Year: 2006
Make: MINI
Model: Hardtop
Price: $1
Mileage: 100
Color: red
Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing
Location (Region): Midwestern

Found this one if anyone is interested:
https://erepairables.com/salvage-car...utm_campaign=2

'06 PS R53 JCW needs some boot help but looks solid.

 

2002s didn't come with the cupholder bracket. But it was a popular later add-on once they became widely available.

Thanks for sharing this car. It looks like a well-kept car with the JCW kit installed. Would be on my short list if I were in the market, for sure. I am a sucker for the 2002/2003 cars for some reason.

Saved the ad here for future reference:

http://www.craigslistadsaver.com/vie...53ElectricBlue

 

I've all of a sudden decided that a trip to Montana might be kinda fun. Thanks for keeping this thread alive!

 

Wagons west

 

Damn, missed it. Anyone see the final selling price?

 

Year: 2004
Make: MINI
Model: S, Hardtop
Price: $4900
Mileage: 87,600
Color: red
Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing
Location (Region): Nashville

https://nashville.craigslist.org/cto...639600229.html

Not a bad deal, but the description is definitely worth a read.
Slightly cringe-worthy, slightly hilarious.
"Fresh morning dank runs through the A/C, air runs a cool 25% THC"

 

I might be missing something, but $3,750 for low mileage and no moonroof sounds too good to be true

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=213282565

 

Even if the clutch is bad ($1200 repair) this is still a good buy. If its still there when I'm back from vacation next week she will be mine.

 

Wow! This is a great deal! Cold weather pack, Not premium but does have HK, front fogs and with that low mileage this won't be up long! I would doubt the clutch needs any work at that mileage. Probably needs bushings due to age but other than that as long as they kept the oil fresh and flowing from time to time this thing should run great! Wish it had engine bay pics tho.

QUOTE=Otterm;4407319]I might be missing something, but $3,750 for low mileage and no moonroof sounds too good to be true

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=213282565[/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]


For those that are reading this and thinking of buying a Mini - here's my thoughts on this one....

I bought mine with 66k on it, just like this one just a little over a year ago. It was a smoking deal and I thought that I had made out like a bandit. I started going through the car and doing the maintenance that needed to be done around this mileage. I kept a log of everthing I did and what the cost was....

I'm now into my MCS for just over $10k

Stock one owner slick top, etc is all well and good, but even if you do your own wrenching, expect to put another $5k-$8k into it just replacing all the 12-15 year old rubber bits and fixing the known issues like balancer and engine mounts.

I still enjoy my MINI, but it definitely turned out to be a bigger investment than I was initially in for.

 

Cars, especially these cars, are not investments. If it makes you feel better, I'm into mine for a lot more than you. These are fun hobby cars, labors of love; I'll hang onto mine for a bit. With that said, I've seen nice coopers go for a lot of money if they find the right buyer. Informed folks will know what they're buying and rationalize the premium for a well-sorted low-mileage mini. There are a lot of 100-150K+ mileage cars on here! I can see the late year gen 1's holding/leveling out on value as they are the last supercharged minis, and still have the fun factor.

 

Sometimes it's almost better to find a high mileage, well maintained MINI because some or most of the bits you need to replace by this age/mileage have already been done. I like the lower mileage usually but it doesn't justify a higher price in my book. This is still a good price for the features and mileage. Just expect to need some updating if anyone here picks it up.

 

Here's my take.. I just bought an '04 JCW with 33k miles from a MINI dealership in December. The low miles gave me something thats impossible to find on a higher milage car: Clean interior, no smells, perfect seats, hard plastics aren't scratched.. General wear is just nonexistent. Same with exterior.. not a single ding or scratch. Basically you get that new car feeling.

However, many rubber bits needed to be replaced. I just swapped leaking radiator hoses chasing a leak.. Turned out the radiator was leaking and I serviced the SC while it was off. Front crank sensor was bone dry.. Zero oil pan seepage. Ball joints will need to be done soon.. Headliner is starting to sag due to the age of glue.

I'm only down $700. Lots of rubber bits will need to be replaced down the road, but I dont imagine it being in the thousands. It really depends on who owned it before you. This was a well-off enthusiast and former member who drove it 20 miles a week.

And a clutch can go at ANY time, just depends on who's driving it. Yes, a good driver should get 120-140k out of it, but enough jackrabbit starts and clutch dumping will kill it in short order. Ask me how I know This repair alone is $1200-2500 depending on who does it.

 

^-----This is why you look for low mileage. Its frustrating when someone picks up a 10-15 year old car (MINI or not) with low miles and expects that since it smells new inside the rest of it will be too :p

Rubber, lubes, filters and fluids all deteriorate over time whether or not it's driven hard or at all.

 

Yeah, investment was the wrong word... What I mean is I was hoping to have a fun 3rd car on the cheap, like sub $5k. I'm double that now and I love the car, but it's not nearly as cheap as I had hoped. I would have been happy if any of the known issues had been addressed, but unfortunately mine was completely stock.

 

 

Looks good from the limited amount of pictures.


https://fortwayne.craigslist.org/cto...649827435.html

 

I'll leave this here if anyone is interested. Found local to me. Looks to need a few pieces but could be a good find if you can get them off the price a little.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ink=true&Log=0

2013 FJCW Black w/ Red roof and mirrors. MIssing the JCW wheels, rear bumper diffuser/panel and tow hook cover. Has winter tires installed. Looks like it came from eastern PA based on service history and was sent to auction from a MINI dealer so probably a trade in? Not sure what happened to the rear bumper pieces and the guy I called about it couldn't answer either. Says that's how he received it.

Has the 4 piston JCW calipers and the rare Recaro JCW heated seats.

 

My first impression is that its missing 2 rear trim pieces, which tells me that its been in an accident. Of course the seller knows nothing, which is a big red flag. Those things dont just fall off. Thats probably why it doesn't have the JCW wheels too.. They got scraped up in the accident most likely.

Big red flags. Have it inspected for structural damage if you're feeling adventurous.

 

I already check out the history. No accidents on file. Was purchased in Eastern PA New and serviced out there for several years. Last service performed at mini dealer in May and sent to auction. My guess would be it was traded in with the wheels and tires and someone lost the pieces when trailered to the site here. Tow hook cover is missing probably from being pulled up on the flatbed but the other piece I'm not sure about. Possible whoever trailered it drug the back bumper and it fell off? It just clips in.

I would consider buying but I'm really hunting for R53. Just thought I would post it up for anyone who would be interested here.

 

Just because it wasn't on Carfax doesn't mean it wasn't in an accident. My last SUV was in a major accident in Florida and required 2 weeks at the shop to fix.. Nothing ever showed up on the Carfax when I sold it (I ran Carfax and Autocheck).

Also, I almost bought an R53 JCW from a Nissan dealership in Chicago which was missing its OEM wheels. I took it to a MINI dealership for a pre-purchase inspection and they showed me all of the places where the panels no longer lined up perfectly, overspray under the hood from repainting, misaligned interior trim, etc.. This car also had a clean Carfax. Nissan dealer pleaded ignorance, and when I asked to see the original wheels (they already admitted they had them), they looked like someone took a grinder to all four. Rear bumper was recently painted, dealership said they did all the work.. Claimed it was a "city car" which has scuffs on the bumper. Riiiiight. It was in a major accident (front/rear bumper damaged + front/side airbags deployed). Nissan did the repairs, and omitted the messy details.

Trust me, take it in for an inspection for $50-75 at a MINI dealership. They will tell you if its been in an accident or not. My .02.

 

Valid points. If I do go look at it I'll bring it to the dealer. I wouldn't want it without the JCW wheels anyway for that price

 

Read their dealer reviews:

https://www.google.com/search?q=cinc...hrome&ie=UTF-8

You'll see google review as well as CarGurus.com, Cars.com if you look on their Google Maps page. Also check out the dealer's Facebook page for reviews. I dont consider the the number of good vs bad review, but the types of bad reviews they have. If they have a lot of bait/switch its a bad sign. Some people leave bad reviews for ridiculous reasons.. Do your homework.

Did I mention that I hate dealers? All except MINI dealers, they're awesome.

 

Good advice, I always spend time actually reading reviews.

All dealers are scammers, they are just above politicians in my book.

 

I was quoted $145 when I asked for a pre-purchase inspection at a Mini dealer in Arizona over the phone. Is the $50-75 for a different service, in another part of the country, outdated, etc.? I'm wondering if I should shop around; I'm pretty sure $125-200 is the typical range