2003 Mini Cooper

[JohnK]

Posted about this in News 24, but given that I can’t contain my excitement around this car, I thought I’d do a bit of a thread as I will be putting some effort into it.

Obviously, what every bald northerner who’s definitely in touch with his masculine side needs in their life is a car their mates are going to take the piss out of.

Secretly, I’ve always loved the R53 Mini. My love grew stronger circa 2014 when I drove my nieces Mini Cooper. I did dabble with one myself a few years ago but it was cheap (£375 on eBay) and categorically fucked, so it got thrown back onto Gumtree and fucked off sharpish.

Armed with a day off work today and some cash on the kitchen table, I tackled Facebook Marketplace and was buying either a T reg Toyota Corolla or an S reg VW Polo Saloon. Then this appeared fairly local. Bagged for £650 with MOT until March 2024

It has been loved at some point in its life, with extensive history up to around 2019, where it tails off and appeared to end up as somebodies don’t give a fuck car. And it’s obvious. But underneath,there’s an inherently good car.

Couple of pics for now - next update is a shopping list and more pictures !

 

[DVee8]

There are a few on here now, N02 son has a 56 plate R50 one.

When they first came out I thought crap, just a fad, just like the 500 and the beetle. But now i think they are great I love the retro styling, yes they do have their problems what doesn't.

I have driven @gm's old Cooper YES, boy was that quick. But even our Adam's 90bhp one is quick enough. and the handling is great. 

 

[JohnK]

@DVee8 I always had a bit of a thing for them when they were launched, bearing in mind I’m now 34 and hadn’t quite reached my teens at that time, they had a huge appeal to me.

Agree the retro styling is bang on right now, but it also doesn’t looked too out of place in a car park for a car of its age - I popped for a swift pint at the local earlier on and sat in the beer garden, I was looking at it in the car park and it it blended in, whilst still having something a bit different about it.

I think for me, booting it around some back lanes earlier today it left me grinning from ear to ear - considering I have an E55 AMG in my collection which also does has the same effect, but in a very different way, the fact this car made me feel that way has sold it to my heart already. Anyway, enough of the soppy bullshit 😂

I do think as the years have gone on they’ve attracted a following, are definitely a modern classic in my eyes and much like the Audi A2 thread on here, have a certain appeal that I feel just can’t be explained.

It does mean however, that I need to buy something else capable of daily duties. As a family of 5, a 4 seater isn’t exactly practical. Good job the missus is on board and doesn’t mind her car being the general dogsbody hack for now 😉

[DVee8]

As a family we have 2. MrsV8 has a new shape Cooper sport and you can follow the lineage between then. 

[Split_Pin]

I'm on the lookout for an R50/3 as well. My old R56 was great, just hideously unreliable. I'd like to try the earlier one as they seem a bit better.

[warch]

I owned one for a few years (sold it to buy a sensible family car when we had our first kid). It was pretty good, didn't suffer any major issues, apart from a recurrent air mass sensor (or whatever it was) issue exacerbated by spending hours sitting in Bristol traffic, and cured by removing it and cleaning with carb cleaner.

One thing that really pissed me off was tedious people going on about how they're not a patch on a real Mini. I owned two real Minis, both of which were fun, but frankly very crap and an absolute arse to keep on the road (use to dread MoT time). Also the new model was and probably still is fantastic to drive, not especially fast, but loads of fun on bendy roads. Plus it was a genuinely happy car you'd always look forward to driving. The R50 model was obviously rather bigger than the original model but still a very small compact car and not overly heavy either. I reckon one would be ideal for trackdays, the handling and steering feel is great, especially on the narrow standard tyres. 

[New POD]

The original mini was crap in 1959 when it came out.  The R50 wasn't crap at all when it came out (although the gearbox and powersteering were designed by the ghost of issigoniss) 

Almost like the engineers involved wanted it to be a success. 

[HMC]

I love these, i keep an eye out for a cheap cooper s but a lot of the cheap ones are knackered. Last bargain bucket s i bought blew it head gasket after i thrashed it over the moor. 

edit- re the gearbox iirc the r53 has a different, stronger box.

[Peter C]

I’m 49 and I’m in love with my R53.

I’m looking forward to more updates.

[chaseracer]

I've always been a bit MEH about the MINI - duff oily bits, no suspension, etc. - then I had a go in @Inspector Morose's '04 convertible.

It was BRULLYANT!!

[gm]

i’ve had three of them (and another due next week) 2 x R53 Cooper S and 1 x R50 Cooper, they were all great little cars - the standard cooper was an ideal commuter car, fun but still returning decent mpg, the cooperS got me home from work in record time which was hilarious fun but it did like a drink.  i had planned on keeping the most recent one at least until i’d had it round the track but that lovely silver slk proved too tempting  

yours looks tidy in green - just like my old one 

 

[mercedade]

Yep, I love mine.

It's a super original R53, and I'm trying to keep it that way. Think I paid middle-to-top money for it at the time because it was low miles and very straight, and reckon it would cost me another £1k on top to replace it with one in similar condition these days.

[Pete-M]

I've got an R53 Works 210 I'll be selling soon.