Discussion
nickfrog said:
Lovely, a rare colour too...all we need now is a pic of you behind the wheel ?
Thanks nick,it's Space Blue,and also a Limited Edition,MINI only made so many of this model(not sure just how many),which is a checkmate in 2005.Although,i don't have any of me behind the wheel,i'm afraid 
Don't you just love the interior too,i know i do. Oh,and i love the sound of the Supercharger Thanks, and likewise!
I have had mine since 22nd Jan this year and am REALLY happy with it! As you probably know the Checkmates were the very last of the Supercharged cars before BMW slapped a turbo on them, made them a bit fatter and a bit more comfy! Because they were the last of the 'old' shape they came with extra's like the performance plus suspension, HK stereo, limited slip diff, special paint etc etc etc - all on all a great little package!
Don't know about you, but it puts a grin on my face every time I jump behind the wheel, the whine from the turbo charger coupled with the popping and crackling from the exhaust help take your mind off the MPG, and make you think about smiles per gallon instead!
I am yet to see another Checkmate on the road, so keep your eye open!
I have had mine since 22nd Jan this year and am REALLY happy with it! As you probably know the Checkmates were the very last of the Supercharged cars before BMW slapped a turbo on them, made them a bit fatter and a bit more comfy! Because they were the last of the 'old' shape they came with extra's like the performance plus suspension, HK stereo, limited slip diff, special paint etc etc etc - all on all a great little package!
Don't know about you, but it puts a grin on my face every time I jump behind the wheel, the whine from the turbo charger coupled with the popping and crackling from the exhaust help take your mind off the MPG, and make you think about smiles per gallon instead!
I am yet to see another Checkmate on the road, so keep your eye open!
MadDad said:
Thanks, and likewise!
I have had mine since 22nd Jan this year and am REALLY happy with it! As you probably know the Checkmates were the very last of the Supercharged cars before BMW slapped a turbo on them, made them a bit fatter and a bit more comfy! Because they were the last of the 'old' shape they came with extra's like the performance plus suspension, HK stereo, limited slip diff, special paint etc etc etc - all on all a great little package!
Don't know about you, but it puts a grin on my face every time I jump behind the wheel, the whine from the turbo charger coupled with the popping and crackling from the exhaust help take your mind off the MPG, and make you think about smiles per gallon instead!
I am yet to see another Checkmate on the road, so keep your eye open!
Yeah,i didn't know alot about these upon buying one,but it seems the R53 was the best one to go for,doesn't it? They have Chrysler engines in them,I have had mine since 22nd Jan this year and am REALLY happy with it! As you probably know the Checkmates were the very last of the Supercharged cars before BMW slapped a turbo on them, made them a bit fatter and a bit more comfy! Because they were the last of the 'old' shape they came with extra's like the performance plus suspension, HK stereo, limited slip diff, special paint etc etc etc - all on all a great little package!
Don't know about you, but it puts a grin on my face every time I jump behind the wheel, the whine from the turbo charger coupled with the popping and crackling from the exhaust help take your mind off the MPG, and make you think about smiles per gallon instead!
I am yet to see another Checkmate on the road, so keep your eye open!
which apparantly is a good,strong engine!
Had mine 14 months,had a few problems with it when i first got it from the dealership,but got them sorted out!
Oh yes,this car certainly makes me grin EVERYTIME i am behind the wheel,and don't get me started on the whining supercharger
.I think i've only seen on the road,but that's all.
If I am to be honest I didn't know much about them until I noticed mine on a dealers forecourt, once I decided I liked it I went home and did my homework, and found out that the Checkmate was the last R53 with lots of toys - yay!
I am still loving every minute behind the wheel, the more I drive the better it gets! I had a couple of tiny issues with mine, but I bought it from a BMW dealer so one phone call and they were all fixed.
As a better of interest what issues did you experience?
I am still loving every minute behind the wheel, the more I drive the better it gets! I had a couple of tiny issues with mine, but I bought it from a BMW dealer so one phone call and they were all fixed.
As a better of interest what issues did you experience?
MadDad said:
If I am to be honest I didn't know much about them until I noticed mine on a dealers forecourt, once I decided I liked it I went home and did my homework, and found out that the Checkmate was the last R53 with lots of toys - yay!
I am still loving every minute behind the wheel, the more I drive the better it gets! I had a couple of tiny issues with mine, but I bought it from a BMW dealer so one phone call and they were all fixed.
As a better of interest what issues did you experience?
Same here I am still loving every minute behind the wheel, the more I drive the better it gets! I had a couple of tiny issues with mine, but I bought it from a BMW dealer so one phone call and they were all fixed.
As a better of interest what issues did you experience?
i went to the MINI dealership(whome i will never buy a car from as long as i live again) with a sensible budget in mind as i knew i was going to buy one,wanted for about 5 years!Then i saw the Checkmate and my budget suddenly went up
I knew that if i test-drove it,i would be buying it....so i did!I had quite a few issues with mine,but are now all sorted,they were...
Firstly after 2 weeks of owning the car,i felt that the brakes just didn't feel as good as they should have been,so took it back and they changed the brake fluid,which didn't have any effect at all.It took me 5 months of complaing and a threat of Trading Standards for them to sort them.Everytime i took it back to get the other problems sorted,i complained about the brakes,and everytime they were insistant that there wasn't anything wrong.After taking it to the garage where i always take my cars and getting them to put it on the rolling road,it turned out that 1 of the rear discs were warped! So they had no choice but to replace them.
They also forgot to give the car an oil change before releasing it to me,it took me to check the oil myself to realise that it wasn't even reading minimum on the dipstick,so they changed the oil,the car had gone about 3 years without an oil-change!Then 2 weeks later it developed an oil leak! I thought "oh no,what now"! So took it back again to be fixed.
A few weeks later it started over-heating and in turn developed a coolant leak,which turned out to be the Thermostat Housing,which i think is quite a common thing to wrong on them...so back again!
A few weeks later again,i put the Aircon on,and it didn't seem to do anything...so back yet again,by this stage i was getting really dis-heartened with the car,the problem was the Compressor and the Expansion Valve,which had to be replaced.
Luckily these were all covered in the warranty.
I have to apportion alot of the blame on the dealership,but who knows the car could have been a bit neglected by the previous owner.
But despite all these issues,i still love the car and it puts a grin on my face everytime i get in it,they are such a hoot to drive
Edited by Marcia on Saturday 10th March 20:46
Hmmmm, not a great buying experience by the sound of it, glad that its sorted now though!
My issues were minor, high level brake light lens was broken/missing, trim between the drivers door and the window was cracked, change into and out of 3rd gear was sticky for a few days, pulled a little towards the n/s under braking, but one trip to the dealer (and a nice sticky bun and coffee while I waited) and all of the faults were fixed!
I was also quite lucky, mine had just been serviced so all of the oils (including brake fluid) has been changed, it had 3 x new tyres, new discs and pads all around and I convinced them to pay for a full machine valet before I picked it up. All in all I have to say the dealer was very good, they knocked a couple of hundred quid off the price, gave me a good p/x value on a heap of crap Volvo, sorted the tax etc and have given me a voucher for the next two years MOT's, along with 12 months MOT insurance, 12 months full warranty, 12 months breakdown cover and 1/2 a tank of petrol!
I do have a minor concern, although I am sure its nothing. Under hard acceleration I have what is best described as a 'chatter', which I assume is coming from the supercharger. I think it might just be the rota's in the supercharger spinning at high speed, but I have not driven another R53 so have nothing to compare it to. If it is an issue I am not too worried as long as it goes wrong in the next 10 months while I still have warranty!
My issues were minor, high level brake light lens was broken/missing, trim between the drivers door and the window was cracked, change into and out of 3rd gear was sticky for a few days, pulled a little towards the n/s under braking, but one trip to the dealer (and a nice sticky bun and coffee while I waited) and all of the faults were fixed!
I was also quite lucky, mine had just been serviced so all of the oils (including brake fluid) has been changed, it had 3 x new tyres, new discs and pads all around and I convinced them to pay for a full machine valet before I picked it up. All in all I have to say the dealer was very good, they knocked a couple of hundred quid off the price, gave me a good p/x value on a heap of crap Volvo, sorted the tax etc and have given me a voucher for the next two years MOT's, along with 12 months MOT insurance, 12 months full warranty, 12 months breakdown cover and 1/2 a tank of petrol!
I do have a minor concern, although I am sure its nothing. Under hard acceleration I have what is best described as a 'chatter', which I assume is coming from the supercharger. I think it might just be the rota's in the supercharger spinning at high speed, but I have not driven another R53 so have nothing to compare it to. If it is an issue I am not too worried as long as it goes wrong in the next 10 months while I still have warranty!
;)).Ah yes,i also had an issue with the Supercharger,i was on a dual carriageway and i started to accelerate to overtake someone and all the power just went,so parked her up and after about 15 mins all would be ok,then it happened again the next morning on the way to work,so had to nurse it to the garage when it opened,and it was the Air Bypass Valve in the Supercharger was sticking when open,thus taking in too much air,just needed taking apart and lubricating,but it was scary to be doing 60+ on a dual carriageway and then losing all your power.
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