Show Me Your Imola Yellow S3's!!
- Thread starter Els
- Start date
Not any experience of just cooper’s in r53/r57 but cooper s’ I do, particularly r53. What I will say is if you’re hoping to have a car that is completely reliable then I would caution on cooper s’. R53 have quite a lot of issues from the 1.6 supercharged engine which is actually a Chrysler engine. They love to leak oil out of every gasket and seal you can think of. Issues with the steering, common to need a new rack. Other bits and bobs but the oil leaks are definitely the main one and they’re not cheap to fix.
R57 actually run a Peugeot engine, it’s a PSA 1.6 turbo same a Peugeot 207 gti. Do a read up on them, head gaskets fail aswell as other expensive engine related problems. A garage I know well had seven in one month!
You may get lucky and not have a problem but I just want to make sure you’re aware that they’re very capable of being money pits. I know someone with a r53 cooper s and he’s spent around 7-8k just sorting out oil leaks and other problems and that’s a standard car below 100k miles.
That being said they are good fun and you can make them quick for little outlay relatively.
R57 actually run a Peugeot engine, it’s a PSA 1.6 turbo same a Peugeot 207 gti. Do a read up on them, head gaskets fail aswell as other expensive engine related problems. A garage I know well had seven in one month!
You may get lucky and not have a problem but I just want to make sure you’re aware that they’re very capable of being money pits. I know someone with a r53 cooper s and he’s spent around 7-8k just sorting out oil leaks and other problems and that’s a standard car below 100k miles.
That being said they are good fun and you can make them quick for little outlay relatively.
Yeah but not all cars have a long array of very expensive repairs in relation to the cost of the vehicle. The cooper s engine is basically a sieve they’re really that bad for oil leaks. The R57 psa engine is renowned for its costly problems. Some cars have much bigger issues than others. Such as ford’s ecoboost 1.0 and 2.3 blowing head gaskets.
Eyelashes states the reason for getting rid of the s3 as the long list of things that need doing. I just want to make him/her aware that a mini isn’t a safe bet for a cheap alternative if you go for a cooper s.
O wasn't doubting your information. I just meant that any car could have common faults. That's why when I get a car I always have a service done and a check over just to be sure.
I didn’t think you were doubting lol, I read what you wrote as all cars have common faults as though such potentially expensive faults are common. Which would mean we all need to factor in engine failure when we buy cars
x_eyelashes_x
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The reason for wanting to sell is practicality in honesty, the Recaros are big and heavy and it makes it hard to get the kids in the back, and I'm always putting petrol in it. It does need bits doing as all used cars do, but I have already had the more important bits done. Ie the ABS wasn''t working when I bought it, the sills were shot, as were the brake lines. All sorted now. Plus I have had two independent garages check the car over and I had one do a major service and the important Haldex service
The other bits really are' as and when'. I would absolutely keep it if it was more practical. 
Thanks for the advice re the Minis, I had a feeling my lovely courtesy car was very well maintained and perhaps not showing the true picture of Minis (granted it was a basic ONE model) , though I guess as you say if you get a good one you are OK! I will probably consider a Cooper minus the S if that saves draining my bank account. The S JCW does look nice though.......
The cooper S are fun cars, very go kart like, especially the R53. As long as you’re aware they can become money pits then go for it. The R57 is obviously more modern inside and out, the engine is more economical. The R53 is more raw feeling, the supercharger sounds ace especially with a smaller pulley put on. My friend is a car dealer and has a black R57 cooper s for sale at the moment with the optional JCW bodykit. I’ll send you a link if you’re interested, located in Derby.
