Hey guys!

I'm currently in the market for an R53 and trying to figure out if I should jump on one local to me. For a bit of background, I owned a 2006 Astro Black Metallic R53 about 4 years ago. Absolutely loved the car. Things came up and I ended up selling it around a year later. I've missed it ever since.

My old Mini -


So, here's the situation. I'm now in a position to buy another car, so last week I started researching R53s again, expanding my search all over the country (US). I'm not in a rush as my wife and I both work from home and we have 1 car we currently share as a daily driver.

I came across this 2006 Cooper S that is about an hour and a half away from me.

It's loaded and has almost every feature I'm looking for. Limited slip diff, cold weather package, sports package, Xenon headlights, sunroof, anthracite headliner, panther leather seats (with no tears), auto climate, NO chrono gauges, 2 piece rims. And it's painted Royal Grey Metallic which I learned was only offered in 2006 and then again for a couple years on the Countryman. Would be cool to have a limited paint color. It's had a clear bra on it from new. The owner is the 2nd owner and has had the car since 2007. It was manufactured 2006-11-10.

I do have some reservations though after checking it out in person.

• Decent amount of miles at 147,000. No list of service records.
• Original exhaust (one of the mufflers is pretty rusty)
• Sounds like a wheel bearing is on it's way out
• The clutch is really stiff (owner said it's never been changed. Do they get more stiff as they're going out?)
• 3rd brake light plastic is broken
• Wheels aren't in great shape (TONS of brake dust stains. Would need to be refinished)
• Original coolant overflow tank

In talking with the owner it seemed like he doesn't know a whole ton about these cars. He wasn't aware of the coolant overflow tank common issues. He was surprised to see that the exhaust was rusty and mentioned he hadn't been under the car in a while.

It will need a good amount of maintenance. I'm willing to tackle it and would enjoy tearing into the car and familiarizing myself with them. I've never done a clutch before, but would enjoy the challenge (as long as I don't mess it up and cost myself $$.)

It's listed for $6000 but I have verbal confirmation that he'd be willing to do $5500. I'm hoping to stay under $6000.

I'm in Utah and this is the best MINI I've seen local to me during my search. I get that I've only been searching for a week and that more will come down the pipeline, but I also don't want to miss a really great car with rare options just because I'm at the beginning of my search. Many of the cars I've seen posted here and elsewhere are on the east coast. I'm not opposed to traveling to pick up the car or having it shipped, but idk if I would go more than a couple of states over unless it's a unicorn.

Options I NEED to have - 2005-2006, Cooper S, 6 speed manual, Xenon headlights, cold weather package, auto climate, good condition interior, good condition paint, anthracite headliner, black interior.
Options that I would like to have, but aren't deal breakers - JCW performance package, neutral paint color, SUPER clean example, less than 100k miles.

What do you guys think? Am I best to grab this one as it has all of the options I'm looking for, take care of the maintenance items, and then just enjoy it? Will there likely be better deals that come along? Am I crazy to think I can get a Cooper S/JCW with under 100k miles for less than $6k?

 

Offer 4K and note all the work you think it needs.

 

Update: The Mini sold today. I was waiting to hear back from the seller and I was planning on sending over a list of needed repairs and offer $4k like JK mentioned.

Now comes the patient waiting game! Hopefully some good ones will pop up soon.

 

When looking to buy a 15 year old R53, value isn’t always going to be on your side. That $5k deal will likely cost another $5k to address the usual needs of an R53 at that age. Just something to consider as you search.

I’ve found the best value can be found in some of the low mileage well maintained cars. They will cost more up front, but less in the long term.

 

When it comes to the MINI... if you find what you like, get it... fix whatever comes up and bond with it (aka turn a wrench and bust a knuckle to draw blood ).

R53's are becoming pretty rare and locally, prices have climbed some over the last year. They dont stay on the market long when sold by owner.

 

That's a good point! I'm not shy to work on the car and I do want to become more familiar with them, but it would be nice to be able to drive and enjoy the car before I end up needing to drop a couple thousand and 10s of hours into fixing multiple things.

That's what I've been seeing. I was surprised to see where the prices are now after owning one about 5 years ago. I wish I would have started my search a year ago!

 

^^^ I started my own search more than a year ago, long before Covid-related used car shortages. Most old R53 have high mileage and associated wear 'n tear by now, which didn't appeal to me. I'm a ritual BaT watcher but buying a car there means 5% buyer fee plus transport cost and sales tax if sold by a dealer (at least here in AZ). When mine popped up on CL from original owner with just 5k total miles, I spotted the ad and jumped on it within an hour or so of being listed. That story is posted elsewhere but no repairs needed other than recharging the A/C and taming racetrack oriented exhaust and suspension springs. Point being, patience can pay off but you must move fast if you locate one that appeals - regardless of price (within reason). Agreed with JacMac, cost to refresh/restore quickly adds up on top of initial purchase price. Also factor that OEM NOS replacements are getting scarce after 15+ yrs since end of 1st gen model production.

 

Geez, that's a unicorn and a half right there! I would be scared to drive the thing as miles would add up quickly.

It's amazing how fast these will sell for clean examples. It adds to the complexity too if it's out of state. It's hard to judge what you're truly buying and if you take the time to do your due diligence with a PPI and more, it could easily sell out from under you.

 

If the car I bought with 4k total miles had been factory JCW (or GP), likely better to keep it OEM stock but the original owner's stated intent was to exceed that of JCW performance for tracking. Its a fairly early 2006 build being Nov 2005 (likely long before the GP was announced). Once I get the resonated Milltek exhaust on (delayed delivery due to DHL error) and softer linear rate springs, it'll be much nicer to drive on streets and highways.

 

That's awesome that it even came with aftermarket goodies. Such an incredible find. It's the purple one too right? Hardly see any in that color.

 

If you are going to have to replace everything anyway, then, as long as the body is in good condition, you're good to go and keep it as cheap as possible.

If you don't want to have to replace everything, then you really really need to go low miles - and low miles equals high purchase price.

In my view, for me anyway, there wasn't really an in-between - I was going to go for something for $4k to $5k (with close to 100k on it) that I would then rebuild the crap out of, or I was going to for something with lower miles (under 50k) that I could just do some light refurbishment to.

You can check out my build thread if you want, but you'll see I ended up paying big money for a bit of a unicorn (low miles, highly original car, JCW package, garaged most of its life) and then spent a bucket load on it anyway once I got it home!!

 

Yes, Black-Eye Purple (called "Purple Haze" by MINI USA marketing) is the original factory finish. The BEP color tag is in the usual location. The paint came out stellar using Meguiars products applied by hand with no need for paint correction. There were 3 areas where I hired mobile PDR, which completely eliminated 2 and the 3rd small but too deep to eliminate without risk of paint cracking. Rather than proceeding further, we agreed to stop. I'll hide that with a small flexible Union Jack emblem which arrived a few days ago.

 

That's a crazy find with an awesome history.
Good insight on what to keep an eye out for. I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with Crooked River Garage in Ohio. I'm going to get in contact with them to see what they have coming down the pipeline. Seems like an in between of your options in that they find the car, fix it up, and sell it. So I could go for a middle ground of a clean car with a good amount of new parts on it.

 

That will be so satisfying to keep up on maintenance on our and have such a clean example of such an awesome car.

 

Will you please tell us about your choice here? Specifically, which springs?

Thanks.

 

From prior experience with modded suspension on many other cars plus reading plenty of related forum threads, I've chosen @WayMotorWorks TSW MINI Performance Springs to achieve objectives of reasonable ride compliance and ground clearance in combo with the Koni Yellows installed when my car was nearly new. Those springs aren't in stock now nor can Way confirm when his supplier will fulfill his order. Nonetheless, my car will never be a daily driver, so I'd rather wait. I've tagged Way, in case he has anything to add about these springs.