Hi,

Im new to this forum and im looking at getting a mini cooper s in the next few months.

Ive read countless reviews about the difference between the two minis stated in the title and im leaning toward a 05 or 55 plate.

The Main Differences:

* ''Revised Supercharger''
* Different gearbox (Shorter Changes)
* LSD (Limited Slip Diff)
* Back pressure popping sound (Sounds very cool)
* New Lights

These are what i have found so far, please enlighten me if there are anymore.

Main question is do all these things make that much of a difference it would appear that they do however 05/55 plates seem to be quite rare and i dont know if its worth paying/waiting extra time for it.

Many Thanks

Welcome to the forum - check this out:

MotoringFile » MINI R50/R53 Buyers Guide (http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/)

That should answer most of your questions. :)

The LSD was an option and not available until January 2005 builds. The other changes you noted were effective with July 2004 builds.

Performance-wise MCS models built July 2004 onward had 7 more horsepower and 7 lb/ft of torque and slightly better acceleration than earlier models.

Exterior-wise the headlights and taillights changed and the front grill surround became smooth.

Interior-wise the "facelift" MCS lost the headliner clock (replaced with a digital readout in the speedometer) and gained some extra storage in the center console.

I don't think that these things make that much difference ... it's about price, mileage and options ;)

Ah thanks for the info, i read the buyers guide very helpful, ill have to look at the different lights to see the difference then i will know which 54's are updated which arent. Thanks guys

ill have to look at the different lights to see the difference then i will know which 54's are updated which arent.
Not always "fool proof" as some people fitted facelift headlights to their pre-facelift cars.

You should get the last 7 digits of VIN and use the Decoder (http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi) to determine build date.

Not always "fool proof" as some people fitted facelift headlights to their pre-facelift cars.

You should get the last 7 digits of VIN and use the Decoder (http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi) to determine build date.

Or you could just look at the build date sticker which is under the bonnet on the driver's side just above the washer fluid filler.

Or you could just look at the build date sticker which is under the bonnet on the driver's side just above the washer fluid filler.
Assuming of course you have under-bonnet access ;)

Well if i end up buying a 54 instead of a 05 or 55 plate ill be sure to check out the build date. Am i right in saying if its 05 or 55 plate its guarranteed to have the updates?

Am i right in saying if its 05 or 55 plate its guarranteed to have the updates?
Is it possible for a car built in June 2004 to have sat around until being first registered in March 2005?

Find out the build date and you don't have to worry ;)

Mine is a November 04 build and has most of the revisions apart from LSD and low fluid washer indicator

Okay as i am now even more of a confused noob :) i would like to pose these questions:

What are the easy tell tail signs when just looking at pictures of the car on for instance autotrader?

Also what are the two different headlights i mean they say they changed them but what did they change??

This is best pic I could find

On the left is the new facelifted R50/R53 rear lights, the cluster on the right is the original cluster when the new MINI was launched

See how the facelift has a reverse light in it

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w9/Antinontoxic/MINI%20R53/IMG_4935.jpg

Older

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/vehicle-pictures/2003/mini/cooper/1121-043-headlight-480.jpg

Facelift

http://media.rexbo.net/parts/hella/jpg/200/G136.jpg

The following FAQ has pictures ...
What are first generation, second generation, r53, r56 etc? (http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?faq=new_faq_item#faq_mini_generations)
I hate to sound like a broken record but ...

Why depend on visual queues? Ask the seller for the last 7 digits of the VIN. You can use that to find build date and, given this info, a dealer can provide you with what options were on the car.

because i dont want to go to 5 different sellers that are each 100 miles away to only find that 4 of them are old gen minis when i want the newer one :)

Thanks for all your help :D

because i dont want to go to 5 different sellers that are each 100 miles away to only find that 4 of them are old gen minis when i want the newer one :)

Why wouldn't the seller give you the VIN over the phone :confused:

Why wouldn't the seller give you the VIN over the phone :confused:

Seeing as you are the question - there are quite a few dodgy individuals posing as car buyers. If I had a complete stranger on the phone asking me for a VIN number as their first question, I wouldn't give that information away.

... there are quite a few dodgy individuals posing as car buyers. If I had a complete stranger on the phone asking me for a VIN number as their first question, I wouldn't give that information away.
If the seller wouldn't provide the build date or last 7 of VIN to determine it, I'd think the seller was dodgy ;)

If the seller wouldn't provide the build date or last 7 of VIN to determine it, I'd think the seller was dodgy ;)

I would never give the VIN number to anyone - there is so much vehicle cloning going on, giving someone the VIN of a legitimate car to someone would give them a direct route to clone a stolen car

Giving the build date = no problem.

I would never give the VIN number to anyone - there is so much vehicle cloning going on, giving someone the VIN of a legitimate car to someone would give them a direct route to clone a stolen car

I'm not sure what good knowing only 7 of the 17 digits would do :confused:

Don't UK MINIs have their VIN in plain sight (at base of windshield) like US cars?

Apparently "cloning" isn't a problem in the US as eBay Motors shows the VIN of all cars for sale ;)

Yeah if they wanted to clone a car they would just walk around a car park and write down the number plate and VIN in the windscreen.

When I sold my previous MINI I gave the potential buyer everything, he even called BMW/MINI to verify all the details I gave him were true, like servicing etc.