I have always had a love for the Mini Cooper and I remember wanting one when they were introduced back in 2002. At that time it didn’t fit the needs of our growing family and it was a bit out of my budget so I never did buy one. A few years ago I test drove the Gen 2 and 3 Mini’s and while the Gen 2 was fun I thought it was starting to get big. The Gen 3 was not for me and I’ll leave it at that.

About 2 years ago I started looking for a Gen 1 Mini but was sidetracked by another car that I had to have, so the Mini purchase was postponed yet again. Fast forward to a couple of months ago, I started looking for a Mini in earnest and had several motivations to get one with my son getting close to driving age. The prices are also very attractive although they do seem to be creeping up. Being a bit anal I wanted one with lower mileage (less than 50k) and it had to be a Cooper S or JCW. I had some help and guidance from a friend who own’s a couple of R53’s and I read up on the issues. Initially I was a bit dissapointed as there were very few available and when one popped up it sold almost immediately.

Earlier this week I finally bought a 2006 Cooper S JCW!! Against my better judgement this is a sight unseen purchase and I don’t have the car yet, I’m hoping for delivery late next week. I bought the car from a Subaru dealer so as you can imagine they don’t know the car that well and I really don’t know exactly what options the car has. I have tried using the VIN Decoder but for some reason it won’t decode even though the carfax and other avenues recognize the VIN. Can anyone offer guidance on this?

I don’t have any modifications planned yet since I really don’t know if the car will have any needs. The dealer did do their inspection and I specifically asked about the clutch and oil leaks and tires and they stated there were no issues. They did replace the battery, oil and wipers. They said the rest of the car was in excellent shape/health and judging by the pictures I couldn’t argue with that but you still never know until you get the car.

If you all have suggestions on maintenance I should do when I get the car please let me know. It has 13k miles so not sure if changing all fluids is still a must?

Here are some pics of the incoming toy....

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Thanks! Stay tuned for a complete detailing with some pictures of course :)

Thanks! There’s an 8K mile JCW on Bring A Trailer as we speak, looks super nice as well. I wasn’t going for ultra low miles but I couldn’t pass this one up, it was a decent deal and looked to be in excellent condition. Fingers crossed!

Good point on the tires. I did ask the dealer about this specifically and asked if the tires are less than 5 years old and they said they were so I’m assuming they were changed at some point. I’ll check the date stamps immediately when the car gets here to confirm, otherwise I’m going to give them a hard time about it.

When you had your fluids changed did you ask your mechanic if the fluids still looked ok? I know brake fluid needs to be changed every two years and I have a Motiv Bleeder so I can do this one myself but the transmission and coolant would need to be done by a tech as I’m not set up to do this in my garage. I would think with low mileage the transmission fluid should be fine?

I haven’t sat in the seats but I do remember configuring the car with the seats when I was looking online years ago. Very excited to have found one with the seats.

That makes sense, I guess time is a factor and fluids will eventually degrade. I think I’ll be able to get some records on the car so I’ll have to wait and see what I need to get done.

Thanks! I can’t wait to see it and more importantly, DRIVE IT!

Anyone have any thoughts why the vin decoder isn’t working for me? I’m still wanting to figure out if the car was a factory JCW or a Dealer Installed. The dealer did send me a pic of the JCW document and it has the brake upgrade but again I don’t know if its factory.

Thank you, that worked!

I got pretty lucky on this one, it’s a factory JCW with LSD and Sport Suspension. Tons of other options but I really don’t know what was standard on these cars, it’s been too long since I used the configurator.

Now I’m really excited to get it!

Detailed and ready to go...


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Congratulations, that’s an incredible find!

As far as fluids and filters, you may want to get a Carfax or check with any MINI dealer to get the service history. If unsure, I’d go ahead and replace the brake fluid, coolant, cabin filter, and engine air filter just so you have a solid baseline. It would be worth having it inspected for the usual leaks (power steering lines, oil pan gasket, etc) as seals can wear out simply due to age. Also inspect the surpentine belt for signs of aging, and consider proactive replacement.

Cosmetically, the car is probably fine with such low mileage, but black paint (and MINI paint in general) can swirl, depending on how it was maintained. May want a paint correction and sealant to protect it for years to come. And the English Leather seats always benefit from cleaning and a good leather conditioner, to preserve and keep the leather from drying out.

I also have a very low mileage factory JCW. These cars are such a blast. Keep us posted on your progress!

Fantastic find!
Welcome to the wonderful world of MINIs and welcome to NAM!
You are going to have fun with this one: :thumbsup:
Love to hear about your adventures. A JCW has no need for mods; but when did that stop anyone? :lol:

MINI says that the transmission fluid is “lifetime”. :lol: That said, a good rule of thumb is 30k for that one.
I would change the supercharger belt given how old it is, not because of miles.

It needs a name and love and it will respond with giving a million smiles.

Enjoy!

She arrived on Thursday this week and due to being in an open carrier she was a bit of a mess. Driver said he hit a big snow storm on his way south from Jackson. I have already started cleaning the exterior and the paint will definitely need some help. Seems rare to find a dark colored car that isn’t full of swirls and light scratches. Fortunately I have a ton of experience polishing cars and I can bring her back to perfect fairly easily. The interior is literally new, it even smells new, it’s insane.

I will do the brake fluid flush and the air filter this summer as preventative measures. I checked the power steering hoses and they’re dry. Coolant reservoir is also good. The bigger issue is that the dealer was wrong about the tires, they’re original to the car and thye’re bricks. They have an 05 date stamp and I have already notified the dealer on it. They have verbally offered to pay for replacement, I’m waiting for confirmation. Tires are pricey for these things considering how small they are. I’m likely going to switch to non run flat unless the dealer insists on the tires matching (which I doubt they will). At this point I’m leaning towards Pirelli P Zero tires, they weigh less and have a good rating. My go to us Michelin but the prices are too high to justify.

Thanks! Knowing the fluid is designed for lifetime is a bonus and I agree that 30k would be appropriate so I have some time. The car shifts perfectly and the shifter is very smooth and direct. Clutch and brakes are also perfect as is the acceleration. Overal it’s a fun car. It’s odd that it doesn’t feel that small when you’re inside but it definitely is tiny when you park it in the garage or around town.

Here are some shots of its arrival and progress
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That cleaned up right pretty!

There is something about that silver roof that makes me think that this car is something a little more special than just being a JCW, but I can’t remember what. Maybe someone else remembers. You also have a car with the chrono (spelling may be off on that one) gage package, which is also somewhat rare. I sometimes wish we had gotten that on our ‘04.

Congrats!

Thanks! That pic was after some quick detail and several microfibers to remove all the surface dirt that the touchless wash didn’t remove.

I remember reading somewhere that the silver roof was only offered in the last two years? Have you owned your car since new? It would have been great to configure exactly the way you wanted it.

Thanks Bryan!

I also noticed the missing stickers and I really don’t know why. Initially I thought maybe it was in a fender bender but I have looked for signs of overspray, mismatched paint color and any other signs fo damage but couldn’t find anything. I don’t have any records on the car other than one from the previous owner so I’m not sure if it had a bad radiator, AC Radiator or something else that required replacement? I need to find the part numbers for the stickers so I can get replacements at some point. Good luck with the rebuild of yours, they’re totally worth it and having something to tinker with in the garage is always fun.

I spent the day today detailing the Mini including:
- Leatherique Prestine Clean for the seats
- Detailed Interior
- Two Step Paint Correction Using Meguiars 105 and Menzerna 800
- Carnauba Wax

It normally takes me three to four days to do a full detail but the interior was already pretty clean and it is a Mini :) The paint definitely took some time, especially the hood. She looks great now, I’m pretty happy with the results. Here’s some pics.....
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...639beb886.jpeg
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Thanks! We have already put a few hundred miles on her and the more we drive the more we love it. I took my 14yo son out the other night and taught him how to change gears while I was driving so he could get a feel for how to shift gears. I actually bought her with the plan that our kids could learn how to drive on it but I am now rethinking this as the car is too nice.

MINIs have a “bad” habit of putting smiles on people’s faces.

As for letting your kids drive it, condsider how solid these cars are. There are a number of posts on NAM her about MINIs being in accident and the people walking away from them. But when you see the pictures of the cars, you wonder how that could be, because there was so much damage. My wife is not a “driver” person. But when she got her MINI she very quickly found the benefits of a really good handling car and how how it will keep you out of problems. The other thing she found was how easy these cars are to drive. And even driving these as a stick, they are easy. Years ago I taught 2 of my daughters how to drive stick and they are proud of that accomplishment.

I would vote (if I had a vote in this) to continue with your original plan. But I would expand it a little to have them help with the care of the car and maintenance of it. Share with them your appreciation for how it looks, how it feels and the enjoyment they have with it. Teach the little things like changing tires and oil; how to check the oil, coolant, etc. Take them to car shows. These will be memories that will live with them forever. Share the love...

And motor on!