Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the Mini world. Last week I became the owner of #440.

I'm located in Columbus, OH and I use it as my daily driver. The car has 21k miles and is in great condition. I love it.

Everything on the Mini is new to me, so I have some questions. Hopefully you guys can guide me a little.

The first thing is the John Cooper signature on the bonnet stripe. I'm aware the stripes don't last forever and eventually, they will need to be replaced. Does anybody know if Mini can provide the bonnet stripes with the signature again or are those no longer made and I'll need to replace them with the plain stripes.

Question #2: For some strange reason my car doesn't have the John Cooper signature is on the carbon fiber dash. It is just the plain carbon fiber.
Does anybody know if all 50WC's come with it or only some of them? Also does anyone know if Mini sells the part with the signature?

Last thing. What are the original tires that the car came with?

 

Post 180 in this thread answers your question regarding the bonnett stripes.

 

Welcome to the world of MINI! You have a very special one, but that opinion may be slightly biased

All WC50's included the little signature plaque on the CF dash. Yours is the 2nd one I've heard without. Maybe they are falling off? Sorry could not locate a part number, hopefully your local MINI dealer can assist.

Regarding the tires, they came from the factory with Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST Runflat Tires 205/45R17

Enjoy and post some pics when you get chance!

 

Thanks guys for answering my questions. I'm really digging this forum. Its been really helpful.
I will upload pics soon. In the meantime here is a walk around video that the dealership made for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSFRS...layer_embedded

One thing that worries me a little is that the car came with some Michelin tires. The car only has 20k miles. So, I guess the previous owner really drove this car hard to be changing the tires so soon.

Can anyone tell me from watching the video any problems you see or if those types of tires are any good?

Thanks again!!

 

The only thing that stood out to me was the fornt cap that covers the Tow hook insert isnt the cars colour.
My WC 50 has a NAV system with Sirius satellite radio in it. I thought that was standard on this car???
Maybe not...
I dont have the carbon fiber JCW shifter on mine.
hope that helps!

 

Unlike the rest of the world, MINI USA decided to remove options from our 50 car allocation in order to keep the price just below $40k USD. So they do not have Navi, rear PDC, Sat Radio, rear fog lights, and a few other convenience options.

As lex76 mentioned, that is not the original shift ****. All current JCW cars come with the standard MINI shift **** with JCW-specific red pattern and numbering. Looks like the prior owner added the accessory JCW ****, available through MINI dealerships. You can always get a replacement if you want to keep the car original.

It is not uncommon for owners to replace the original runflats. The OEM Dunlops are summer-only tires, and could easily be well worn by 20k miles too. Michelins would certainly be an improvement.

Regarding the tow hook cover, my guess is that the prior owner had a no-hole license plate mount and possibly lost or misplaced the original. The car was originally in TX, which is a state that requires a front plate, so it would make sense.

Overall, you got a very nice JCW! Just make sure that the auxiliary water pump recall was performed. It may not have been done as the car was changing hands around the time of recall notifications being sent in recent weeks.

 

Thanks again for all the good info!
About the tow hook cover. I found the original cap in the glove box. So that was solved.
I was skeptical about the shift ****, since I like to have my cars as stock as possible. Not a big fan of how it looks, but after driving with it, I actually liked it a lot and plan to leave it as is.
After I saw your message about the recall I immediately called the Mini dealership. They told me that there is no recall for my car. Just to double check, I called another dealership and they told me the same information.
Was the recall for only some cars or all of the 50WC?

 

Your MINI (and every MINI ever built with a turbo) is involved in the recall. Here are the details directly from NHTSA: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...intVersion=YES

Talk to the service manger if needed. MINI dealerships are very aware of this action. Our local dealer is backlogged two weeks for routine service appointments right now, as they are handing all of the recall cars on top of their normal workload.

If the work was already performed, I would ask for documented evidence (they will have access the service history).

 

Welcome TheEggO!

Congrats on acquiring #440. I am in North Canton, OH and have #415.

Mine is a daily driver as well. The best part of the day is the drive to work and home from work.

I just had mine in for the recall, you should have it as well.

Lex76, I'm surprised you have the Nav. Maybe it was added by the dealer?

Look for upcoming events this summer...it will be the superbowl of Mini events with Mini Takes The States 2012 and many others.

Congrats and enjoy.

Steve

 

Maybe since I am in Canada as JackMac was saying I have Navi, rear PDC, Sat Radio, rear fog lights.

 

I traded #426 in, it is at Darcars Silver Springs, MD, and it has the JCW suspension and drilled rotors on it. It just went on their website this week.

 

Sorry to see you letting it go, but thanks for posting! It is a twin of #425, as I also have the JCW suspension and drilled rotors. Will post a link to the ad on our local club forum, as this is only ~2 hours away.

 

Look forward to seeing #435 around Spokane. WC50 is one I would love to own, good looking car.

 

Any other WC50 owners planning to attend MTTS 2012?

I've registered for Day 1, and look forward to fireworks on the National Mall in Washington, DC on July 4th!

 

Thanks again for telling me about the recall. Found out last week that it was already taken care by the previous owner.
I have another question for you guys. What floor mats did the 50WC come with?
The mats that are on my car now are rubber and say "Cooper S" I highly doubt (of course I can be wrong) that those are the correct ones for the car. I like them being rubber, but would prefer something that corresponds to 50WC or JCW.
Please let me know what kind you guys have in your car and if you have upgraded, which one you selected. Thanks again!
(Please give part numbers if you have them.)

 

The mats that cam with the car are black carpet with a fairly unnoticeable red stitching around the perimeter. I was very underwhelmed and put in the checkered JCW mats in front. They look awesome

 

If any of you have had to get any body work done, how did you get it done? My body shop cannot locate the Connaught Green paint anywhere, even knowing the paint code is GN18

 

The color code is indeed GN18 - you can find it on a black sticker under the hood on the passenger side near the shock tower. But here's the rub - my body shop can't find any place to buy the paint. Apparently each body shope has to mix it as needed

 

Thanks grh1950 for the mat information! I think I'm going to stick
with the rubber ones. (They are easier to clean.)

Earlier I mentioned my car missing the John Cooper signature decal that is on the carbon fiber dashborad. The part’s guy from Mini was able to locate it for me (after
paying $70 for it). The decal didn't come with any information or instructions.
Would someone please take pictures for me to know exactly where to place it? I really want to get it right.

I'm really enjoying the car and I get lots of compliments. It really
stands out from the other Minis.
One thing that bothers me is when I go to the Mini dealership for parts or maintenance, no one knows about the 50WC.
It’s like they think it’s a regular mini, I customized everything myself and it’s not a special edition at all. I think Mini did a poor job of promoting the car or the staff doesn’t really care.

Here are pics and the part number for the decal I got.

 

I can measure it next week when I pick mine up.

 

426?

 

Mine isn't a WC50; probably better not to get a measurement from a non-WC50

 

Remember there were only 50 US cars imported, and at the time there were 99 dealerships. Half of them never even saw one, and many were delivered to out-of-state buyers, never to be seen again.

It is the most rare of modern MINI editions, with less samples produced than the 2006 GP and 2012 Goodwood.

 

Ah, I misinderstood. Would like to see pics of your fJCW Clubbie when it arrives!

 

No problem; the guy won't be able to do the Sport Stripes until Monday, so it will be a long weekend.