Quote:
Originally Posted by speeder
Cheap, high mileage R53s are a dime-a-dozen but should be avoided at all costs. Good cars are so cheap that you would have to be a fool to get "bargain" R53 Mini.
The conventional wisdom is that '05/06 cars are the best but there are plenty of people on the big Mini forum who prefer the '04...bugs were worked out and last year for 2-spoke steering wheel and certain other styling cues that went away in the last ones. I now have a clean '04 with ~80k miles and an absolutely mint '06 with 40k miles. The '04 is the tighter car as far as interior squeaks/rattles go, (it has none), both cars have had fastidious, enthusiast owners since new, (with the exception of the short term owner I got the '04 from).
I haven't driven the '06 yet but I rode in it when it was on the road a few years ago. It's waaaay faster than the other one, with the JCW package and the mods that took it up from there. I need to see which one to keep.  |
There are many cars with 90K to 140K miles that need a suspension rebuild, oil leaks, coil packs, etc. in the $2K range. Perfect cars are $6K. Both cheap.
Reading some of the needs work ads, I get the sense these are not cars for people who don't do their own work.