HEADLINE With much sadness, my cherished and superb condition, December 2005 registered, R53 JCW Mini Cooper S is for sale. £5,550. It has a fantastic spec including factory fitted (as opposed to dealer fit which most were) John Cooper Works kit with rare LSD, with an original note of certification signed by Mike Cooper. Approximately 93,500 miles. Full Mini service history including an Inspection II being undertaken at Cotswold Mini on 8 February 2018. This takes the number of oil changes up to 3 in the last 6,000 miles. Car located in Gloucestershire. MY OWNERSHIP HISTORY I have owned the car twice. Why? I love it! The first time was between June 2015 and February 2016 and more recently from November 2017 to date (please see below for why I am selling again). I sold the car originally as my wife and I had our first baby in March 2016 (I bought the car the first time just before we knew this was going to happen) and our other car at the time was a Clio 182 and we wanted a larger family car. The Mini was sold, as opposed to the Clio, as we have owned the 182 from almost new. The Mini’s replacement was a Golf R on two year contract hire (there was a slight overlap with the Mini ownership). When the Golf lease came to an end, I managed to convince my wife and I that we should buy the Mini back as we had enjoyed it so much. I had stayed in touch with the Mini’s then current owner and he was in the process of purchasing a F56 JCW Cooper SD as he was just about to cover significantly higher work mileage and did not want to put high mileage on “my” Mini. We have since stored the 182 and now have a B7 Audi RS4 as the larger family car and hence why it was feasible to buy the Mini back without the issue of lack of rear interior space. We have just had a second baby and really need a second day to day car that is large enough to fit two baby seats plus their bases. The Mini can manage one baby seat and base in the rear if the passenger seat is purchased right forward, but it is not feasible with two baby seats and bases. With this in mind, I have just placed an order for a used Mk7 Golf R. I should mention children will happily fit in the back of the Mini, it is just the baby car seat and base that we are struggling with. The repurchase of the Mini was only ever meant to be for a few months as we knew that we wanted a larger second car. Why buy it back you may be wondering if it was only going to be for a few months? Quite simply, we absolutely adore the Mini and both my wife and I are huge petrolheads. The car has so much character, drives brilliantly, has a fantastic spec and has been really well looked after. If we had more space to store it, we would keep it, but sadly we do not. The Mini is therefore for sale, but on the proviso, that in the event of a future sale by the new owner, that I be offered first refusal to buy it back. We are hoping to move house in the next two years and would then have space to store it (and enjoy it again!). I am very particular about my cars and originally purchased the JCW from a fellow petrolhead in June 2015. I have stayed in touch with him and he has just purchased another R53 JCW Cooper S. I am the fifth owner, excluding the original supplying dealer. In my opinion, it is more fun to drive than both the RS4 and the Golf and only second to our K series Superlight. SPEC The JCW spec/parts fitted at the factory include the following: JCW engine tuning, 208bhp, up from 168bhp with the standard Cooper S. The engine is a 1.6 supercharged petrol. LSD. This is a relatively rare option taken up. Having driven non-LSD equipped R53s, the LSD makes a significant improvement to the handling and adds to the bite of the already pointy front end. JCW exhaust. It sounds great but is quiet and refined at a cruise. Larger JCW front brakes (larger discs and pistons, with red calipers) which are relatively rare. New OEM discs and pads all round, approximately 10,000 miles ago – please see below for further details. JCW suspension (I checked this with Mini Cheltenham after I purchased the car as I was not certain if this was the case or not)Other spec details of note are listed below (not exhaustive): The paintwork is Chili red with roof and bonnet stripes wrapped in black. The paint is Aspen White underneath the roof wrap and shortly after buying the car originally, I had the faded roof wrapping and bonnet stripes professionally replaced (July 2015), using the supplier who wraps the Minis for Cotswold Mini. Chili pack. Xenon headlights. I have also fitted subtle LED sidelights and LED rear number plate lights. The interior has red detailing on the doors and dash as shown in the interior photos. I have fitted subtle LED lighting inside replacing the original yellow bulbs. Chrono pack with additional oil temperature and oil pressure gauges. Cimate control (re-gas detailed above). Winter pack including heated front seats (which are part cloth, part leather) and heated front windscreen. Cruise control. 6 CD changer. SERVICE HISTORY AND MAINTENANCE The car has been religiously maintained by all of its owners. This includes in excess of £5,000 spent on it in the past 2.5 years to keep it in superb mechanical and cosmetic condition. As noted above, an Inspection II service is being carried out by Cotswold Mini on 8 February 2018. This includes an engine oil and filter change, supercharger pulley belt change, brake fluid change, auxiliary belt change, spark plug change and pollen filter change. In addition, I have asked them to change the coolant. Please note the car is fitted with a long life ITG panel filter which has made no difference to the induction noise. The ITG filter has been cleaned in the past 5,000 miles (the remainder of the cleaning kit will be provided to the new owner). The MOT is due in April 2018, although the Inspection II should hopefully provide a good degree of comfort. I only use 99 octane fuel as did the previous 2 owners. The paintwork on the bonnet was damaged in the recent snow when some ice fell on it from the roof of our house. I heard the ice hit the car and it is fair to say I was less than impressed! The ice split the lacquer and the lacquer then peeled off in a chunk. I did not want to leave the car with damaged paintwork when I put it up for sale and therefore I have just had the bonnet and scuttle professionally resprayed. This included having new bonnet stripes fitted (even though they were in perfect condition as they had replaced in July 2015, but needed to be removed and replaced to allow the bonnet to be resprayed properly). At the same time, I also asked them to respray the boot and rear bumper as it had some minor marks and trolley dings, which no longer exist. In addition to the full service history, the following work has been undertaken in the past 2.5 years. New OEM alternator – December 2016. New Bosch battery – July 2016. Gearbox oil change using correct grade OEM oil – February 2016. It surprises me that Mini main dealers do not change the gearbox oil as part of any of their services and hence this was carried out over and above normal service plans. 4 x Bridgestone non-run flat RE050A tyres – December 2015. Fronts with approximately 6mm of tread remaining and rears with approximately 7mm of tread remaining. The non-run flats provide a notable improvement in the ride quality over run flats. Tyre sealant in the boot in the event of a puncture. 4 wheel alignment (adjusted toe front and rear and rear camber) - December 2015, less than 6,000 miles ago.New OEM top mounts – October 2015. OEM JCW brake discs and pads all round, with new wear sensors - September 2015, approximately 10,000 miles ago. Plenty of life left with only very marginal lips on the discs. Air con re-gas and cleanse - September 2015. Replaced slightly damaged fog lamp and sidelight lenses – September 2015. Replaced Works centre caps on the alloys – July 2015. Any negatives? In the interests of being completely upfront: Whilst the wheels were refurbished in anthracite by a previous owner, there is very slight flaking in a few places on the outside edges of the wheels which I have touched up. There is also some flaking on the very inside of the wheel. If I was keeping the car, I would have the wheels refurbed. They are by no means in bad condition, but not perfect. The last 3 years of MOTs have indicated that the brake pipes have slight corrosion on them. I have wax oiled them and none of the garages where the car has been looked after have indicated that they need replacement currently. SUMMARY The more I read this advert, the more I wish the car didn’t have to go (I said this last time!) and hope that one day I will have the opportunity to own it for a third time. I rate this JCW extremely highly. On the right road, it is so involving, with the LSD and larger brakes over many JCWs adding significantly to the package. Someone will be a very happy new owner. I would really like it to go to a loving home, hence why I am advertising it here first. I am happy for the car to be test driven but only with proof of fully comprehensive insurance to drive this car (not fully comprehensive which allows third party cover on other cars). Otherwise I will be happy to drive the prospective purchaser. I have priced the car at what I consider to be at a fair price. I know it is priced slightly above others that occasionally come on to the market although I have taken into account of the extensive spec, the full and extensive service history and the superb condition of the car. I am not in a rush to sell as a neighbour has offered to store the car for a few months (but not long term) in their garage if necessary. Looking at Evo's recent R53 review, they suggest £5,000 as the ball park for an excellent standard Cooper S, i.e. NOT a JCW. The JCW adds significantly to the standard Cooper S and with mine being in excellent condition, I feel the price is fair. http://www.evo.co.uk/mini/cooper/19635/mini-cooper-r50-and-cooper-s-r53-history-prices-and-specs It comes with the private number plate, J4 CWT, which I have just had valued by Regtransfers at £400. I have an emailing from them advising of the value. The car is available for viewing from Sunday 11 February.
HEADLINE With much sadness, my cherished and superb condition, December 2005 registered, R53 JCW Mini Cooper S is for sale. £5,550. It has a fantastic spec including factory fitted (as opposed to dealer fit which most were) John Cooper Works kit with rare LSD, with an original note of certification signed by Mike Cooper. Approximately 93,500 miles. Full Mini service history including an Inspection II being undertaken at Cotswold Mini on 8 February 2018. This takes the number of oil changes up to 3 in the last 6,000 miles. Car located in Gloucestershire. MY OWNERSHIP HISTORY I have owned the car twice. Why? I love it! The first time was between June 2015 and February 2016 and more recently from November 2017 to date (please see below for why I am selling again). I sold the car originally as my wife and I had our first baby in March 2016 (I bought the car the first time just before we knew this was going to happen) and our other car at the time was a Clio 182 and we wanted a larger family car. The Mini was sold, as opposed to the Clio, as we have owned the 182 from almost new. The Mini’s replacement was a Golf R on two year contract hire (there was a slight overlap with the Mini ownership). When the Golf lease came to an end, I managed to convince my wife and I that we should buy the Mini back as we had enjoyed it so much. I had stayed in touch with the Mini’s then current owner and he was in the process of purchasing a F56 JCW Cooper SD as he was just about to cover significantly higher work mileage and did not want to put high mileage on “my” Mini. We have since stored the 182 and now have a B7 Audi RS4 as the larger family car and hence why it was feasible to buy the Mini back without the issue of lack of rear interior space. We have just had a second baby and really need a second day to day car that is large enough to fit two baby seats plus their bases. The Mini can manage one baby seat and base in the rear if the passenger seat is purchased right forward, but it is not feasible with two baby seats and bases. With this in mind, I have just placed an order for a used Mk7 Golf R. I should mention children will happily fit in the back of the Mini, it is just the baby car seat and base that we are struggling with. The repurchase of the Mini was only ever meant to be for a few months as we knew that we wanted a larger second car. Why buy it back you may be wondering if it was only going to be for a few months? Quite simply, we absolutely adore the Mini and both my wife and I are huge petrolheads. The car has so much character, drives brilliantly, has a fantastic spec and has been really well looked after. If we had more space to store it, we would keep it, but sadly we do not. The Mini is therefore for sale, but on the proviso, that in the event of a future sale by the new owner, that I be offered first refusal to buy it back. We are hoping to move house in the next two years and would then have space to store it (and enjoy it again!). I am very particular about my cars and originally purchased the JCW from a fellow petrolhead in June 2015. I have stayed in touch with him and he has just purchased another R53 JCW Cooper S. I am the fifth owner, excluding the original supplying dealer. In my opinion, it is more fun to drive than both the RS4 and the Golf and only second to our K series Superlight. SPEC The JCW spec/parts fitted at the factory include the following: JCW engine tuning, 208bhp, up from 168bhp with the standard Cooper S. The engine is a 1.6 supercharged petrol. LSD. This is a relatively rare option taken up. Having driven non-LSD equipped R53s, the LSD makes a significant improvement to the handling and adds to the bite of the already pointy front end. JCW exhaust. It sounds great but is quiet and refined at a cruise. Larger JCW front brakes (larger discs and pistons, with red calipers) which are relatively rare. New OEM discs and pads all round, approximately 10,000 miles ago – please see below for further details. JCW suspension (I checked this with Mini Cheltenham after I purchased the car as I was not certain if this was the case or not)Other spec details of note are listed below (not exhaustive): The paintwork is Chili red with roof and bonnet stripes wrapped in black. The paint is Aspen White underneath the roof wrap and shortly after buying the car originally, I had the faded roof wrapping and bonnet stripes professionally replaced (July 2015), using the supplier who wraps the Minis for Cotswold Mini. Chili pack. Xenon headlights. I have also fitted subtle LED sidelights and LED rear number plate lights. The interior has red detailing on the doors and dash as shown in the interior photos. I have fitted subtle LED lighting inside replacing the original yellow bulbs. Chrono pack with additional oil temperature and oil pressure gauges. Cimate control (re-gas detailed above). Winter pack including heated front seats (which are part cloth, part leather) and heated front windscreen. Cruise control. 6 CD changer. SERVICE HISTORY AND MAINTENANCE The car has been religiously maintained by all of its owners. This includes in excess of £5,000 spent on it in the past 2.5 years to keep it in superb mechanical and cosmetic condition. As noted above, an Inspection II service is being carried out by Cotswold Mini on 8 February 2018. This includes an engine oil and filter change, supercharger pulley belt change, brake fluid change, auxiliary belt change, spark plug change and pollen filter change. In addition, I have asked them to change the coolant. Please note the car is fitted with a long life ITG panel filter which has made no difference to the induction noise. The ITG filter has been cleaned in the past 5,000 miles (the remainder of the cleaning kit will be provided to the new owner). The MOT is due in April 2018, although the Inspection II should hopefully provide a good degree of comfort. I only use 99 octane fuel as did the previous 2 owners. The paintwork on the bonnet was damaged in the recent snow when some ice fell on it from the roof of our house. I heard the ice hit the car and it is fair to say I was less than impressed! The ice split the lacquer and the lacquer then peeled off in a chunk. I did not want to leave the car with damaged paintwork when I put it up for sale and therefore I have just had the bonnet and scuttle professionally resprayed. This included having new bonnet stripes fitted (even though they were in perfect condition as they had replaced in July 2015, but needed to be removed and replaced to allow the bonnet to be resprayed properly). At the same time, I also asked them to respray the boot and rear bumper as it had some minor marks and trolley dings, which no longer exist. In addition to the full service history, the following work has been undertaken in the past 2.5 years. New OEM alternator – December 2016. New Bosch battery – July 2016. Gearbox oil change using correct grade OEM oil – February 2016. It surprises me that Mini main dealers do not change the gearbox oil as part of any of their services and hence this was carried out over and above normal service plans. 4 x Bridgestone non-run flat RE050A tyres – December 2015. Fronts with approximately 6mm of tread remaining and rears with approximately 7mm of tread remaining. The non-run flats provide a notable improvement in the ride quality over run flats. Tyre sealant in the boot in the event of a puncture. 4 wheel alignment (adjusted toe front and rear and rear camber) - December 2015, less than 6,000 miles ago.New OEM top mounts – October 2015. OEM JCW brake discs and pads all round, with new wear sensors - September 2015, approximately 10,000 miles ago. Plenty of life left with only very marginal lips on the discs. Air con re-gas and cleanse - September 2015. Replaced slightly damaged fog lamp and sidelight lenses – September 2015. Replaced Works centre caps on the alloys – July 2015. Any negatives? In the interests of being completely upfront: Whilst the wheels were refurbished in anthracite by a previous owner, there is very slight flaking in a few places on the outside edges of the wheels which I have touched up. There is also some flaking on the very inside of the wheel. If I was keeping the car, I would have the wheels refurbed. They are by no means in bad condition, but not perfect. The last 3 years of MOTs have indicated that the brake pipes have slight corrosion on them. I have wax oiled them and none of the garages where the car has been looked after have indicated that they need replacement currently. SUMMARY The more I read this advert, the more I wish the car didn’t have to go (I said this last time!) and hope that one day I will have the opportunity to own it for a third time. I rate this JCW extremely highly. On the right road, it is so involving, with the LSD and larger brakes over many JCWs adding significantly to the package. Someone will be a very happy new owner. I would really like it to go to a loving home, hence why I am advertising it here first. I am happy for the car to be test driven but only with proof of fully comprehensive insurance to drive this car (not fully comprehensive which allows third party cover on other cars). Otherwise I will be happy to drive the prospective purchaser. I have priced the car at what I consider to be at a fair price. I know it is priced slightly above others that occasionally come on to the market although I have taken into account of the extensive spec, the full and extensive service history and the superb condition of the car. I am not in a rush to sell as a neighbour has offered to store the car for a few months (but not long term) in their garage if necessary. Looking at Evo's recent R53 review, they suggest £5,000 as the ball park for an excellent standard Cooper S, i.e. NOT a JCW. The JCW adds significantly to the standard Cooper S and with mine being in excellent condition, I feel the price is fair. http://www.evo.co.uk/mini/cooper/19635/mini-cooper-r50-and-cooper-s-r53-history-prices-and-specs It comes with the private number plate, J4 CWT, which I have just had valued by Regtransfers at £400. I have an emailing from them advising of the value. The car is available for viewing from Sunday 11 February.
