So I found a 2009 Mini Cooper S with white roof, white wheels and white mirrors. I has a JCW exhaust and JCW badges but was priced quite low and had the white/white/white and I wasn't sure if JCWs ever came with such a configuration. With only 40,000ish miles on it I picked it up for a decent price. I immediately took it to Mini of Austin and asked if it was a JCW or not and sure enough, it isnt.

I think I still got a good deal at $10,000 but was pretty disappointed I didn't get a steal. Anyway, the dealership gave me the option to return it and cancel the deal within seven days but I like it enough and got a good enough deal (I think) that I've decided to keep it. I need to get the JCW badges off, though.

So much fun to drive and I've raced MR2s and WRXs. Looking forward to a long relationship with this car.

 

Congrats on your new MINI and good that you did your research. Still sounds like a good deal. Please post some pictures and let us know what modifications you may be considering. We have over 40 years experience with the brand so please ask anything, we're here to help.

In the meantime, here's a handy service & maintenance guide:

http://new.minimania.com/MINI_COOPER...NERATION_MINIs

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Could the car possibly have a dealer installed JCW Tuning Kit?

 

Where are the badges located? If it's on the upper grill of the hood, and on the left side of the trunk aligned with the Cooper S logo (on the right), it could have the JCW tuning kit as MINIAC suggests. There should be a plaque on the engine cover (I think) saying something about it. And is the exhaust the factory JCW exhaust or do the tips have the JCW logo engraved in it? That's the tuning kit exhaust.

 

Ill be darned. It has all those things.<br/><br/>You guys are smart. I feel better about my purchase now! Thanks yall!!!

 

A photo of the car ...

 

Clearly I know too much about these cars... :p

I'd say a JCW tuning package mini is pretty unique in its own right, not many people have it! No need to take off the badges, you have some extra oomph over the normal S's.

 

Ha thanks -- yeah I was impressed by the car's performance, even thinking it was stock. I traded in my 2014 WRX hatchback for it, obviously going for a less-expensive vehicle, and find that the Mini isn't as fast but seems to be a bit more fun to drive. The added oomph (I dont know what a stock MCS feels like as I've never driven one prior to this except on test drives) definitely makes it more fun!

Question: What would the next logical upgrade be? Bigger FMIC? Downpipe (which I assume would open the exhaust from the intake to the exhaust)? More go-fast stickers?

 

Nice find, those are rare. If its really rare if you find the intake with the Colored JCW badge. Well done

 

In my 08 S I did mostly cosmetic mods since I was fine with the power as is. If you want more power definitely FMIC, downpipe and intake, then maybe a tune. I'd recommend manic tune, Mario Palza is a dealer and you can find him on this site, he has a whole thread of positive reviews.

I upgraded the things I touch and feel, so I got a JCW fatter leather steering wheel and JCW shift ****. Then just a dry panel filter for that extra BOV noise and maybe 0.1 mpg increase. I had a FMIC left over from my 08 S so I put it on the JCW, probably doesn't increase performance much on its own. I'm very happy with the 2013 JCW otherwise.

 

Cool thanks for the advice. I dont know how much I want to get into it just yet since it still only has 40,000 miles, my wife and I are both doing another Ironman this year (lots of travel expenses) and, oh yeah, we're building a house. But once February or March hit, the house is built and so on and so forth, it's going to be on.

I also want to paint the wheels black and maybe get the blackjack decal for the roof and mirrors since I'm not a fan of all the white on this car. Which is funny -- my last car was white and I loved it.

 

Yeah those 6 months should be plenty of time for you to enjoy the car as is and then figure out what you want to improve. I'm thinking that once the warranty is over on my car, maybe do some suspension upgrades first instead of power.

The blackjack on the roof would be cool. I like the black/white blackjack over the union jack color scheme. All the white is very unique at least!

 

There are some great selections available for suspension upgrades. Here are just a few:

http://new.minimania.com/Search_Resu...ension/default

When you are ready, please feel free to ask any questions! Enjoy your new ride!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.