Good evening all,

After weeks of searching, I finally found my the perfect mini for me. I debated a little between an r53 and r56 but decided to go with the more "raw" older brother of the MCS.

I think I got a great deal on this (especially from a mini dealership) considering the mileage and packages that came with car.

Car is a 2005 with only 32k miles. One owner, older gentleman that obviously didn't drive it that much. Sport package, "premium" wheel package, and Harmon Kardon package. I know the mileage makes it especially rare for a late model r53.



Glad to meet you all

 

Welcome!! Very nice! I'm new to the Mini owners club, just picked mine up Friday. Enjoy and drive safe!

 

Congrats fellow D.C. newbie!

 

Congratulations on the find willisiam!

Congratulations to you mia77 and Joewp as well!

Welcome to the the forum.

 

Thank you!!

 

What a find!

Enjoy.

 

Congrats on not only choosing the better MINI but the best color combo MINI has ever come up w/!!!
Welcome to the addiction! Welcome to MINsanity!

 

Very nice find! Congrats! I wish that silver color was still around for new MINI's.

 

Thanks minsanity! I originally wanted Dark Silver with a black top but my color combo has definitely grown on me. Now time to consider if black grill, black rims, 20-35% black tint would look good with the white top.

 

I was on the same boat. But it didn't take long to convince me this was the better choice. I've kept it clean, & simple. Just the black JCW aero grilles, color coded headlight rings, maybe some dark matte gunmetal to charcoal joey mod & blacked out beltline would do a lot. You might wanna consider white wheels over black & maybe some drop.
Check out GeoBem007's build thread here, & tell me if you won't come out convinced:
http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...=16142&page=11

 

That does look amazing... Definitely dropping it would be my first to do. I'm addicted to great handling so that's a no brainer.

Where can i find color coded head/tail light rings? I was thinking of using 3M electrical tape for the beltline.

 

Welcome!

 

Very Nice, You made the right choice going with the R53 and to find one with such low mileage. There are more of these "Gems" out there just waiting for their owners to let them go...

 

Use DS vinyl for the rings. You might need practice w/ the heat gun. My experiment didn't take long to finish by wet application. I opted for a lighter shade of silver & got a bit more than needed for expected multiple trials. For the blackout tape, some used 3M electrical tape. I opted for 3M vinyl cut into belt wide strips as it'll stay on longer.
I opted to keep my windows tint-free. Cleaner look + you'll keep your headliner from sagging for a while longer. Most of my friends' liners detached not too long after getting moisture overspray from tinting. Apparently, headliner glue on euro cars aren't that moisture & humidity resistant.

 

Interesting. Can't imagine too much water trickling in from mm-thick tint. What if i asked em to keep about a 2mm rim free of tint? I had that on my suby/BMW so that it'd tuck better under the rubber strip. Guess that'll be some food for thought..

As for the vinyl, any recommendations for vendors? I see a bunch here and there (ebay, forums, etc.). Also seen some members complain about vinyl shrinking or tearing on the beltline.

 

Tail light dechrome, you mean? You've to slice open the lens & wipe the chrome outline off w/ some mild alcohol based solvent. Not too sure if it was denatured, isopropyl or lacquer thinner. Some paint over the chrome. Reseal w/ silicon sealant upon reassembly.

 

You should ask a mini dealer to reset the ecu, then go wail on it so the computer knows who's boss now
Also, its good to beat on the engines a lil bit, keeps em clean in the inside!

 

No, not a tail light dechrome. Definitely not going to do that. Just asking for recommendations for vendors that sell color-coded vinyl for HL/TL rings.

 

On tinting, it's the overspray when cleaning the panes prior to tinting that somehow has been the common denominator in those headliners that prematurely sagged. It's not a difficult DIY to change the liner itself, though.
Sign shops stock 3M, Avery & other good quality vinyl brands. I'm just lucky to have an uncle a block away who's into that biz. My belt line has stayed as I anticipated shrinking. I cut longer lengths & let the vinyl ends fold over the belt end tabs. The heat gun preshrinks it upon application. I've had no tearing.