A little backstory, my first new car was a 2003 Cooper S purchased in November 2002, and then traded it in for an 05 to get the shorter gearing and LSD as I was heavily into autocross at the time. I had that car for 6 years and 40k miles before trading it for a 135i. Although I loved the BMW, I missed the go-kart like handling of the MINI so I bought a cheap NA Miata as a second car/beater and unfortunately totalled that one after swapping in a 2002 VVT engine and adding a rotrex supercharger. I replaced that with a 2000 Miata, and after after about 7 winters, it's starting to get a bit rusty, so I've been looking to get back into a R53. I've been searching marketplace, and found an 03 one at a local used car dealer. 71k miles, looks pretty clean from the pics, almost an exact clone of my first one, except lacking HIDs and leather. My question is, what are the common failure points to look for on a car with this mileage? Through some VIN googling, it seems to be a 1 owner car, and was previously for sale at a Subaru dealer, presumably as trade in. I know these won't be as problem free as an old Civic or Corolla, but I know the R53 is also way more solid than the later turbo cars. Any advice? Thanks!

 

water pump
supercharger - oil runs dry
power steering pump - recall
fuel pump
bcm module - rain water from the sunroof (clogged drains)
window regulators

these are just some off the top of mind

 

In addition to the above:
_Factory rubber core Harmonic balancer/Crank pulley failure
_Strut tower mushrooming + Top strut bearings.
_Upper & lower motor mounts
_Control arm bushings
_CV boots
_Inner & Outer balljoints
_ factory struts last about 50-70k mi
_Oil cooler & Oil filter housing gaskets
_Oil pan gasket starts leaking
_Possible Power steering hose failure/leaks
My above list: is from my own personal experience based on my originally purchased (new) 2004 R53 @ or before 70-85k miles.

 

If you are in the salt belt - rusty brake lines
crank sensor o ring oil leak.

 

Wow, you have been away from NAM quite awhile - welcome back! Depending on what you learn about that dealership R53, you might consider searching west of the rust belt for relatively low mileage examples. I did so after watching BaT and CL ads for a long time but then, I'm in AZ where much closer to see and bring home. For example, this one in PHX - while somewhat quirky - seems is owned by original enthusiastic owner, has good bones and probably would clean up nicely after being de-farkled and cleaned up a bit...

2003 MINI COOPER S with EXTRAS - $7,900

 

Thanks for the replies! I've been going through the forums and watching videos from Mod Mini. At least now I have an idea of what I could be in for. A lot of the stuff mentioned seems to be typical used car stuff, which is fine. I'm not afraid to turn a wrench, but I've been spoiled with the Miata since it's so easy to work on and parts are cheap. I did two motor swaps on my first one, and the second time I think i had the motor and trans out in under 2 hrs, working by myself. I also have access to a lift at my job which should make things much easier. The main thing that scares me is if I ever need to do a clutch, seems like way more involved than the two FWD clutches I've done (and both of those were Saabs!). I think first order of business on whatever car I end up with would be supercharger service + water pump and whatever else is easy with the car in service mode.

And yes, It's been a while since I've been on NAM! Can't believe it's been over 20 years since I first joined .

 

clutch job is not hard (relative to bmw real wheel situation). sounds like it would be doable for you

 

I'm about 2 hours north of Yonkers and have a beast of an R53 that may be available. Never seen salt. PM if interested.

 

I actually re-watched mod Mini's clutch replacement video again last night. I'm sure I can get it done, just don't want to get into a situation where my car is stuck taking up the lift at my job if we need it for a paying job, so it's something I would absolutely have to have done over a single weekend. I'm also not as into tackling big jobs as I was when I was younger, lol.

 

Send link to car - my wife grew up in Yonkers / we are up by the Tappan Zee / Cuomo bridge. How much they asking for it? I’d look carefully at that. The last time I got a Euro car - I went South ( Virginia ), and got an 01 e46 330 convertible - with hardtop - high miles, but so clean underneath. Scary clean. Go south.

 

this is the car. There were a couple others on marketplace that piqued my interest, but one had a "check engine light for cats" and the other was someone's track/autocross car (which I don't have a problem with, since I may track it myself) but he's got a sparco driver seat in it and doesnt have the OE seat, but It's got the factory LSD.

https://www.pristineshowroom.com/det...oper/108683942 the pics are definitely oversaturated/processed, but the carfax history seems ok, although it has an open recall for power steering.

Rust is definitely one thing I will be looking out for. It's the main reason for replacing my Miata. I'm in no rush, so definitely willing to keep walking away until I find the right car. I'm also OK with hanging on to the Miata. It's cheap, fun, and I know it like the back of my hand.

 

It’s a definite maybe - worth looking - probably not moving soon. Those pics are 6 months old?