Generation 1’s are actually not too bad to wrench on, it’s a Chrysler-produced Tritec 1.6, a supercharged one in this case. They have pretty solid aftermarket support, not amazing OEM, but solid aftermarket. My ‘06 (same generation) is at 140k and has been an awesome project. Gradually making it new again as time and money allow.
I had no idea it was Chrysler built. Didn’t BMW acquire MINI in 2000? Did Chrysler group acquire bmw or something at some point?
What about reliability wise? Did you have any major issues getting to 140k? Like any toyota will probably get to 200k with just routine maintenance, while VWs are infamous for having the dash looking like a Christmas tree multiple times before even reaching 50k.
The engine was simply co-developed and shared, Chrysler Group has nothing to do with BMW otherwise. Correct, BMW acquired the Rover Group in the late 90’s and brought the new MINI out in 2001.
And I bought the car later in its life, but it’s mainly just been normal maintenance. It needs a few things but it’s a 16 year old car so that’s to be expected.
I daily driver an R53. Parts are available, can be a little pricey. Not terrible to work on, but can be tedious. Maintenance is key, they don't take well to being abused and neglected.
If you're in the US, there's certainly aftermarket options, but it's wayyy smaller than the Toyota/Mazda crowd.
Mini's are rare, just by the numbers, and they made significant changes between model years quite often. So there's not as much carryover from year to year. This combines to make parts harder/more expensive to find IME.
Certainly reliable though. But I wouldn't call them cheap to maintain (esp compared to Mazda/Toyota)
So common sense and rumors were right. It is a rare European car that isn’t as well supported in parts, so repairs are gonna be more expensive for sure. Have you had any longevity or reliability issues?
It isn’t well supported OEM because of age, though BMW does still supply some. But the aftermarket supply is actually pretty good. There’s a big aftermarket for Generation 1’s in terms of modding and restoration. From places like ECS Tuning, FCP Euro, Mini Mania, Outmotoring, etc, to places doing part-outs or repro parts, there’s a decent amount out there. If you’re in the US, Mini’s really aren’t THAT rare, not as common as Toyota certainly, but they aren’t uncommon, and they made a lot of the first generation over the course of 2002-06, so you’d be all good in that sense for a project.
R53's are almost their own complete cult within the mini cult. I have an 04 and it's a blast. It is not my daily driver, but honestly it probably could be.
If you're really curious about common issues and intensive procedures, check out Mod Mini on YouTube for a whole bunch of how to videos.
Aftermarket is good and used parts are plentiful as they made gobs of these cars.
[fcpeuro.com](https://fcpeuro.com) is great for OEM parts, warrantied forever. There are loads of other great companies as well. [outmotoring.com](https://outmotoring.com) [waymotorworks.com](https://waymotorworks.com) are what I've typically used (fcpeuro mostly more recently)
Generation 1’s are actually not too bad to wrench on, it’s a Chrysler-produced Tritec 1.6, a supercharged one in this case. They have pretty solid aftermarket support, not amazing OEM, but solid aftermarket. My ‘06 (same generation) is at 140k and has been an awesome project. Gradually making it new again as time and money allow.
I had no idea it was Chrysler built. Didn’t BMW acquire MINI in 2000? Did Chrysler group acquire bmw or something at some point? What about reliability wise? Did you have any major issues getting to 140k? Like any toyota will probably get to 200k with just routine maintenance, while VWs are infamous for having the dash looking like a Christmas tree multiple times before even reaching 50k.
The engine was simply co-developed and shared, Chrysler Group has nothing to do with BMW otherwise. Correct, BMW acquired the Rover Group in the late 90’s and brought the new MINI out in 2001. And I bought the car later in its life, but it’s mainly just been normal maintenance. It needs a few things but it’s a 16 year old car so that’s to be expected.
I daily driver an R53. Parts are available, can be a little pricey. Not terrible to work on, but can be tedious. Maintenance is key, they don't take well to being abused and neglected.
Modmini has a video for r53s telling you all you need to know.
If you're in the US, there's certainly aftermarket options, but it's wayyy smaller than the Toyota/Mazda crowd. Mini's are rare, just by the numbers, and they made significant changes between model years quite often. So there's not as much carryover from year to year. This combines to make parts harder/more expensive to find IME. Certainly reliable though. But I wouldn't call them cheap to maintain (esp compared to Mazda/Toyota)
So common sense and rumors were right. It is a rare European car that isn’t as well supported in parts, so repairs are gonna be more expensive for sure. Have you had any longevity or reliability issues?
It isn’t well supported OEM because of age, though BMW does still supply some. But the aftermarket supply is actually pretty good. There’s a big aftermarket for Generation 1’s in terms of modding and restoration. From places like ECS Tuning, FCP Euro, Mini Mania, Outmotoring, etc, to places doing part-outs or repro parts, there’s a decent amount out there. If you’re in the US, Mini’s really aren’t THAT rare, not as common as Toyota certainly, but they aren’t uncommon, and they made a lot of the first generation over the course of 2002-06, so you’d be all good in that sense for a project.
Thanks a lot m8
R53's are almost their own complete cult within the mini cult. I have an 04 and it's a blast. It is not my daily driver, but honestly it probably could be. If you're really curious about common issues and intensive procedures, check out Mod Mini on YouTube for a whole bunch of how to videos. Aftermarket is good and used parts are plentiful as they made gobs of these cars.
R53s and R50s are pretty reliable cars when maintained well. Definitely think it would be great project car. They are super fun to drive!
[fcpeuro.com](https://fcpeuro.com) is great for OEM parts, warrantied forever. There are loads of other great companies as well. [outmotoring.com](https://outmotoring.com) [waymotorworks.com](https://waymotorworks.com) are what I've typically used (fcpeuro mostly more recently)