Hi everyone! Been browsing the board for a while and have quite a few questions. Having just sold our Saab, I'm going to start looing for a used MCS and would like some info from other local Mini owners.

1) Can someone point me to where I can find a breakdown of the various packages available on the R53? Also, where can I find out what was changed in 2004+ cars?

2) While I'd like to find a car with a limited slip diff, it's probably going to be pretty hard in the resale market. Do MCS come standard with ASC / DSC and is this the same thing as traction control?

3) How reliable have you found your Mini? I usually keep cars for well over 100k miles, would this be prohibitively expensive with a MCS?

4) Where are some good places to look for a used MCS? Been looking in autotrader, cars.com, ebay, etc.

5) Where do you have your Mini worked on for repairs / scheduled maint?

Thanks!!

 

I believe that there is a faq on mini2.com that breaks down what was available and what changed for the various model years. The LSD became available on the '05 and is only available on the stick. For the '05 and '06 MCS, ASC is standard and DSC is an extra cost ($500, I think) option.

Both of our MINIs have been reliable - the two issues on my wife's '05 has been the dumb MINI emblem on the steering wheel peeling up (twice) and the clock failing to keep accurate time. Both cars run great and are tons of fun. We don't have a lot of mileage on them yet (just under 15K on my wife's and just under 14K on mine) so can't comment on long term.

Our cars have been serviced exclusively at the dealer as they are both still under warranty. Good luck on your search (don't rule out a new MINI - check the online configurator and compare prices to what you find used ones going for). Also, some dealers may still have some '06s on the lot that they might discount.

 

Limited Slip became available as a option partway through 05, as of Jan builds. Another big item to some of us were the revised gear ratios on the 6 speed, that I think on all 05's and beyond?