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

This is a unicorn. A red one.

 

Here’s another one for you. A black one.

 

Whoa! That grill on the black beast!

 

Found on NAM a year ago ... nicest R56 I’ve seen yet 😜

2011 MCS... N18
Loaded with all the nice JCW bits you can find.

I got her this way from a fastidious MINI collector at a weak moment.

Well spec’d... all the goodies I wanted... you can eat off of anything from the roof, to the seats to the GP ground effects ....

conservative build with mostly factory parts ... the Redwood lounge leather is one of the high points for me ... I have a set of Recaro CS SRS equipped seats on order with factory mounts... I’ll see how I like them and maybe have AMX make me a set of matching Redwood skins in Scottish leather...

Next will be a mild Mario tune and Akra high flow cat

I’m a fan of in-house MINI designs on their wheels ... the R109’s and R113’s are, to me, super well integrated with the lines of the R56 JCW.

otherwise... turn key

For the R53... I have to decide which one to do.... 06 BRG JCW, 06 PW JCW, 05 Grey MCS
...Bring it to near zero ... and back up again ...
ive looked at plenty of low mile cars that still wouldn’t cut it ‘as is’ for me ... love the process and pride in the work ... and end result wit a few tweaks the R53 can be a super well sorted car !!












To me ... the factory R53’s needed some help in color combos ... though Stephensons original R95 wheels and body/facia design are sublime to me

love these wheels on the R53!
So well balanced !
not so keen on the JCWG ‘Aero’ ... but everyone has a way to make these ‘their own’

 

All of these awesome Mini’s are making me sad....since I can’t find one! Lol.

 

Very nice R56. And since you posted “that” photo, I’ll share one of my unicorns. It looks slightly different now, but for a time this was it:

 

Not sure I want to get into a second Gen MINI, but if I did, I think this coupe would be it... Just wish it was a JCW too..

https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1633111

 

^^^ Buying used always has associated compromises. Perhaps; 2nd gen vs 1st gen, body style and color, total mileage and equipment. I might prefer 1st gen R53 (not having owned one) with super low miles and manual gearbox showing little if any rash of previous ownership. Now 15+ yrs later, unlikely that'll happen at my all-in spend price point. Although intrigued with R58/R59 cars, the linked R58 example is representative. Not private party seller but retailer with associated added taxes (not assessed here in AZ on private party sales) plus $17k asking price. Having owned an R56 (sig), condition and low mileage for age with corresponding net price seems will trump (not POTUS) in the end. As is said; "everything in life is a compromise" quoted out of context...

 

First gen to second 2 totally different animals.

 

^^^ Understood, however high mileage cars with associated rash of age and usage doesn't appeal - at least to me.

 

Here’s a first Gen JCW with just under 60k miles for about $10500 with a fair few rare JCW add-ons. So cars do come up but most not in your backyard. Ive done a fair bit of travel/shipping to acquire gems over the years. But I enjoy it.

 

Would anybody buy a well maintained car with 120K mi? If not, state highest mileage one would buy.

 

Depends. Is the car rare? Is it exactly what you were looking for? Is the price right? How well was it maintained? (Everyone has their own opinion on what “well maintained” is).

 

05 S electric blue 100k miles $5200
https://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto...241539977.html

06 S hyper blue 163 k miles $3800
https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/pelh...255862346.html

 

Absolutely

I’d buy a 220K-miles well maintained ... I’ve seen some cars at 200k that were better than ones at 40k

All my cars are north of 100k like them all... drive em... wrench on em... they belong to me and are fun to own !! All are well maintained, rattle free, comfortable and look great to all but the ‘show car’ crowd

Most people buying a used mini just want a good looking, safe reliable car ... some want a weekend garage-queen collector car to look at ... and show off ...

Age, now 15 minimum years on R53’s, requires a lot of attention.... how was it stored, was it humid/dry/cold... oil, hoses, belt, cv boots, coolant, trans fluid, brake fluid, sensor seals, crank seals etc ... on a 15 year old car heck... I’d do all of that ... even on the 4K mile GP1 ‘creampuff’

Time is constantly at work !!






.

 

Only 28k miles and fairly loaded MCSa

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...CarId=22231f1a

 

Space blue..if that were 6sp it wouldn’t last long.

 

the prior owner installed a set of black M7 rear aero grills since he couldn’t find the silver stickers.

the black plastic part of the aerokit is a slightly matte semi gloss black. It looks ok when the matte plastic trim is all dressed and cleaned.

 

Exactly ! Changed oil every 3K miles, coolant every 30, Trans every 30, Fuel filter every 40, supercharger service every 50K, and brake/Ps Fluid every 20K. It runs BETTER now with upgrades than it did when new and has 234K miles on odometer....

 

These automatics are quite reliable....uses Trans fluid from Toyota.....

 

They are correct for 1st Gen. My 1st Gen JCW mats have newer logo too....an anomoly for 1st gen mats MINI made for second run from their supplier after running out of the older badge....

 

That rear spoiler in Russia....GL with that....lol.

 

99.9% of people don’t even get their oil changed on time lol. Hence why maintenance records and low mileage are highly desired.

 

https://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/ct...245401968.html

 

1 Owner - Clean.....Rare black / silver roof ...
https://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/c...252489190.html