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Year: 2006 Make: MINI Model: Hardtop Price: $1 Mileage: 100 Color: red Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing Location (Region): Midwestern
I like it! I'd be interested to see under the hood tho. Listing says factory original and list no mods, yet there is obviously a DFIC scoop on it. Could be a helluva find if it has some good mods. Price is steep for a JCW that year with low miles and no mods...
I like it! I'd be interested to see under the hood tho. Listing says factory original and list no mods, yet there is obviously a DFIC scoop on it. Could be a helluva find if it has some good mods. Price is steep for a JCW that year with low miles and no mods...
Most collectors actually pay less for a classic car with mods. The closer to stock the better, to be honest.. I guess its in the eye of the beholder, but as these things age and there are fewer and fewer clean examples, having mods is actually a negative if you're trying to get rid of a low mileage virgin.
So this is not something that I would ever pay that much for as I just prefer the 2006MY cars, but also I am skeptical of ads like this one. As previously mentioned the claims are "factory original" are dubious at best. The scoop, tow hook, and wing all tell a different story. In addition, the JCW kit for the Cooper S wasn't sold until the 2004MY. Looking at the VIN it appears this car was actually a December 2003 build so at least this car could have been bought with the JCW kit vs. an actual 2002 which would have been sold, driven a couple years, then JCW kit installed (aka not "factory original") Still, $9200 for a 2004MY JCW is not what I'd call a good deal.
Also, I agree with Burley on the fact that this car is modified, which reduces the value of this car. If it didn't have obvious mods, it would be possible to advertise it to the "collectors" of the first JCWs out there, but I doubt that people looking for low mileage "untouched" JCWs probably would be turned off by the scoop, tow hook, and wing (unless that is a UK JCW challenge wing).
Most collectors actually pay less for a classic car with mods. The closer to stock the better, to be honest.. I guess its in the eye of the beholder, but as these things age and there are fewer and fewer clean examples, having mods is actually a negative if you're trying to get rid of a low mileage virgin.
I can’t imagine a more frustrating thing to have than an ultra-low mileage car I really love. Because cars are best appreciated by driving them, anything that’s valuable because of how little it’s been driven is going to be something that you inherently can never truly enjoy. And I think that would be a path that leads to madness.
That being said, as I'd drive the hell out of it, I'd like to see that the seller not only maintained but upgraded bits as they needed replacing. It's fine to keep all original parts if your gonna collect the car and maybe drive it on a date night every few weeks so you only put a couple k miles on it a year. If you are going to enjoy it as it was meant to be it would be nice to have a few minor upgrades like CA bushings and RSB. Maybe a pulley. Obviously the previous owner didn't drive it a lot.
The issue I see is that even while the miles are low, the age isn't. All these bits made out of rubber need replaced with time and not just use. Cool to drive the virgin car for a couple thousand miles and start to hear a creak or vibration because nothing has been replaced.
I can’t imagine a more frustrating thing to have than an ultra-low mileage car I really love. Because cars are best appreciated by driving them, anything that’s valuable because of how little it’s been driven is going to be something that you inherently can never truly enjoy. And I think that would be a path that leads to madness.
That being said, as I'd drive the hell out of it, I'd like to see that the seller not only maintained but upgraded bits as they needed replacing. It's fine to keep all original parts if your gonna collect the car and maybe drive it on a date night every few weeks so you only put a couple k miles on it a year. If you are going to enjoy it as it was meant to be it would be nice to have a few minor upgrades like CA bushings and RSB. Maybe a pulley. Obviously the previous owner didn't drive it a lot.
The issue I see is that even while the miles are low, the age isn't. All these bits made out of rubber need replaced with time and not just use. Cool to drive the virgin car for a couple thousand miles and start to hear a creak or vibration because nothing has been replaced.
Just my .02
I totally agree with you. I guess it depends on your definition of "mods" and I use "collector" loosely. Factory bushings and other maintenance mods are fine. The OEM ones usually are terrible, expensive, and dont last long. Its the performance/visual mods that will make collectors turn away. When I say collector, I'm talking about anyone searching for a low mileage, unmolested copy of an R53. Most purists want a clean slate.. a blank canvas. A giant non-OEM wing screams it was owned by a teenager who pealed out at every stoplight and probably spent all his money on superficial things and skimped on maintenance. Its a prejudice for sure, possibly unfounded.
I purchased an '04 JCW with ~32k miles last year, and when I searched I wanted as close to stock as possible. I daily drive it, and it now has 43k miles. I would have gone for a car with "tasteful mods" and a large collection of maintenance receipts. I've owned 6 (R53/R52/R50) in about 10 years, and the only one that gave me trouble was the one I purchased with performance mods. Never again. No one applies performance mods and drives it gently. Also, mods are very subjective. Not everyone wants a 17% pulley and cat delete with headers.
If you look at the market of "collectable" cars, anything with mods is usually cheaper. I found this out when searching for an air-cooled 911, Jeep CJ, and so on. Once stock examples are scarce, they shoot up in value. Anything rare is more valuable, and modded cars are a dime a dozen. Some folks just want to imagine themselves time-traveling 20 years and having that showroom car again.
This one is interesting. I wish it had pics under the hood. It has a JCW badge on the front but the JUSTA hood and side markers. In back it has S rear bumper and exhaust but has the 5sp shift ****. Probably took a hit up front and someone replaced the hood but its possible someone swapped the body bits and installed S exhaust on a Justa...
****edit: I wonder if it's one of the fabled R50 JCW's? I've only ever seen 1 but it still had exhaust on the right...
Last edited by Cincy_jro; Oct 15, 2018 at 11:20 AM.
Exhaust are interchangeable between R50/R53, I’ve seen the conversion done both ways. The bumpers are actually the same, it’s just the black trim that’s different between the center and side exhaust, a simple swap.
