I have an 04' British Racing Green JCW that is a lot of fun to drive but I think I may have gotten carried away.

I'm considering selling but I'm looking for opinions on price, I'm thinking $15k?

It has 135k miles on it but almost everything has been replaced or upgraded.

JCW Cylinder head was just rebuilt using Supertech guides and oversize (+1mm) Inconel Exhaust valves and seat i.d. was opened to match runner diameter
New OEM Timing Chain and Guides
New OEM Crank and Cam Sprocket (ISF REM Treated) w/ ARP Cam Bolt
1320 / Cat Cams Agressive street camshaft
ATI Crank Dampener (2% over drive)
ARP Head Studs w/ OEM Head Gasket
ARP Intake and Exhaust Manifold Studs (Stainless)
Pro Alloy UK Intercooler
Intake manifold coated in 3M Heat Reflective Wrap (Same as Indy cars use)
Super Circuit 4-2-1 Stainless Header with extra bung for wideband O2
TopGear UK Stainless Cat-Back (Same as Milltek)
Sprintex Gen.2 Supercharger (64mm pulley / 18psi)
Bytetronik Full Access Tuning package and 550cc Bosch Injectors
Bytetronik Billet Belt Tensioner for Sprintex units (Powerflex Bushings on the damper)
All Silicone Coolant Hoses w/ Metal Connectors and Thermostat Housing (no more plastic)
Mishimoto Front Mounted Oil Cooler w/ Kevlar Hoses
Mishimoto Aluminum Radiator
Detroit Tuned Bypass Valve
DDM Works Intake with upgraded GREEN filter
Samco Silicone Inlet Hose
New Beru Coil
Performance Distributors Live Wires
Brisk Silver Racing Plugs
Motul 300V Oil
Motul Gear 300 Gear Lube
Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid
Vibratechnics Engine and Lower mount (Fast Road)
Powerflex Lower Control Arm bushings (Black)
Moog Problem Solver Ball Joints (All 4)
Super Pro Adjustable Sway Bar endlinks (Fr & Rr)
Powerflex Steering rack bushing
Innovative LM2 Wideband w/ CAN link
Coolerworx UK Shifter (1 of 2 made in Titanium finish)
AST 5100 Coil-Overs w/ Camber Plates / Rear Top Hats
MMR Racing Titanium wheel stud conversion
ECS Hubcentric Wheel Spacers (15mm FR / 7mm Rr)
EBC Yellow pads and VSR rotors (R56 JCW Rear)
Stoptech Trophy BBK (Front)
Enkei NOT3+M 17x7.5 wheels
Pirelli P Zero Corsa System 205/40R17
GP Rear Seat Delete
R56 Front Seats
Odyssey PC920 Battery w/ Rennline Hold Down
Alpine Components (Fr) / 6x9 (Rr)
Canton Coolant and Power Steering Tanks
Dinan Throttlebody
OS Giken Grand Touring Clutch
OS Giken LSD (custom tuned)

Non Performance but Replaced:
Oil Pan Gasket
Crank Sensor O-ring
Cam Sensor O-ring
Oil Filter Housing Gaskets
Valve Cover Gasket w/ Spark Plug tube seals & PCV
Front and Rear O2 Sensors
Power Steering Lines and O-Rings
Low Speed Fan Resistor (Upgraded unit)
All 4 wheel bearings
Front axles
Both Window Regulators
R56 Rear Trailing Arms

 

I think you might have a hard time getting more then $8 or $9K for it due to the age and high mileage.

 

Labor of Love with a car usually does not generate monetary rewards. Unless you can find somebody that is looking for what you have, used car buyers go by KBB.

 

Yeah, I'll probably just end up parting it out to minimize the loss.

 

FWIW, a 14-year old car with 135k on the clock is not high mileage—it's less than 10K a year which is well below an acceptable average for used cars. I wouldn't consider that a knock against it, but I would with mods. Modifications are VERY personal, and you will never get your money back out of those. The reality is that most modified cars have an extremely limited buyer market. Even lightly modded cars that I have owned have always been tough resells. I hate to say things like this, but if you want any value back out of the car, it needs to be parted out, unfortunately.

Before doing that, though, I would put the car on the market at a buyer-friendly price and see what happens. There are buyers who will understand the car and the mods to it, but they are never going to pay a premium for it.

 

I have one that just hit 265,000 miles and still going strong.

I know that it is easy to let it get out of hand, but if you take one step at a time you can keep the GEN1s running strong and for a long time.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Motor On!

 

What would be your reason for selling?
Does the car no longer fit your lifestyle?
Do you no longer enjoy driving it?

Just like a large group of us on the forum, you've spent a fair amount of money keeping the car ship-shape, but crossing that threshold should come with the understanding that it's unlikely that the investment in general will pay off. One idiot driver can run a stop sign and instantly reduce your fairly substantial investment to whatever the book value is on a used 2004 Cooper w/135k on the clock..., i.e., not much.

I'm in it for the enjoyment of learning how these things tick, and the process of tinkering with it. For all the bad rap these cars get as being hard to work on, I think they're fairly easy to work on, and I've thoroughly enjoyed the time I've spent on my '04 R53 bringing it back to "as new" as possible.

There are few automobiles out there that drive like these things (without spending tens of thousands more), so I'm going to extract every bit of enjoyment from it as I can, but different strokes for different folks.

 

You have asked three good questions.

1. Just kind of wondering if it would be worth it to sell, considering getting out of the game for a bit.
2. It's not my daily anymore so it only sees weekend cruises which it does very well
3. I do enjoy it, it is a very capable chassis and makes plenty of power.

You are correct, there are not many if any cars that can do what this car does for the price. It is actually pretty easy to work on, and once you get everything done it is fairly reliable.

I keep a fixed value insurance policy on it due to drivers here in SoCal so I don't get completely screwed if someone decides to take it out.

 

Given the considerable work you've already done, which is likely to have headed off a fair amount of impending issues for at least the medium-range future, if you do "get out of the game," would you really be up to the task of 'starting from scratch' and doing all this work again on another MINI, should you decide to 'get back into' the game?

Of course, if the reality is that you're tiring of the platform and/or you are anxious about higher-level failures, or merely desire a change in vehicle, nobody should begrudge you that.

 

I'm kind of tiring of it and I'll admit it's mostly because I don't get to drive it as much as I would like to. (who wouldn't want to spend everyday at the track or in the canyons? )

I'll probably finish building the spare engine, swap it in and then make my decision.

Thanks for your input, it's a good line of reasoning.