Some colors/options are really hard to find. If I came across a very low mileage blue JCW hard top with heated English leather seats, chrono, loaded, single owner, clean carfax, sold by a mini dealer (for optimal maintenance reassurance) etc I would maybe pay $11k. Would the average buyer pay that much? No. Fair market value seems to be around $8-9k which is a steal.

Someone said low mileage cars are overrated.. if you’d driven a higher mileage car, then a low mileage car back to back it’s incredibly different. The suspension is buttery smooth, steering is tight, and there are no squeaks/rattles. I replaced just about everything made of rubber on my last cooper and it just never felt 100%. It was fine at almost 90k miles, but my new JCW feels perfect with 35k miles. Also with igher mileage cars you’re playinh wack-a-mole with repairs.

Here’s a link to a very well priced factory JCW if you like convertibles in SoCal. I almost bought this one.. opted for a hard top. It’s been for sale for a months, I’m sure they would go down to $7500. Carfax/autocheck looks good.

Merry Christmas (finishing wrapping at 2am, lol).

https://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sa...ngId=470755764

 

11 for an '06 is kind of steep.. I'd be looking for a 2010+ for those prices

 

There are many people who consider 02-06 the only Cooper worth buying, therefor newer does not mean better or worth more. R56 coopers lost steering feel and have a long list of mechanical issues that will send you looking for a new engine. Personally, I would never buy an R56.. and I’m not alone in this opinion. Those folks will pay a premium for the harder to find R53 in clean, unadulterated, JCW glory.

No offense to R56 owners, it’s persoal preference..

 

That is a very fair price...IF it has the service records and shows consistent maintenance.

 

^This. Remember, the purchase price of an R53 is just the down payment. As they age, they require a good bit of $ for the common/inevitable fixes. So if you find a car that’s well maintained and isn’t leaking fluids from every possible corner of the engine bay, then in the long run you are better off.

So yes, I think this car is totally worth it.

 

If you want brute power, a turbo will give you that, but if you want a car that handles like a Mini, the supercharger is not as rocket fast, but also keeps you from going off a cliff, with the brutal Turbo power coming on so fast. The super charger comes on below 3000rpms and comes up gradual, which makes handling more controllable, which is the true goal of a Mini Cooper. These are not drag cars! They are handling cars and cars you do not want to come like a fire cracker!

 

On point. I wouldn't buy anything other than an R50 or R53.

 

Definitely a fair price. More than KBB, yes, but you have to consider the condition and mileage and how much more difficult it is to be able to find these cars now at 12 years old. If I put my car up for sale right now, I wouldn't take less than $10k. Mine has 72k miles, no sunroof and no chrono pack.

 

That car looks better than the day the dealer first sold it.

 

It really does.

 

I don't think I ever really answered this to the dollar amount. Yes it is worth the $11K, but for me, I am not into red, but the rest of it is Wow, nice.
These are extremely rare cars. They are very hard to find, as it took me almost a year to find mine (06 MCS JCW) in Hyper Blue!
I love mine and plan to keep it, until I am gone, or it is gone to dust!
$11,000 only sounds like a lot to a buyer that does not understand what this rare car is! They are Magical!

 

Nice car!

 

It looks very nice to me. I agree with others comments, and the struts dont look mushroomed - you can tell it was loved. I'd say if it has had some of the basic common fail parts replaced (seals that create oil to name one), then its not far off. Its hard for KBB, insurance companies, etc to judge these cars because they typically dont list JCW cars separately, but they are a lot more desirable and are worth more for sure.

I bought a (TLC-needing) 48K mile '08 JCW and upgraded and fixed a few things. I'm at $12K invested ATM for my car and I love it, no regrets. If you like the car and its close to you, I'd say try to get a 'lil bit off for any issues or repair requirements and go with it. BTW I was worried about red initially too- never owned a red car. But I love it now. It totally fits the car's character.

 

Make sure you know exactly what the car needs before you buy it. You may be able to get that negotiated into the price. It is not unrealistic to have a $1,500 repair bill to get a car to the condition that you thought it was already. If it needs nothing the price may be reasonable.

If he is firm on the price, I would agree to the price with stuff thrown in. This is an easier sale to someone that is firm from the beginning.

 

I bought my car as a "steal" and within 3 month have about this much in it.... If it's solid, it could save you a lot of work. But you better know what you are looking for, I missed some key things that I had to repair.

 

Would you mind sharing the key things that you missed?

I'm currently in the market for an 05/06 and have researched enough to know the common problems to look out for,
but I want to be as thorough as possible so any advice or pointers is most welcomed.

 

You didnt ask me, but I had a very similar thing happen. I found a "steal" and it cost me in the end, granted the 05 JCW had 79k miles when I bought it. I took the seller's word, and didn't ask enough questions. Everything looked good enough, and I took the keys.

On the cross country drive home the clutch was slipping in the first 30 min of the drive (it takes 20 min of driving to warm up enough to slip). I test drove and nothing seemed wrong. Cost for clutch alone was $1200 in labor and $300 parts.

Various clunks. I didn't notice it right away because you need to hit a bump just right for some to become apparent. This was much more expensive than I estimated. This is what it took to get the car handling and sounding normal.. Some items are just good preventive maintenance. When you're doing a clutch, there's a few items you might as well do when the subframe is off/front end service mode. I'm guessing, but I think total cost of parts and labor (including clutch) was $2500. Its very easy to miss seemingly small things, and they add up quickly when you're approaching 80k miles.


Rear sway bar bushings
Rear end links
Oil Change
4 new 18" tires
Alignment
Inner/Outer ball joints
Inner/outer tie rods
Soft top hardware thoroughly lubed
Valeo SM clutch and flywheel
Lower Motor Mount
Transmission fluid changed with Redline
Supercharger oil changed
Synthetic Oil Change
Crankshaft Position Sensor O-ring
Throw Out Bearing Guide Tube
Powerflex Front Control Arm Polyurethane Bushing kit
Ireland Engineering Fixed Camber plates
Rear Main Seal
Radiator fluid changed with BMW brand

 

For example, the front strut pillow mounts. I looked and they didn't look cracked. so I thought I was good. What I learned later was you can't really see it all that well unless the wheels are turned full lock, then you can REALLY see it. One of mine had failed.

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

Most excellent!

Many thanks for the comprehensive checklist,
I appreciate it.

 

I contacted this seller the same day i bought my JCW. It was a week before Christmas and he was willing to take 9k. He was located in LA and I was in SD. He had another buyer that had offered the same and told me whoever meets up with him first gets it. I didn't bother going as it was going to be rush hour and would take me 5 hours to get there. In the end I bought my JCW the same from a seller that was 5 miles away from my home.The JCW i bought had the aero kit, suspension, black wheels, and cf dash, so I actually wanted that better over this one, but the lower mileage (mine has 75k) on this one was enticing.

 

Spot on assessment. $11k would be a steal for an incredibly rare set of options paired with a picky buyer. Theres something about English leather and an Aero kit that sets off the chrono package.

Lets see some pics of the one you bought!! Sorry if you posted them already, I'll check. How much did you pay?

 

Here's my "New to me" thread with some pictures. I really need to install the parts I have on the shelf and update the pics. Price was $11750; purchased from the NAM marketplace.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...6-jcw-r53.html

 

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