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Year: 2005 Make: MINI Model: Hardtop Price: $9500 Mileage: 96000 Color: Chili Red w/ white Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing Location (Region): NorthEast For Sale: 2005 MINI Cooper S, 6spd Transmission w/ LSD. Well, automotive A.D.D. has struck again- as it tends to do every two years or so- and I think it’s finally time to move on from the MINI. This car has been nothing less than a pleasure to own, and pound-for-pound has brought me more smiles than any other vehicle I’ve owned (RX7’s, WRX, MS3, various SR20DET Nissans). Ever since their release in the US, I’ve always been intrigued by the R53 MINI Cooper S; a tiny, almost toy-like car, it promised to be not only hugely fun to drive, but is unexpectedly practical as well. With the rear seats folded down, I can carry two snowboards and two huge bags of gear, or a full-size road bike with the front wheel detached. Equipped with snow tires, even in it’s lowered form I had no problem getting to and from the Ski Resorts in the middle of a snowstorm. As you likely know, the 2002-2006 Mini Cooper S came with a SOHC, 1.6L Supercharged engine, and 6spd manual Getrag transmission. Additionally, the 2005 & 2006 models are arguably the most desirable, with many improvements (gear ratio, blower rotor coating, interior build quality, etc) when compared to the previous R53 years. Ownership History: I am technically the 3rd owner of this car. The gentleman I purchased the car from only owned it for about 8 months, seldom drove it, and finally sold it due to getting a company car. Worth mentioning, this particular owner was the Product Manager for Porsche’s Sports Car Division and now Ferrari North America (Tim Cupp). He’s a true enthusiast and knew how to drive and care for this car. Before Tim, the original owner was a Doctor from New Jersey. Like Tim, this man was a Porsche enthusiast, 911 owner, and spared no expense when owning and caring for this car. I’ve followed suit, and continued meticulous maintenance and record keeping during my ownership. Maintenance: I have literally every single receipt for maintenance or modifications done to this car from 2005 through last month, filed away in chronological order. The folder is easily an inch thick… As an enthusiast, I can’t stress enough the importance and benefit of having this information available. You will never need to guess what work this car has received; it’s all there for your immediate reference. If you have a specific question about maintenance history, feel free to ask. I don’t think I even need to say it but, this car has always received full synthetic oil in the correct weight and changed every 3500 miles or so (Castrol 5w-40 Euro and Mobil 0w-40 Euro). Upon every other oil change, I also changed the spark plugs with NGK “copper” plugs, one step colder than stock. I also swapped the stock gear oil for Redline MTL 70w-90 at ~80,000 miles. Factory Options: -Chili Red body, w/ white roof and mirror caps. Modifications: Engine Suspension / Handling Visual These tasteful modifications combined with the inherent playful nature of this car has made it truly entertaining to drive. Overall, there is about $8,000 in quality modifications done to this car. For those interested in the numbers game, I’ve never dynoed the car, but would expect ~215fwhp. You could easily increase power by adding an even smaller pulley, injectors, camshaft and/or an ECU tune. Full Disclosure: This car is loud at WOT, as one would expect from a catless supercharged car. This car is also set-up to be very rigid (though damping is 10-way adjustable). This car is not perfect; it has small front-end stone chips from the highway, and a few fine scratches in places. Having said that, there are no dings / dents on the car whatsoever, and zero rust. Overall, it’s a clean, well-cared for, well-documented, hugely fun and reliable car. Note (9/26/14): I recently noticed a squeak coming from the passenger rear wheel well area when going over bumps occasionally. It seems to be a swaybar bushing or something to that nature, potentially needing lubricant. It’s certainty not a big deal, but is worth noting. If you have any questions or would like to view the car, feel free to contact me via Email. I will not respond to lowball offers, or offers without seeing the car beforehand. Oh, and if the sale price is right, I’ll include the stock 16” alloy wheels, w/ one season old Dunlop Graspic DS3 snow tires mounted on them. Thanks for looking, folks. |