I know of a 2005, well maintained, less than 13,000 miles, 13,000 dollars--if I was looking, this would be the car I'd buy, or at least put an offer on. I've never seen it in person, but the person who has is one of the most respected people in the MINI community-- this car has been well maintained and pampered. If you're interested let me know, I'll see if I can get the info flyer on it (for the record I have no stake in it whatsoever, I don't know the owner personally, it's a great car in need of a great home).
Thanks, Nathan. I'll shoot Way a PM and see what we can dig up.
That, my friend, sounds like a wonderful car and a worthwhile investment. Unfortunately, it's also far more than I was looking to spend right now. I should've mentioned a price range, I apologize. I'm really looking to get the best deal I can possibly find. I'll settle for something that hasn't been wrecked or run down. So I fully expect this to be a long, difficult search.
The reason I'm starting off this way rather than just buying a running Mini to mod is because I don't have the cash for a decent one and I am not willing to take out a loan. I can generate enough cash to put it together over this next year and really put some great work into it, but due to some pretty terrible financial mistakes in college and a period of homelessness <insert sob story here>, I would be staring down the barrel of a 25%+ interest rate on a ~13k loan. I just won't do it. So I'm looking for something more around the $3,000 range that I can spend the next year building. I'm in no hurry.
That's cool--maybe look for a salvage title, if you're not looking to resell and it's just for fun--you can find some that are listed as a salvage title with nothing more than A-pillar damage. If I was building from scratch, I'd take a good look around, and Way may be able to help you with that too. It's still street legal, it's just not worth much on the open market once it's been branded salvage, but still be a great platform to build/mod.
I'm probably going to end up fishing around some salvage auctions if I can't find anything else. I'd prefer to get a clean title if I can manage to find one. I have zero intentions of reselling the car if I ever need to get rid of it, but salvage titles can be difficult to insure.
I'm not dead set on the year, by the way. I'm very flexible actually, as long as it's R53. Being picky will get me nowhere.
Dick (Modfather) has a Sprintex you can put on it; put the small pulley on it--the one that voids the warranty, let him tune it for you, and that should the trick nicely.
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