I'm in the market for a Mini Cooper S convertible. Found a nice 2005 w/ less than 30K miles & the JCW motor upgrades. What is a fair price & any issues I should look for. Just sold my '99 BMW M Roadster & looking to replace it. Thanks.

 

Prices vary depending on where you live. A good starting point is to go price out all the options at Edmunds & then know that you should pay less than what Edmunds says. If the seller brings up Kelley Blue Book know that you should pay waaaaay less than KBB value

 

Usually the main issue with used MINIs is how close the prices are to brand new. Is the amount that you'll save worth the compromises that you'll have to make on your "ideal" options? Is it worth the shorter warranty period? I see lots of used MINIs advertised for within $1,500-$3,000 of the same car brand new. To me, that's a no brainer - go new if at all possible! The MINI defies conventional wisdom in this area - You don't take the normal instant depreciation hit.

 

What is the value of the JCW motor upgrade? I did not see it listed on Edmunds or KBB. Thanks

 

I honestly don't know & I don't have JCW but I would bet that if isn't listed in the pricing options, in a few more years time it will add nothing to the resale value at all. Hopefully a JCW'er will pop in & offer some advice

 

If you're looking at used JCWs with a couple grand of the price of a new one, another thing to consider is how the previous owner treated/drove the car. I would think that a used JCW has a greater chance of having been driven "hard" prior to your getting your hands on it.

 

kbb does not list a value for a JCW kit on the '05, but it does provide one for the '06 -- you may want to look at that for some point of reference

 

If it is the full upgrade aka JCW tuning kit installed by the dealer. It would have added about $6000 to the original price. If installed by a dealer, it gets the same as the original warranty or two years whichever is greater.

Tuning kit includes JCW cylinder head, exhaust,ecu, cai, supercharger, plugs and belts.

 

Just because it is a JCW doesn't necessarity mean it has been driven hard. Both my JCW and a close friend's have never been driven "hard"...in a spirited manner, perhaps...but not "hard". In fact, one might expect that a if performance-oriented driver was the owner, she/he would have treated the car with care. That being said, there are always exceptions to the rules.

Remember, those most interested in JCW-level performance gains usually opt to achieve "specification" gains in a less-costly manner. A la carte upgrades (pulley, exhaust, intake, throttle body, ECU software, injectors, etc.) can cost half the price of a JCW kit. Thus, those who opt for the JCW-kit approach have a deeper investment in their setup and usually have been concerned about keeping within warranty guidelines; this is typically NOT the profile of a "hard driver" who would beat-up the car.

And, while this is only my opinion and not DATA, you should try to make your decision based on data and not on my speculation or anyone elses. Find out what the VIN is. Go to your nearest MINI dealer and ask them to print out a maintenance history of the MINI. Was it regularly serviced? Were all the TSBs applied to it? Has it been in an accident?

FWIW,

Theo

 

Always a good idea, if for no other reason than that the dealer can tell you exactly what options the car sold with.

 

If I knew the exact specifications for the car I would go to MINIusa.com, and spec out a new car equiped as closely as possible. Then I would compare that price to the price they are asking for the car, as well as the value listed by edmunds.com, etc. You may find that the price of a brand new MINI is very close to what they are asking. I personally would expect to pay a $2000-4000 premium for JCW over a comparably equiped S.

 

I just recently bought an JCW equipped MINI convertible. It had the full 207 HP package and the JCW wheels. With 19,000 miles on it, I paid 26,500.

I had been doing some extensive searching for JCW-MCSC's. There was one at Carmax, but they wanted 650 to bring it to CT and it was limited on options. I found one at Princeton MINI for 28k with 5,000 miles on it (a lease) but it was gone by the time I contacted them (surprise). The one I ended up buying was at an Infiniti dealer in NJ.

The reality is that JCW MINI's are not an option most dealers will recognize on trade in or sell price, which is good for a used car buyer. If you do your homework and act quickly, you should be able to score a JCW equipped convertible for not much more than an MCSC.

 

Thanks for the input on the JCW Cooper. I found a conv. JCW for $25,000 which has 30,000 miles. Not sure if it is the one. How do you like yours & did you test drive a non JCW?

Thanks

 

is it an '05 or '06? $25k for 30k miles is ok, not necessarily the best deal. however, you're not likely to find a *bargain* deal for this kind of spec since it's basically as decked out as you can get from the factory

i drove many coopers when i was shopping and was pretty satisfied w/ just the regular MCS, pre- and post-'05+ transmission. so that said, when i got my JCW it was quite a hoot