Email already sent, thank you again!

 

06 MCS manual 26 K miles went for $16,500 ( $15,750 + 5% buyer's fee ) on BAT.
R53 continues to get love.

 

@Chamberlin1 Just make sure this is THE right car for you this time, lol.

Sorry....maybe it's just me, but they are selling a clean car for top dollar with the seat height adjustment not working? C'mon, really?! For us tall guys, that would be a real PITA issue that we'd have to immediately deal with. Get the damn thing fixed before you sell the car. Ok, rant over.

Good luck on this one!

 

wouldn’t take much for me to bail on the Bat JCW, too many stories, not properly sorted, didn’t start as a JCW etc. etc. why pay a JCW price for a pieced together MCS/JCW. Funny my car was sold from Sandia. Fortunately it didn’t need to go through the service dept. to become a JCW. Broken seat height adjuster, subtract $1000 if it’s stuck in the high position, you could just look out the sunroof.

 

Thanks guys! We are each other's support crew, and today I was a 'supportee'. Appreciate the link and good words... It was a bit of a hasty snap decision, but after talking with the dealer and reviewing the photos further, I have purchased this green '06 JCW. Was getting a little impatient on finding the right R53 for me. This appears to be 'the one'! Got a few bucks off plus shipping included. Low mileage, un-messed with, green (duh), anthracite headliner, west coast, service records, etc. It's basically the identical spec to the 75k mile car in San Diego I was close to buying earlier this year... Only $10k more lol. I actually don't mind the silver roof (I'm in Arizona after all) and modern silver bonnet stripes. Sunroof is a bit of a bummer but doesn't bother me too much. Also haven't decided on the chrome mirror caps yet. Checker floor mats are a nice bonus. I don't mind tan interior either (if you saw my F56)...but maybe some Recaros in the future will help tone things down lol.

Yea the red non-JCW 'JCW' on BaT now is still a great car, given the miles, Aero kit and other JCW goodies. But unless I could get it for around S-plus pricing, I think I'll be much happier being a custodian of this BRG true JCW. I think the red car will be pretty tempting for some, and maybe even get into the low-teens anyway. Keeping an eye on it for sure! Although I would have preferred to make a purchase a privately, it's nice not to have to compete on BaT for a chance to get my dream R53... Just gotta pay the piper, and quick-like.

Looking forward to doing a thread on the BRG when it arrives-

 

way to go my friend, lesson for the rest of the crew...when you see it ...pounce! Posted and bought in 8 hours. Let the dealership know that my referral fee is 5%

 

Great pick up! That is clean. Glad you could find the one. Looking forward to your posts!

 

Having seen Jonny's post on this JCW earlier today but with no time then, just now fully viewed the dealer website pics. Nice! Congrats on moving quickly to secure it! Looking forward to more details and pictures when time comes...

 

Congratulations! Nice when things come together on this thread 👍

 

Thanks so much guys! Believe it or not, I'm finally home after a long day, and just now getting to look at the photos on the computer monitor vs, my cell phone at a restaurant when I actually bought the car. Heck I haven't even done a build sheet yet! LOL Crazy.

Yea this thread can be expensive to follow, but man I would have never thought to look at Hemmings for an R53! Really happy to be back in the R53 crew... I do miss the tech features of my F56 a tiny bit, but I'm really looking forward to getting some whine back in my life. I coulda just kept the Royal Grey JCW (also a Sandia car BTW), but a minty factory '06 BRG was the holy grail. Thinking about starting a YouTube channel for it once we're moved into our new house later this year.

Anyway, thanks to everyone on this thread, I'll be sure to post a delivery photo or two once it arrives next week. @Jonny , PM me your email address and your favorite MINI parts outlet. You and @krawzdogg are both networking miracle workers @WGJP Has been huge on the moral support side of things too! Thanks again guys!

 

Beautiful car. Congratulations.

 

haha no worries buddy, didn’t cost me nothin but a click and a minute. had I known this is what you were shooting for, I woulda PMed it to you before posting it for wolves to feast on. I hope JacMac will give you some of his secrets on how to put together the magnificently entertaining YT videos he uploads to keep us inspired. If the aero side skirts weren’t NLA, I might’ve taken you up on your offer lol, keep me in mind if you run across any. We’ll keep an eye out for the aero grilles that you’ll be looking for, I think you’ll need that bumper mod tutorial for that one. Happy for ya!

 

Congrats! So glad that you found a keeper.... at least for today!

@Jonny is a good one to keep tabs on. I've got a hidden camera on him at work, and I get at least 2-3 alerts a day like this when he scores cool JCW stuff:

 

https://bend.craigslist.org/cto/d/be...354959857.html

Probably gone already: 2005 JCW, 32k on it, $9k

 

I’ll let you know

 

Damn, the 32K mile JCWs are coming out of the woodwork! Smashing price, remember the lessons from a few posts ago! LOL

I'm guessing that's the same chromeline trim that mine was originally spec'd with... Mine still has the mirror caps and tailgate trim, but as you mentioned earlier, somebody swapped chrome grills for the aftermarket (Chinese?) black ones. Will definitely be on the lookout for the JCW/Aero grills. I'll keep searching for side skirts for you! (red if possible? let us know!)

 

While not a pristine example like the one Chamberlin1 snagged, yesterday I bought the blue 2003 JCW listed in the marketplace. It's a project car due to a suspected blown head gasket. After some mechanical TLC, I hope it will provide a lot of fun. Thanks to Jonny for posting the craigslist link when the OP didn't respond.

Currently looking at shipping options to get it to Wisconsin from Connecticut.

 

i would’ve gone to check that out for you if it were a little closer, probably a 2-3 hour drive for me. Glad you scooped it up, other than the issues described, it looked to be well worth the money.

 

HB skirts, but getting painted either way, the grilles probably easier to find. If you want to PM your cell, I can text you soon as I see some.

 

Update on the 05 JCW listed above. Seller texted back to me this morning. Potential buyer coming at 9am, if it falls thru, I’m gonna pounce. Fingers crossed.

 

Thanks Jonny. I knew it was a long shot finding someone in the area and on short notice. After speaking with the seller, I felt comfortable with moving forward. He's been very forthright and helpful. The car is going to be a summer-only toy for me so I can take my time getting it right. The most difficult part will be waiting to drive it...

 

05 CR JCW sold...not to me, I was second in line...again. Doh!

 

Really sorry to hear that Jonny - that looked like an ideal JCW to score... apparently we're not the only ones looking! I was hoping karma would pay you right back after your BRG find yesterday....

BUT....there is some bad news on my BRG... it appears to be the exact same car we were all scratching our heads on back in November for having a new clutch at 13K miles, the crazy color combo, broken headlight washers, etc... It was a private seller in Florida, but the photos were taken at a dealer. I have them saved on my computer and noticed both had the faded clear bra. My heart sunk. Talking to the dealer about it now. Not thrilled to be paying top dollar for a car I passed on for a lot less just 9 months ago. This looks like a bit of a turd-polish and flip scenario. CARFAX shows primary ownership in Florida too. Damn. Still a doable car for sure, just not thrilled with my 'too late' discovery.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-on-cl-32.html

 

^^^ Not the update we wanted to hear. Wondered why front end finish seemed dull in dealer ad pics. Faded clear bra is easily fixable but the other issues not so much. I also tried to view Carfax report on that dealer site which just went to "opportunity" to buy it for $40. Hopefully, deal secured with VISA or similar, which could then be disputed with that car not being as claimed. No need for reply until sorted out to your satisfaction...

 

Man that is a buzz kill, I do remember that car on here, and it floated away. Sounds like someone maybe had more fun than they should have. You definitely have the mileage on your side. Kind of odd bit of repairs, including clutch at 13k, inexperience and/or lack of common sense. But nothing catastrophic. It’s hard to resist getting over reactive jumping on one, most times there’s too few to choose from, and it’s the nature of the beast. But yeah, I forget what it was posted for here, did you talk to the seller from the original post?