Anything I should keep my eyes open for when I take the 3 hour ride home in it? Any common problems that should be watched out for on 2003 model MCS's?

 

If the front front bushing were never replaced you may hear a clunking or rattle. It is not to get alarmed about just get it check and/or replaced.

 

Never mind, I looked back and see it has 13,600 miles on it. Rubber items could deteriorate as a factor of time, so look at upper strut mounts. You can see them when you pop the hood, if they are cracked they should be replaced. Motor mounts sagging are hard to see unless you know what you are looking for. You may want to look at the serpentine belt and see if it shows some cracks in it. You can also feel if those lower control arms bushings are going bad as it'll feel like the whole control arm is moving laterally back and forth when you apply the brakes.

 

03 S The ONLY complaint I have with the car is parking brake boot. It tore almost in half. I don't know how and I don't know why i gave it the typical 4 clicks on day and RIIIIIIIP. But a new one was cheap haha

 

A number of parts, especially wiring harnesses were upgraded to minimize the significant failure rate. The big mechanical improvement introduced for the '05 model was a redesigned manual transmission with much shorter gearing in 1st and 2nd. This resulted in dramatic performance improvement over the '02-'04 MCS cars.

 

lordgrinz, the only thing you should keep an eye out for are the folks who don't want you having TOO much fun in the car!

You should, as a precaution, replace the serpentine belt. If you or your local Mini club have access to a tensioner it's a pretty easy proposition, the hardest part is removing the fender liner and that's just tedious, not hard.

While you have the belt off, consider a pulley - a 15% pulley is supposed to really wake up the R53 - that said though, I have an '06 R53 Checkmate, and it's pretty caffeinated withOUT the pulley, it certainly doesn't suffer from low power.

Enjoy it, read up about who likes what mod, join a local Mini club (or come on down and see us in Pittsburgh www.pittstopmini.org) and find out what others have done to theirs... go from there!

Only required mods:
- M7 or equivalent strut tower caps (do a search on shock tower mushrooming or "mushroom" and you'll see). It's not a terrible issue, but the strut tower plates take care of it for good, apparently.
- Also get a power steering fan guard or sump guard - you don't want a plastic bag sucked up into that p/s cooling fan, it'll short the system and can cause an overheat.
- The p/s system does make a shining sound when you turn the wheel - normal characteristic.

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head...

 

My wife and I love the fit and finish of the R53 inside and out, plus she had to have electric blue which you cannot get on the new ones. I like the whine of the sc, handles great, but the R56 Turbo engine is a superior piece of machinery and the ride is nicer on the R56. The gauges and inside of the R56 is what bothers me the most. The R53 is much better. So have the best of both worlds and see for yourself. I promise you will love the R53

 

I have an 01/02 and I beat the hell out of it almost everyday. I have had a few problems but nothing bad. 1. Sunroof broke due to the previous owner not keeping it lubed or maybe they set something heavy on it. (dealer fixed) 2. My steering box needed to be replaced because it had a clunk in it (common on the old ones I guess) 3. A dash rattle that the dealer fixed. Other than that (minimal) they hold out really well and the engines are nearly bulletproof. I have 63,000 on it. I bought it with 29,000. I wish I could show the previous owner how far it's come but I don't know who they are. The dealer said that the owner cried when he traded it in for a volvo after having a child.

 

I had my 05 in for service today and got a new cooper s 6spd as a loaner. I brought it in for a clicking sound from the right front (turned out to be a bad wheel bearing) and the a/c lost charge (replaced an O ring). All covered under warranty. After spending the day with the 08, I find that i like the new engine much better, although it's weird not to hear the supercharger. gobs of torque everywhere in the rev range, and with the sport button on, the throttle response is much better than my r53. I'm not sure how i feel about the suspension, tho. I took it on some exit ramps I am very familiar with, and there seems to be more body roll than in the r53, which makes it feel like it doesn't stick as well. I know the new cars have proven to be superior to the old ones as far as autox goes, so maybe it just takes a little getting used to. I will say that the overall ride is better.

I can go either way on the interior. the seats are better, and the materials are nice, but i prefer the open design with the downtubes better. The switchgear feels the same to me between the two cars. One thing that is weird is the turn signal stalk that doesn't stay. the first detent will keep it on as long as you hold it, and the second detent will keep it on until you finish the turn, but it return to center right away. it takes a little getting used too, but at least now you have separate left and right indicators in the dash. no engine temp gauge either, which is a bummer.

The car i had was a base model, and i prefer my interior to that, with anthracite headliner and chrome line, but with the new wood trim option with the piano black door rings, plus chrome line, i prefer the new interior better. i would also be happier if i could install my pioneer bluetooth headunit instead of the awful interface they call a radio. If i were to get an r56, i would definitely order a spare center stack trim and custom mount an aftermarket radio and relocate the factory headunit to keep the factory chimes (It's a normal DIN size radio behind the trim so i know an aftermarket would fit).

if i never had an r53, i probably wouldn't nit pick so much, but i do like my car the way it is. the perfect car for me i guess would be my car with the new r56 turbo engine.

i guess to get back to the original post, my r53 has proven pretty reliable, and any issue has been covered under warranty. my previous 03 cooper s had no issues other than a noisy axle that was replaced under warranty. I would say go for the r53, that would make a perfect track car. If i had the cash i would get an r56 as a daily driver and mod the r53 to be more track friendly

 

Wkndrcr, I agree 100%

 

To me I can't get over the R56 interior. Mini tried to separate the interior far far apart from the BMW design and its quite frankly annoying looking. That so far is the deal breaker for me. I have driven the R56 a good bit and its really fun and a nice car.

I do wonder why such a low redline on the car though. I had them around the track and at the high 5000 range (can't remember exactly its limit) I was ready for another 1500 or so RPM.

Lastly I really love the supercharger whine of the R53. The R56 is now a very normal sounding car.

As for what year to get... I Love my 03 MCS and have had no problems. There were a few minor things covered under warranty. In 2005 they changed the transmission ratio so the car has a lower ratio and is quicker in the lower gears.

 

You should def get an r53! all i know is probably get something 2004 or later, i heard 2005 and up is best but my 2004 hasnt had any big problems in a year and half now. the door handles froze in winter but they fixed that in 05. i jus went and got some 05 handles put on for free under warranty.
but i drive it every day and all winter and no issues! get an s forsure ; ) youll love it!!

ps the supercharger whine is to die for. i drove 2 turboed cars and i miss the air blow off sound. BUT i fell in love with the supercharger whine and if i got a turbo car again i would probably be sad because id want that loud fast sound that whines during the entire throttle not just after you switch gears. i looove it!!!!

 

I have an 02 with just over 70,000 miles. I got it used 2 years ago with about 62,000 on the clock. No warranty. I had a common early build problem, water pump went out. Now a window isn't working. From what I can understand the window is a BMW thing and happens alot accross the spectrum of their cars.

I've test driven two R56. Hated the first one, liked the second. Learned I don't want to buy a car on order. I want to drive the actual car before buying. I recently drove an 05 JCW R53. I loved it! The gearing really makes a huge difference as well as the JCW power.

My perfomance mods in order: Magnaflow exhaust -love it, Ultrik CAI - not much noticable change, m7 STB - very good to help prevent mushrooming, Craven 15% pulley (shortly after driving the JCW) -excellent upgrade!, and switched to a MiniMadness CAI with cowl modification when I had the pulley done - with the cowl mod I can hear lots more sound from both CAI and supercharger. The pulley was the most significant performance change. However, if I could only do one it would be the Magnaflow exhaust. I just love the sound!

The early year cars, like my 02 are apparently "twitchy" as far as handling. I love that about my car. The R56 felt like it's be dumbed down for every day drivers. I realy didn't like that about my test drives. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably look for an 05-06 due to the tranmission changes and some issues being addressed - maybe. I'm very, very happy with my car. Frankly I had to buy an older, higher mileage car to afford a MINI. As a totally toy car I couldn't justify the cost of a newer car. Still, if the right 02-03 came up I wouldn't hesitate buying it.

 

both cars are very different when compared to each other. the r56 is clearly a better daily car (more plush, more tq, smoother ride, better seats)... the r53 is a bit better of a toy because of the visceral experience (stiffer suspension, edgy lines, loud noises etc etc).

either way it's pointless to own 1 of each as they are essentially the same car. moderate horse power, short wheel base fwd car. If i were to be looking at a second ride i'd be looking at a different platform entirely... sure they are different when compared to each other... but when compared to cars at large... same thing.

elise mid engine rwd
s2000 frd

idk something decidedly different then the mini.

 

I LOOOVVEEEE my R53!!!!!!!

 

Love my `05, and prefer it to the turbo cars. To my eye, the new ones look overinflated.

 

Get the one with the newer gear ratios. I think its 04 and up.

WA mini girl, I think I parked next to you last summer in Port Townsend?

 

I have owned may cars incl - Brand New 1st Generation GTi with Neuspeed upgrades, Third Gen GTi 16V., and a 2002 Toyota Celica GTS. Oddly enough the Toyota had more issues than the VW's, which have somewhat of a bad reputation. Like you, regular service and fluid replacement is the key to most success stories I think.

For me, owning a MINI brought me back to the days when Actor - Steve McQeen ( not sure if anyone even knows who he is ) Drove Early MINI's with 12" rims, all around California as his daily driver. All the while having an early Porsche 911 and 912 sitting in his garage......For me, with the MINI it's ALL about the "fun factor"....and not just getting from point A - B with excellent gas mileage and trouble free miles.
nuff said....

Motor-ON!

 

Newer gear ratios were '05-06.

...and, umm, is my "06 now considered "old school"? :-)

 

They all break, doesn't matter what brand of vehicle, they all break.

 

You must not have been in a MINI. Redline is 7k.

 

was k_h_d driving a diesel?

 

in reply to your subject, i had 2 audis and a vw ! i love the mini way more definetelly. ; )

 

Had an 02 Cooper and an 03 R53. Both were great fun. My biggest problem with those cars as daily drivers was room and ride. My size 13s had a tough time fitting in the footwell. And northern NJ roads are terrible, so the ride stiffness (especially the S) was an issue. And I felt the interior materials were cheap feeling. I just picked up a new R56. And I have to say the R56 is just wonderful. With a few minor mods to the springs and the steering, I think this will be as fun as the R53 but much more livable. Looks are subjective but I happen to like the look of the R56 better (especially the front end). And with new springs to lower the thing a bit, it will look even better. I purposely did not get the sport suspension on this car (as I had on my 03 R53) so it is tough to compare directly, but the R56 definitely does not corner as flat as the R53. I think that can be easily fixed, however. But it is MUCH more comfortable without being boring. And I like the interior (giant speedo and all) better. There is no comparison in the quality of the materials used.
Bottom line is I don't think you can really go wrong with either of these cars. Both are GREAT in their own ways.
Since you already have a new R56, why not get the R53? I think, as many have stated here, the newer the better when it comes to the R53.

 

My '05 has had a passenger side motor mount replaced, an oil pan gasket that leaked replaced and a right side tie rod replaced. I attribute these to the crappy, rough roads I tend to commute on. All of these occured after my 50000 mile warranty expired (of course) but I was happy to have them repaired. I'm at 72,000 miles now.

The only thing that has consistently "bothered" me is the damn digital clock running too fast. I'm a stickler for Atomic Clock quality time keeping.

I LOVE the MINI.