Airport car - R53 or R56?

Airport car - R53 or R56?

Author
Discussion

CABC

Original Poster:

5,735 posts

107 months

Thursday 3rd May 2018
quotequote all
i'm looking for a car to sit around and do nothing most of the time! 3k miles/yr. For this need i currently have an old Yaris that sits in airport parking for weeks on end and then has its battery reconnected for a few days before being parked up again. cheapo reliable motoring. and boring.

As many of you here have extensive Bini knowledge i'd like to bounce my current thoughts off you.
The N14 engine doesn't sound a good ownership prospect from what i'm reading. So i'm thinking of either an N18 2010 or so or go right back to the fun R53, late model 2004-6. Even an R50 Cooper.

The R53 is a little more raw fun (more my style, can't be any more basic than an 02 1.0 Yaris).
It's a lot cheaper and *hopefully* the issues would be sorted out by now....?
i'd have to buy carefully with a full check and have a slush fund. I'm not naive, but i just need to be informed and understand the probabilities, risk/reward etc.

Some might use the same logic for the N14 cars, in that they were costly and problematic a few years ago whereas now you can buy knowingly and add preventative maintenance. In other words the N14 issues were most painful around 2011-14, but are now probably resolved. That's the problem reading old threads, cars often go through reliability cycles.

Edited by CABC on Thursday 3rd May 19:17

steve-5snwi

8,940 posts

99 months

Thursday 3rd May 2018
quotequote all
If you want basic white goods and for it to do nothing more than get you to and from the station and start when you arrive late at night in the pouring rain then keep the Yaris.

If you want to spend a larger amount on something thats fun and will start then you need the N18 if you want something with a turbo. However if you want something fun, raw and cheap(ish) then buy the best R53 you can, or even a high spec Cooper.

CABC

Original Poster:

5,735 posts

107 months

Friday 4th May 2018
quotequote all
now also considering an earlier R56 as i believe the MC doesn't suffer as many problems as the S.
I also need Euro 4 for London's ULEZ.