Hi all! As the title states I am very close to coming home with my first mini! I’ve admired from a distance for a while now but the time has come to get myself a new(used) vehicle. The opportunity is one I don’t believe I should pass up.

It‘s a 2006 S convertible (R52, R53?) with very low miles at a pretty good price IMO. Silver/Black - looks, runs, & drives great!

Ive been browsing and will continue to do so but I’m wondering what general advice y’all might give to a new Mini owner, and more specifically the generation/model/convertible I’m about to grab.

Thanks!

*edit to add a bit more info*

Its a six speed manual. It has under 35k miles, & has the speedo on the steering column (something I was looking for).

 

Sounds like a good one. 2006 is a great year for MINI. The first generation convertible is the R52.

The best advice is to get a mechanic experienced with MINIs to evaluate it before the purchase. I would start with the basics of buying any car. Look for rust (especially around tail lights). How old are the tires. Tires are not safe after 7 years or so. Most people replace the run flats with non run flats. Look at the weather strip around the back of the top.


Convertible MINIs are a unique experience combining most of the benefits of a MINI with a more open experience then you will find in most other convertibles. In most convertibles you are practically underneath the top of the window frame where in a MINI it is way in front of you. There is, however, a lot of wind coming from behind unless you get a wind blocker.

I did not get a mechanic to look at my low mileage R52. I did get a 30 day warranty that covered a couple hundred of the 1,400 initial service to bring it up to the standard I wanted it. In my first 2 years with the car I have only spent an additional 200 on maintenance. I had the selling dealer replace the weather strip which saved me 400 or so.

Good of luck and post some pictures when you get it.

 

I did most of the basics of used car buying. In my excitement I did overlook dating the tires. Pretty funny when I tell you I worked at a shop doing tire changes as a teenager. 😂

I really didn’t find any rust. The car started in New York - but only had 18k put on it in 10 years according to the Carfax. Then it came out to Vegas where the guy babies it and has had work done on anything that wasn’t near perfect.

One thing I definitely didn’t think of was that weather strip. I’ll take a better look at it to be sure before finalizing everything. Good info, thanks!

 

Hi and welcome to NAM, Donny!
A 2006 R53 or R52 is a great year for Mini. Just make sure to have it checked out, to make sure it is in good condition.
I have owned many convertibles in the past, but after two bouts with skin cancer, I gave them up! Also as you have to realize, there is more maintenance with a convertible, to keep the top in the best shape possible. (I still do a have a Mini vert, but have not driven it in several years!)

 

Welcome, As an R52 owner I would go with the R52, its a little more fun. Good luck and welcome.

 

I didn’t set out to get a convertible. I originally was looking at a 2011 jcw. It was gorgeous but the dealer wanted more than I was comfortable with and wouldn’t budge. Now that I’ve seen it and driven it this car is honestly in better shape... the drop top is a bonus. Hopefully it won’t drown me in trouble.

 

Thanks for the welcome and the info guys! I had a mechanic look it over and he said it’s solid and he doesn’t foresee it needing anything, “just remember it’s a used car so you never really know”

I’m all in. Buying it in the next couple days.

 

Trigger has been pulled. Picked it up and drove it home last night. 32k mikes on an 06. It was like driving a new car! Very happy so far.

Heres a quick pic I snapped last night. I’ll try to get some more later.

 

Spot on. It has the cracking around the corners. I’ve read up on it a bit and decided the purchase wasn’t to be deterred by this with everything else being fantastic.

i will be deciding on direct replacement or possibly one of the other alternatives I found when searching this forum.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention. It was definitely something I didn’t think to check.

 

Congrats as that is a great low mileage find. Shouldn't need much in the way of maint, but that's good as you can go for mods and fun like a pulley.

 

Congrats on your R52! It looks nice and I never see that few a miles on them, these days!

 

Here’s the pics I promised. Fantastic to drive. Quite happy with my new (used) R52!