Hi guys,
I've been looking for a new car so I can retire my 69 mini k to the garage and give it a much needed resto. My rego was up over the weekend and I discovered to register it again it needs rust hole filled a subframe replaced among other things.
So I'm tossing up between paying for everything to be fixed and re registering it or buying a new car and fixing it at my leisure.
I've been looking at some bini's and found an 02 r53 s that looks like a good deal.
Can anyone supply me with some info as to running costs, maintenance costs etc and whether they're reliable cars...
This is the link to the one I'm looking at
http://carsales.mobi/cars/details/?R=91 ... =1&trecs=2
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Cheers Gibbo

That seems pretty cheap, I'd have said it should be worth closer to 17k.
Anything wrong with it?

At 99000 kays I can garantee it'll need a clutch change inside of the next 20000, thats about a $2000, and its an idea to get the gearbox oil changed too.

Had my clutch done the otehr week at 110,000 kays, some cars have them die as early as 60,000 for the hoons. Saw one car last week where the clutch had outright failed on an 80,000 car causing him to crash into someone (or so the story goes).

Thanks Harley,
I have no more information but I'll get in contact with the seller tonight probably and make sure it hasn't been in an accident or anything as this is the only reason I can think it is so cheap apart from maybe it's a desperate sale.
Or perhaps he knows the clutch is on it's way out as you suggested and is compensating for that.
But given his description of the car it looks good and seems like a steal...
Thanks for your input it's info like that that really is helpful!

THere is no such thing as a R53 2002 model.... THe R56 came out in 2003 The R53 is a much better car than a R50 ( Yes I owned both)


Cheap to run 8L-100km
Services I find cheap $400 with 20,000km between services, just make sure that it has a FUll BMW serivce and the recalls completed

You will love it!

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lol how does that happen? usually when a clutch fails the car just free revs like its in neutral

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Potato

I don't know.
The car was sitting in my mechanics workshop, the front was all smashed in and I noticed it had QLD plates on the car.
I asked the mechanic what the car was doing in his shop, and he said the owner was a mebourne local who'd flown up to queensland to buy the car for sale. He drove it home, but just outside of melbourne the clutch has done something (word used was it failed, though in what way I don't know how) and he'd come off the road as a result.

I'm not saying the clutch caused the incident directly, as a good driver should still be able to stop the car, I was just pointing out how a thrashed car can have a premature wear rate on expensive parts that should be condsidered.

The thing that gave this car away as being thrashed was it had JCW badges on it (not the actual kit) and the car was a different colour on the outside to under the bonnet.
Those two things alone tell me young hoon, let alone the 20 inch chromies on it.