Thinking about the R53 MCS, one of the few cars in its current price range I’ve not actually driven. This will be my first car in over a year. Worth it still? Would be mainly used on the weekend, occasional motorway jaunts and road trips.
Edit: I’ve just been on autotrader, I don’t think I fully realised how cheap these really are at the moment, with half decent examples for not much over a grand???
I had a 2005 R53 MCS that I ran alongside my E46 M3 and it was a great car.
Several things - firstly, for the love of God, get a facelift. They fixed so many issues on the facelift and improved the interior.
Secondly, if you get a car built in 2005 or later and it has the Chilli Pack (which 99% do), it will have an LSD as well (you can check on the VIN checker websites to be certain). Don't get me wrong, it's not a great LSD, but better than nothing.
Thirdly, the biggest issue with the the facelift MCS is that they leak oil from everywhere. The good news is that this is normally from the rocker cover gasket (cheap and easy to replace), the sump gasket (cheap and a bit more involved, but not much) or the dipstick seal.
Fourthly, they're such an easy car to DIY on. Everything is accessible and enjoyable to work on. They are so easy to modify and with so many great quality cheap parts out there (JCW injectors/intercoolers/supercharger pulley mods etc), it really becomes really good fun to mod them.
Finally - they drive great. The steering feels like its directly bolted to the wheels, it corners like a go kart and flies round corners. They're pretty slick in a straight line up to around 80-90mph, but then because they have the aerodynamics of a brick, they slow down a lot at the top end. My old one was pushing about 220bhp and was as quick as an S2000 in a straight line from around 30mph-~110mph.