[pbonner]

Hi,

Haven't been on the forum since selling my Black MCS back in January 2005 - WP53ZCL where are you now...?

I traded in my 2004 MCS (chilli, Vis pack, chrome exterior) that I had from new for a 3 Series as I found the MCS to be a little frantic as a daily driver and my miles went up through work. Had the 3 Series for a year, got bored, bought a Seat Leon Cupra R that was soo disappointing - no where near as fast as I thought it should be with 225horses, pretty bad brake fade considering it was on Brembos and creaking rear susspension that the dealer couldn't fix. Given all that it didn't last long and I now drive a nice diesel new shape Zafira as I have kids etc.

I decided that the Zafira will probably go in about a year or so so started looking around at something to replace it, but I need something that size as to be honest I would miss the space. Two kids, recent holiday in cornwall, trips to the tip etc. are no problem with the Zafira.

So I looked at BMW 3series touring - nice car, but not real boot space compared to the Zafira, and looking at £23K + for the spec I would want. Also tried the Volvo V70 T5/D5 - pricey and where is all the space? Looked at an Audi A4 Avant, nice car but inside it is all DASH and small windscreen - felt cramped. Last of all looked at the Skoda Octavia vRS estate, nice car, good size but £20K on a Skoda - can't seem to bring myself to do that.

So - latest plan, given what eventually I will have to put into any of the above cars given the trade-in I would get for the Zafira, I could probably get a 2002/2003 MCS with sub 40K on the clock and all the toys I had in mine. This would give me a daily runner in the MCS as well as the Zafira for the weekends so I get a car that is really good fun and a practical family car for what I would spend anyway,

Am I mad? How well are the 2002/2003 cars holding up to the use? Is there anything I should look out for or just get the newest car I can?

Any advice would be great.

Good new look to the forum BTW..

Cheers

[beej]

I've on 03 MCS, 35k or something like that on the clock. Only performance changes are GTT220 and wheels down to 16.

MOT was done this month, and they found that there's some signs of rust on the exhaust (no holes). My brake discs could do with replacing soon too, they're quite pitted. I also think I've heard my clutch squeak once just recently.

Other than that, she still drives dreamily

Hope that helps give you an impression of the condition of an 03 MCS that just turned 4.

[Tonyt3]

Quote: Originally Posted by pbonner (original)

Hi,

Haven't been on the forum since selling my Black MCS back in January 2005 - WP53ZCL where are you now...?

I traded in my 2004 MCS (chilli, Vis pack, chrome exterior) that I had from new for a 3 Series as I found the MCS to be a little frantic as a daily driver and my miles went up through work. Had the 3 Series for a year, got bored, bought a Seat Leon Cupra R that was soo disappointing - no where near as fast as I thought it should be with 225horses, pretty bad brake fade considering it was on Brembos and creaking rear susspension that the dealer couldn't fix. Given all that it didn't last long and I now drive a nice diesel new shape Zafira as I have kids etc.

I decided that the Zafira will probably go in about a year or so so started looking around at something to replace it, but I need something that size as to be honest I would miss the space. Two kids, recent holiday in cornwall, trips to the tip etc. are no problem with the Zafira.

So I looked at BMW 3series touring - nice car, but not real boot space compared to the Zafira, and looking at £23K + for the spec I would want. Also tried the Volvo V70 T5/D5 - pricey and where is all the space? Looked at an Audi A4 Avant, nice car but inside it is all DASH and small windscreen - felt cramped. Last of all looked at the Skoda Octavia vRS estate, nice car, good size but £20K on a Skoda - can't seem to bring myself to do that.

So - latest plan, given what eventually I will have to put into any of the above cars given the trade-in I would get for the Zafira, I could probably get a 2002/2003 MCS with sub 40K on the clock and all the toys I had in mine. This would give me a daily runner in the MCS as well as the Zafira for the weekends so I get a car that is really good fun and a practical family car for what I would spend anyway,

Am I mad? How well are the 2002/2003 cars holding up to the use? Is there anything I should look out for or just get the newest car I can?

Any advice would be great.

Good new look to the forum BTW..

Cheers

Sounds like you just worked out that buying new cars is a waste of an awful lot of money....

You can get some seriously nice MCS's (and even Works) for around £11k now, with loads of toys. Got to be better value than driving a new zafira off the forecourt and immidiatly losing £6k in depreciation and tax....

Choose a lower milage car and you'll not go far wrong. I think you can extend warranties now for a peace of mind feeling too....

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

And don't forget to bring it along to a club meet when you've taken delivery!

Tigger.
New MINI Kernow

[OttoMannS]

I would highly recommend looking at facelift R53 MCS from model year 2005 or 2006. Why? because those cars are absolutely ace and exhibit the absolute best build quality of the bunch.

Back in the summer of 2004, MINI made significant changes to the range and the MCS really became an even better car than the '02-'04 before it. Revised gearing, 170BHP, revised ECU programming, revised exhaust, revised intake and revised (JCW sourced) Supercharger with coated splines for improved performance/durability. Just those few changes were enough reason for me to sell my '04 MCS and order a new '05 MCS back in January 2005.

Suffice to say, I LOVE my facelift 2005 R53 S. I currently have 29K miles and the car is simply miles better than any '02-'04 MCS by comparison.

In my opinion, if buying an used MCS, the facelift 2005 and 2006 models are the only way to go. You may find an eager seller willing to haggle.

Good luck.

[Dave Noble]

hi there,
this is my first posting on this board, so be gentle ...

it seems like we have the common problem of what is the perfect garage when you have kids! after running a couple of imprezas, three years ago when kids were tots i moved on to a merc ml, i was going to keep it long term until kids had outgrown prams, trikes and other stuff that gets chucked in the back, but after its first mot decided to look at getting back into something exiting again. i looked at the A4 Avant too, on paper it looked good, but in reality it was a tad boring with no "soul"( it was a 225hp quattro! it should have been good!) also the fact that everyone at the school gates had one!
i eventually had a look at imprezas again and fell in love again this time with the sports wagon( bit of an 8 pinter i know ,but it is a wicked drive), so that done we looked for a second car for my wife as we were only running the one with the merc, and last week got an 05 one in chillie red, and with the 17"s spoke wheels it complets my almost perfect garage line up (maybe bettered only by a range rover sport and a 911 but i can only dream.)


so get yourself a mini again and have a look at the impreza for carrying the kids you wont be disapointed!

best regards
dave