Going to look at a car for the second time tonight and could use some advice before I do anything too crazy.

I took a look/had a drive in a 2004 R53 a couple of weeks ago. Long story short: the owner got it used, promptly took it to an independent Mini/BMW mechanic and proceeded to put lots of money into repairs. New power steering reservoir and hoses, oil pan and gasket, supercharger service, 15% pulley, new serpentine belt, coolant hoses, etc. It's also had a clutch, exhaust, wheels and tires, and struts in the last year.

I feel like it's mechanically sound. I mean, I drove the thing and it felt solid. But it's 220k miles. I mean, that's a LOT of miles. Part of me wonders if I am going to have to rebuild the head soon. Not because it felt weak or anything, but just age. Another part of me thinks if it has that many miles, it must have at least been running this whole time, right? I like it enough that I pulled a carfax report for it and got basically no service records back for the first owner. They had it for about 10 years and put a solid 12k a year on it. I guess if it did that many miles a year it was being looked after, but that's just conjecture. 2nd and 3rd owners seem to at least get oil changes at regular intervals.

And probably the biggest negative: there is some clear coat peel on a few panels as well as a decent dent under one tail light. Honestly, I don't mind as I can do some spray work and it's just my time and materials, and it can be done in sections without major down time.

Give all this, what would you feel fair market value would be? Clean ones under 100k miles seem to be going up in price, and if they are good deals they probably need all the work this one has had and more. I am capable and can do all this myself in my garage, but I kind of would like to enjoy the car when I buy it rather than immediately have it in pieces for weeks on end.

 

With that mileage, I'm thinking $4,000 would be a decent price given the upgrades. You're still looking at a Mini that's 17 years old with over 220k miles. The wear/tear on the valves, guides and piston rings alone is a given at this mileage. DO NOT buy an R53 if maintenance (think time/$$$) on a regular basis is not your thing.

 

Yes, thank you for mentioning that important point. I did forget to mention that it would not be my daily. This is a fun/hobby car that I hope to tool around on some track days at one point. I have also had the joy of BMW ownership (2007 X3) in the past and am familiar with the "joy" of German engineering. Definitely not afraid to completely disassemble the front end if need be. Been there, done that on a few different motor vehicles.

I did give a quick call to the mechanic at the independent shop who worked on the car. The customer has a few different ones that the mechanic has worked on, including another Mini. I was mainly looking for the "Yeah, I told him to do X, but he said he didn't want to spend that much money." Instead I got, "Yeah, it's a really good car. I did a LOT of work to that car. No way he's going to make that money back." Also, most importantly for the mileage, it had good compression. So that's a plus.

 

I personally would never spend more than $5k on any R53. There are so many R53s out there that you can easily find one for under $4k if you look. Sure, you might have to do some maintenance, but if you're handy with a wrench, it's all simple stuff.

For the above example, sounds like a $3000-$3500 example, given the miles. I wouldn't be worried about head work. A complete used engine is around $1500 or less.

 

Might be ok, the clutch, supercharger, oil pan gasket are some time consuming repairs and good to be out of the way.
how are the brakes and brake lines especially in the rear?
Any body rust in sills under the trim or around rear taillights?
A quick compression test may give you an idea of how tired the engine is. A Mini with frequent oil changes can go a long time, but this car is an unknown.
Is the airbag light on? There was a recall for passenger seat sensor that is $$$ if not covered.

 

Ditto on the price.
We got a really good deal on an '05 MCSC last year w/ 145k and it was only $2500 in "fair" condition.
So with all that recent maintenance, it's probably in the above mentioned value range.

 

2500 is good for that milage.... I got an 06 r53 with 80k for 6000.00. Very well maintained with beuatiful paint.

I have gone and done a **** load of mods and it just keeps getting better and better and i keep smiling bigger and bigger... as it gets faster and faster....... so like earlier mentioned there are probably better cars with less miles for same or little extra money but a fresher motor will deliver more longevity. a 17 yr old r53 with 80k will give me years and years of driving untill i eventually drive it into the ground and then toy with an E-CONVERSION which there are companies designing conversion kits for minis given thier weight class. It really is one of the true few DRIVERS cars out there today and probably the only Race worthy car in stock form . YES i did all the grafix and added the downforce wing, lowered and put the wheels on.... its a blast to drive no doubt

 

If it is a hobby car and not a daily driver I would say look at everything that has been done to it, is the maintenance done historically and most importantly are you willing to work on it. If the bones of the vehicle are good and what you want and you are willing to fix what breaks it may be for you. Look at it as if it will make you happy or will that price make you regret the purchase. I look at hobby cars as is the price acceptable for what I want. I may pay extra if I like that car even though it is over priced.

Just remember never buy a car for the price, buy it for the smiles. Understand with this hobby cars may drink gas but they gobble up cash.

 

I'm letting one go to the junkyard today- I bought it really cheap, but it has 195k miles on it and needs a clutch, power steering pump (not on recall), window regulator, ac compressor(?), and at least one o2 sensor (fails smog inspection), headliner, all the motor mounts, serious oil leak, little rattle at the timing chain or SC gears, etc. It does have good tires, though.

If the car had just one or two of these issues, I might fix it. But I really don't need another MINI and I REALLY don't need a MINI with 200k on it. I don't have the time or space to part it out.

Junkyard will pay enough to essentially zero out my investment. Too bad, the car's pretty much rust-free and looks good.

 

If you have the time, parting it out might be worth it. Rust free on these cars is at a premium.