MINI R56 LCI (2011-13ish) One / Cooper
Discussion
I currently have a 2018 Audi S3 and a 2013 VW Transporter (camper). I've been halfheartedly looking for a small urban runabout for a few months.
This is because we live right next to an upcoming local ULEZ, which we will drive inside 2-3 times per week. The van's usefulness will be curtailed and so I will retire it to leisure use. I'm looking for a local garage to keep one of the vehicles in at any time.
The "new" car would be used almost exclusively for local in-town trips, where parking is very tight. Budget isn't a concern but value is, with annual mileage around 1-2k, so I'd been thinking of £4-8k. I'd planned to stick with VAG for ease of maintenance, but almost all the VAG options seem richly priced and / or low rent. (I'd been looking at 2012-16 VW Up, 2010-17 Polo and 2014+ Fabia options).
Anyway, I'm now coming back to a car that I've had twice in the past: a MINI R56. I ran a 2012 Cooper and then a 2013 Cooper S back in the day and liked them at the time. Most importantly, I think my wife would be happy.
It looks like there's a good selection of R56s locally... I'd probably go for another 2011-13 facelift car in downtuned One 98hp 1.6 flavour, then remap to gain the Cooper power level. £4-6k seems to offer of a choice of decent specs and good histories.
Can anyone here kindly say how these R56s are ageing? I'm realistic about a 10-year-old car and will have two other vehicles anyway, but would like this one to last a good few years. There seem to be loads of 10-20 year old R53 & R56 MINIs kicking about, which I take to be a good sign?
This is because we live right next to an upcoming local ULEZ, which we will drive inside 2-3 times per week. The van's usefulness will be curtailed and so I will retire it to leisure use. I'm looking for a local garage to keep one of the vehicles in at any time.
The "new" car would be used almost exclusively for local in-town trips, where parking is very tight. Budget isn't a concern but value is, with annual mileage around 1-2k, so I'd been thinking of £4-8k. I'd planned to stick with VAG for ease of maintenance, but almost all the VAG options seem richly priced and / or low rent. (I'd been looking at 2012-16 VW Up, 2010-17 Polo and 2014+ Fabia options).
Anyway, I'm now coming back to a car that I've had twice in the past: a MINI R56. I ran a 2012 Cooper and then a 2013 Cooper S back in the day and liked them at the time. Most importantly, I think my wife would be happy.
It looks like there's a good selection of R56s locally... I'd probably go for another 2011-13 facelift car in downtuned One 98hp 1.6 flavour, then remap to gain the Cooper power level. £4-6k seems to offer of a choice of decent specs and good histories.
Can anyone here kindly say how these R56s are ageing? I'm realistic about a 10-year-old car and will have two other vehicles anyway, but would like this one to last a good few years. There seem to be loads of 10-20 year old R53 & R56 MINIs kicking about, which I take to be a good sign?
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