i sold my '08 mcs last summer and am thinking about buying a used mini. i am looking at '06 r53's and r56's. i am an audi owner and have seen a history of sludge problems in the valvetrain in direct injection engines. the r53 uses a little more gas, but if is more durable, its my choice. what do you guys think?
don c.

 

OMG! Another 56 vs 53 thread! AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!

 

what is your problem? clearly d.i. engines have their problems. if you have nothing to offer, why answer?

 

R53 no sludge problems, but I do change it every 7-10k miles and only put RedLine 5/30. A non turbo R56 will save more gas (37hwy 28cty 32cmb)

Why did you sell your last MSC anyway?

 

i am an audi longterm owner and i just wasn't comfortable driving the mini on a daily basis. i enjoyed the car, but there are little things,( no spare). also, i wasn't comfortable with the factory,dealer support, from my experience.

 

Spare is easy to overcome, with flat kit and AAA card. (Plus I run Non-Run-Flats) and I commute statewide. I have had pretty decent exp with dealer so far. What happened that made you unhappy with dealer?
What brings you back to MINI?

 

What's his problem? He, like everyone else doesn't want to deal with another R53 VS. R56 thread. They start too many arguments. Now, with that said R53 FTW!!!!!!!!!

 

It seems dangerous to join in such a "discussion", but ...

Choosing a MINI type based on whether or not the oil gets dirty is not a great way to make the choice! How about choosing based on how good the car is to drive, or how comfortable it is, or what features it offers ...

You say you didn't like your last MINI, but you're wanting to go back to a MINI; unless you've found a new dealership I think you'll have the same worries that drove you away last time.
Maybe go out of warranty, but first find a good non-MINI shop that you can be comfortable with.


But most important, if you've only driven an '08, the pre'07s drive very differently; you really should get an extended drive time with one before purchase - the engine response is different, the comfort is very different, the steering is different, ...
[I'm being careful to say different, and not introduce my personal opinions ]

 

R53 !!! Different in a very good way.

 

I think people are missing the point. Yes, there are some serious concerns with the design of the R56's engine - excessive carbon buildup on intake valves, cold start chatter (on the turbocharged version). Are they enough to make me hesitate to buy another MINI with an identical or slightly boosted engine? Yup. If you're going to get another MINI at this time definitely go R53 (although I can't speak to any issues that model's engine might have had, maybe someone will chime in).

 

I would go with the R53 only because the way it looks!
It was more like the original Mini.
I think that after everyone who really wanted a MINI, owned one, they needed to go more "mainstream" and thus the R56.
The quirkiness is gone, the MINI became just like many of the other small cars.

 

thank you for your answer.

 

I would check the first gen probs and fixes forum before U decide. off-warranty cars will drain your bank account, esp if y're in an area of the US that has no indy MINI shops and you are at the mercy of the dealer.

IMO there's no way I would regress back to an R53 from an R56. compared to my 09 S my 05 S was a piece of badly-built and engineered junk, and I will never go back. IMO, of course.

 

Every version of Mini from the original to the New MINI has had their issues. I guess that comes with owning an enthusiast car that has a high quirkiness factor. There are people who have had problems with R50-R53 MINI's & that trend continues with the R56, R55, & R57, but even more so. I've had a few issues, but nothing major. There is no way I would categorize those problems as badly built or engineered junk. I'm out of warranty & expect to pay some $$$ each year to continue having the fun of driving my R53. The money I will spend on maintenance will be less than car payments on a new one for sure.

And speaking of new ones. The sad thing to me is the fact that when my MINI finally does wear out & I need a new one the R56 & its variants just don't do much for me. I can live with their looks, although the R50-R53 look better to my eyes. I can live with the softer suspension too. What I can not live with is an engine that has inherent design faults. MINI is on the 3rd or fourth fix for the death rattle, just WOW. Not to mention the PVC carbon issues. Hmm maybe there are some badly built & engineered MINI's out there after all. I keep my cars too long to own such a car equipped with an engine like that. Once it is out of warranty I'd be screwed for another engine. IMHO I think there are going to be a lot of mad owners with fubar engines in the years to came.

Just my .02 here.

 

All cars have some troubles.
My 2009 Audi has been in the shop twice in it's first year, for a week each time - and in both cases the issue was not resolved by the first attempt. Sticker price was double what I paid for my first few MINIs; it's all down to luck, and whether the ownership enjoyment outweighs the issues.

 

+1

Even Maytag is having trouble with it's cars.

 

Cool, another R53 vs R56 thread -- still fun after all these years!

I fully intended to replace my R53 with the next gen. However, I couldn't bring myself to put up with all the changes. The R56 resembles the R53 but is an entirely different car, imo.

It always boils down to personal preference but for me the R53 had a more satisfying design. Things like the speedo (classically oversized vs huge), the center console (British sports car look vs Playskool), and even the engine's power delivery (smooth acceleration vs "bucking bronco", to quote another poster).

Reliability wise, both cars are BMWs so it's horrible either way. Both cars are poorly engineered imo, leading to premature component failures and unnecessary headaches. You'll just be trading one set of common problems for another. For example, you might not worry about sludge but you'll start worrying about the supercharger since BMW decided it was easier to claim "lifetime lubrication" than to provide a reasonable way for an owner to monitor and maintain its lubrication.

I've stopped recommending Minis to friends. But if someone absolutely insists on having one, my advice is to get an 05/06 MCS and find a good independent Mini-only mechanic that he/she is willing to spend a lot of quality time and money with.

Have you considered a used Boxster?

 

Get yourself a 06' R53. Or a 07 convertible R53. Or a GP and extend the warranty.

 

Well don c did this answer your question? If it did I admire your sense of deduction, as usual the R53 vs R56 battle continues with no clear cut winner in sight.

 

You much not be paying attention. Of course the R53 is a clear cut winner.

 

I'm glad that the first-response fire-breathers above did not succeed in killing this thread by crying "redundant", as this is the first R53 vs. R56 thread I've actually read as a MINI newbie.

I'm also glad that GBMINI thought to include a link to his opinions on the subject, as I was personally VERY interested in them, owning an R53 and never having even driven an R56.

Like I said, I have no experience with the R56 at all, except for my opinions on aethetics (I DO NOT like the new interiors, particularly), so I have nothing to really contribute. But as a recent former Miata owner (and m-net member), it seems like similar logic applies here as to those cars, when it comes to the new generation/old generation comparative preference:

"The R56 may (or even may not, in this case, LOL) be a better car, but the R53 is a better MINI."

 

'Just love the supercharger whine!

 

 

MINIs are emotional purchases. If you want basic transportation, buy a Civic or Corolla. Me? Having studied and driven both, I wouldnt touch an R56 with your ten-foot-pole. That doesnt make it bad. Its just my own choice. So basically, if you can live with the cars' idiosyncrasies, drive both and decide which one you like better.

 

While I agree that there are a TON of R53/R56 threads out there, I think the most important thing we should be responding to in your question is this:

Neither car is likely to be "durable". Regardless of which generation you choose, there are reliability issues on both sides of the fence. If you're not interested in replacing the engine in an R56 (which, in a few weeks are going all-Valvetronic), then I doubt you're going to be interested in replacing the supercharger, motor mount, window motors, thermostat...etc in an R53.

I've been on both sides of the fence (owned a 1st gen and traded for 2nd gen last week). The grass might *look* greener on the other side, but in reality it's pretty much all the same.