How bad is a cheap Mini Cooper S (R53)?

I've seen a few with 130k+ miles in the $5-6k range. I'm curious about them because it would be a cheap (well to buy) car, until I decide what I really want to drop some coin on next year.

Thoughts. 

Likely a moneypit of the first order unless the PO has addressed most of the issues lie supercharger rebuilds, the idiotic water pump etc.

The driving experience almost makes up for it, though. 

It's weird that I was just searching old threads for info on R53's. They keep popping up on marketplace, mostly cars that need work. This is a good example:

$2,500 for two cars. One wrecked, one with a blown engine. Maybe part out the crashed car to keep it under $2k for one good running car? 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/170697948588823/

BoxheadTim said:

Likely a moneypit of the first order unless the PO has addressed most of the issues lie supercharger rebuilds, the idiotic water pump etc.

The driving experience almost makes up for it, though. 

That's kind what I've gathered from previous threads, along with mushrooming strut towers and such.

I knew people having major issues with them when they were less than 10 years old, now they they're pushing 20 I would not want anything but an immaculate example and probably wouldn't try to daily it.

I would spend an extra $1-2K and get the nicest one you can.  Documentation on the cooling system, clutch, and supercharger/water pump (yes, they are connected) would cover some of the more expensive repairs.  After that, there is a bunch of stuff to nickle and dime you.  I was paying a few hundred a month in maintenance for mine after I quit using it as a daily driver when my first kid arrived.  I calculated the monthly cost over 4 years of ownership and decided to get a brand new car for similar money.

It was great though.  Definitely the best of the modern minis.

I've been driving my '03 R53 for 14 years now. I did the supercharger thing early on, it's had a starter change, AC compressor change, the driver's door auto lock doesn't function any more. I've changed the shocks once in 148K miles ,the brakes a couple of times,shift cables once and a couple of other little things. It's not a Toyota and does need more attention, but it sure is a nice little car to have and drive. I'm in Michigan , so it's starting to rust in the usual places around the rear lights. After all that I still wouldn't dissuade you from getting one, just go in with your eyes wide open.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Most of that sounds like typical stuff any 15 year old car would need.

It's interesting that the ownership stories I've heard seem to be either similar to yours, or at the other end of the spectrum: "constant maintenance nightmare, run away"

Whats a supercharger rebuild / water pump cost? Parts only as I can do the work myself. 

I always like these cars and am curious too. 

Anyone have any thoughts as to if the NA 1.6 R50 cars are worth looking at? Some quick internetting says avoid the pre 04 manual trans, cvt, and glass roof.

Nice driving cars but I would not want to own one.

The problem is mostly that the aftermarket has not picked up much of anything, and many of the things the aftermarket has picked up on are poorly made and don't actually work.

They also have ATE brakes, which I despise with the fire of a thousand suns, because the caliper slide pins are unsealed, so they require constant servicing if you want the brakes to keep working.  The caliper bore that the pin bushing rides in rusts and squeezes the bushing down onto the pin, locking the caliper in place.  The ones from the 80s had bushings that turned to jelly, the newer ones have rubber that turns to concrete.

In reply to Slippery :

There are two ways the supercharger comes into play. The PTO on the back end of the supercharger drives the water pump. The PTO is "permanently" lubed, except the lube will sometimes disappear, then the gears grind themselves to dust and the water pump stops turning. I caught mine being noisy and had it rebuilt before the gears failed completely, but they were dry and turning to black dust. The total job at a shop was close to $1500. I understand there are replacement gear sets available from the aftermarket now, so it should be cheaper. The superchargers can sometimes fail when bearings go and that'll be a new unit for who knows how much. The water pump can fail independently of the PTO, but I have no experience with that.

Edit: A DIYer should pull the supercharger and water pump, separate them and renew the lube. Replace gears if there is evidence of wear, or if it was dry when opened. If it's dry the seals are shot.

pointofdeparture said:

I knew people having major issues with them when they were less than 10 years old, now they they're pushing 20 I would not want anything but an immaculate example and probably wouldn't try to daily it.

Regardless of anything, any car I have won't be a DD (in the traditional sense) because we both work from home.

Thanks for all the input everyone, sounds like a cheaper model is more than I'd want to mess with. And the nice ones are far more than I'd want to spend.

Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I'm going to look at a 130K mile R53 this morning. It has a maintenance list that looks like every designed in issue these cars have, so we'll see how it goes. 

I knew someone who put about 250k miles on his and didn't have too many problems. He wasn't a car enthusiast, just someone who liked the car. As I understand it this is abnormal and not the results you should expect.

How often do the timing chains need to be replaced? That's one of the big things I'd be concerned about with a cheap one.

The 2005 and 2006 are the best years to get.  Supercharger maintenance is not a quick job but is doable. There are lots of bad expensive thing that can fail, but the engine reliable if maintained.

Lots of oil leaks too.

At this age they are a gamble.