of money back then. Loved it, but it did drink fuel ( more than the 3.2 Careera we had @ the same time. My ex wife would not stop running up the miles in it, so in early 05, I put it up for sale. Zero takers, with a few saying they didn’t like red.
In the end Sytners of Gerards Cross bought it from me. Their salesman kicked me in the teeth to the tune of £200 quid, when I got there, by saying it needed two new front tires, as “ the edges were worn “ i was not amused. Can still see it now, as I glanced back @ it, as I walked away to the train station, with a tear, in my eye.......
It turned up in circa 2010, in the Bournemouth area, guy wanted £6 grand for it, it had a daft private plate on it and circa 70,000 miles. Too £ much for me.
I then tracked it down, via here, about 18 months ago. Trader had just sold it for circa £2,200.
I still have all of it’s original order paper work etc.
In the end Sytners of Gerards Cross bought it from me. Their salesman kicked me in the teeth to the tune of £200 quid, when I got there, by saying it needed two new front tires, as “ the edges were worn “ i was not amused. Can still see it now, as I glanced back @ it, as I walked away to the train station, with a tear, in my eye.......
It turned up in circa 2010, in the Bournemouth area, guy wanted £6 grand for it, it had a daft private plate on it and circa 70,000 miles. Too £ much for me.
I then tracked it down, via here, about 18 months ago. Trader had just sold it for circa £2,200.
I still have all of it’s original order paper work etc.
jonwm said:
I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
There are plenty out there with more than 100k on the clock.In the US, MINI have a 100k mile service on the car - its a big service and includes supercharger oil and bearings, replacement radiator. It you watch the Wheeler Dealers episode where they do the MC40, you'll see them do the big service on it.
In the UK we don't have that - the cars don't suddenly self destruct at 100k miles, but you might want to have a few of the jobs done to ensure longevity.
jonwm said:
I'm in the market for one of these as my family wagon is going back and cant see us needing a "big" car till spring time so thought with the lease drought i'd get one of these, always wanted one when they were new, wife will be impressed picking the kids up in it i'm sure
I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
Supercharger just needs an oil change before 100k but should keep going for a while longer. Can pick up plenty of used SC's for £200 or so, even the later teflon ones with lowish mileage. Then there's Mini specialist companies out there that would do a full strip and rebuild for 500-600quid if you feel the need. A new modern replacement is the TVS900 which bolts straight on but is the best part and £3500. I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
jonwm said:
I'm in the market for one of these as my family wagon is going back and cant see us needing a "big" car till spring time so thought with the lease drought i'd get one of these, always wanted one when they were new, wife will be impressed picking the kids up in it i'm sure
I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
They are good for well over 100k if looked after. I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
In relation to the supercharger I have one currently on about 90k I think, I had the supercharger oil changed along with a reduced pulley fitted and new belt for i'd guess around £400 at a specialist, I guess because I had other work done at the same time so I can't remember the break down on costs.
I paid £900 for mine although it was in the middle of lockdown so I probably got it cheap and I've thrown £1500 at it since but £2000 should buy a perfectly usable R53 quite easily now.
Mines more for a track car but it's an absolute blast to drive, they are quite heavy on fuel for what they are, I don't think the fuel economy is significantly better than my BMW 240i which is my main car.
I bought mine at 87k miles and did a major service on it including supercharger. Oil and seals for the SC were about £60. Whole job took a day and I did several engine oil seals, water pump, thermostat, auxiliary belt, reduced pulley and plugs while I was in there. Been a very reliable wee car for me over the last 2 years. Only cost £140 to get it through its last 2 MOTs.
I bought an R52 in lockdown, its one of those cars that if you need to do the supercharger service, you may as well tackle a few other things at the same time due to access, you pretty much have to take the front of the car off to do the supercharger anyway.
For mine, my tame mechanic is replacing seals, crankshaft sensor, clutch water pump, etc all at the same time as the parts are pretty cheap so it's well worth doing. Also, they are really well rust proofed, few bits of surface rust on the subframe but all the sills, arches are completely rust-free
They are such fun cars, I also have an R56 JCW but the R52 is more fun, just not as refined. Big community around these, worth joining the Facebook groups, the only thing I would say now that there are so many being broken, the number of times you see a good enough R53 being broken around 100k as it needs a clutch & a supercharger service with nothing else wrong with it, but not economic to do versus what the car is worth, big shame, but surely can only push up the good ones as time goes by, the usual story.
For mine, my tame mechanic is replacing seals, crankshaft sensor, clutch water pump, etc all at the same time as the parts are pretty cheap so it's well worth doing. Also, they are really well rust proofed, few bits of surface rust on the subframe but all the sills, arches are completely rust-free
They are such fun cars, I also have an R56 JCW but the R52 is more fun, just not as refined. Big community around these, worth joining the Facebook groups, the only thing I would say now that there are so many being broken, the number of times you see a good enough R53 being broken around 100k as it needs a clutch & a supercharger service with nothing else wrong with it, but not economic to do versus what the car is worth, big shame, but surely can only push up the good ones as time goes by, the usual story.
Had mine a couple of years now. Late R53 Chilli, now on 47k miles. I swapped the seats out for some GP Recaros which were just about OK, standard seats were not right for my back.
Great fun with the LSD, and now keeping it for high days and holidays on the basis that it won’t depreciate too much if the miles are kept down. That’s the plan anyway...
Great fun with the LSD, and now keeping it for high days and holidays on the basis that it won’t depreciate too much if the miles are kept down. That’s the plan anyway...
We had an electric blue 2003 one, so only 163bhp, several years ago from only 18k miles and ran for about 5 years.
It did start feeling a little tired near the end with about 65 or 70k miles on it. Around that time (2012 or 2013) we test drove a new R56 JCW and it was a whole heap better in nearly every department, much faster overall.
But I think the R53 hydraulic steering has an edge. If I was picking up one as long term keeper/future classic thing I'd definitely spend a bit more, say £4500-5000 to get a mint low mileage one, preferably with all the JCW engine and brake upgrades (although I guess you could add a pulley upgrade, intercooler, exhaust, R56 brakes to a stock one) rather than some pile of crap for £2500 that you have to rebuild.
But you can say that about any car from that era, like the Mk1 TT, just because you can buy one for £2000-2500 doesn't mean you should.
It did start feeling a little tired near the end with about 65 or 70k miles on it. Around that time (2012 or 2013) we test drove a new R56 JCW and it was a whole heap better in nearly every department, much faster overall.
But I think the R53 hydraulic steering has an edge. If I was picking up one as long term keeper/future classic thing I'd definitely spend a bit more, say £4500-5000 to get a mint low mileage one, preferably with all the JCW engine and brake upgrades (although I guess you could add a pulley upgrade, intercooler, exhaust, R56 brakes to a stock one) rather than some pile of crap for £2500 that you have to rebuild.
But you can say that about any car from that era, like the Mk1 TT, just because you can buy one for £2000-2500 doesn't mean you should.
Leins said:
The price of some of the optional JCW bits has gone through the roof lately too. Have you ever tried the JCW Sparcos? They’re fantastic
Yes I have them in mine. Without doubt the best looking and comfortable seats.Regarding the JCW parts, yes they're silly money as are the Carbon Fiber parts. I bought a new a Carbon gear changer recently £200. I'm on the look out for the hand brake leaver too.
jonwm said:
I'm in the market for one of these as my family wagon is going back and cant see us needing a "big" car till spring time so thought with the lease drought i'd get one of these, always wanted one when they were new, wife will be impressed picking the kids up in it i'm sure
I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
Owned from new, factory order as dealers were asking for almost new money for 1yr old cars in early 2005.I see lots of articles stating 100k is the end of economical life for these as they need Supercharger maintenance, oil leaks fixing and generally start costing a fair bit of money, anyone run one of these over 100k?
Sold mine at 144k, After 10yrs hard use it had been running 100hp over stock on std internals for over 110k of those miles, only stayed stock until 1st service, Then got a 17% pully upgrade, Start of a slippery slope of constant upgrades leading to numerous track days and trips down santapod.
Only thing that broke Under the hood was a heater matrix, boot handle lamps rusted out, some minor paint defects were respirated by bmw under warranty after 8 years
I did swap the charger as a precaution at 85k, as had a new one cheap.
My wife and I have become addicted to these...... I have a 02 plate Cooper S, she has an 03 JCW Cooper S. All bought for buttons (relatively). We also seem to have accumulated 3 others, or 'rescued' as she puts it, that we have sequestered in a shed to fix up later.
Full front end service and supercharger service is possible as a home mechanic with a bit of patience and a methodical approach:
Full front end service and supercharger service is possible as a home mechanic with a bit of patience and a methodical approach:
howardhughes said:
Yes I have them in mine. Without doubt the best looking and comfortable seats.
Regarding the JCW parts, yes they're silly money as are the Carbon Fiber parts. I bought a new a Carbon gear changer recently £200. I'm on the look out for the hand brake leaver too.
I’ve been tempted to swap the seats in mine, as even though the GP Recaros are lovely, they’re a bit heavy for what is supposed to be a lightened car. I was never sure why they didn’t come with the Sparcos as standard instead, especially as they are heated too. I do fancy a set of carbon Recaro Poles for it, but they’re really not cheapRegarding the JCW parts, yes they're silly money as are the Carbon Fiber parts. I bought a new a Carbon gear changer recently £200. I'm on the look out for the hand brake leaver too.
I’m on the search for a hand brake lever too, so if I find a couple I’ll give you a shout!
I put the carbon gear lever in mine too, much nicer than the standard one, and also fitted the carbon front scoop insert. At first I thought it might be too much, but now I thjnk it matches the standard rear carbon wing on the GP quite well
One thing I am glad I have is the additional JCW oil temp gauge and voltmeter, although it’s never seemed to run hot. Got this unit from Italy a few years ago, as they seemed to be pretty rare
Edited by Leins on Thursday 15th October 20:32
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff