Hi everyone, decided to join up here as I begin my search for a MCS.

I'm tired of putting miles on my V and burning through all that gas, so figured a Mini would be a good (fun) daily commuter for me that I will slowly transition into a track day car as time goes on. I've never raced a fwd car, so it will be good learning experience for me. Looking forward to spending time here learning as I prepare for purchase, and then even more once I buy one.

-Paul

 

1st Gen (supercharged) or 2nd Gen (turbocharged)? Budget?

 

Welcome to NAM, Paul! What MINI are you looking to pick up? Any possible prospects you're currently looking at? The MINI will be a ton of fun on the track! You'll love it.

 

Thanks for the quick welcomes guys! Started out wanting a gen 1 since I have had experience with them in the past, and I'm more well versed in supercharged vehicles; but after doing some reading and talking to a lot of people about it...I'm now leaning more toward a gen 2. There's an '08 I've been looking at, but it's out of town so talking with the owner before I decide to make the trip to possible buy it.

And I'm trying to stay as low as possible obviously, but don't want to spend more than $10k at the absolute most to save room for mods.

 

Be sure to read up on the R56 N14 MINI's. There's a lot of great threads that have been discussed in regards to the R53 vs. R56 and the R56 N14 vs. N18. (Posted some below for you). Good luck with the search and be sure to let us know what you end up buying!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-you-had.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...53-vs-r56.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...one-sided.html
http://www.mini2.com/forum/second-ge...countered.html

 

Thanks for the links, but unfortunately that just made things worse for me LOL. I'm just going to keep my eyes open and jump on a deal if I find one, whichever model it may be...and hope I guess right.

 

Look for a gen 1 in the 05-2006 range or any Gen 1 Convertible 2005-2008. In Vegas last time I had seen a bunch of convertible out there.

Good luck.

 

haha just want to make sure you have all your bases covered. A lot of people say the N18 is the better purchase due to it having less issues than the N14. Just be sure to get a good PPI done before you purchase and get all the maintenance records if you can. Keep up on the repairs and fix things when they need to be fixed. Good luck with your search.

 

Thanks guys! I actually went and picked up my new (to me) 2008 MCS down in Arizona. I figured if I kept reading and trying to decide between the two I would never get one...so I found this one and jumped on it. It was the color I liked, and seemed like a good buy. Now I've got my fingers crossed... LOL

 

Looks clean, and the webspokes wheels looks very nice.. Have it inspected and drive it first. Looks like the headlights are a little yellowed. You will need this.

 

Very nice! Congratulations on your purchase and if you ever need anything please do not hesitate to reach out to me. It looks very clean and definitely like the color as well. Be sure to enjoy!

 

Good eye! And thank you, but the guys in my shop will be taking care of that for me.

And thank you (again), I'm sure I'll be speaking with both of you in the future.

 

Welcome, know these thing very well as I drive them every day. Thanks for the future orders.

 

Nice find. Great color combo made better by those wheels. Always liked them. That intense sunshine will do a number on the light lenses and paint. Prepare to polish and protect.