Hi forum, long time lurker but newbie when it comes to some of the technical stuff on the R53's.

I used to own a 07 MCS until the kids came along.

I've been looking for a 05 - 06 MCS for a while now with under 100k on it.

I looked at one tonight which is just under 90k.

The person selling it said he's babied it, and owned it around a year. He's put on around 12k on that time. He's in high school, so it's his first car. (driven hard?)

It's a pepper white with a black roof, no sunroof which l prefer (no replacing seals around the sunroof and less wind noise).

It has two issues which l can see and he mentioned upfront.

The first is the headliner which has dropped from the front near the windscreen all the way to the back. Noticed yellow/black marks on the parts that were hanging down near the window (window leak or old glue?)

Is this an easy fix? I did some reading and it appears that the pillars have to come off for it to be replaced? Is that true?

The 2nd more concerning issue is that he mentioned 2nd gear syncro is out, l drove the car and l'm used to manual transmissions and had the hardest time locating 2nd gear. In fact l couldn't locate it, each time l was in 2nd l could gear gratting.

The clutch also felt pretty hard to me, upper gears were easier to shift.

Is this looking like a new clutch and trans?

He's not asking a lot for it, compared to others l've been looking at on autotrader, and dealers.

I do like that it doesn't have a sunroof, l know at 90k miles it's going to need some $ spending on it in the future, water pump, clutch ?

He mentioned it was stock other than a washable air filter he had on it. So his piece taken from the ad below confused me, there were no JCW emblems on the car, but he mentioned it had JCW internals??

His original ad mentioned "plenty of pick up due to 15psi of boost, has all foraged John cooper works internals, suspension off of a m3, big break kit, locking diff, Bose radio, leather bucket seats, altar short shifter, stiffened chassis, and positive steering linkage"

I mentioned l was going to speak to some shops about the 2nd gear issue, and he was happy for me to take it into a local shop who deal with European cars including mini's, ferrari's etc.. I would get them to give it a complete once over as l don't want any nasty surprises.

What do you all think about the headliner and 2nd gear? Any other items l should be looking at? Or Would this one cooper l need to steer clear of.

 

"plenty of pick up due to 15psi of boost, has all forged John cooper works internals, suspension off of a m3, big break kit, locking diff, Bose radio, leather bucket seats, altar short shifter, stiffened chassis, and positive steering linkage"

Something seems odd here. Basically none of these things come or are put on a mini. If it gets a good a ppi then you should be good. Get the vin and run it online to see if it's a true JCW car. The internals are the same, the head, blower and pulley are different. I didn't know bose did a stereo in the mini. Only knew of harmon-kardon. Stiffened chassis? Did it have a roll cage?

I might think about finding a different shop just incase he has friends there. And yeah, high school kid, he beat on it. Expect some neglected maintenance.

 

Yeah l'm not sure if that's the information he was given when he purchased it, but it didnt' seem correct to me. He said bose radio to me and l mentioned the HK system which he didn't have. No roll cage, he also said it was a stock mini when l met him other than the air filter.

Not sure if he just doesn't know what he has/does not have. He bought it from a small dealer.

 

It's possible he has no idea what he really has. I would take it to a mechanic you trust and see what they say.

 

If the synco's are gone...
It was likely wailed on...and money shifted....
I would be VERY CAREFUL....
With all the disinformation he has said....I might just run.
There will be other cars....

 

I would continue to shop around for another R53 in the same mileage range with less issues. I'm certain you would be able to locate another car in better condition. I would attempt to locate a car with as few potential issues as possible.

Inspect or look for the following:

Mushrooming front strut towers
Leaking radiator expansion tank
Noisy Power Steering Pump
Vibrations or pulsing under hard acceleration due to a failing crank pulley
Strut and shock condition at that mileage

I would seek out a local shop that has good experiences with Mini's.

 

I agree with zippy, keep looking. Plenty of minis out there.

 

Thanks for the helpful advice guys.

I do have a couple more questions, although l am thinking more of trying to find a cleaner mini.

1. Syncro issues - as my mechanic friend understands it, these can be individually replaced according to a mechanic friend of mine (not up on mini's).

As l understand it, the whole trans would be better to replace by the time the labor was paid for?

2. If you bought this mini with the known issues it currently has, how much would you pay for it?

 

The long and the short of it...
Mini DOES NOT SELL TRANNY PARTS....
A similar tranny was used by ford in the focus svt (think that was it)...so you can TRACK DOWN PARTS...but a swap usually is the only option unless you are diying it cause no shop wants to take apoart a tranny to install parts that are "rumored to fit"......
So I would price the car with a tranny change...so subtract (guess) $5000....about $1000+ labor PLUS DOWNTIME AND RISK, and the tranny....(motor was likely over-reved...add more risk.....)...
Guessing by all the hyperbolizeing the selling is doing with " BOSE " FACTORY radio's....he is talking out his butt about ANYTHING HE SAYS.....so bet clutch is due...maybe more...
Highschool kid...with a stick shift that has a tranny issue...yes bet he learned on it..maybe a friend too..synchro gone...makes sense.."listen to it rev when I shownhift..I hit 10,000 tpms!!"....
What part of "RUN FORREST, RUN!!" did you miss!! I would be worried about the motor too...over-reved...aka money shifted cars are a future money pit...
Lol..guess could be OK..just risky as hell.......anything is OK for a low enough price...guessing the kid will not take $2500......

 

Time for an update and more advice required.

I have still been looking for R53's, found a couple but had no service history at a couple of dealers, so l quickly passed on those.


So l may be purchasing a 2006 MCS in Royal Grey this week, but before l do l need some more of your expert advise.

The Mini is a 1 owner car, the owner spec'd it to his preferences.

It has just under 120K miles on the ODO, 90 of these being highway miles.

It has been serviced at a Mini dealership all of it's life, and the owner has all of the service records.

The Water pump was replaced at 64K miles in Dec 09.


Clutch was replaced under warranty due to fluid leak in 2007. Has not been replaced since.

The air con system was replaced in 2012.

The oil has been changed at every 15k intervals, this seems pretty high to me.

I'm going to get Mini to check the car out before l purchase it and give it a once over.

Should there be anything else l need to be concerned about? Oil change interval?

 

closing thread to move to correct section as this isn't a stock problem/issue.

 

that mini was definently beat, plus he doesn't know how to drive a stick if the 2nd gear synchro is blown. doesn't know what hes talking about, seems like this kid needs a civic. but I just posted in your other thread

 

Thanks, yeah l left the mini with the transmission issues, actually never heard back from the guy when l tried to contact him.