Any known Cooper S issues
Discussion
I fancy a MCS, turbocharged. I'm not so fussed about age but I do value low miles and high spec. In the glamorous world of Porsche ownership the 996 and early 997 cars are viewed with scepticism due to engine fears. I've seen a nice 57 plate car with a lot of spec which I fancy. However, there is talk of timing chain problems on those 07 cars. Were these problems resolved with the later cars? From what year should I be looking?
Always liked BOSE in a Porsche, is the HK system worth having?
Budgeting around £6k
Always liked BOSE in a Porsche, is the HK system worth having?
Budgeting around £6k
From experience, I'd steer away from an early R56 S (turbocharged cars).
Timing chain issues, HPFPs fail, coking is an issue, clutch/flywheel issues with the earlier cars, and so it goes on. I also don't think the earlier ones were screwed together very well.
For the early R56s, there were 3 different HiFi options. There was the basic 'Wave' (which we didn't get in the UK), the UK standard BOOST and the HiFi loudspeaker system. The BOOST is just about the worst in car HiFi I've ever heard, my '91 Range Rover is better through the 24 year old headunit and speakers. The HiFi upgrade isn't that much better to be honest, it couldn't handle bass on anything much above adequate volume. If you enjoy audio, your best route is aftermarket.
Harman Kardon didn't arrive on the R56 until around September 2009 (the system was pretty good and worth sourcing).
If I were you, I'd try and look for the latest supercharged R53 you can, £6k will get you a good one. There are issues with them, but nowhere near as many as the R56. Just look at the prices for late R53s; they're often a premium over R56s some two years their junior, it says a lot.
The facelifted R56 resolved some of the issues of the earlier N14 engine, but they're still not bulletproof. They're also quite a bit more expensive than your £6k budget
Timing chain issues, HPFPs fail, coking is an issue, clutch/flywheel issues with the earlier cars, and so it goes on. I also don't think the earlier ones were screwed together very well.
For the early R56s, there were 3 different HiFi options. There was the basic 'Wave' (which we didn't get in the UK), the UK standard BOOST and the HiFi loudspeaker system. The BOOST is just about the worst in car HiFi I've ever heard, my '91 Range Rover is better through the 24 year old headunit and speakers. The HiFi upgrade isn't that much better to be honest, it couldn't handle bass on anything much above adequate volume. If you enjoy audio, your best route is aftermarket.
Harman Kardon didn't arrive on the R56 until around September 2009 (the system was pretty good and worth sourcing).
If I were you, I'd try and look for the latest supercharged R53 you can, £6k will get you a good one. There are issues with them, but nowhere near as many as the R56. Just look at the prices for late R53s; they're often a premium over R56s some two years their junior, it says a lot.
The facelifted R56 resolved some of the issues of the earlier N14 engine, but they're still not bulletproof. They're also quite a bit more expensive than your £6k budget
Edited by 0llie on Wednesday 8th July 10:22
Thanks for taking time to reply. Seen a nice spec heavy 07 car but your pet confirms what I'd heard. Seen another 10 plate car with 3 k on it but it's not got many toys. Asking is £9k which is more than I wanted to pay but a deal may be achievable around 8k. I'll maybe keep looking. What year are issues resolved 58 onwards?
N14 engine which can be problematic carried on till 2010 in the S models then replaced with the revised N18.
Not all N14 engines had problems, oil level is critical to camchain longevity and must be monitored constantly, although some consume more than others, the valve coking issue is common to all direct injection engines, although the breather system on the n14 does not help the situation, n18 system is different.
I wouldn't discount the higher spec car due to its age, mine has every option and I find it a great place to be, had a new camchain tensioner fitted (cheap) and a walnut shell blast on the inlet valves (£180) and it runs great.
Not all N14 engines had problems, oil level is critical to camchain longevity and must be monitored constantly, although some consume more than others, the valve coking issue is common to all direct injection engines, although the breather system on the n14 does not help the situation, n18 system is different.
I wouldn't discount the higher spec car due to its age, mine has every option and I find it a great place to be, had a new camchain tensioner fitted (cheap) and a walnut shell blast on the inlet valves (£180) and it runs great.
highway said:
Thanks for taking time to reply. Seen a nice spec heavy 07 car but your pet confirms what I'd heard. Seen another 10 plate car with 3 k on it but it's not got many toys. Asking is £9k which is more than I wanted to pay but a deal may be achievable around 8k. I'll maybe keep looking. What year are issues resolved 58 onwards?
As mentioned above, the R56 wasn't facelifted until September 2010, though it did get the N18 engine around March of that year. The fJCW didn't get the updated engine until later. There is no visual clue to tell if a non-facelifted car has the N14 or N18 engine, your best bet would be to run the reg number through here to get the VIN, then put the VIN here and see what engine code it returns. The later N18 engine also got a little bit more power, they went from 174bhp to 184bhp.
Have you any particular options that you're after?
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