Looking at 2 S models, one an '04 and one an '08. Similar equipment and both at 42k miles.
Anyone regret moving to an R56? They seem to have a lot of issues compared to my previous experince with an R53.

Thanks

 

Get the '08.

 

love everything about my 2nd gen ... If your concern is that your getting a 2nd yr 2nd gen get the R53 ... I love the look of the 1st gen but i dooo love my turbo !!

 

Thank You

 

My '08 has been perfect.

 

I really like the refinement of the R56 over the R53. From a first impressions point of view, you can take what eenymini advised to do in another thread about gen 1 vs gen 2: check out a professional review:

 

Get the '04 provided it passes a pre-purchase inspection. I'm glad many R56 owners are happy, but anecdotal evidence, for what it's worth, shows more common serious failures on the R56. Also, supercharger sounds cool, so there's that.

 

Well, there are 10,000+ threads in the 1st Gen stock problems/issues forum and less than 3,000 in the 2nd Gen. Looks like more common serious failures on the 1st Gens.

 

Not sure that is an accurate indicator of the number/severity of issues.
I do like the NCSU Wolf.
Yours a chili red?

 

I would agree.

Yes, mine is a Chili Red.

 

Anecodotal evidence at the dealership I work at shows a non-S R56 to be the sturdiest of any MINI.

 

Believe it or not I can read - just missed the Chili Red Owners Club icon
:-)