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It's been three years since we sold our awesome R53 which we had for nearly ten years. During those ten years we also had a Countryman All4 which I did not love so it only lasted 18 months.
Anyway, we just picked up an R56 so we are back into MINI ownership.
It's a 2013 Cooper S with automatic, eclipse gray, black leatherette, cold weather package, premium 2 package, 17 inch wheels, chrome line exterior, armrest, Sirius, bluetooth, white turn signals. Wish it had 3 pedals, xenons, and stripes but oh well, at least the stripes are easy to remedy.
It has 31.5k miles, the previous owner is a good friend who is very meticulous so the car is clean and has been maintained with oil changes every 5 to 7k miles - better than most out there. I have all the records, the sticker, books, etc... It's going to be sharing garage space with four BMW's and replacing a 2007 Jeep Wrangler as my partner's daily driver. Excited to be back in a MINI, hope it treats us as well as the 06 Cooper S did.
Pictures after I gave it a quick exterior details and engine bay cleaning. Plates going on tomorrow. The sadly departed R53. Loved loved loved that car, regret selling it. The Countryman I wanted and tried to love, but could not stand.
Thought I’d update the thread with a couple of thoughts and changes to the MINI.
We have put over 3k mikes since we got it and it’s been fantastic. Really fun to drive around town, kinda rough on the old body for the 245 mile drive from Reno to Healdsburg and back but it’s not the primary car for that job.
Played around with sport button and enjoying the extra burbling from the exhaust, particularly good on twisty mountain roads. I still wish it were a manual rather than auto, but oh well.
We finally got it striped and tinted. We went a double carbon fiber effect stripe from front to back. Kinda subtle but I really like it. Tint is legal in front, darker in back. Forgot the percentages.
Also replaced the tires as it was still riding on the original runflats. Went with continental DWS. I’ve had this tire in the X5 (2 sets), and also the older version on the 650 and been really happy with them.
Last edited by FredoinSF; Oct 14, 2018 at 02:53 PM.
Updating the thread with the fact that we sold the MINI a few weeks back.
We owned it nearly five years and sold it with exactly 71,627 miles so we put a tad over 40k miles on it. Actually my partner did as I seldom drove it. I just got to detail it, change the oil, and fix it.
Fixes were few. The worst thing that happened was a failed coil just below 60k miles. I replaced all four coils and plugs - problem solved. There was a rear brake light error and changing the bulb did not resolve. I replaced the tail light with a used one and error gone. Lastly there was a theremostat error which I cleared a couple of time. I ordered a new thermostat but the error did not return so I sold the car with the new thermostat in the box. Just did not feel like getting hands dirty and doing that job.
The poor little car was seldom in the garage and was exposed to the Sonoma County sun and when it was not there it was the Reno/ Tahoe sun. The exposed plastics and rubber looked rather worn. The 3M stripes were a disapointment as they did not hold out as well as we expected. 3M warranty basically washed their hands of the problem. Other than that it looked shiny and quite spiffy; the new owner was thrilled.
We bought the car for $13k and sold it for $9k so even the depreciation was not that bad.
Overall a good little car.
Reason for sale is we are moving to France in September. Partner is there right now painting the house and wants a MINI so we are shopping, currently looking at convertibles. Here are the two in the running for anyone interested.
Updating the thread with the fact that we sold the MINI a few weeks back.
We owned it nearly five years and sold it with exactly 71,627 miles so we put a tad over 40k miles on it. Actually my partner did as I seldom drove it. I just got to detail it, change the oil, and fix it.
Fixes were few. The worst thing that happened was a failed coil just below 60k miles. I replaced all four coils and plugs - problem solved. There was a rear brake light error and changing the bulb did not resolve. I replaced the tail light with a used one and error gone. Lastly there was a theremostat error which I cleared a couple of time. I ordered a new thermostat but the error did not return so I sold the car with the new thermostat in the box. Just did not feel like getting hands dirty and doing that job.
The poor little car was seldom in the garage and was exposed to the Sonoma County sun and when it was not there it was the Reno/ Tahoe sun. The exposed plastics and rubber looked rather worn. The 3M stripes were a disapointment as they did not hold out as well as we expected. 3M warranty basically washed their hands of the problem. Other than that it looked shiny and quite spiffy; the new owner was thrilled.
We bought the car for $13k and sold it for $9k so even the depreciation was not that bad.
Overall a good little car.
Reason for sale is we are moving to France in September. Partner is there right now painting the house and wants a MINI so we are shopping, currently looking at convertibles. Here are the two in the running for anyone interested.
So I think I'll be back with MINI number 4 before too long.
Cheers!
Hey FredoinSF, I recognize you from the bimmerfest forums. I landed here a few months back with my first Mini. Do you still have your European Delivery E46? 2012 68K miles 2002 330Ci now 145K Miles - Owned since 2006
More recent pic with stripes added back and S grille emblem. Updated scuttles as well. Photo is not taken in the South of France or Monaco, but in the exotic locale of SE Wisconsin.
He bought the gray one and as a bonus it's a stick! I knew he was not going to be without a MINI for very long.
I'm surprised he went for the three pedal car, but he loved everything about it.
It's a 2020 Cooper S manual with 36k km which is about 22.5k miles. It's certified pre owned so we have two years of warranty from date of delivery. Looking forward to driving it.
