Hello everyone! I am new to the forum and im currently looking at a 2004 MCS.
The car has 105,000km. The only worry that i have is that the car already has quite a few modifications. I went to view the car the other day and this is what I saw:

1. the car has coilover suspension (not sure wat brand)
2. it has after market exhaust, from the looks of it, it looks like magnaflow but i could be wrong.
3. hamann **** and ebrake (not sure if its replica or not)
4. 53R cold air intake with alta pipes
5. peeked in to look at supercharger pulley and it looked like it has a reduction pulley in it.

Those are my observations from when i saw the car. Now my question is:
Is this car a good buy or not for the price and milage?
Cuz im kinda scared with all of these mods, im not too sure if the car is still in good condition. I test drove it and it ran smooth. Also from what I understand, all mini S had the getrag 6 speed is that correct?

Here is the link to the car: http://www.urbanmotors.ca/used/MINI/...0297db04f5.htm

 

those are all preety basic and super common and reliable mods done to most r53's, the only difference would be driving style. he could have beating on it, using it as a weekend warrior, daily driving princess or a autox machine

all of one of these i would buy a car from, the beater is the one i wouldnt, and you should be able to tell quickly if it was a beater. broken parts, feels sloppy

100k km i dont think is that much, 60k miles has still plenty of life

 

hey saltysalt thanks for the quick reply. The car seems to be well cared for, interior is immaculate and that usually says a lot for a 10 year old car. The car did not feel sluggish at all, very responsive and no "weird" noises either.

 

Take a look at the engine mounts and under side, look for evedence of leaks 100k you may have a couple of small spots, that would be expected, also check the rear trailing arm bushings (known wear point) R53s are pretty solid, and if it runs as good as it looks you should be happy with it. Price is about right, ... Make sure the tires match and there is no cupping on the rears.

Happy motoring!

 

Hey Jabowders,

i couldnt take a peak underneath the car it was low. I did look at the top motor mount however and it looked like it had some leaks already, i could see streaks of oil leak of some sort. So im thinking that is probably due for replacement.

 

Without looking more closely at the car....
big risks....I would see if you can get a basic pre-purchase inspection done...might be the best $100 you ever spent...if nothing else, gives you more negotiating power if anything is found....
a "car FAX" type of info is only worth so much...a good eye and set of hands is worth their weight in gold....
if you find the car has lots of oil leaks, has been bottomed out, brakes are shot, and lower control arm bushings are shot, with a leaking ps hoses and a low coolant level.......that combo can be $$$$...even if the paint is nice...
So many of these cars are Polished turds that have been maintained by a person who "thinks" they know how to work on a car....using mechanics in a "bottle" rather than fixing stuff...some folks will keep a car till they see a big bill coming then trade them in....
So get it looked at!! A good Detailer can polish a junkyard car and make it look new for $150....
The coil-over's is a bit of a warning to me....usually not ideal for a daily driver...too rough and simply not strong enough on a street car IMO....but in some parts of the country, it is doable if roads are good, and you don't mind the ride....
But since you are in northern Canada...good luck with that!!
Might be a good car...but just watch out...MINI's are RARELY under-priced as good deals.....

 

One more tip...while the car has the LIGHT 16' x-light rims, good for rough roads, I see it has coilovers...so LOOK AT THE STRUT TOWERS...
they tend to mushroom on cars with hard suspensions (17+ rims or coilovers on rough roads)...
fix is to bash them if the metal is not torn, and install plates like STD's (craven strut tower defenders..100-150$) on top when flat to strengthen them...some coil-overs do act like camber plates, effectively doing this....but one important place too look!!

 

thanks for the reply zippyNH.
The car was originally registered from another province. it was brought to alberta so it had to do an out of province inspection. This is a full mechanical inspection which was done about 6 months ago. The car passed and was fitted with new breaks and tires. Dealer has these reciepts. I did not get a chance to peak at the bottom of the car as it was too low to see anything. i am thinking of getting a full mechanical inspection again before I buy the car. I forgot to ask about the powersteering however, as I remember that there was a recall for power steering pump and fan back in 2012. I would have to ask the dealer if the previous owner got this done. I live in calgary alberta and the roads here are pretty much brand new, at least the areas I drive in. they are mostly highways with no pot holes. But I would definitely look at buying a strut tower. I looked at the car for signs of mushrooming, it seemed fine and parallel.

But do u think the price is reasonable or a bit on the "too good to be true" side?

 

Dealer price cars based on a place to start negotiating.....unless somebody is too interested in it...then they surely say it is a firm price....
Supply and demand varries so much from one local area to another...so check to see what the online places say for your area...
In my area, that asking price is not outside the norm based on the total miles.....but miles only tell part of the story.....you said it drive nice, ran good...good signs!! I guess roads are better then they were last time ibdrove through going from ak-nh 15+ years ago.... Good to see the provincial governments are spending oil $$ wisely!!

 

Price seems a bit high to be honest, I paid 8600 for mine and it's almost the same except I opted for a completely un modded car. I think what I paid was a bit on the high side, I bought mine last year about this time. Cars with mods scare me, most likely it's been driven hard. However enthusiast owned cars are more likely to have the common issues fixed.

 

In my area, r53 minis around the neighborhood of 80,000-120,000km tend to be in the 10k-14k range.

 

my initial reaction was the same, i was scared of this modded car. but after seeing and driving it, it looked like it was and enthusiast's car. interior was clean and well cared of, and it drove solid. although there are some evident wear on it like, top engine mount signs of leak. but overall it looked alright to me.

 

Remember....you had/have the rust issue on the rear hatch....
But good points!!

 

That's true that's why I feel I over paid, however mini should cover that for free. Either way that would only change the price by about $500 tops. However I just realized that's 105km not miles, so actually that's about right price wise.

 

You seem to know what you're talking about when it comes to cars. Therefore, I will make the assumption that you will be doing your own repairs...this is essential, unless you're rich.

Also, used MINIs always sell for that type of price at the dealers here in the USA and 65,200 miles is still low.

In my opinion this is a much better option than buying a used 07 - 10 MINI Cooper S.

Good Luck!

PS - I'm not a big fan of mods...so I understand your concern.

 

I know a little bit about cars. But ive learned most of what i know about minis from this forum. So BIG thimbs up to NAM!!
I am aware of most of the main concerns about r53s. But i wasnt too sure if modded minis are a big no no. This car is attractive to me as i was thinking of doing the same mods if i were to get a stock mini. I guess i just wanted to get a second opinion from the awesome peeps here at NAM.
Also, this car has a getrag or no? Is a 6-speed manual. So im assuming it is. Also ive read somewhere that all "S" were fitted with getrag. Is that true? If so, are post 2004 getrags better? Or is it the same getrag across the board?

 

All "s" got the 6 speed getreg....
The 2005+ cars got revised gearing....same year the auto (asin) became an option....
Look at the buyers guide on motoring file.com....lists changes to gen1 minis year by year and isses ....some items were fix and improved as time went on...

 

yea ive read that buyers guide. I was just not too sure about the all "s" being getrags. So thanks for clarifying that.

 

check this site up. it talks about the different revisions.

http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/

 

Thanks for the link.