R50/53 06 R53 manual pre purchase inspection-thoughts?
Thread Starter
|
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 697
Likes: 247
From: Vashon, WA
06 R53 manual pre purchase inspection-thoughts?
Newb to Minis, not new to cars or forums... It's my turn to be "that guy"...
0
I'm looking to get into an S, probably 05-06, based primarily on price. Car will be my DD; need small, practical, but don't have to be boring. I had an 06 R53 manual transmission inspected at the local dealer today. 79,800 miles. Car seems solid, but they gave me the laundry list:
-Rear main seal
-Trans output shaft
Tech showed me both of these... it's not just a seep; it was going to drip. Clearly two separate fluids, tech pointed out that the trans fluid leak appeared grey because of clutch dust in it (?).
Other items were mushroomed strut towers, (I've researched this one, not too much concern; it wasn't too bad, and I'm pretty comfortable doing suspension work).
Question: If I buy as-is, and defer the leak repairs, am I causing myself a problem (assuming I do a good job of maintaining fluid levels)?
Car is sound body, interior is excellent, new P-zeros. $4800. Am I smarter to keep looking (can't spend much over $6k), or are these issues something that I can manage for a while to get into this car at what I think is a pretty decent price?
0
I'm looking to get into an S, probably 05-06, based primarily on price. Car will be my DD; need small, practical, but don't have to be boring. I had an 06 R53 manual transmission inspected at the local dealer today. 79,800 miles. Car seems solid, but they gave me the laundry list:
-Rear main seal
-Trans output shaft
Tech showed me both of these... it's not just a seep; it was going to drip. Clearly two separate fluids, tech pointed out that the trans fluid leak appeared grey because of clutch dust in it (?).
Other items were mushroomed strut towers, (I've researched this one, not too much concern; it wasn't too bad, and I'm pretty comfortable doing suspension work).
Question: If I buy as-is, and defer the leak repairs, am I causing myself a problem (assuming I do a good job of maintaining fluid levels)?
Car is sound body, interior is excellent, new P-zeros. $4800. Am I smarter to keep looking (can't spend much over $6k), or are these issues something that I can manage for a while to get into this car at what I think is a pretty decent price?
4th Gear
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 496
Likes: 106
It’s best to get any leak fixed if for nothing else than not polluting the environment. I know most don’t think this is a priority. But these are expensive leaks to fix. Basically you have to take the trans out to replace the seals. And then while you’re in there you’ll want to replace a few other things, like the clutch if the miles are up there.
Its easy to to keep adding engine oil but not so easy to keep adding trans fluid. I wonder though if you can accurately conclude that trans (input?) seal is leaking just from the gray oil? Wouldn’t the engine oil tend to get mixed in with the clutch dust also? Certainly the trans oil would have a much higher viscosity than the engine oil so maybe that’s evident as well?
My two cents on older Mini ownership is only buy if you’re going to do the work yourself, otherwise the cost of ownership is too high. Buy a Toyota or Honda instead. My teenage son had an ‘02 and I have a ‘06 convertible summer car. We did/have done a ton or work on both cars including a new clutch on the ‘06 (and rear main seal while we were in there).
I’ve also owned a half dozen Honda’s (bought new and driven to 200+k miles and 10+ years) and there’s no comparison on cost of ownership
YMMV
Its easy to to keep adding engine oil but not so easy to keep adding trans fluid. I wonder though if you can accurately conclude that trans (input?) seal is leaking just from the gray oil? Wouldn’t the engine oil tend to get mixed in with the clutch dust also? Certainly the trans oil would have a much higher viscosity than the engine oil so maybe that’s evident as well?
My two cents on older Mini ownership is only buy if you’re going to do the work yourself, otherwise the cost of ownership is too high. Buy a Toyota or Honda instead. My teenage son had an ‘02 and I have a ‘06 convertible summer car. We did/have done a ton or work on both cars including a new clutch on the ‘06 (and rear main seal while we were in there).
I’ve also owned a half dozen Honda’s (bought new and driven to 200+k miles and 10+ years) and there’s no comparison on cost of ownership
YMMV
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 766
Likes: 80
From: Texas
What ^ said plus some. Don’t be fooled by the low mileage. I bought an 06 Cabrio with 63,000 back in June. So far Ive replaced the fuel pump, crank damper, the AC pump blew up because the low speed fan relay went bad, and the passenger side sending unit/ filter housing is bleeding fuel pressure so I have to turn the key on and wait a few seconds to start so it doesn’t just sit there and crank. Also, that bad sending unit causes you to run out of gas at 1/4 tank because it won’t siphon gas to the fuel pump side and even out your actual fuel. And I consider myself lucky so far compared to some of the poor souls on this forum. Just be prepared. You might get lucky and not have any problems. Hope you’re a gambling person. The only redeeming quality about the car is it’s fun to drive especially with the top down. But sometimes I wonder why I bother.
Neutral
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 7
Likes: 2
I bought an 05 S with 188k miles for my son. Only paid $1,000 and the body and interior are in awesome condition. Everything is leaking on it of course and I knew that when I bought it. I’ve done power steering hoses, oil filter housing to block gasket, oil cooler gasket and lines, CV inner boots, LCA bushings, inner ball joints, and front main seal. It’s a lot of tedious work but with a new set of brakes we are still less than $2k into the car. If you can do the work yourself than you save tons of $! But I would use it as a strong negotiation tool to bring that price down as much as possible.
4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 532
Likes: 28
I think it’s well known that a $5000 car costs $7500. There are always repairs or preventatives that are due or near-due. In this case, I’d want those things fixed. Oil is so critical to the cars health, and the plan to keep topping them off to fight a leak is pretty risky. Get them fixed or move on to another vehicle. But realize you’re not going to find a perfect car in that price range. There’s a raft of common problems with these models that you didn’t mention, and the chance that you’ll experience multiple of them is pretty high. It’s part of the cost of ownership. So, what you’re really asking is whether you should fix these known problems or wait to buy a car with different problems.
Nice low mileage R53s are getting harder and harder to find. I think having the car inspected was the right thing to do. I would now factor the cost of those repairs in and decide if it's in your budget. But with about any R53 for sale it's going to need some work so it may not be a bad deal. If you do the rear main seal you can even overlap labor to do many normal repairs/upgrades such as a clutch and some powerflex control arm bushings at the same time.
then for the strut towers add a set of strut tower plates, even on an R53 that didn't have mushrooming to prevent it from happening in the future.
If you do skip on the rear main seal leak it will work for awhile, but eventually it will get on the clutch and cause it to slip.
then for the strut towers add a set of strut tower plates, even on an R53 that didn't have mushrooming to prevent it from happening in the future.
If you do skip on the rear main seal leak it will work for awhile, but eventually it will get on the clutch and cause it to slip.
Thread Starter
|
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 697
Likes: 247
From: Vashon, WA
Nice low mileage R53s are getting harder and harder to find. I think having the car inspected was the right thing to do. I would now factor the cost of those repairs in and decide if it's in your budget. But with about any R53 for sale it's going to need some work so it may not be a bad deal. If you do the rear main seal you can even overlap labor to do many normal repairs/upgrades such as a clutch and some powerflex control arm bushings at the same time.
then for the strut towers add a set of strut tower plates, even on an R53 that didn't have mushrooming to prevent it from happening in the future.
If you do skip on the rear main seal leak it will work for awhile, but eventually it will get on the clutch and cause it to slip.
then for the strut towers add a set of strut tower plates, even on an R53 that didn't have mushrooming to prevent it from happening in the future.
If you do skip on the rear main seal leak it will work for awhile, but eventually it will get on the clutch and cause it to slip.
Another lap through Craigslist with my price filter gave me some comparable price/year Hondas, Toyotas, and other econoboxes, but they start at 150k miles,, and as said by a previous commenter-do you want to buy the problems you know, or the ones you don't know? Plus, I really struggle with the idea of driving a boring car...
NEW QUESTION: Plan B seems to be taking the ($2000ish) that I'd spend on repairs, and dropping it toward a newer car... There's an 08 S with similar mileage, lots of the work already done (clutch, rear main, timing chain, brakes...), and listed with Northwest Euro in Seattle, which seems to be a specialty place that might have a decent reputation). Id' convinced myself that R53 was the way to go-- but is this a better choice for reliability/ preventative maintenance only/ no "while I'm at it" mods perspective?
I appreciate all the input, and if I end up buying, this seems like a pretty cool place to hang out digitally... The Mini crowd seems like good people (at least the first gen folks :D )
I think I'm gonna let it simmer over the weekend.
Trending Topics
The 05 - 06 MINIs were the best of the Gen 1 MINIs. Gen II MINIs came out in 07 with the N14 engine. That engine was its biggest problem and was far more problematic than the Gen I’s. In 2011 MINI replaced the N14 engine with the N18. The N18 is much better and fewer problems and it runs much better. If I were doing this, I would jump to the 2011 or later.
Oil leaks seem to be pretty common with these, beyond that, it will be a random shot of what wear item will go. Also, find an Indi shop to do repairs if you don’t plan to do them yourself.
Really, the only thing that matters with these cars is - did it bring a smile to your face when you test drove it? If it did, then most people on here tend to put up with the repairs. Have fun.
Oil leaks seem to be pretty common with these, beyond that, it will be a random shot of what wear item will go. Also, find an Indi shop to do repairs if you don’t plan to do them yourself.
Really, the only thing that matters with these cars is - did it bring a smile to your face when you test drove it? If it did, then most people on here tend to put up with the repairs. Have fun.
Thanks to all the comments... This seems to be the direction I'm leaning. I guess my biggest concern is I'm already terminally infected with the Mustang strain of mod-bug, and that needs to be my project (67 restomod convertible--but I digress). I've already surfed enough of this site and associated vendor sites that I have a list of mods forming for an R53. :O Had the same problem with my 2013 Shelby--couldn't stop with the mods... It's a disease, and mine is stage 4.
Another lap through Craigslist with my price filter gave me some comparable price/year Hondas, Toyotas, and other econoboxes, but they start at 150k miles,, and as said by a previous commenter-do you want to buy the problems you know, or the ones you don't know? Plus, I really struggle with the idea of driving a boring car...
NEW QUESTION: Plan B seems to be taking the ($2000ish) that I'd spend on repairs, and dropping it toward a newer car... There's an 08 S with similar mileage, lots of the work already done (clutch, rear main, timing chain, brakes...), and listed with Northwest Euro in Seattle, which seems to be a specialty place that might have a decent reputation). Id' convinced myself that R53 was the way to go-- but is this a better choice for reliability/ preventative maintenance only/ no "while I'm at it" mods perspective?
I appreciate all the input, and if I end up buying, this seems like a pretty cool place to hang out digitally... The Mini crowd seems like good people (at least the first gen folks :D )
I think I'm gonna let it simmer over the weekend.
Another lap through Craigslist with my price filter gave me some comparable price/year Hondas, Toyotas, and other econoboxes, but they start at 150k miles,, and as said by a previous commenter-do you want to buy the problems you know, or the ones you don't know? Plus, I really struggle with the idea of driving a boring car...
NEW QUESTION: Plan B seems to be taking the ($2000ish) that I'd spend on repairs, and dropping it toward a newer car... There's an 08 S with similar mileage, lots of the work already done (clutch, rear main, timing chain, brakes...), and listed with Northwest Euro in Seattle, which seems to be a specialty place that might have a decent reputation). Id' convinced myself that R53 was the way to go-- but is this a better choice for reliability/ preventative maintenance only/ no "while I'm at it" mods perspective?
I appreciate all the input, and if I end up buying, this seems like a pretty cool place to hang out digitally... The Mini crowd seems like good people (at least the first gen folks :D )
I think I'm gonna let it simmer over the weekend.
2nd Gear
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 132
Likes: 6
Stick with the 1st Gen Mini .I personally have driven all generations and always came back to the 1st Gen. Something about the SC whine and the way the car drives always puts a smile on my face.
Sounds like you are skilled enough to do the work yourself so take it on but be aware that no matter what you say to yourself (or significant other) this will turn into a project and you will mod this thing out. The whole, "well I'm already in there so I should also replace/upgrade XYZ" will get you. I bought a 2006 with 200k for 2.5K and already dropped 4k in parts and also bought a spare W11 motor (it was a great deal) I am slowly rebuilding. Like you, I have a few other projects but this one is super fun.
Good luck!
Sounds like you are skilled enough to do the work yourself so take it on but be aware that no matter what you say to yourself (or significant other) this will turn into a project and you will mod this thing out. The whole, "well I'm already in there so I should also replace/upgrade XYZ" will get you. I bought a 2006 with 200k for 2.5K and already dropped 4k in parts and also bought a spare W11 motor (it was a great deal) I am slowly rebuilding. Like you, I have a few other projects but this one is super fun.
Good luck!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Etrain
R50/R53 :: Hatch Talk (2002-2006)
16
Aug 5, 2024 04:37 AM
jrzygal22
Capital Area MINI Modders (CAMM)
2
Aug 17, 2012 08:58 AM
B3ND3R
South East - Carolinas
1
Aug 14, 2007 01:15 PM