Mini Cooper S R53 Buying Help
Discussion
Check the weight of the alloys. The 17" ones on ours were ruinously heavy and ruined the ride, even without run flats on them. The pan roof is worth having but make sure that it works and opens and closes smoothly as its expensive to fix. In any case I find it useless above 30mph due to the wind noise and buffeting.
JCW body kit looks good and as a bonus should have the bigger front brakes - standard R53 brakes are poor.
Personally I'd buy on condition and the one that I liked the look of best. You can straightforwardly upgrade a standard car to be as good as a JCW (at a cost)
JCW body kit looks good and as a bonus should have the bigger front brakes - standard R53 brakes are poor.
Personally I'd buy on condition and the one that I liked the look of best. You can straightforwardly upgrade a standard car to be as good as a JCW (at a cost)
Goes without saying, but drive a few. At the age they are now many are baggy or have been ragged to death.
Recaro seats are desirable.
Open the bonnet and check the strut top mounts for any splits. It's not a massive job to fix, but if they are split the camber on the front wheels will be out and this will scrub the tyres/the car won't handle right.
Smaller supercharger pulley/works airbox is desirable, gives a noticeable power increase.
Final things to look out for are same as buying a classic Mini:
Oil leaks and rust....
Get the car on a ramp, check the rear subframe and body around the fuel tank/rear subframe area for corrosion. Have a look at the underside of the engine while you are at it for oil leaks.
It can be surprising how rusty the R53 can be underneath, when it looks all fine on top. Especially if it has lived somewhere with a lot of salt on the roads.
Check around the tailgate for rust spots too.
Recaro seats are desirable.
Open the bonnet and check the strut top mounts for any splits. It's not a massive job to fix, but if they are split the camber on the front wheels will be out and this will scrub the tyres/the car won't handle right.
Smaller supercharger pulley/works airbox is desirable, gives a noticeable power increase.
Final things to look out for are same as buying a classic Mini:
Oil leaks and rust....
Get the car on a ramp, check the rear subframe and body around the fuel tank/rear subframe area for corrosion. Have a look at the underside of the engine while you are at it for oil leaks.
It can be surprising how rusty the R53 can be underneath, when it looks all fine on top. Especially if it has lived somewhere with a lot of salt on the roads.
Check around the tailgate for rust spots too.
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