Hello... I'm new to this forum... thank you all for the helpful discussions.

I'm about to order a Countryman and I'm a bit torn on which way to go. The dealer is offering me the best deal to order a 2012 (of course), but it seems smart to order a 2013 being this close to the new model year. Also, since I want as fun of a car to drive as possible, the JCW is on my mind.

I need an all-wheel drive vehicle because I go up to the mountains often in the winter and I will be hauling a few kids around as well.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. One concern I have is if the JCW will be decent in the snow since it has ground effects and is lower.

Thanks ahead for your help.

 

I have the JCW Suspension, and the body kit... so the same as the JCW would have and I drive up in the deep Vermont snow no problem

The ALL4 is great in the snow! And I'd go with the JCW if I had the option... Unfortunately I didn't, so I modded my S ALL4 to be WAY faster than any JCW So that's another option you would have. If you have any questions just PM me and then I can help you out!

Kyle

 

The only significant snow issue will be the summer tires that the JCW is equipped with. Plan for another set of winter tires + wheels and you will be fine.

 

Thanks for the info!.

Would the JCW Countryman really come with summer tires? The promotional video shows it thrashing through the snow and dirt roads? Why not high-performance all-seasons? No snow with summer tires. I've been stuck with soft compound tires in Lake Tahoe before and it's the equivalent of typing on a computer while wearing boxing gloves.

 

Wheels greater than 17" come with summer tires. That was part of my decision to go with the 17s.

As far as the JCW goes, you can get better performance for less cash, but you will lose your warranty on some components. If the peace of mind is worth it, go with the JCW. If you like choosing your mods and installing yourself, skip the JCW.

On 2012 vs 2013, the 13s supposedly move the window controls to the doors, which is very un-MINI to me. Other than that the 13 should be the better choice.

 

JCW sounds like the answer for me. It looks like an auto transmission will be an option. This surprises me for a JCW since the shifting with the auto did not seem aggressive and the paddle shifters are not set up like a sports car (+ on one side, - on the other). Do you think it will be tweaked a bit to better serve the desires of a JCW purchaser? I only ask because my wife wants me to get an auto for the 3 times a year she will drive my car. I think the idea is crazy. :-)

 

Yes; in Europe it is common for people to have two sets of wheels/tires: summer and winter sets.

 

Thanks again everyone for your help. I just got in line for a '13 Countryman JCW instead of doing the same for an Audi Q5 3.0T. Now I just have to figure out my ideal configuration. :-)

 

Don't buy one. I have a Cooper S and Countryman S and the wife saw a Mercedes she liked (The Mercedes Dealer also owns the Mini Dealer next door) so we went in to look at it and they offered us $20k for my 2011 Immaculate CMS that less than two years ago I paid $31k for. I was flabbergasted! KBB on the same CMS is $25k in excellent condition; what happened to Mini keeping their resale value? Getting rid of the Countryman the first opportunity I can.

 

There is a JCW suspension? I have the exhaust and body kit, didn't know there was a suspension out.

 

I read that the CMS JCW comes with the CMS Sport Suspension option as standard.

 

If you have the $$$$$$, I'd go with the JCW!

 

So because a dealership is offering you less than you'd expect for a trade, you think it's a bad idea for someone to buy one, and it's causing you to want to get rid of it as soon as possible?

Hate to tell you this, but all dealers offer as little as possible for a trade. Means nothing. And hardly a reason to get rid of it ASAP. If anything, gives you more of a reason to keep it.

 

One of the sales pitches the Audi rep made was that Audi's have way higher resell value than Mini and that the difference in price will make up for itself in the long run. Nothing against the value of the Audi, but the reports show that's Mini's not so shabby. Check out page 3 and 4:
http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/b...012/3.html#top

My only concern with Mini resell value is that since there's so many options, if you load up a Countryman, it's resell value on a percentage basis may drop. When ordering a car, it's hard not to load it up with everything I want.

 

I recently had to sell my beautiful, immaculately maintained CM for reasons I won't go into, and I too was shocked at the low trade-in offers given by dealers and auto wholesalers. I absolutely loved the car - it's a great vehicle, high quality, solid, and well-made. However, I think the perception that's out there is that a vehicle this size should not cost more than $25k perhaps.

So the offers I was getting for a vehicle one year old were pretty disappointing, especially considering that our langourous Honda Minivan which is even older has a much higher resale value percentage-wise.

The MINI dealer's trade-in offer was $25k. This is on a car I bought from this very same dealer exactly one year ago for $36k.
BMW dealer was $26k.
Auto wholesaler was $25k.
Honda dealer was $23.5k.

I spoke with the owner of the auto wholesaler. He said that he had a used Countryman before that he had a hard time selling. Now this is very location dependent as well (as in my location sucks), but some of the things he said were that the ride was too harsh (thanks RFTs), and it was very unique and takes the right kind of buyer. I guess it's easier to sell boring, bland cars.

So, bottom line, you may find the resale value to be a lot lower than you expect, despite knowing that you're gonna take a big 1st year depreciation bath anyway.

Someday I hope to have a CM again, but next time I am buying a used one that is still under the warranty.

 

Mini's options are expensive. I think there's good resale on the model itself, especially just one year out. But most of the options probably don't translate to the sort of person that would be buying a used car. I know we initially were hoping to find something used, but we eventually realized that we would be able to custom build a car with just what we wanted for a lot less than what was on the sticker. Granted you'd purchase for less than the. Sticker, but it would at best be the same price and still not really be what you want.

Options can help you sell more quickly than a car without them, but don't raise the price much.

 

Resale value considerations are why I always try to find a low mileage, well taken care of vehicle from a private party and let them take the first owner depreciation hit for me. That way you can drive it for a year or two and not lose that much, if anything. I got mine for $8500 off MSRP and paid no sales tax as well, so the savings amounted to about $11k for a loaded 2012 MCS in perfect shape with only 2800 miles on it - barely broken in!

The only drawback is that you likely won't find the exact equipment you would choose if you ordered it new. Then you have to ask yourself is it worth losing $8 to $10k plus tax after you leave the dealer's lot or even a year later for that privilege?

 

Exactly. When you load em up with tons of options and then expect to get dollar for dollar back, that is unrealistic. The other variable is the location. Here in Texas, resale tends to be on par or higher. I have a Base CM, with minimal options and plan on keeping it, but should I find the need to sell, I feel confident that it will hold value as with other MINIs....also, I do not count dealer trade in value as a relection of "resale value"......just my two cents....

 

When I ordered our CM in January, I had to sell my 2005 R53 Cooper S with 26K miles. I checked trade-in offers with dealers and was offered between $6500-$9000. Kelly BB trade-in estimate was $12K. I did not attempt to negotiate a higher price but I probably could have gotten a few K more.

Instead, I posted ads on MINI sites like this one, with pictures, and sold the car myself in less than 10 days for my asking price of $15,700. Not bad for a 6-year old car that cost $25K.

 

If you want to get rid of it so bad try a different dealership. I got more than that in trade my '11 CM Base 6MT a couple of months ago. We paid around $27k for it and got the majority of our money back after some haggling. Buying our 3rd MINI from the dealer in less than a year might of helped though.

 

Understand I still have my 2nd MCS and the retail/resale is still as advertised. The CMS however is a different story. Went to a different dealership and the best we could get was $24,500 but at least that was $4500 above what the dealership we bought it from would give. Pdoel yeah, part of the draw for buying the car was keeping its resale value should we want to upgrade in the future. With that gone, I must make a decision to get out of it fast to get the most bang for my buck less I wait for it to depreciate faster than a comparable domestic vehicle. My Jeep Wrangler has kept more of its resale value and it is 6 years old.

 

Yep, Countryman resale/trade-in value is a disaster.