ha, what do I know - there's a 27k miles R53 on BAT for $1500 now (well. 7 days to go) https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2003-mini-cooper-s-10/ nice for a pre-facelift car, but it's a pre-facelift car. I wouldn't spend more than $6500 on it, but somebody else will spend far more, I am pretty sure. Saw a pretty sketchy '05 sell for 10,500 recently on BAT.
Wanted to do something like this with a 750-4 Honda motorcycle but at 19 just could not pull it off. If I ever hit the lottery, going to by a nice mountain somewhere in the Appalachians and build a mountain motor track. One course would go up and back down and the other would wind around the bottom. Something like Squirrel Spur up above Mt. Airy and the TOTD.
It sold for $36K, so he broke about even. Totally agree with you. Most that are looking to get in a MINI are looking for an 06 R53. I always advise people to look for a 06 R53. Sooner or later demand will start raising prices. I just don't think that they will be out of range to the average Joe like a junkyard 70's Superbird is. I should start looking for an other R53 project car, something I can play with a few years down the road. That's funny
So in my recent car buying life, I missed a 06 R53 black on black, one owner car with 71K miles, dealer maintained and 100% stock. It was loaded and very clean with no real issues (Some very minor things). They were asking 6,200. At that point, I was thinking 5,500. Waited one day and boom gone. It was a fun car out of the box. Still wish I had done it.. I think there will be deals to find for next 24 months.. then will be hard until the car bubble burst. They will go up.. no question. If anyone has a GP1 that is super clean, low miles I'll trade you for my 03 Lemans with black interior M5 that is 100% stock.
Ok I will make the offer agin. I have a 1969 Moto Guzzi I will trade you. The bike is complete but not running, so you need to kick in only another grand with the M5
Funny I had the same thing happen. Looking for my first MINI I found a 05 R53 black on black online, went to check it out the next morning at the dealership and found out they had sold it the night before. Disappointed, I headed home and found the GP on a used lot, took it out for a spin and that's all she wrote.
I got extremely lucky with my car. I initially planned on flipping it when I got it, but driving it too the Dragon was just too much fun so I decided to keep it. It is a 2005 R52 S and it had 3,648 original miles on it when I got it. I decided to mod it and keep it...so here I am. I will 'drive out' the cost of my mods and I finally have 'Peppurr' the way I like her. She just cracked 25,000 miles, been to the Dragon 3 times, to Detroit Tuned 2 times, Lakeside, Oh. 2 times, and the list just keeps going... BTW, when I first got her I was offered $16,000.00 for the car, but decided to keep her.
Wow - 3.6K miles... and only 25K now. Lots of life left there. Great looking car.. glad we could meet at MOTD!