About three months ago I was very fortunate to find a very nice condition low mileage JCW. It was a site unseen purchase and unfortunately no prior records but with 13,500 miles I figured I would take the gamble on deferred maintenance. When I finally received the car I found the dealer had sold it to me with the original tires still installed. The handling at that point was downright scary and the tires felt like rocks. They did however make it right and bought me a set of Pirelli P Zero’s (non runflat by request) which completely transformed the car. I just had an oil change and inspection done today and to my surprise the car didn’t need anything beyond the oil change. The dealer said the prior owner took great care of it and it didn’t appear to have any deferred maintenance items.

We have had the car now for three months and after about 1000 miles I can say this car gets under your skin. It’s not only charming but in the canyons it is an absolute blast and it’s insane how much cornering speed you can carry. I’m no novice to sports cars and I have a couple of other cars which are also set up for canyon carving but this Mini has to be the best bang for the buck. It’s shocking to me that they aren’t more popular. The other thing that surprised me is how stable they feel on the highway. I’ve had it up to 90 and it feels rock solid and very smooth. I expected it to be darty based upon how easy the car changes direction in the tight corners but it seems the steering input must change at speed.

I ran the vin and here’s is a list of options the car came with, appears to be a factory installed JCW kit from the looks of it, hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.

OPTIONS:
S403AGlass Roof Electrical
S405AMirror Shrouds In Chrome
S429AInterior Surface Anthracite
S431AInterior Mirror With Automaticdip
S450AHeight Adjustment Passenger Seat
S473AArmrest Front
S494ASeat Heating Driverpassenger
S441ASmoker Package
S470AIsofixSystem
S481ASports Seat
S493AStorage Compartment Package
S645ABMW US Radio
S650ACD Player
S674AHiFi System Harman Kardon
S692APreparation BMW 6CD Changer Ibus
S657ARadio BMW BusinessMINI Boost
S508APark Distance Control PDC
S520AFog Lights
S521ARain Sensor
S522AXenon Light
S534AAutomatic Air Conditioning
S547ACockpit Chrono Package
S550AOnboard Computer
S586ABMW LA Wheel Sspoke
S546ARevolution Counter
S563ALight Package
S210ADynamic Stability Control
S249AMultifunction F Steering Wheel
S2TAADifferential Lock 25
S228ASports Suspension Settings Plus
S255ASports Leather Steering Wheel
S262AITS Head Airbag
S314ADoor Mirror Drivers Lock Heated
S319AIntegrated Universal Remote Control
S345AChrome Line Interieur
S346AChrome Line Exterieur
S3AFARoof And Mirror Shrouds Silver
S3ALAJohn Cooper Works Kit
S895AAdditional Fan
S8SPAControl Unit COP
S823AHotclimate Version
S845AAcoustic Belt Warning
S853ALanguage Version English
S876ARadio Frequency 315 MHz

I do want to add hood stripes in silver with a red surround although I’m open to suggestions on other color combos that would go well with Astro black. I do want to spice it up a bit. I’m also not a big fan of the wheels and I’m on the lookout for something lighter and in great condition. Two of the wheels appear to have been refinished at some point and they’re not in great shape. There’s also some curb rash on the same two wheels. The other two wheels look nearly new with only some minor wear so I’m not in a huge hurry for wheels but going lighter should improve handling even more.

Here’s some pics I took after I polished and detailed her, she came out looking pretty nice I think.

 

Looks brand new - you got a great deal!

 

Gorgeous!

Indeed it does look brand new!

Lounge seats looks super nice too.

But yeah, the S-Lites are quite heavy, around 25 lbs I think?

And yep,
R53 is an absolute blast!

For damn sure.

I bought mine at 99k in April of 2018 and have since put an additional 22k on it!

Happy Motoring!

 

Forgot to add --- yes, it does appear to be a factory JCW.

Fun topic on that subject:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...are-there.html

Also,
I think silver stripes would look great.

Couldn't find a pic of an Astro Black with silver like that,
but here's one with white:



I think the silver looks wonderful on the Space Blue Checkmate,
and similarly it seems silver would *pop* nicely with Astro Black.

 

Your car looks great.....wish mine looked half as good.....I'm still trying to get mine to run right, but that's another thread in here

Mine has the white stripes on the hood, I'm not a fan of them.....the wife wants to change them to purple.....

Bryan

 

Thanks!

I do feel like I got a good deal, especially as there hasn’t been any surprises.

Thanks! 99k, Your white paint and trim looks incredibly good for that many miles. I searched for months for a nice condition and they are very hard to find. There are some anomalies, higher mileage cars that look really good but the majority seem to be less cared for and many lower mileage cars that look tired. Looks like you lucked out with a really nice one too.

Seeing that checkmate definitely helps visualize the silver stripe, I will likely go in that direction. Another thought was a flat burgundy color stripe, that would be unique too.

I’ll check out the JCW thread, should be a good read. It does look like Mini made tons of them but ironically there aren’t that many for sale, at least with less than 100k miles.

 

That's just a pic I found online to try and get an idea of stripes on Astro Black,
mine is Pepper White and has considerably more "patina",
along with bug splatter and rock chips!
LOL

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ate-route.html

Sorta hard to believe that I've driven it 22,000 miles now, but I have and it's most deffo enhanced my happiness index!

 

Thanks Bryan. I actually enjoy bringing cars back to their original beauty and spending time improving them. It is a great mental distraction and also very satisfying. I agree that chasing an issue and not easily finding the solution is frustrating but certainly worth the effort once ou find it and it will help others too as eventually we will all run into issues.

Post a picture of the purple stripe when you change it.

My JCW was filthy when I received it, it was on an open carrier in the middle of winter and I could also see the typical swirls and light scratches from someone who maybe didn’t know how to care for the paint. Here’s a pic from when I got it.

 

Actually I did see your thread and I still think it’s in great condition. No doubt a fun car can and will increase your happiness index, that is something I discovered as a 16 yo!

 

Great find on a beautiful car!

You've got tons of options for striping a black car, but I like your idea of silver stripes to tie in your roof color. I'm partial to the "viper stripes" (in the Mustang world they would be called Lemans stripes, or Shelby stripes). I'm also a fan of a little red, particularly on a JCW. Your colors make your car somewhat discreet-a little red hints at the fact that it's not quite as refined as it first appears. 😉

Another option would be ghost stripes in Matte Black, with red outlines.

Not the same body color, but here's mine to give you an idea.

 

I love that color! I had an Astro Black S and it looked great - not quite as new as yours though - but I sold it to get my GP. Still miss it though...

I had silver stripes and they looked good, but I prefer it without. Although the satin or ghost black might look really good.

<edit:>. I forgot, mine was black top, black car so the stripes had nothing to tie into. I imagine they would look quite good on your car with the matching roof. And you stole that car

 

Hi MarineBlue,
It is a great looking MCS JCW and the best year Mini ever had, thus far!
Handling is marvelous and the looks and feel are quality. Many people do not understand why people buy a car this old! They have never driven one, to know the whole package is why we do this!
Congrats on your acquisition of a cherry nice 06!
You are the right owner, for such a good Mini and I know you will keep it nice!

 

The matte black has also crossed my mind with red outlines...more subtle than the silver/red. My wife is a graphic artist and I may ask her to try both to see what looks best.

I would trade mine for a similar condition GP in a heartbeat, you made the right choice!

I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time on this car, it wasn’t a smoking deal by any stretch but I don’t regret what I paid and we are very happy with it.

Thank you! I was having lunch with a friend of mine that bought a GP new (still has it) and we were talking about the incredible value these cars are considering how much fun and capable they are. I’m looking forward to more canyon runs in the Mini, it seems to be at home in this environment.

 

What's up with your exhaust, looks like its sitting very low.

 

I’m not sure, I’ll try to get some more pictures today after I clean her up to confirm if its indeed low. Any ideas what makes an exhaust sit lower?

 

Here’s a shot of the exhaust, anyone know if it’s sitting low?

It does look like the drivers side metal shelf is pushed up slightly which should be easy enough to pull back into place.

 

I will try to get a picture of the exhaust on my '06 R52 tomorrow for comparison

Something about your tail pipes and the cutout opening seems strange

Bryan

 

My '04 R53, and my '06 R52 JCW for comparison

Bryan


2004 R53

2006 R52 JCW

 

It definitely looks like the exhaust is sitting low, I’ll need to get under it to see if one of the hangers is damaged and or if there’s something else.

I don’t see any damage on the tips so hopefully something simple.

 

It looks quite a bit lower than my 06 R53 JCW.
Maybe it is just the way they made it!

 

Check the hangers or post a pic of them

 

Here are mine:

they look tighter to the bumper cover
I know, kind of a crappy pic, for this purpose.
I really don't think yours is too low!

 

Wayne thank you for that picture, mine does look to be about the same height as yours. Regardless I’m going to take a look underneath when I have the chance, hopefully nothing odd going on underneath.