Hey Guys, I previously owned a 2005 R53 that I loved but parted with. My office is moving so I'm looking at a 75-80 mile per day commute and my lifted F250 isn't exactly efficient.

I'm back in the market and immediately started with R53s again but my buddy who's a mini guy as well told me to look at the 2008+ Base Coopers as they're more economical with better power than the R50, and most importantly, he told me Mini ditched the 5-speed midland for the 6-speed Getrag even in the base coopers. I wasn't a huge fan of the R56 body but it sounds like the perfect car for what I'm doing; we'll call it a spirited commute (wouldn't be caught dead in a honda).

Hoping for feedback form NON-S owners on their R56 - Speed Coopers. I figure with natural aspiration and a timing chain, only concerns, even with high mileage (I'm looking for one with under 100K), would be water pump and clutch. Any feedback is appreciated from you folks running this configuration.

 

I just did the water pump, water pump pulley, idle pulley, tensioner pulley, belt, and thermostat on my 2009 with 115k miles. They were all on their way out.

My reference cars are: E46 M3, 987.2 Boxster S, Mercedes E350 Coupe 2014, Z4, etc...

This car actually reminds me a lot of my E30 318is that I dearly loved. It's not nearly as reliable as my E30 but it's so fun to drive. I'm a power snob and honestly, I think it has enough. Sure I could use more power but I think the amount that come with the car suits it fine. The car feels eager, agile, and direct.

Sometimes when I'm getting on an onramp I wish it did have a bit more pep but I'm a bit spoiled with all 300+ hp cars besides this one. Great car and fun to drive. Just expect a lot of maintenance work. Mine actually needed a new auto transmission because the previous owners never changed the fluid.

 

Appreciate the feedback; nothing too serious as those are all items I'd consider standard maintenance at that mileage.

 

I agree with all of this and have recommended the 2007+ base R56 with manual or automatic to like-minded (no herd cars) firends and family.

 

- Thermostat: It could fail if it was not changed
- Serpentine Belt: Should be changed at 60k (service)
- Clutch and Gearbox: is difficult to know, if it does not present a very obvious error as it depends on the use received. It is important that someone with experience can check both. Although in general, base models are always with a quieter use over the S, JCW, GP models

 

My 2012 has just under 90,000 miles. Water pump a couple of years ago. This year a gasket for $200. Other than that just regular wear & tear maintenance (brakes, tires...). This six speed is nice. I never get tired of driving it.

 

Serpentine and thermostat are cheap and easy. As for the clutch, I've been driving a stick for a while so I am hoping it will be obvious if there's a vibration, sticky synchro, or no friction material left. Regardless, clutch change is expected as it's par for the course buying a car with this many miles. I know the Getrag is solid so I'm not too worried about the tranny.



Sounds good to me! An oil change and fuel filter service (doing it MYSELF) is $350 every 7K miles on my truck; the mini sounds like it'll be a breeze!

 

Replacing the thermostat is trivially easy on the non-S. Just make sure to get OEM, headaches on the thermostat if you don't with CELs.

The thermostat housing though often fails and that's significantly more work to replace.

Rear suspension bits also wear out. I need to replace the bushings for the rear sway bar and the soft bits of the strut mounts...