First off I'm new here. I'm a long time BMW enthusiast. I currently have a 1991 bmw e30 325ix and a 2000 BMW Mcoupe. I'm using the Mcoupe for daily duty at the moment as the e30 is more of an ongoing project at this point.

In the interest of gas mileage and finding a better daily driver I went out and looked at a 2006 JCW Mini on Friday.

It's legit but I'm having trouble figuring out what I should pay for it if I decide to purchase. Asking price is 16,999 I believe

It has the following:
JCW engine kit
JCW suspension
JCW body kit
JCW brake kit
Boost, volts gauges
carbon dash
xenons
multi-function steering wheel
prob other stuff I'm missing

Pepper white w/ black interior.

Some things about it that annoy me is that there is carbon fiber like stickers over all the chrome and Carbon fiber mirror caps. They look cheap and fake. The hood scoop is carbon and appears to be a quality piece along w/ the license plate piece and gas cap.

It has the original JCW wheels but at this time is wearing crap wheels w/ snow tires (nice blizzaks) but not good for performance or test drives.

I don't know much about minis to be honest. I've been reading posts here and have driven a few because I'm considering a purchase. One other concern was a small rust bubble under the driver side tail light.

There was some slight vibration under braking but they had told me the car hadn't even been to their shop yet to be looked at. The underside was clean with no signs of rust except the above referenced spot. The rear JCW kit had some spider webs from a low speed impact of some sort. Nothing major and nothing that can't be easily repaired. I assume this kit to be ABS plastic and probably relatively resilient. The hood was also out of alignment but I do think it was just not installed straight because if ou pushed it down a bit it lined right up. I didn't see any evidence of an impact.

So basically this car isn't perfect but I would want it to be eventually be perfect. I have a thing for somewhat rare cars like the IX and Mcoupe so this would fit with what I like.

Anything I should look out for or expect to crop up in the near future if I buy this car? I figure my mcoupe is worth about 16500ish so if I could stay in the same level of debt or less I'd be pretty happy. The mini would be way cheaper to mod. I don't go real crazy anymore but a nice drop and some other wheels would probably be on the short list.

Anyway I know that was a lot but I don't want to make a poor decision. This would be my daily car so it does need to run fairly well and ideally not cost me a fortune.

 

If it has the JCW suspension, JCW body kit, JCW brake kit thats a pretty good price. Will the dealer provide a CarFax report?

http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/

 

I checked out the carfax. Nothing on there to worry about. Looks like a 3 owner car. It's been all up and down the east coast. The hardest part about this is decided whether or not to let go of my Mcoupe.

 

s52 or s54? that is the question... s54 ya might want to hold on too.

 

s52 it's a 2000, but I always dreamed of stuffing a big M5 V8 into a small MCoupe.

 

Some guy did it somewhere on the other side of the pond. Certainly a sweet swap. Mine is an s52. I actually wanted the s52 because it's much cheaper to maintain/service. If I had an s54 this decision would be far more difficult. I think I'm going to sell the mcoupe and pick up a mini. I drove a really nice space blue S w/ chrono package and upgraded interior, harmon kardon, and HID's. It was really well kept. Really not a scratch on it.

I'll probably sell my e30 too and then pick up an e30 m3 in a few years.

I like the mini because the mods are so cheap compared to the Mcoupe. Everything is pretty expensive. Being in real estate I haven't really hit my financial goals over the past few years despite my efforts.

 

I ended up purchasing an s2000 before the s52(the s54 was not out at that time:-( ) but out of all my vehicles my mini has definitely given me the biggest grin.

Tough decision, i would keep it lol

 

No kidding. I'm just going through gas at an incredible rate. I fill up about 3 times a week with my coupe (250 miles per tank). It's just ridiculous. I'm considering a 2012 JCW as well. I was at the mini dealership Friday and realized I quite like the interiors on the 2012's.

I found a nice blue mini that I'd be happy with as well. We'll see if I can sell my Mcoupe in time. I can always buy another one they aren't that hard to come by.

 

Once modded the looks on peoples faces when you pull on vehicles that you "shouldnt" is priceless. It always seems to be "hey that guy has a min........what the hell was that". Driving around out of boost i can get about 34-35mpg and in boost out accelerate an s54 m3, im sure id run from a roll side by side an s54 coupe as they weigh a decent amount less. But one thing i do miss is RWD, if you have the chance to find one with an lsd package get it. I have to invest in one soon as now with more power the traction threshhold is a lot less with no lsd and i understeer quite often considering angles where the car should grab.

 

I've been looking for one with an LSD they are hard to come by. Hard to beat that gas mileage. It seems the turbo cars do better than the SC cars.

 

not sure if is the same one i looked at Maryland at castleauto i believe it was involved in a accident on the right side. After i drove up from Va. 5 hours. It was missing a fender liner,fog light housing,airbag light on,faded carbon fiber door handle were and side mirrors were faded and a terrible noise on right side like a bad wheel bearing. Body was in good shape and engine looked fine. I got him down to 15 k before i came up there but i think something was up with car there wasn't even a inspection sticker on car. He said he would fix everything on car but he needs new rotors(all four corners),brakes and everything else i said was wrong. Good luck and be careful

 

Yep same car. I left with a bad feeling about the car. Did you notice the rust bubble on the driver side rear quarter it was small but possibly from a repair? The carfax is clean but that isn't really a surprise. I had pretty much the same gripes about the car as you mentioned although I didn't notice the fender liner. I'm starting to think that is a 12k car given the risk and stuff that needs addressed. The engine and interior looked okay and actually the outside wasn't bad except the small rust bubble and the crappy condition of the carbon fiber which would be a pretty simple fix. Are you referring to the right side as the passenger side? I ask because the bumper wasn't lining up on the driver side.

I didn't even talk to them about price it was only and hour and half for me and my girlfriend works about half way to where the car was so it wasn't a bad trip for me. I figured I'd find a clean r53 and add the aero kit and mod it a bit and it would be just as good as a jcw. I'm starting to warm up to the idea of a brand new 2012 jcw as well. I did see one r53 that I will buy if everything works out right but at this point I haven't been very successful marketing my car due to laziness.

 

Even if he would sell for 12k the possible accident on right side scared me off from buying it. The tint on the tail lights were jacked up also.It was dark and I didn't see the rust bubble. Just another reason not to buy it. I've found that looks to be a good r53 in NY that I will be getting very soon. This will be my first mini.

 

I found a clean non-JCW that I'm after as well. It will be my first mini also. My bmw is just costing me too much in gas and really isn't ideal for what I need. I love it but it's not the right time to have it.

I did see that the tail lights had lamin-x or something over them.

 

Yeah JCW are cool but I couldn't find one in my price Range. So I found a clean low mileage r53 cooper S slightly modded. Good luck on getting the car u want. Nice talking to you

 

Yeah that car at Castle Auto sounds alright but not for the price, $12-13k tops, even then I might cringe. Though the rust bubble in the rear and noticeable frontal collision would scare me away.

If it's your first mini start with something clean. I have a chrono pack non-jcw r53 and love it. I say go after that space blue chrono package you mentioned that's in excellent shape.

 

I just picked up a 2006 cabrio S JCW spotless inside and I would say very good outside with only a couple of minor paint chips from normal wear and tear. It has 96k on it but I got it for 12500 so from the looks I'm doing pretty damn good