^^ Not in my experience... but I'm sure it varies item to item depending on the depth of the discount and the specific shipping charges.

 

Isn't sales tax in Pasadena 8.25%?

4775 x .0825 = 393.94

It was almost 3 years ago but Classic was quoting $150 for shipping.

 

Can you have the dealer install just the pulley???

 

Yes.

I don't know about Classic, though that seemed to be a one-time offering that "shouldn't" cost more than $150 to ship in 2004. My only dealing is with Morristown, and they will not ship the exhaust according to their website. But I called them once and they said they would ship the exhaust for $195. So there is $195 plus the 5% of the remaining $4000 or whatever it is they charge for the rest of the kit, which is an additional $200 for shipping. So that's $395 for shipping. Buy the kit here at $4700 or whatever and that tax at 8.25% is about $390. Hardly worth it. Plus, when I was considering JCW, the only two dealerships I asked told me they wouldn't sell the kit unless they did the install.

Or OP buys the Dinan and gets the whole thing and more installed for under $4k, and gets piece of mind with the Dinan/Mini Warranty (just kidding)...

 

wait if your car is out of warrenty why would you even consider jcw. I mean... jcw presents a decent package but all you would be getting was a head, software, injectors, airbox, catback, and install. That is about 5-6k to make what... 20more hp then a stock mcs.

Granted you get smooth throttle responce and reliablility etc. But aftermarket parts are no more un-reliable then jcw. BMW dealers are horrible... and if you are going to have some one else install a jcw package you're just an idiot. Cracking the engine to put a new head on is a big task... at least do it for some real gains.

If you went aftermarket you would end up with the equivilant of a jcw 270 package. I know you weren't lookin for this kind of post but wake up... this is a rediculus idea.

 

I am also thinking about the JCW but it is A LOT of $$$ for what you get. For ~ 6K you could probably have a JCW killer. Does BMW only sell the whole package, or can you get certain parts of it?

 

I went JCW CAI from Helix and then JCW exhaust and brakes from Morristown MINI at some very good discounted prices.

Then added Helix 15% and GIAC. Maybe not total JCW, but almost as good for much, much less.

 

The warranty issue is such a pain in the neck. I want to keep it as long as possible but its tempting to void it. I'm a very novice modder and there are others that are on the prudent side (as I am) and want to know that things are covered. Its just tearing me apart inside!

 

Not everyone needs an effin dynometer queen. As a matter of fact I do like smooth throttle response and reliablity and not having to look at thrown codes or having it fail emmisions tests, etc. This juvenile race to having the most horsepower for the least money does not interest me at all as my long experience with aftermarket parts has been one huge dissapoinment after another. Show me an aftermarket part that has had even a fraction of the develpomet of a factory part and I'll buy it. Otherwise go whine somewhere else about what I want to do with MY car. Posts like yours remind me why I stopped posting here. Thanks for dragging my thread down.

Real thanks to all of those who gave me good info.

I will not be posting my results as the gains will not be enough to interest anyone here.

 

There is no horse power race in getting your monies worth. your car is out of warrenty. JCW parts are well designed and have some r&d into them. But it's not as if putting together a performance package for a supercharged car is rocket science. People have been porting heads and tuning cars for quite some time with great performance and reliability. and there are some top notch tuners around for this car at this point.

With 6k worth of cash you can get around 230whp... daily driver reliability. If you are cracking the engine to install a head weather it's jcw and or w/e you are risking reliability issues. All be it slight as installing a new head is a minor undertaking compared to chaning the bottem end etc. However you are considering finding a kit and having a 3rd party installer install it, so ahhh... why not get the most that you can?

so you are half in half out. IMO go full monty. You wont throw codes... you wont be out of emmission specs if you don't change the header and cat etc. It's your money spend it how you want it. Post results or don't i could care less. I'm not going to lose sleep at night if you get ripped off. and this is a forum... you are free to post here and not post here, as am I... Quite frankly i think this place is full of followers any way.

 

There is one other post-warranty benefit of JCW to consider though. The fact that even after the warranty is long gone, you can take your MINI to any MINI dealer in the country, and they will understand what it is, how to fix it, and they'll be able to get the parts to do it. If you're not a mechanically inclined person, and you may occassionally travel with your MINI (away from any custom shop you'd have gone to), the peace of mind of knowing that there will always be somewhere you can take it to is nice.

Is it worth the money? That depends entirely on your personal priorities.

 

Geez man, he was very kind to you and gave you good info on how you could more wisely spend 6k of money.

It's your money, waste it as you feel necessary! Lord knows, we all have too...just wiser.

 

I don't think its a waste of money if you don't think its a waste of money. Edge had a great point- if you don't feel like horsing around with shops to get your car fixed, MINI dealerships will be able to assist...but how good some of them are begs the question....

Why not do this- spend 4K on mods that won't screw over your emissions (ie don't mess w/ the cat or header, as mentioned above), and get a car around 210 whp or possibly more. That way you can save the other 2K and have a car that has performance that is as good or better then JCW. Think about it- 2K is a lot of gas money....

Not everyone is going to take the risk of fitting aftermarket parts on their cars that can't be easily fixed. JCW is a nice package from that respect.

 

No, he called me an idiot for wanting to use more expensive, conservative factory parts. Did any of you bother to read the original post? This thread is specifically not about how to spend your dollars for the most horsepower. That issue has been covered ad naseum in this board. If I wanted the fastest car for my money I wouldn't have bought a Mini in the first place.

The condescending attitude on this board never ceases to amaze me. If you don't have anything to add to the original question why do you feel the need to comment?

 

I don't think that he was being condescending. After all, this isn't a face-to-face conversation so diction is left out of the picture here. He may have been offering some constructive criticism perhaps. I don't think he stepped over the line. I do understand that you wanted input on the JCW kit, and not aftermarket stuff...some people can't help but thrown in their own .02

As for MINI not being the fastest car for the money....do you mean in a straight line or in the twisties?

 

Way to represent Pasadena, rlfletch. You're making us look bad.

Everyone here is being nice and not spouting the kind of vitriol that you are. The only attitude or condescending attitude I've ever seen in this forum is right here in this thread, thrown by you.

(To everyone else: I promise, not everyone here in Pasadena is as crotchety as this guy. The Little Old Lady may be gone, but her replacement is just as nice!)

ANYWAY...

 

I disagree, cooper8168. rlfletch is justified in his frustration, as maximusprime has taken the thread exactly where rlfletch specifically did not want it to go. Go ahead and read post #1 again... no, hang on, let me save you the hassle and quote it:I should say that after looking over the thread again, I came ->this<- close to slapping minimusprime with an infraction for his rude "idiot" comment in post #30:The only reasons I haven't done so are:

1. Because it could be seen as a general statement, not specifically calling rlfletch an idiot, and
2. He might have meant "someone other than the dealer", as opposed to "anyone at all other than yourself".

Either way, minimusprime... if you can't contribute to what the original post was asking for, please move along. MINIFVR, ThumperMCS... same goes for you guys. Read the original post again.

 

Maybe so, but the post was not about JCW in and of itself, it was about cheaping out on JCW. There is a difference, seeing as how there is a money angle thrown in. My posts and most others did not stray from the question, but nobody here was being rude, such as OP's generalizations about "juveniles" who are only looking to maximize horsepower. I understand what you are saying about minimusprime, but like you said, he was not calling OP an idiot.

Look, there is not one thing I have done to my Mini that hasn't been without careful consideration from this forum, Gabe's site, M2 and my own gut. This forum, contrary to what OP says, is as invaluable as it gets. He says he stopped posting here because of rampant condescension? After 74 posts? Didn't give it much of a chance, IMO.

 

so yeah... appologies for the idiot thing. Minus that "booze induced" comment my post is a suggestion. IMO having a 3rd party forgos the advantages of jcw and i worded it poorly... It was not directed at the op in any way... just a general comment.

Edge brings up a good point about servicing... but you shouldn't be going to a stealership for service after your warrenty is up. I know that's opinion but own a euro car for long enough you will get sick of 70-100 an hour labor for service techs you can't talk to face to face.

Do whatver you want with your money. I know this thread wasn't supposed to be about buying anything other then jcw and I wouldn't have brought up aftermarket except for the fact that he brought up a 3rd party installer.

That's half in half out any way you cut it. Mearly a suggestion.

My last suggestion is wait to purchase a jcw kit. As r56 sales ramp up dealerships will be looking to unload these things. I'd say right about the time the r56 jcw conversions start to show up.

 

No, it wasn't about "cheaping out", it was about getting the "real deal" JCW for the best possible price. Cheaping out would be skimping or compromising on what your car actually end up getting.It doesn't take long to find hostile posters on the Internet. Also, keep in mind that post count doesn't always mean a lot. Plenty of people here rarely post but read a LOT. He may only have 74 posts but he's been a member on NAM for a year longer than you have. Don't you think he's done a lot of reading & research in that time? (assuming of course that rlfletch is a he. )Thank you.He didn't. You did - this was your post, #4:That's a good point.

 

Agreed.

There is an active thread in the coupes forum for everyone who wants to convince this one guy whether he wants a JCW package or not. He asked the question "should i mod or get JCW". Thats where some of this information belongs.

 

The car can be out of warranty but the kit itself will still have a 2 year warranty if installed by a MINI dealer.

 

My faith is restored by such a thoughtful response by an administrator. Thank you Edge. And thanks to minimusprime for adding a usefull(to me) point. I probably will wait a bit to see if any dealers have left over stock on these kits that they will be discounting.

Search my previous thread about trying to warn people about the inadequete plastic lift points on our cars for a good read on my attitude towards this board.