[semi-crosspost from r53 forum]

Beware, I'm wordy. Skip down to the if you want to skip my whining about my current car!

So I'm tired of throwing $3000+/year into my 2000 Audi b5 a4 avant 2.8 to keep it moving - and i've only got 90k miles on it! Just this past year, i've replaced power steering rack [$1500], one downpipe [$600 + 150 for a new o2 sensor since old was seized], driveshaft [$700, thanks to great parts scrounging by my shop!], various seals and gaskets... all that on top of normal maintenance (plugs, oil changes, etc.). On top of that, with a nearly 70 mile round trip commute, the 22mpg avg (epa says 18...) gets old real fast. And this is with a fantastic Indy shop that does great work and is always fair - if I took it to the dealer, this would easily have been double.

I love the car, and the way it drives (although I could use a bit more "oomph" and a bit sharper steering), but it's gotten to be too much. In just the past 12 months, I've spent over $4000 on maintenance for my car. That's WAY too close to the bluebook value, so it's time to get out!



So, I'm looking for something fun, reliable, "sporty", decent gas mileage, and that won't cost me an arm and a leg, without being completely impractical. My budget is around $20k or so - but obviously the lower it is the happier I am

MCS's seem like an obvious choice here. (for the curious, my other possibles are subaru WRX, legacy GT, 350z, mazdaspeed3... any other suggestions here?).

So, here's the barrage of questions:

1. what should I be on the lookout for in a used R56? Besides the obvious - PPI from indy shop, service logs, obvious crash damage, etc. Likely failures?
2. Any specific things that should have been fixed?
3. Any things that, if fixed, point to abuse?
4. Any super expensive scheduled maintenance I should watch out for (for example, my TB job at 65k cost over $1200 at the indy - dealer wanted $2500!)
5. Also, i've heard some iffy things about the cost to repair - is an '07 going to cost me more than 1k/year to maintain, on average? I understand there's always the odd bad apple (lemon?), and some of it is luck. Is CPO worth the extra cash?
6. Is there any good reason, beside lower cost, to look at an '05-'06 R53 instead of the '07 R56? Is the turbo superior/inferior to the R53? I may do some light modding (chip/intake/exhaust) at some point, but nothing too serious or that would risk reducing reliability.
7. Any "year specific" issues to look out for?

cheers!

 

Well there is the cold start issue which is hit or miss but nothing really has come up yet on the r56 that I can think of. I have an 07 still in warranty and the only warranty work was the clutch pedal sticking and binding up

 

Buy a new low option cooper s and take advantage of the low rate 0.9 up to 48 months and 1.9 for 60 month term that mini offers.you will save enough on interest on the loan to cancel out the savings of buying used and have a new car with a new car warranty .

 

I've seen some low optioned 2007's for about $19k with about 20,000 miles on them. I'd buy one if I didn't already have my MC.

 

The '06's are a lot different than the 07's. Redesigned interior, completely new engine, turbo instead of supercharger. The 07 engine (and turbo) is much more efficient than the 06, so more power and better fuel economy. Of course, it's probably a little bit early to say if reliability is a real issue with the 07's, but if you can swing the cost, I'd look at the 07's or 08's. There should be a lot of 07's starting to come onto the market because their original 36 month leases are coming due. You should be able to find a deal if you keep looking.

I just bought an 08 S with 22K loaded with lounge leather, convenience package, satellite, etc. for just under $20K. That car stickered for $31K when new. Still under factory maintenance for another year and warranty for 2 years. Good luck on your hunt!

 

Ya mine is a low option 07 at the time 14k and with trade in I spent 16,800 for mine

 

The '07 does have a few things lacking from the '08s and up, for instance auto up windows. Pretty much everything with my experience has been great and stress free with my 07. Just passed the 20k mark with no complaints!

 

Check out Consumer Reports frequency of repair records. The later models score best. I like both the R53 and the R56 (and R57 convertible). The turbo has more low end torque than the supercharger. I really like my '09.

I dumped the runflat tires as they are expensive, stiff riding, and noisy. The treadlife of the runflats can be pretty short. A bad pothole can destroy a runflat and the dealer charges $400 to replace a tire

 

Kind of a loaded question. I recently bought a used 07, fully loaded MCS for 21.5K and so far the only thing major I had to do was change my brake pads at 20k. Kind of soon for my taste, but if you have a warranty it will be covered. Otherwise it would cost about $500.00.

I have the sticky sunroof problem which only happens on hot days. Doesn't bug me too much since it will open as soon as you give it a little nudge with your hand.

Somethings to look for are:

Bad clutches
warped scoops
sticky sunroofs
timing chain issues - cold start
low voltage problems

Just check around the site and you'll find stuff that owners have ran into.

V

 

vjaramillo makes a good point about the cold start issue. The last I heard on this there is a modification that is in place that is covered under warrranty. The tension on the chain is maintained by oil pressure and some cold starts after all the oil has drained to the sump resulted in a clatter.

The fix was adding a spring to maintain proper chain tension until oil pressure was able to do the job. Several parts are changed out to do this. If you buy an '07 check to see if it has had this modification. The owner has to initiate the repair - don't believe MINI made any attempt to get the word out on this. Newer engines now have the revised system installed at the factory.

Most owner's boards like this are weighted towards problems (check out even a Honda or Toyota board and it is pretty much the same). It is easy to be amazed that a MINI is ever built that didn't have problems when you read the postings.

Good luck on your decision.

 

Thanks folks. Guess I have some test driving and waiting on the perfect car to come along (mcs or otherwise).