Time for an update and more advice required.

I have still been looking for R53's, found a couple but had no service history at a couple of dealers, so l quickly passed on those.


So l may be purchasing a 2006 MCS in Royal Grey this week, but before l do l need some more of your expert advise.

The Mini is a 1 owner car, the owner spec'd it to his preferences.

It has just under 120K miles on the ODO, 90 of these being highway miles.

It has been serviced at a Mini dealership all of it's life, and the owner has all of the service records.

The Water pump was replaced at 64K miles in Dec 09.


Clutch was replaced under warranty due to fluid leak in 2007. Has not been replaced since.

The air con system was replaced in 2012.

The oil has been changed at every 15k intervals, this seems pretty high to me.

I'm going to get Mini to check the car out before l purchase it and give it a once over.

Should there be anything else l need to be concerned about? Oil change interval?

 

any aftermarket parts?


15k oil change scares me, but that's only recorded, who knows if he changed it every 5 and dealer at every 15. leak down test would show results of that.


water pump is strange if it wasn't the PTO gears

 

The 15k oil change is correct - confirmed by the owner, that he was advised by Mini to only get it changed every 15k. So no it hasn't been changed at more recent intervals.

No aftermarket parts, stock.

Mini dealership quoted me $110 to run a diag on the car, check for codes and go over the car for leaks etc..

 

15k is the recommended interval so as long as he wasn't beating on it and made sure it was topped off I wouldn't worry too much. A stock 2006 royal grey, rare color prolly not driven hard, I'd go for it if the price is right.

 

Price to be negotiated, but he came down from his listing to under 6k.

 

The water pump, clutch, and AC replacements worry me a little. Surprised by water pump at 64K, is there any other info such as anything being done with the supercharger (drives the water pump). What was leaking to cause clutch replacement? Was leak properly addressed? Was the A/C replacement caused by the compressor failing?

Have normal 2006 problems been previously fixed such as leaking engine mount, crankshaft position sensor leak, coolant recovery tank leak, and front lower control arm bushings replaced? Have ball joints been replaced?

 

He didn't mention any of theother parts were replaced, believe the water pump and clutch were under warranty when they were replaced.

He mentioned the A/C has he noticed it was not blowing cold, so he took it to the dealer who diagnosed it and ended up replacing the 'entire' a/c system.

Would the dealership be able to diagnose the other known problems mentioned above pretty easily within an hour?

 

I would really be concerned about the 15k mile oil changes. Ask how much oil he adds between changes. I don't know if he would be honest about the answer to that lol.

 

Under $6K Would be a great price if... it is straight and complete. (I have seen Water Pumps fail as early as 20K miles e.g., 2011 Justa (the plastic housing pump, replaced with the metal one)

Double check everything, including each speaker, all interior lights...+1 with "quikmni's"
comments, and wonder what the AC issue was...

...the history of 15K for oil changes is not surprising, (I wonder if this one came with the Free oil changes for X number of years) you can always change this once it is yours.
Overall condition, handling, smell, and how it makes you feel.

Best of luck.

Motor on!

 

If there is an independent Mini Cooper repair shop in your area, I would take the car to them for an inspection rather than a Mini Dealership.
The leaks should be obvious during inspection. The motor mounts tend to start leaking after about 40,000 miles so I would think it has been replaced at least once. If it has not been replaced, just plan that it will need to be replaced soon. The crankshaft sensor leak is frequently misdiagnosed as an oil pan gasket leak. A good mechanic should check the lower control arm bushings because they do wear out. Expensive to replace at a dealership.

 

Got it booked in at a Mini cooper repair shop vs the dealer, slightly cheaper to.

But the lady l spoke to on the phone was very knowledgeable, like you guys she pretty much mentioned all of the different items on the car pointed out.

The lady also was concerned about the oil change interval, she said their shop recommends every 5k.

 

It looks to me like all the things I would be concerned about have been replaced already. There are little things that will likely to fail, like a window regulator or something like that. But with the AC, water pump, and clutch all updated you should be good to go. As for the oil change interval, I wouldn't worry. I run mine from 20,000- 25,0000 with no problems. See latest oil analysis below. Currently I am at over 342,000 miles and still running strong (original clutch too). Get this one and have fun!

Nik

 

I love how everyone is freaking out about the fact that the previous owner apparently strictly followed the manufacturer/dealer's recommendations with respect to oil changes. What else should an owner be doing? And, do people really believe that many would advise oil changes at that interval if not appropriate?

 

A good chunk of the forum believes that it's too long of an interval, mostly because a chunk of the members drive their MINI hard. For a normal driver I'm sure the recommended is fine, for most of us living in the redline, 5-6k miles is a safer interval.

 

How dare you question what the manufacturer says is gospel? How dare you?

 

An owner should use some common sense. I'm a mechanical engineer and I have taken apart 4 blown engines which was largely due to oil grime seizing up the piston rings. Maybe you would like to disprove what I have seen as well?


And yes I do think that what the manufacturer advises is incorrect because they test their vehicles under controlled conditions and not the real world. Also, the specifications for European standard oils are different than American standard. American standard oils are of lesser quality with a worse shear resistance. But what do I know right?

 

Xsmini goes 20k miles between changes and has clocked over 300k , but what does he know?

 

Sounds like you never studied statistics...

 

Nothin' Just sharing my experiences. Decided when I got the car in 02 that I would follow the OBC interval to see what would happen. So far, I'm pretty happy, don't have to be under the car changing oil every couple weeks. My analysis reports look good and my compression is still good. So I'll keep my experiment going.

Nik

 

It is funny how you only see the long intervals from manufacturers who cover the oil changes under the maintenance programs...

My wife's Toyota Highlander is a 10K interval, and is covered for the first two years.

 

Yep, they would much rather change oil every 15k, not 5k, if it is on their nickel. The dealer also uses castrol; good oil, but not what i would consider one of the best. Why do they push it (it says so right on the engine cover!)? Some promotional $$ maybe? The point is that the dealer recommendations may not always be the best for long term (over 100k mi) longevity. Is this all BS? Maybe, but i'd rather make sure my little high-reving motor is alway topped off with clean, high quality oil. It makes me happy.

You guys didnt mention the crank pulley, which these cars are known to eat. If you are not positive it has been replaced, you definitely want to change it out on a 120k car, IMHO.

 

Thanks, l have a deposit down on the car and going to hopefully get it tomorrow.

It's a 3 and half hr drive to get there, but as long as the mini repair shop don't find any nasty's l'll be good. I'll add pics hopefully when l get home tomorrow night.

I have some things l want to do to the car if everything goes well.

Including adding the chrome around the dials (my prior mini had this) and perhaps adding black jack mirrors.

Other than that, l'll just keep it stock, intend to keep it for a long time, believe the R53 will become a classic like the original over time.

I sat in a F56 a month ago, and it was nice but seemed supersized to me.

 

Awesome! Good choice, have fun, post pics, and get used to a perma grin.

Nik

 

imho at about that mileage it's not unusual to see certain things need replacement including: control arm bushings, water pump, engine mounts, tie rod ends, cooling fans (ext warranty), power steering lines, oil pan gasket, ball joints, harmonic balancer, the list goes on, and if it's a northeast car check the exhaust hangars near the rear of the vehicle. They will rust off. But if you find an R53 and its as properly sorted as you say it is, they're absolutely fantastic cars. And that is a great price, definitely worth the trip to atleast go see it.

Best of luck with the purchase, post pictures, and tell us how it is!

 

Thanks guys, looking forward to it, just working out the dmv items that l need, forms etc.