My wife is looking for a weekend toy seeing as I have the Impreza and the Imp and she is keen on a R53 Cooper S. Has anyone had experience with one? What should I be looking for and what are the common problems??

 

Her daily is a 2014 Ibiza FR edition which is 140ish bhp so she wants something as fun but a bit more powerful for the weekends and potential track use.

 

Thanks

 

Tim

 

 

Not sure mate. German built so I'd have expected the mechanics to be pretty solid. :) 

Can be heavy on fuel, looked into getting one and the forums seem to make it sound like a labour of love with lots of niggles that can cost as they get older. Also heard of diff troubles. Parts can be expensive too

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One we have found has 142k on clock but appears to have been cared for and looks a steal for £2.6k. As this will only be used occasionaly I was thinking is it worth a punt

Full history is must!......the wife's had 2 Cooper S's and they are as adictive as the Subaru's. And with a car that age your buying a hobby so it's not going to be work-free.

Good luck

I quite fancy the new 2 litre Cooper S works.....150mph and an Imrezza chaser 

 

 

The wife is due a change soon! 

I quite fancy the new 2 litre Cooper S works.....150mph and an Imrezza chaser 

 

 

The wife is due a change soon! 

I've not seen a new mini cooper keep up with me yet ;) But I'd rather have a fiesta ST personally :D 

I've not seen a new mini cooper keep up with me yet ;) But I'd rather have a fiesta ST personally :D

Not a chance.....build quality is no where near as good....plus, they need to get rid of the embarrassing "ST" lady towel moniker.

The new works S is a very fast little motor.

Heavy on fuel ,weak gearbox, poor radiator design, interior don't stand up to mileage ,high insurance , expensive tyres,apart from that not that quick really and don't handle great, look like fun on paper nightmare to live with, and that's from experience of a 2 yr old low mileage car, it's a heart head car, on this occasion use your head

We have decided not to bother with one as the faults with them are endless and potentially kill me financially! Now looking at a 2000(ish) Audi TT 225 Quattro but one that has had the pixellated dash sorted.

Heavy on fuel ,weak gearbox, poor radiator design, interior don't stand up to mileage ,high insurance , expensive tyres,apart from that not that quick really and don't handle great, look like fun on paper nightmare to live with, and that's from experience of a 2 yr old low mileage car, it's a heart head car, on this occasion use your head

I`m talking about the new 2 litre works S, whatever bad luck you`ve had in the past fair enough but i`ve had 2 from new a 53 and a 59 and they were excellent, even the Chrystler engined supercharged early ones, once the engine had been rebuilt and properly tuned (the yanks don`t have a clue!) by the team at BMW they were brilliant. The 59 was the later, quicker and better engine with turbo and 40 plus MPG.