Hello everyone, newby here. I have a chance to buy a 2006 JCW with 167K miles for $2000 from a family friend and I had some questions. The car seems to be in good shape and the former husband of the owner was a big fan of minis and was supposedly very on top of all maintenance and did a few modifications. For example I understand that there is a plastic reservoir that holds fluids in the engine bay that commonly fails on this model and he replaced it with an aluminum version. The car wasn't driven much over the last two years not because of any mechanical issues, but due to life stuff.

1. Having a hard time finding a reliable price for a JCW in this year. Any estimates about what it is worth.

2. It takes about five minutes of driving for what I am assuming is the supercharger to spool up. Is this common? Should I be concerned?

3. The seller took it to her usual mechanic and changed some hoses and chased down a possible fluid leak and the car came back clean. Will be taking it to the dealer for another look over. Any suggestions for things to check.

4. The clutch seems fine and the transmission shifts fine except for second gear. Unless you pause before shifting into second from first the transmission will grind. No other gears have this problem and that seller says it has always been that way. Her mechanic found nothing wrong. Is this a common issue?

Thank you all for any thoughts you may have.

 

That's THE best year for any 1st gen model. These are not drive 'em and forget 'em cars, get used to checking and replacing expendables on a regular basis. Rather than taking it to a dealership, find the local MINI worlds favorite BMW/MINI indie shop. All dealerships do is throw new parts at a problem and hand you a bill whether that fixed or not.
There's a world of information in the 1st gen section. When you get it, pictures are mandatory as well as waving. Happy motoring.

 

a) 2006 is a GEN1 car .... ask to move to the correct part of this site

b) what's it worth? Check Blue Book ... that will tell you what a dealer would pay to buy. What it is the correct price for you to buy? Only you can decide this my friend . . . a used car is worth exactly what you get for it and not a penny more or less.

c) I had a 2002 for 100,000+ miles, and a 2007 for near that and I NEVER had any gear grind ...... the GETRAG tranny is pretty solid ... if it is grinding something is wrong and I'd walk away. (now MAGNA PT)

d) 5 minutes of driving for the supercharger to spool up????? Ummmmmm .... you might want to learn a lil about super chargers (vs turbo chargers) ...... a supercharger is driven by the main drive belt, same thing turning the a/c compressor . .

e) what do you expect from a $2000 used car?

 

For $2,000 being a JCW as long as the car is in one piece you don’t really have much to complain about!

Get it!

 

An ‘06 JCW for $2K is very attractive from a price perspective. How’s the overall condition?

Have you read up on rhe common issues with this gen? We can give you our opinion, but without a lot of info on this specific car, it’s difficult to say this is a good or bad deal.

Read the post below, ULTIMATE R53 Newbie. Lots of great info for you to read up. That should help you get familiar with this car.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nce-guide.html

Its also an old car. Are you planning to do some of the service and maintenance or are you budgeting for a shop to take care of it. Like others have said, this car needs constant attention to keep running smoothly.

 

If it is not a rust bucket or a cut and shut job then I can see no downside. The JCW models are rare as the conversion added around $10,000 to the price of the already expensive Cooper S. Not many people chose to do it. If it has a good maintenance history and nothing horrifying is wrong then I would have already exchanged cash and a handshake.

 

Thank you for the reply and the link. I have done some reading online about this era of mini, but hadn't thoroughly looked over this forum. Before I finalize the deal I will look over the link you provided. Looks like it's spot on for what I need.

The car was driven much for two years, so the engine bay and the exterior were a bit dirty. Otherwise, the car seems to be in pretty good shape. The owner recently took it to a reputable local shop in Portland that specializes in British cars and they gave it a clean bill of health. I was also concerned about a car that hadn't been driven much for a couple of years. The shop that did the pre-sale check up replaced hoses and fluids and indicates there are no leaks and no problems including the second gear issue although they were made aware of it.

I thought I'd take it to the dealership just to get a second opinion, but given some one else's comment about dealership service, I might take it to an independent mini shop as there are few that seem to have good ratings.

Before the owner split with her ex, he was a devoted mini lover--they had matching minis. He was supposedly devoted to the maintenance of the car and supposedly changed out all of the belts and did other maintenance himself. No records, but I have known the owner and her family forever and I know she would not lie about the condition or service.

This car is a bit of a departure for me. Not much of a gear head, so I will be relying on local shops to do the work. I love cars but have always been a Honda/Toyota guy who drove his vehicles for years and years and then gets rid of them when they finally become too expensive to repair. I currently have a 1994 Toyota 4x4 truck and a 1998 Acura. These are reliable but high mileage cars and I become accustomed to constantly monitor the fluids and other maintenance issues in order to avoid being stranded on the side of the road. The mini is intended to replace the '98 Acura. It will be daily driver to get me around town--I only drive a few miles a day, and I drive the truck on the weekends. I may also buy an old Toyota SUV to add to the stable if the mini isn't up to the daily grind.

Thanks again for the response and the link.

 

"gets rid of them when they finally become too expensive to repair." If you are not doing your own wrenching,this may be a car that you get rid of straight away. All the other cars you've listed have a much lower cost of repair/maintenance and are also more reliable. These little cars can get expensive quick. For a $2000 06 JCW,I would be all over it if it were closer to me. I do all of my repairs

 

Agreed! This is not a car you take to a shop! It will bankrupt you. I do all my own work and own only an R50, and even that gets expensive. I also daily a Prius C, not the Mini. The Toyota causes me no problems, it's just boring. The Mini is exciting but would be the death of my finances if it was my only car.

 

Buy it!

 

If you don't jump on it, post a link here. There are always people looking for 2006 JCWs.

 

Here's my thread about my 2006 JCW purchase......took me a year to get it back on the road again.....please read and draw your own conclusions.....I am a retired mechanic and did most all of the mechanical work myself.....while your potential car may run, mine didn't, and I probably spent more time & money than I should have, but in the end, I think it was worth it......

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ni-or-not.html

Bryan

 

I bought a $2100 Mini S back in January. Since then, I've spent over $10,000 more in parts on it, but nothing really has gone untouched. I could have completed all of the "essential" maintenance for about $3500 in parts, but while it's apart...

These are cars for enthusiasts at this point - not folks expecting a turn-key experience.

 

This is possibly the most fun car, you will ever drive! If that is important to you and selling for profit is not your motivation and you have some mechanical skills and a fast learner, this Mini will knock your socks off in fun and good Karma!
Is it cheap to maintain? NO!, is it a car for everyone? certainly not! But if you want a smile on your face every time you drive it, this is the car for you!
On a side note, there are plenty of people here, to help you get it back to the fine car/machine, it should be!