When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hey guys. My C7Z06 is about to take a long ride to a new owner in Texas. I'm looking to get back into the Mini game but thinking 05 or 06 JCW. I've seen a few around but nothing screams "that's it!". There's this one on eBay that seems to check off a lot of boxes...blue, xenon, chrono, LSD.
I've had an 07 hatch and an 11 JCW hatch but I don't know much about the R53s. Could some of you voice your opinion on this car or and direct me towards the awesome R53 you would get if you were in the market. Very much appreciated! Do they hold up pretty well? When I got rid of my 11 JCW I said I'd never own another Mini without a warranty but maybe that's just the R56.
There is a nice low mileage JCW down in Georgia for sale and listed here in the for sales. There is allot of talk now that the R53 is the best of the MINIs. The later models have more perks but the drive feeling is not there. And the Tritec is a whole lot better engine than the N14 Prince
Could some of you voice your opinion on this car or and direct me towards the awesome R53 you would get if you were in the market.
Opinion
The R53/R50 platform is the only platform that pays any kind of homage to the original Mini. Even then, it does a poor job. It is fat, heavy, and handles like a pig in stock form. That being said, it's the only Mini. Starting with the R56 you are buying a standard small car with a pricey badge on it. The new F series cars aren't even close to small anymore, you might as well buy a Focus ST hatch and save yourself the money. Opinion
I would only purchase a 2006 S with the factory John Cooper Works package. What options beyond that are up to you, but I hunted that car out when I was buying. It has a factory limited slip and 210 horsepower with factory reliability (whatever that means, it is a MINI) behind it. Now that I own that, I'd buy any R50 or R53 for the right price, but the 2006 JCW R53 is the MINI to have.
Originally Posted by phantasms
Do they hold up pretty well?
It's not a Honda.
Originally Posted by phantasms
When I got rid of my 11 JCW I said I'd never own another Mini without a warranty but maybe that's just the R56.
I've never owned a car with a warranty but I've already had to fix more things on my R53 in one year of ownership than I did in 5 years of NA Miata ownership. If you are changing over from a C7 Z06 to a 11 year old MINI, you shouldn't have a car payment. Even with the 2006 JCW cars bringing a premium, they are still under $10,000. It will need repairs, but you won't have a car payment. And you're insurance should be cheaper, too.
Opinion
The R53/R50 platform is the only platform that pays any kind of homage to the original Mini. Even then, it does a poor job. It is fat, heavy, and handles like a pig in stock form. That being said, it's the only Mini. Starting with the R56 you are buying a standard small car with a pricey badge on it. The new F series cars aren't even close to small anymore, you might as well buy a Focus ST hatch and save yourself the money. Opinion
I would only purchase a 2006 S with the factory John Cooper Works package. What options beyond that are up to you, but I hunted that car out when I was buying. It has a factory limited slip and 210 horsepower with factory reliability (whatever that means, it is a MINI) behind it. Now that I own that, I'd buy any R50 or R53 for the right price, but the 2006 JCW R53 is the MINI to have.
It's not a Honda.
I've never owned a car with a warranty but I've already had to fix more things on my R53 in one year of ownership than I did in 5 years of NA Miata ownership. If you are changing over from a C7 Z06 to a 11 year old MINI, you shouldn't have a car payment. Even with the 2006 JCW cars bringing a premium, they are still under $10,000. It will need repairs, but you won't have a car payment. And you're insurance should be cheaper, too.
That's decent looking car, but you can find cleaner ones if that if your prerogative.
You want to look for the "3AL" package on a VIN decoder for a factory 2006 car.
Thank you for all the help. After I got my first Mini which was a 2007 S for ~$30k, my girlfriend at the time decided she wanted a Mini as well. We hunted high and low and she finally found a beautiful green R53S for about $3k. As she was new to driving stick.......I drove the car home from the seller. After about a mile I said "WTF this car was a tenth the cost and is far more fun to drive?!?!".
If you have the time can you enlighten me on the benefits of the factory JCW vs the dealer installed? While you are certainly correct on the R56 I did absolutely love my 2011 JCW once I did SS brake lines and improved the very lacking suspension setup. It's a bit of a compromise sure but so are all Minis...great at nothing pretty good at everything.
If you have the time can you enlighten me on the benefits of the factory JCW vs the dealer installed? While you are certainly correct on the R56 I did absolutely love my 2011 JCW once I did SS brake lines and improved the very lacking suspension setup.
Take a read here, the biggest selling point for me was the limited slip. I just couldn't take driving a FWD car with power with an open diff.
There were some different packages over the years but the 2006 factory cars have all the goodies, the most power (same as later dealer installed cars), and the LSD.
From 05/06 and 05-08 on the R52 JCW the LSD option was part of the JCW package. Had a MINI without the LSD and now the JCW with, night and day difference on torque steer. You do any engine mods on a non-LSD and the torque steer is worse.
Now with that said, I have a friend without the LSD on his modded R53 and as he does have some SCCA experience, lets just say the car holds it own against some other MINIs with allot more torque and HP.
Oh and I had a good pork BBQ sandwich at Sonny's yesterday. It tasted very good and my Gen1 R52 JCW although perhaps a pig, handles very well with nothing more than a heavier sway bar.
On the JCW and the LSD, below are the dates that they were/became options:
04/2003 - JCW Tuning kit, 200 HP
06/2004 - JCW upgrade to larger injectors, air box and tune, 210 HP
01/2005 - LSD became factory option
11/2005 - JCW became a Factory build and included the LSD. Most JCW came with the sport suspension that lowered the car 4 mm. You could order a "dock" installed JCW Suspension (10mm lowered red springs, stiffer shocks) only on the R53s, the R52 did not offer the option due to the increase weight of the rear end.
Oh and I had a good pork BBQ sandwich at Sonny's yesterday. It tasted very good and my Gen1 R52 JCW although perhaps a pig, handles very well with nothing more than a heavier sway bar.
I'm convinced I will enjoy my MINI significantly more once I dump about $5,000 into suspension, camber plates, sway bars, wheels, tires, engine mounts, and stiffening components. I just don't have the motivation, that's 10 cheap motorcycles right there. The first generation has so much potential, MINI really fumbled some of this stuff. Maybe I was just spoiled by Miatas.
As long as the car doesn't run me out of money with repairs before then...
