MINI R53 as a forever car?

I have a 2007 MINI R56.  It has 93K miles on it.  I love driving it but I keep feeling like I am just sitting on a time-bomb waiting to go off.  It recently developed an burnt oil smell and it most likely is the turbo feed line and/or one of the many oil filter housing gaskets.  I am totally willing to do the work to fix the above but to be honest, I am not sure about the reliability especially when I hear about the R56 N14 being one of the worst engines MINI came out with.  The final kicker is that the car is black and while I picked it up for a good price, I really hate black as a car color (no offense to anyone who likes black cars.  They just don't do anything for me).

I have always loved the supercharger whine of the R53 and keep hearing that the engines are so much more bulletproof.  The port fuel injection is not as sophisticated but then I don't have to worry about carbon on the valves like with my DI engine.  I don't mid getting my hands dirty but I don't know if I want to on a car that I am not in lust with.

Would you guys rock a R53 Cooper S as a forever car?  The other plan is to just keep trading up every 5-6 years just to have a manual car in the family but I keep hearing about the F56 Minis being maybe better cars but definitely less "MINI-like".

Would you guys rock a R53 Cooper S as a forever car?  
 

Yup. Except mine is a JCW. 

If the aftermarket is going to be the parts source after BMW stops, then I would expect the R53 to be the best supported. After I worked through the "normal" R53 issues it's been a good car and I've grown pretty attached to it. I bought used and have had it  (2003 MY) for 14 years now. I'd keep it indefinitely except for the fact that mine has started rusting in the usual spots.

I can confirm that the F56 S I drove a couple of years ago was not as enjoyable as the R53 S I drove 15 years ago. Just didn’t have that go kart feeling anymore.

I have owned an 2007 r56 and a 2004 r53 JCW.  The both took an enormous amount of maintenance.  All of the regular BMW problems related to oil leaks, fuel pumps, and the cooling system then a whole host of mini specific problems that no car should ever have.

I sold the r53 when I had to upsize to a baby hauling daily driver.  I miss it but the car payment on the new car is less than my average monthly spend on maintenance.

In reply to hoots04 :

There is no "forever car".

This is the way.

Sounds in line with other stories people share about ownership.

In reply to Loweguy5 (Forum Supporter) :

I resonate with this.

I have had many not good experiences with aftermarket parts for the R50, for items not drivetrain-specific.  That concerns me a bit.

OTOH I have had similar problems with aircooled VWs, where yes you can buy, say, aftermarket window regulators, but they don't fit the door or the glass and they don't roll up and down well, so you are better off paying through the nose for used OEM.

You can keep it as a forever car, but it won't be a good 3000 miles a month car.

We had an R53 as my wife's daily. Sold it at 105k miles because it felt like a timebomb then, I can't imagine it's better now. Poorly engineered parts, low parts availability combined with high prices. Things failed that just shouldn't because they were designed or made poorly. Interstate ride was uncomfortable- which is fine for a toy but limiting in a "forever" car. 
 

when it was running right it was a hoot to drive. I'm glad we had the experience, and I'd love to get seat time in another one someday. But I'm real happy not to own it anymore. 

I recently bought a 2013 R59 JCW as my "forever" sports car. Had 50k miles on it and is in perfect shape. I'll put less than 5k miles a year on it so it'll probably not break 100k miles during my ownership. Not too worried about reliability, though the later N18 engine cars like mine were supposedly much more reliable due to fixing a lot of the issues the earlier N14 S cars had. This is my 3rd MINI. Loved my 2011 R56 base, but didn't love my '14 F56 base (though the turbo 3 cyl was a fun little engine).

Here's my advice after spending a lot of time on the MINI boards and FB groups: buy the latest version of whatever series you can get. Most of the little things that plagued them were dealt with pretty well by the end of each car's run. So the 2005-6 R53 is the better R53. Kind of like the 2007-9 R56 is the worst R56. Same with the F56 era cars. The first couple years (2014-15) were bad for build quality, but the later ones have been pretty solid cars.

Life is too short and there are too many cool cars to have a "forever" car. 

In reply to Chris_V :

I would agree with that.  I've been involved with MINIs since my ex- bought an R53 new back in 2003. She still has it with plans to keep it forever although it is no longer her daily driver.  She has done a lot of maintenance and repairs to it over the years.  Personally, I own a 2006 R53 JCW that I bought about 4 years ago.  It is also not my main car. 

The R50/53 is the most "Mini-like" of the modern MINIs.  That can be good or bad depending on what you want the car for.  As an occasionally driven toy, that rawness is fun.  But like trying to daily drive a classic car, it can become wearing after awhile (although nowhere near as wearing as a classic Mini).  That said, I do know a few folks in the local MINI club who still have R50/53 models as their only car.  My car tends to serve as my "reliable classic" when I need to go to an event but due to various reasons don't want to take one of my Triumphs. 

Will my R53 be a "forever car"?  Of that I'm not sure...  it serves a purpose right now, but I do long for another classic Mini and I don't know if I can own both. 

I'm  half to getting at the supercharger to change its oil.

In reply to Aspen :

I've done that job a couple of times...  and didn't do what you did.  Not saying it's an easy job, but you don't have to take it apart quite that much.

I want to clean it and confirm where the current oil leak is coming from.  Oil pan gasket needs changing too.

I'm looking at doing that on the R56 to replace the oil feed line and the oil filter housing gaskets.  My big issue I guess is trying to get to the backside to replace the coolant crossover pipe and the thermostat housing.

I am kinda leaning towards the life is too short for a forever car thing.  If I can find an R53 for a good price, maybe I'll go for it.  Otherwise, yeah, I may end up trying something else when the R56 eventually gives up the ghost.  BTW, I may be crazy for wanting a R53 but I'm not completely crazy.  I don't ever think I have the cojones to daily drive a MINI that wasn't under warranty.

I just watched Hoovie on youtube and I might go his route and end up spending the rest of my days blowing up hoopties.  That might be kinda fun.  Thanks for the input guys!