Hi
I am a new member and would like to query you old timers.

I am a retired dentist who is a car psycho. To the point where I got a dealers license. At the dealers only Wholesale Auction a few days ago I was planning on bidding on a car I had done some research on. A couple of min. before the auction started I noticed this red Mini and also noticed it looked much different than the other 30 Minis BMW was running thru. It was the first car in that lane (there are 12 lanes of cars being sold at 30-60 seconds each) so no one had gathered yet and I was pretty much the only serious bidder.

I bought it because it looked like it had lots of aftermarket goodies on it. My question for all of you...What do I have here? It is an '06 and has "S" badges on it. It has an R53 badge on the back lid which I've never seen before. It goes like stink, has stainless steels exhaust, sway bars etc. I know nothing about Minis but after driving this for a day or two I have some expensive cars sitting in my garage while I drive this hot little car. Is this just another '06 with hot wheels or something more?
Thanks in advance for any clue to what it is and what it is worth.
I'll try to attach some photos now.
R

 

 

I'm guessing that's a custom badge, but overall it looks really fun and fast, congrats!!

 

Well the mods I see are a DDMworks intake with an M7 sticker on it.
The swaybar appears to be an Hsport comp bar, that was painted red.

also the radiator is painted black

Welcome to the club

 

Don't know what you paid for it, looks pretty clean with the goodies mentioned above, should be a seller.

 

I betcha he keeps this car for himself! I've got the same pedals in my track MINI. Would you mind telling us what you paid for this at auction? Welcome to the addiction.

 

Thanks guys. Sounds like there are only 3 mods? The pedal kit, the sway bar and the airbox?? I'm guessing the R53 badge is not stock, right? Like VMCM suggests. So maybe 4 mods total. I thought there would be more but I fiddle mainly with Porsche and BMW and really know nothing about the Mini.

The car came off lease, looked like 4 weeks old not 4 yrs. 50,200 miles The leaser was obviously a car guy that maintained the car to a high level. I paid 13 plus some fees. I'm now thinking of flipping it and getting a newer MiniS. I race a Spec Miata and this Mini handles really well. I can envision an 08 or 09 with some real HP mods for the street. Any opinions of it's value. I'm in SF region. There are some more photos at http://web.me.com/ricktick/My_Cars/Mini_for_sale.html
Thanks again for your help. This seems like a nice non flammer forum.

 

I think you have a few more mods....you most probably have a smaller pulley on the SC....the stock one is pressed on, and black...aftermarket are usually stainless Steel, and have a reduction % engraved on the,...15, 16, and 17% are the most common....and you appear to have a custom exhaust too!!
Knowing that, if it is crazy fast, you might have a custom tune and bigger injectors....
The car is blacked our, and tinted too....Nice look for that color!!
And it appears you have Zenon head-lights, a big plus IMO, and someone also put covers over the strut tops to make it look nicer..it appears to have been well loved!! Congrats!! The r53 badge is an add on...
One tip....drive the newer MINI before flipping it...you might want to keep this one...the new ones feel totally different feel, less like a race/track car, and more like a daily driver, much more refined, less visceral, less raw, and IMO more "normal"....perhaps easier to live with as a daily driver, but less edgy.
One more thing to consider...the '06 S is the best of the GEN1 MINI hardtops!!

 

Also looks like the car has been lowered with springs or coil-overs. In the sway bar picture the rear springs look silver instead of the normal black but cannot see much of the spring.
I suspect this car has many mods.

 

The pedals sure look stock to me. Not sure what the exhaust is. Could it be an early version of the Invidia? The tips look black (hard to tell) but could have been painted.

 

Here is what I see,

-Custom Badges (I have the R53 badge)

-Everything is Blacked out (Normally most of the black is chrome)
(Beltline (the black line below the windows that goes all the way around the car) side S marker grills, rear trim above the hatch button, headlight rings, gas cap, and the door handles)(It also looks like the fog light sockets are painted black, mine aren't like that at least)

Blacked out tails and front/rear lower sidemarker lights

Areo Grill

New Rims/Tires

Exhaust

DDMworks CAI + m7 Sticker

Painted S on intercooler cover

Painted black radiator

Definitely looks lowered on springs about an 1"

And I would do as above, drive it for a little! Bet you will love it. You could have bigger injectors/SC pulley/Cam/etc or a tune. Also I have those pedals and I thought they cam stock too.

 

Yes the springs in the pics appear to be the old M7 springs.
If you could take a pic of the supercharger pulley I'm sure we could tell you what it is.
Also looks like the motor mount may be bad as the black fluid leaked on the frame rail, or it may have been replaced once before.

 

The wheels really compliment the car

 

im pretty sure i sold that MINI orginally and the guy that owned it was super cool! He took great care of that car and had it for about 3 years (i think that he bought it in 2007 when we had a couple of 2006s left on the lot)

It is a really clean and well cared for MINI.

 

That is clearly an Early Invidia Catback, one of the pictures on his Me shows the Invidia badge.

 

Just trying to consolidate for you...

Also, the grills are M7, not the aero grills.

The scoop is painted black, not plasti-dipped like the rest of the blackouts, nice touch. And the black on the foglight sockets is vinyl, someone makes a kit for those.

And do I spy a Screamin' Demon coil pack? If so it probably has new plug wires and colder spark plugs as well to go with the assumed pulley upgrade.

R53 means a 1st Generation Mini Cooper S. I think it's because that's the code they use at the factory.

And I've driven the new models, you probably want to keep this car. It's the cream of the crop for the supercharged models, like was said earlier, and it seems you got it for a great price.

The supercharger pulley is on the passenger side of the engine and it's the easiest to see. You should definitely get a picture of that with a flash.

 

That coil pack is the stock one, the screamin demon doesn't have the yellow sticker. But I think you are correct, those appear to be the advance/autozone cheap plug wires.