Well, I'm a new member as of yesterday. Just poking around. I currently own a 2003.5 M3, but I'm looking at buying a house and want to down size a little. I've always liked the look and handling of the Mini so I thought it might be just the car for me. I've learned a lot already in the one day of snooping around on here. Here is a link to my current ride that is for sale. I'm looking for a good home for my current car and also looking for probably a 05-06 MCS to get into.

 

Welcome from Charlottesville! And nice ride!

 

Thanks, I'm in Richmond. Yeah I hate to let it go, but I really want to buy a house while it's a buyers market. I think I'll be very satisfied with a nice MCS though.

 

Indeed. If you are interested, I'll send you a PM with my MA's contact info. He's a great guy, a huge help, and it would earn me some brownie points.

 

Welcome to the NAMily from Williamsburg.

Nice M3. I had a '72 tii as a daily driver for about 5 years (back in the '80s), and I have to say that my MINI is the most fun I have had (motoring) since I got rid of the 2002. I think you should be very happy with a nice MCS.

Happy Motoring, and good luck with your home search. Richmond has some beautiful areas.

Chuck

 

Welcome to NAM. I recently downsized from a '05 M3 to a MINI JCW.

The MINI is great, but you will miss the raw, unbridled power of the M3. Even the JCW with Sport can't quite make up for it. Nevertheless, I love having the JCW. It is a blast to drive.

 

Welcome to NAM, NICE M3!

 

Hello

I'm just south of Richmond (15miles). Are you limited to the fist gen (R53) MINI's or open to the newer ones (R56)? In some cases they are almost the same amount of money. If you have any questions feel free.

Kyle

 

That's good to hear. I owned a 07 S2K before the M3. The S2K was a blast to drive as well because of how small and low it was. The M3 is definitely raw and is by far the best car I've ever owned. I definitely want a MCS that either has the JCW performance kit or has mods that equal the power.

 

Well, I'm not limited to the R53 but I've never owned a car with a supercharger so I thought it would be something different. I want an 05-06 because I want the lsd option installed from the factory and I've learned on here they didn't offer that until 05. I would definitely be open to a R56 if the price was right. I definitely want to stay under 20K, again I'm trying to save money by making this change so I don't want to get too close to what I'm already paying on the M. Otherwise I'll just keep what I have. It's not that I'm unhappy with the M at all. It's the car I've always wanted. I just want to get my debt to income ration down some and my insurance is ridiculous on the M now that I'm no longer married and on my own policy.

 

Beautiful M3. Sad that you'll be letting it go though. Still now is a good time to buy a house if you've got the $$ for it. I've not driven the E46 M3 so I can't make a direct comparison, but judging by other E46's and even some experiance with an early S2k, I'd have to say that you'll enjoy the handling and nature of the car very much. You'll be down on power, but there are a lot of options for solving some of that. Really the supercharged 1.6 just begs to be driven and revved. The cars just seem so eager to go and have fun on the back roads, but will gladly putter along for daily use. Tis the reason I jumped on my '04 several months earlier than I anticipated buying a car.

Oh and the insurance... Mine dropped $20 a month (comprehensive) going from a 98 Volvo S70 T5, to my 04 S. So I'd imagine you'd see a nice savings there.

 

Yeah, I think this will be a good move for me. I just need to move my M3 so I can seriously start looking into buying a MCS. If anyone knows anybody that would be interested pass it on. 2003.5 M3 w/ 52K miles for $25.5K.

 

MINI007,

Sweet M3! I live in the West End and have my 06 JCW up for sale............it is well loaded and may be out of your price range, but if you are interested shoot me a PM and we can talk. Link to car:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=156822

 

Thanks, yeah I think I saw it in the autotrader. It is a little more than I want to spend right now. I'm really looking for something under $20K. I'll let you know if something changes if it's still for sale.