When life gives you lemons.......

......you make lemonade.......Saturday morning I got whacked by a semi making a left turn into my lane, and wrote off my 2003 R53 Cooper.

Last night (Sunday) I saw an ad on the Michigan MINI FB page for another 2003 R53, optioned a little better than the wrecked one. The big plus for it is that it has never been winter driven and only has 12,500 miles on it. At the rate I put miles on a car , I'll be good 'til I die !!

I intend to lose the graphics by spring, and possibly look for different (lighter) wheels. Those S-Lites are the heaviest MINI wheels made and are poorly named. But the tires are new Michelins, new battery and a recent oil change, so it meets SWMBO's "No more project cars" rule........

Good news!

Nice score!

I personally love the look of the S-Lites and the set I had weighed 20.5lbs each on my Longacre scales. A whopping one pound more than the "light" 19.5lb BBS wheels on my R55. 

I feel like the heavy complaints about those wheels were more about the runflat tires than the wheels themselves. 

 

When life gives you lemons,

You paint that E36 M3 gold.

In reply to Trent :

I don't mind the look a lot, but the wrecked car has Rota RBs, which I think look much more like Minilites than the S-lites do. Just personal preference. I also prefer 16" on Michigan roads. That is why I bought the Rotas years ago. They held up well until one took a shot from a Kenworth.

Can you just swap the wheels from your old car?

In reply to triumph7 :

Three of them for sure...the fourth one took the hit from the semi. The suspension is bent, so I would be surprised if the wheel is still straight. It's badly scuffed with rubber,too. I'll see if the insurance company would let me swap them out and very carefully look over the bad wheel. I could also buy a single wheel, they're still available. I'd bring them home rather than see them go to the junkyard.

Wow, that's low mileage!  Did it sit at their 4th home or something?  haha

Don't ask the insurance company if you can swap them out...  The green mini is currently still your car.  I'd just go swap them out.  

I'm being Capt Obvious here: If the new to you (and nearly new) '03 has good tires, I'd chase down a set of crap wheels and tires from a wreckin' yard or Craigs and swap 'em out then. That way you have a spare set of good tires and wheels...

rdcyclist said:

I'm being Capt Obvious here: If the new to you (and nearly new) '03 has good tires, I'd chase down a set of crap wheels and tires from a wreckin' yard or Craigs and swap 'em out then. That way you have a spare set of good tires and wheels...

Exactly this. Can even slap Civic steelies on there I bet.

I'm waiting on a FB vendor with a $50 set of Honda rims and tires. The towing lot guy is OK and will even help me change them. I'll also swap out the new battery for an older one........assuming I can get it done before the claims guy gets there.

How do you like your r53? Engine issues aside, I've heard they're pretty fun to drive, but never driven one myself. I've had my eye on one to go alongside my Miatas...

Glad to hear you sourced a nice low mile one after the Kenworth took your old one out!

Japanspec said:

How do you like your r53? Engine issues aside, I've heard they're pretty fun to drive, but never driven one myself. I've had my eye on one to go alongside my Miatas...

 

Glad to hear you sourced a nice low mile one after the Kenworth took your old one out!

I am not Warren- But I owned an r53 for a good bit. Reliability concerns aside- it was the most brilliant little FWD chassis car I'd ever owned and was impossible to NOT have a good time in. Even a trip to the gas station was time for hooligan E36 M3. 

Hey Warren, if you end up needing tires swapped on wheels, Mark and I are happy to do it for you.

In reply to Japanspec :

I'm also not Warren, but I own a 2006 R53 JCW and have been around the cars since my ex- bought a 2003 R53 new.  I know them pretty well.

They are tons of fun to drive. They are the closest in feel to a classic Mini than any of the "new" MINIs.  And prior to my R53, I owned a '64 Cooper.  

The engines are generally reliable and not too difficult to work on, but they are properly British in the way they can leak oil.  

John Welsh said:

Don't ask the insurance company if you can swap them out...  The green mini is currently still your car.  I'd just go swap them out.  

I have had pretty much the same experience as the OP but with a STi. The car was hit and totaled by a large SUV.  It was towed away to a storage yard. I went down to the yard to get some things from the interior and the gates were closed an entry was denied. I had to get permission and paperwork from the insurance company to get in. The insurance company was perfectly fine with me taking the after market wheels/tires and the stock Brembo brakes as long as I replaced the w/t's so the vehicle could roll. The car was brought out by a front end loader and set in an area that could be observed by the yard office. I removed the parts and replaced the OEM set with 15" steelies and old tires. In my situation there was no way I could have gotten to the car otherwise.

As a side note...............the car had a front end impact but from the A pillar back was essentially like new (thank you Subaru). I don't know if the tow company did it or the yard but some one had picked up all the engine parts from the accident and put them in the interior of the car. The interior was stock and like new. All the oily parts were thrown on the seats, the radiator was on the driver's seat and had leaked all over it.  So many of the interior parts could have been reused. Everything inside was destroyed. Complete waste.

major fist bump.....yeah get the mini-lite looka lIkes

I had a set of steelies with bald tires given to me by a Miata owner a few years ago. I assumed they were 54.1mm bore, but I decided to measure them. They're 56.1mm, so they should fit. I'll be in the tow yard in the morning.

In reply to Japanspec :

As others have said, it's the best FWD car I've ever driven.I had the wrecked one for 16 years, which says something and I'm replacing it because I enjoy them so much.

Well, r53 may be in my future then. Don't mean to derail your thread, so I'll see myself out!