Hello Everyone,

I am looking into buying a MCS. I have found this one in my area:
http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/5246197045.html

Seller says its a turbo. I have been looking everywhere and all the 2004 MCS I found are supercharged. My question is did these models come both supercharged and turbo? Also what do you guys think of the car above for sale.

Thank you

 

Looks like decent car. If it was in my area I would be all over it. A little work some maintinance and it will last a long time. All r53 are supercharged. The engine is reliable. The manual transmission is bullet proof. There are things that leak some things that will need replacement. But for 100k car for 4 grand is a deal. I have 240k miles on mine.

 

Grab that puppy!
+1 on what gpwpat says.
A few other points of interest if this is your first venture into the MINI world.
Top Tier and 91 or higher octane fuel ONLY!
http://www.toptiergas.com/
Also check the serpentine belt, replace abt every 30K
Oil change at 5K intervals regardless.
That paint job looks spotless. DO NOT run it thru a car wash, swirls and holograms will be your reward if you do. 2 bucket hand wash only.
Inquire of a local MINI club or other local MINI people about the best independent MINI/BMW shop.
Here's a resource with the best motoring roads: http://www.motorcycleroads.us/index.html
...and wave.

 

That's a cheap r53, always scares me when someone doesn't change the oil before a sale, says something about their maintenance.

 

Couldn't imagine anyone with an R53 thinking it has a turbo, might be a sign for caution.

There is another currently active thread on the "R53 as a daily driver", a lot of good information there on what to expect as the new owner of a used R53.

Thread: Current Day R53 as a DD?

 

Thank you guys all.

What does everyone think of the current issues; E-brake, ac recharge and oil?

 

The AC recharge could be as simple as a recharge or it could be as much as a bad compressor/condenser/or possible leak.

I dont know enough about the ebrake issues....But they're generally an easy fix.

I think the fact that the owner doesn't know the difference between a supercharger and a turbo means that they (potentially) didn't know how to care for it, which can be good or bad. Good in that they had it serviced by the dealership or bad,they had it serviced at jiffy lube. A good sign that it hasnt been modded at all which means probly not driven to hard. But the no oil change thing would worry me. On any forced induction vehicle maintenance is a must. Especially a coooper S. They can burn some oil. So that means low oil levels coupled with poor oil viscosity... Drive it. If it pulls hard and sounds/feels smooth and not jerky you're ok. If it feels rough or the power band is jerky run away and never look back

 

Whoops wrong thread.

But here is a response for this one.

As for the a.c. it is uncommon for it to loose charge. There is something wrong with the a.c. if it isn't working. Most people assume the a.c. needs a recharge if the a.c. doesn't work. My guess is the a.c. clutch went out. You can replace that without getting a new a.c. compressor.

 

That's pretty common....most people have no idea what's actually under the hood. I know a guy at work with a 2004 standard mini (not S), and he's constantly telling me how his car is so peppy with the TURBO in it. I can't find the heart to tell him that he's an idiot....and his car doesn't have anything but an airfilter on it

 

You're doing the right thing... Save it for a special occasion.. In front of everybody..

 

Devil's advocate here: any chance he converted it to turbo? Get some pics of the engine bay. You'll know right away.

 

I've seen a lot of ads, even dealers who say turbocharged. Some people just don't know.

 

No.....I've driven the car. Its a slow, pokey, "justa cooper".