Hi everyone,

I am at a crossroads with this car and I am wondering whether or not you think I should keep or get rid of.

History...wife wanted it but never caught on to driving stick. I used it for a daily commuter for a few months to travel quite some distances and had no real issues until the tensioner/idler/crank pulley trifecta took a dump.

Pros:

• Great gas mileage if I stay out of the pedal.
• Great pickup when I need it.
• Vehicle is in pretty good shape externally and internally.
• Vehicle is pretty loaded with options.
• Strange, but no one tailgates this vehicle or jumps out in front of it like they do to my Subarus. Can't place my finger on why, but it reduces my driving stress in that regard.
• Surprisingly roomy. Amazing amount of seat room for my line of work.
• I love the interior so much.
• Brakes in great shape.
• New Tensioner, Idler, Belt, and front crank seal.
• New alternator.
• Cold A/C...thanks Superseal.
• Timing Chained Engine. I hate timing belts and t-belt interference engines even more!
• The sheer compactness of the car. Especially the rear hatch. Simple and no BS.
• It's an 06...supposed to be a good year.
• Great 3 seasons car and fine for light winter use.
• It's paid for.
• No rust besides under the tail light.
• Incredible support within the community! I own a Ford Focus SVT and there is no support for the car.

Cons:

• No vehicle service records. I have no idea how the last person treated it.
• Suspension is ok but feels a bit tired over bumps.
• A little rust by the tail light.
• Head lights and tail lights have clearcoat fade.
• I HATE SERVICE MODE. I loathe the idea of having to pull the front bumper etc. when I need to perform a task. It is even worse considering that the front end is not held on the way it was from the factory. Clips are missing damaged etc which just aggravates me more. I am sure that I am not the only one.
• I have several other automotive projects and every time this vehicle goes down it deducts time from those other projects which I don't have time for either.
• 150k and Supercharger service is unknown. I just don't have time to service it and trust no one around me to perform service. Besides, why pay for that when there are a plethora of other things that could be going wrong or are just waiting to pop up.
• Bad passenger cv boot. I have a new axle but no time to put it on.
• Windshield needs to go. All pitted up.
• Low speed fan not working. Service mode time again!
• Headliner sagging. I can replace on my own but no time.
• Solid crank pulley, the sky will fall but I am not replacing it after all of the hassle I just went through.

My Forester XT has been so much more reliable and is faster but I like my mini more in my own way.

I think I am going to sell it but want some of your thoughts.

On the flip side, this is the devil that I know. I keep getting used cars with much worse situations. Bad head gaskets and transmissions galore. In general, I find that there are far more corrupt folks in the used car market than good people.

 

I understand the frustrations with an older Mini. I recently got my 2005 R53 and within a couple months had to go into front end service mode, looking back I could easily do it in about 30 minutes to an hour. Really not terrible once you get used to it and it exposes much of the motor which makes servicing all the common things very easy.

To answer a few of your cons:

• I recently did the passenger side axle and it really wasn't that bad, just takes a couple hours and some patience.
• The low speed fan fix does not require front end service mode if just the low speed resistor has failed. Here is a great thread with details, it cost me about $20-$30 and like an hour to fix: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lution-61.html
• We recently did supercharger service and it also wasn't a terrible job. Just requires having all the little gaskets and seals ahead of time. If you plan it correctly and have all the replacements parts ready it is a job that can be done in a weekend.
• We also did a headliner on our other project R53 and getting the headliner out wasn't too hard and recovering it with some aftermarket micro-suede wasn't too tough (have extra helpers with you).

Honestly it sounds like you really enjoy driving the R53. I think they are great cars to own and drive and since parts are fairly cheap as long as you are willing to do the work yourself they are also affordable cars. It sounds like your car has been well loved and just needs a bit of maintenance to keep on the road for a while more. Since these cars have pretty much depreciated and there are so many around for sale I don't really see prices increasing for a while now so I plan to enjoy mine for a long time to come

Hopefully that helps out your decision!

 

I never stopped to think of this as an older Mini. You have a point. Parts are surprisingly cheap like you said. The thing is, none of my weekends are free. I am always busy. Starting to think that a 2nd generation Prius is the answer....but so soulless.

Headliner is super easy. I did a mini van on my own in 40 mph winds. Ughhh.

Nice thoughts, thanks.

 

I went through a comparable decision process before I bought mine 11 months ago. I was looking for a DD, inexpensive. Started out looking at Forester XTs, but couldn't find one that appeared reliable for less than $7k. I really should have gone for a soulless practical transport, but geez, I'm already being practical by selling my really nice truck... Do I have to give up my soul too?

My 06 does detract from my project car time, but I really enjoy driving it. I factored some PM into my purchase price, and took care of a lot of the problems you're looking at (SC service, low speed fan resistor, suspension stuff... and a clutch). I paid for that work--I don't know where you are, but if you do a little research you should be able to find a reliable indy shop.

My advise would be to really consider whether you'll be ok with driving a Prius. If you've got the XT to play with, then maybe you'll be good with soulless for a DD.

I had to have a little fun (and my project isn't drivable right now).

 

Difficult choice, I enjoy the fun factor but the commutes which I do are unheard of even in this area.

Great post. I think it might be time to let her go since I have such little spare time these days.

Thanks for all of the input.