Ownership Verified: Sold the Volt, bought a MINI JCW Roadster

Merc63

Active Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
400
Location
Pikesville, MD
Car(s)
'23 Chevy Bolt EUV, '13 MINI JCW Roadster
Since we got the Bolt, I've driven my Volt less than a thousand miles in the last year. We take the Bolt everywhere. But I miss having a convertible for fun backroad drives, so since the Volt had become redundant (didn't need two EV sedans) I traded it in on this 2013 MINI Cooper JCW roadster (not just an S with some JCW parts on it, either). It has 52k miles on it and clean carfax, and was mislabeled on Autotrader as an automatic, but the pictures were showing a 6 speed manual. Once I verified that it was indeed a manual, I made arrangements to drive down to Virginia Beach to pick it up. The 6 hour drive home in heavy traffic on I-95 made me question whether I wanted another manual car, though lol!

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And my Volt for a reminder of what I traded in. Love this car, just don't use it anymore. I telework every day and don't commute anymore, which was the reason for getting it in the first place.

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And attached is my "proof picture" for the MINI (though why people would lie about that I don't know).
 

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YEAH BOI
 
Got out before the snow started, the other day. Cold day for a top down drive, but still fun. Got some MINI club meets to go to this month starting with a photo session at Graffiti Alley here in Baltimore, then out for some fun twisty backroads I know.
 

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Congrats, just as I sold my JCW another enters Finalgear. Perfect.
The roadster is a car that people forget exists, just as the coupe and the Paceman (not missed).
I think the lines of the roadster are much nicer than the Mini Convertible.
 
Congrats, just as I sold my JCW another enters Finalgear. Perfect.
The roadster is a car that people forget exists, just as the coupe and the Paceman (not missed).
I think the lines of the roadster are much nicer than the Mini Convertible.
Yeah, I love the lines of the Roadster and have since they originally came out. I think it's better than the regular MINI and definitely better than the convertible, even with the top up (where it looks much sportier). The convertible is way more complex (with the partially open sunroof option and electric latches at the header panel) and worse rear visibility with the top down. The Roadster has a semi-manual top where the header latch is a simple manual latch and then it powers down quickly with a switch. And since the back seats are damn near unusable in the convertible, the Roadster seems a better choice (with a much larger boot/trunk area).

The whole car is kind of a fun little bulldog of a car with a VERY go-kartish feel while driving.
 
Some subtle upgrades and some time spent at classic British car shows...
 

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And a not so subtle mod started on this weekend (pulling off the stock vinyl stripes, which were starting to deteriorate). I'll be replacing them with painted on ghosted pearl stripes with a subtle union jack graphic in them, under a full coat of clear. Should only be visible in good sunlight and under streetlights.
 

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Got the basic layout done, now to mask off the individual layers and spray the pearl in 3 layers.
 

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Oh, I'm excited to see how this turns out.
 
Paint is done, now to colorsand and polish for the finishing touches.
 

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Well I'd say that came out pretty friggin' fantastically. Bravo sir!
 
Bravo! That looks great!
 
When I got it in December it had 52k miles on it, and I was thinking I'd put less than 5k miles on it per year as a fun weekend car. It now has 60k miles on it and has a number of fun runs coming up that will add materially to that total. So much for occasional use... lol! So far I've had to put a set of tires on it and replaced the battery (which was the original one from 2013). Other than that it's been dead nuts reliable (knock on wood).

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Beautiful brisk autumn day, perfect for a drive with other MINIs...

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You can almost see my windshield behind the lead blue MINI's quarter panel:

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Ok, one year into the ownership, I've put 8000+ miles on it, most of them with the top down. There are still no issues to report. Absolutely stellar little car and it's quickly become one of my favorite cars I've ever owned (and I've had over 100 from most major manufacturers...).

Got some more custom things planned to do this year to it, but nothing crazy. Just drive it and hopefully only do oil changes...
 
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