R 53 Accidental Purchase

[rhart]

I'm a one car a month dealer. (Tiny) I went to the wholesale auction today to pick up a nice M3 and saw an '06 Mini Chile Red/black with 50,200 miles on it that was in mint condition and a new lease off. And with no one paying attention to it. I also noticed it had what looked like hot wheels, brakes and suspension and some carbon fiber parts. It was the first car in that lane, first thing in the morning. Since I had no competition I figured it had to be worth AT LEAST what an average '06 is worth given all the extras so I bought it. Only afterward did I notice the R53 badging on the back. I had to google it to find out what this was, and I'm still not sure not having read all the stuff as yet. Can I get an opinion on this cars value from you Mini regulars. Is it worth more that a base S? If so how much more. It looks like it has carbon fiber pieces on front and back and maybe mirrors.
Thanks in advance for your help.
R

[bad venge]

R53 IS the "S" what it's worth depends on options/packages

[OldTimer]

Are you going to put it up for sale? I'm curious as I'm looking. If you are, where are you located and could I see some pix?

[rhart]

I posted 100 photos of it on my photo page.

http://web.mac.com/ricktick/

I'm going to put new tires and pads on tomorrow. Once done it should be one of the best '06s out there. (I live in Monterey CA but have good shipping connections)

[gswallow]

I got a deal on my '04 R-53 from CarMax because they do not spec. I got the original equipment package info from BMW and to build my $20k '04 would be in excess of $40k today. Take the VIN from the MINI and register with BMW (see owners pack for 800 number), then ask them what the original equipment for that MINI was. Looks like you might have at least the sport package for that year. Is the suspension stiff for "sport" handling? Also, I'll be in San Diego this weekend, are you in that part of California?