Scottish Elises

https://www.gumtree.com/p/mini/r56-2009 ... 1306912649

Well after almost a seven year break from any kind of motor sport due to selfishly populating the planet the time has come to return well sort of, looking for something that can get from swimming to ski lessons to trampolines in a interesting manner but capable of the odd visit to Kames etc. I've always has a Cooper s itch but is this too itchy ? how much of a punt for reliability would this be bearing in mind if anything major was to go bang Mrs Squirt would not be happy i would not pass go and collect £200 would i be safer buying a out the box model paving the way for further
silly stuff later on. Thoughts really wanted. Thanks.

I had an R53 Cooper s Chilli with a Diff and it was one of the best little cars I've ever owned from a driving enjoyment perspective, just the right amount of performance for the road. It wasn't particularly reliable tho, failures included steering rack (which was a call out from BMW remote assistance who then condemned the car as too dangerous to drive), power steering system, DMF, brake servo, CD changer and wheel bearing. All covered under warranty but I punted it when the warranty ran out.

My other half had a second Gen Cooper s Chilli with the turbo engine, again a great wee car but not as pointy and focused. Also not particularly reliable: big end bearings went, trusted indy said it was probably a new engine job, car was punted to trade.

Great wee cars but I'm not convinced about durability, I / we may have just been unlucky tho.

Never had long term ownership of Cooper S, only had one for a couple of days whilse the Elise 111R was hit whilst parked.

However it was a complete blast and loved it, bit of torque steer but was cracking down a B road from recollection.

Not much exposure but heard the earlier ones can suffer from engine issues, Mini death rattle I believe.

Also believe the supercharger service is about a £700-£1k bill all in but dont know whether its age or mileage related.

Sure there will lots of buying guides in the net to read up on.

Yes i've read them all, Timing chain guide and pully go as does steering rack ,power steering ,wheel bearings , various pumps but there's some enthusiast
models out there that have most of these tackled just need to keep looking Supercharger is a blast but im looking at second gen turbo im doing real low miles so less chance on reliability.

We have a 2010 R56 Factory JCW at the moment - great little car with plenty power (208bhp). Undesteer can be an issue from time to time and it does tamline a bit on bumpy roads, once you get used to this it's a hoot to drive though. Sport mode only makes the steering heavier, but it does feel better, and the throttle responds better which makes heel and toe easier and progress a little quicker.

Fuel economy hovers aroun 29 to 31mpg if that's of relevance? Our one is loaded with options (original owner bought it in London suspect they just ticked every box!), sunroof, Harmon Kardon DAB, Nav etc etc

Would love to take it on a track some time but not had the opportunity yet.

Can still fit the kids in the back (6 and 2) with passenger seat slightly forward for the moment, suspect it will only be a couple of years until number 1 outgrows the rear seat comfortably but we'll see.

Worth installing uprated timing chain tensioner to stave off death rattle.

Cheers

Alistair

Having lived with both R53 and R56, I'd say R53 every day of the week, I was a bit disappointed with the 56, the sparkle wasn't there, the 53 was such a good car, the R56 a bit 'safe'. Id expect a sporty geo and some suspension tweaks might help tho. Plus the little bonnet scoop isn't functional in the R56...

An R53 GP would be what I'd be after but these are pricy now. A plain old regular one with the JCW performance upgrade would be adequate and probably deliver 95% the GP does, you can rip out the back seats yourself if you want to save the weight!

Same for me. After that wonderful supercharger whine, I've never been tempted into a newer model. I've tried, but they feel about 40% less fun than the R53 JCW.

Spend half your budget on a R53 JCW, the other half on fuel, repairs and mods.

Play it right and number 1 will continue to fit. If we'd kept our hatch 6 mths longer...

That said a Clubman Works could be funky

Alistair wrote:We have a 2010 R56 Factory JCW at the moment - great little car with plenty power (208bhp). Undesteer can be an issue from time to time and it does tamline a bit on bumpy roads, once you get used to this it's a hoot to drive though. Sport mode only makes the steering heavier, but it does feel better, and the throttle responds better which makes heel and toe easier and progress a little quicker.

Fuel economy hovers aroun 29 to 31mpg if that's of relevance? Our one is loaded with options (original owner bought it in London suspect they just ticked every box!), sunroof, Harmon Kardon DAB, Nav etc etc

Would love to take it on a track some time but not had the opportunity yet.

Can still fit the kids in the back (6 and 2) with passenger seat slightly forward for the moment, suspect it will only be a couple of years until number 1 outgrows the rear seat comfortably but we'll see.

Worth installing uprated timing chain tensioner to stave off death rattle.

Cheers

Alistair

Hmmm now back to thinking Mk 1

I know a man selling an 11 plate JCW....

Probably out my budget but all things considered.

Itch now scratched , picking up a fully loaded R56 tomorrow .

Woop!

TTIUWP

Nice one
Will we see more of you then ?

IanD wrote:Nice one
Will we see more of you then ?

In our mirrors maybe