I thought I read something about the manual transmissions being extremely expensive. What about the autos?

Was looking for an alternate to my R53 M6 to put back and forth in but don't want something that is not reliable.

Thanks.

 

R50s came with the infamous Midlands gearbox that were allergic to being held together. The autos were CVT and they suffer the same fate.

Not sure what the aftermarket options are like now for the R50 manual gearbox, but that may be an option. I'd stay away from the auto's though.

 

2005 and 2006 manuals used a 5speed Getrag transimission which were very strong. Earlier years used the Midlands which were a little fragile and expensive to repair. All auto Justa’s are CVT and are fragile and expensive to repair too. Hope this helps! My 2005 Justa manual has 163k miles and I have driven it hard since day one of it being new! Track days, autoxes and Dragon Slaying.......yes in a Justa!

 

I loved my daily R50, even in the midland. I'd say it's a great fun daily if you have a line on a decent one.

 

Thank you very much.

What about r53 automatics? Are they any tougher? I might change the title.

 

The R53 autos are better than the CVT in the R50s, but they have their own issues too. The valve body tends to wear quite quickly.

 

I have an '06 R50 daily driver, 5 speed Getrag box, that has just passed the 200000 mile mark. The only work that I have had done to it, apart from the usual maintenance items, are the exhaust valves. Had a misfire on cyl 3 at about 130000 miles. Detroit Tuned fitted a set of new R53 exhaust valves.

For me, having an R50 as a daily driver is ideal. It is economical on my 56 mile commute, and is fun to drive. This car has never let me down (knock on wood!!!), even on the worst of NW Ohio's winter days.

 

Def buy one they are so inexpensive now, probly better to have two tho. seriously I’ve been driving this 04 r50 since 2012 and love it Midlands and all. Any problems I’ve had recently were caused by me leaving sunroof open and not cleaning drains well enogh. Got 106k this week

 

I bought my project R50 with daily driving in mind but did my research first. I would avoid ALL 2002-2004 models because of the transmission, so I bought a 2005- which then turned out to have transmission issues with the "good" Getrag 5 speed. Also, bear in mind that they require premium fuel, so that is a cost increase similar to losing 5 or 6 MPG vs.a car with the same mileage that can run on 87. Other than that, it depends on how you intend to drive it. A long urban commute with constant stop and go driving may not be a great idea as these were never considered reliable cars when new, and the newest of them is now 13 years old and will have issues like dried out seals and hoses, etc. A short commute of 10 miles or less would probably be fine. However, you also should be a DIY kind of person as paying a technician to service these cars can be pricey due to the complex nature of how they were built. For example, my R50 came to me needing a clutch job, which the previous owner was quoted $1500 for. I paid about $250 in materials- $120 for the clutch kit, $45 to have the flywheel surfaced, $50 for two quarts of Redline MTL (using the factory trans oil is $100!) and the rest for replacement bolts for both the flywheel and pressure plate, as they are torque to yield and cannot be reused. Labor for the job is about 8 to 10 hours since it needs to be put in service position and the front subframe needs to be removed (with the steering and suspension attached), as well as the oil filter adapter, starter, battery, PCM and air box to get to the trans and clutch. Coming from the world of Japanese cars, this thing is a nightmare to work on. Every mechanic I have talked to hates them and most owners hate them and love them equally. It's an interesting car but not one to be taken lightly if you are not willing to put in the time.

As a final note, I haven't driven mine any distance yet because I am still trying to get it going. I commute 60 miles a day in stop and go traffic and have decided that it will not be my everyday commuter car. For that, I will continue making payments on my 2015 Prius C as it is a known quantity and has never broken down in 100k miles (it had one failure- an AC compressor that was covered under warranty). My MINI came to me broken, with 83k on it and over $4000 in receipts for the prior 10k miles. The Prius lived it's life delivering pizza since new and it is just a better made (but dull) car. However, I don't desire the Prius. I don't like the Prius. It's just an appliance while the MINI is something I really like and want to drive. Luckily, I can have both, but your situation may be different.