05 or 06 low mileage in great shape

[Enjoytheride]

Sure.

I've driven a bunch of minis since about 08, and personally owned 2; an 04 and this 06. After driving numerous, I new whatever I owned was going to need the equivalent power if the jcw and back then I didn't know there were so many options and aftermarket companies supporting the car, so for me the easiest way to have power out if the gate was to go jcw, which is what my 04 was. I was also not aware of the newer shorter geared 05&06 until after I bought my 04 as well. Needless to say, my 04 never felt like the jcw I remembered driving years ago that was an 05! So began the quest for an 05 or 06 jcw. Frankly I really thought a GP was going to be way out of my league price wise but I stumbled onto this car and let's say it worked out way better than I thought feasible.

My impression... I drive a mini for what I call the fun factor, and the mini packs tons of it. To me it's just a nice combination of power, weight and nimbleness. My 04 was loaded and I'd grown to appreciate the nav and Harmon system but again, neither of those were the main reason for owning the car, it's all about -FUN FACTOR! Though I thought I'd experienced most of what was obtainable in FUN, I was once again clearly wrong. The GP is leaps and bounds more fun! It runs so good that sometimes I wonder if the first owner had it tuned or something. It's so much quicker and stronger than my 04 which had a pulley, mild tune and Rmw header, qualify etc., it's ridiculous.

what I love: the extra noise, loud tires, throaty exhaust (Rmw header) and the hardtop. The anthracite headline is too cool, and I've really become smitten with the exterior color. The rigidity of the hardtop is noticeable even with out a large enough rear swaybar. My daughters are grown so I don't need the backseat and love that there isn't one. I think the suspension is just fine for a daily so other than a bar, I'll be putting my money into a cam and tune before I do anything other than a swaybar for the suspension; oops, not true, I want camber plates too.

Dislikes: crappy stereo; remedy - wind out the motor and listen to that sweet song. The wheels, why so a ridiculous offset to add to such an ugly wheel? I'll be picking up some SSR TYPE C wheels like before, meanwhile I had to put 10mm spacers on just to even look at the car. The wing: I hate wings functional or not. They've become abused in the world of rice and I hate having one. Remedy - take it off or get over it. I took it off and believe it or not thought it looked worse, so now I'm just getting over it. Red mirrors, really? Remedy - I plastidipoed mine silver.

Conclusion: I've owned much faster cars but I've never had anything more enjoyable, period. It's a frickin blast and after the cam/tune I really can't imagine owning anything else. I truly do look forward to every drive I take in the car! Would I buy the GP again even if it cost more than I paid... ABSOLUTELY! To me the pros outweigh the cons and the whole GP package can't be beat. If nothing else, it's pretty darn cool to own 1 of 415 in the US. My brakeman bbk is in the mail, and I'm pumped about that. I plan on owning this car a long time and though I ised to think miles were the enemy, I plan on racking up hundreds of thousands on this car. Life is too short to garage a "collector", drive it like you stole it.

Lastly, perhaps it's not that much faster, perhaps its all in my head... Does it matter? To me the experience is worth it and the 06 GP is the pinnacle of the R53!

Don't know if that's what you were looking for or not, but I'm not much of a writer and that's my 2 cents.

Peace,

Danny

pid='60050' dateline='1412404366']
Care to share your impressions of your GP?
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