Any R53 experts here?

[nbio]

Supercharged MINI have supercharger pulley problems.

I have never heard of this, although many people choose to buy a smaller pulley for more bewst. As for the tranny thing, you wouldnt be getting a CVT or a cooper. (the early model cooper had a 5 spd. midlands transmission that is very problematic, by 04 they switched it to a getrag)

[Massive Lee]

6 cylinder e36 are great cars (except for the 320i). The 2.5, 2.8, 3.0 and 3.2 are totally bulletproof motors. The only weak points on e36 are the rear subframe pick-up points and the plastic sunroof tray on early cars. It can warp under the hot sun.

Automatic MINIs are shitboxes as the tranny is a timebomb. Supercharged MINI have supercharger pulley problems. Over all, the car is fun to drive, great for picking up hotties, but not the most reliable car.

[z31maniac]

[FredK]

Hilljack getting hot under the collar!

[z31maniac]

That's what I'm hearing from everyone in this thread who can't read.

Initially, I didn't ask what car would you buy/suggest/cream your pants over.
What you would do with my E30 or anything.

I asked what people know about R53s. And out of the 40+ responses, there have been about 4 replies relevant to the question. And this wasn't even a hard one like what motor oil should I use or what are the best wheels.

[FredK]

waa waa waa. That's all I'm hearing. :razz:

[z31maniac]

maybe I'm crazy, but just daily drive the E30. what's so bad about an S50 E30 for a daily anyway? I don't get doing a bunch of work to make a car nice, and then parking it in your driveway, never to be driven.

Oh I'll drive it. But 40 series combined with stiff springs (our roads are bad enough that 350/500 got tiresome and now I'm going to 550/750) no sound deadening, no AC, etc, and then I don't drive it in ice or snow (admittedly doesn't happen often here) and rarely drove it in the rain.

I want a nice, stock car to drive in shitty weather or if I'm working on the E30 or maybe have a problem at a track day or something, something comfy-ish to take a road trip in, etc. I've basically had shitty cars since high school from being a broke college student or when I had my sportbike I didn't give a shit because I rode it basically rain or shine.

[kishg]

my vote's for an e39 540/6. tough to beat as a DD. only drawback is fuel consumption but i'm not too worried about that anyways.

edit: look in the latest bimmer for a buying guide.

[nando]

maybe I'm crazy, but just daily drive the E30. what's so bad about an S50 E30 for a daily anyway? I don't get doing a bunch of work to make a car nice, and then parking it in your driveway, never to be driven.

[nbio]

window motors get stuck sometimes
the official fix is to slam your fist between the 2 speakers in the door
works every time lol

the strut mounts have been known to mushroom
door sills have been known to rust on some early models, under the rubber weatherstripping
and like mikeedler said the exhaust gets rusty fast too. but you live in OK so I cant see that being much of a problem, youre not in the rust belt like me.

go join that forum, lots of info in there!! more than you can ever get out of me

[mikeedler]

the biggest problem I have seen on the ones that come in to us is======= RUST on the exhaust
its an easy fix though-- buy the JCW stainless exhaust-- its only 20 bucks more than the stocker.

.-- and popping in the front end when turning---steering column or a few have been the strut tower bushings.

[z31maniac]

^Care to share those little tidbits?

[nbio]

most of the problems are really blown out of proportion

talk to a tech at a local dealer; the ones by me at princeton mini are pretty chill and knowledgeable guys. they gave me some things to look out for when making a purchase

[mikeedler]

wow, I work at a Mini/ BMW dealer and I havent really seen many of the problems you guys see in the states!

yeah, Tstat housings, a few transmissions, loud timing chains-- requires all new rails and crap, fans for the electric steering.

I personally don't dig the minis very much-- its not even close to the build quality of BMWs--- but I wouldnt call them crap. but my daughter loves em and I would buy one for the family if another "small" car was needed.

[325Projectz]

i had an 05 mini s with jcw engine goodies. the car moved pretty good, stereo was good, quiet ride, not the smoothest but sporty. it'll do good on gas as long as you keep your foot out of its ass... i loved that car for my dd. no warranty issues, other than having the clutch replaced at 30k.

the only thing i disliked about that car was how fast you go through front tires. you really have to coast around corners or else you'll smoke the front tires.