Hey all.

2005 R50 5 speed manual here. 67k miles. The clutch and flywheel on it just blew. This is the first big repair I’ve had on this car and I’ve been quoted between 2000 and 3000 for repair. The car is worth about 3500.

I feel pushed between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, I have this lovely Mini with lowish mileage, no turbo, and no active recalls that I’m aware of. On the other, I could get a newer used car that is way more reliable and doesn’t have 2005 parts. I got the Mini at 30k miles in 2020 and have done 12k miles per year on average. I admit that I do drive it hard at times. It was rarely driven before 2020 (2k per year average).

I’m very concerned that this will turn into a much bigger fix. Since this is the first thing to go kaput, I’m hesitant to repair because I might get another year out of the car until I need a bigger fix. Maybe 2 if I’m lucky. Thankfully, the shop said the transmission and engine are fine, but the transmission has always been a little iffy.

I’m not currently in a position to store the car indefinitely to make it a project car in the future. I can store it for the next 6 months maximum. I would love to keep it around and do something fun in the future, but I need a car now.

So here I am. Does anyone have any advice? I looks at some forums and people have pushed 2005 R50s well past 120k miles. Also posted this in r/Mini and people generally said to repair.