Hi all
So I'm going to be ordering a '12 JCW this week and I am wondering what is everyone's must have option. (I know it's each owns opinion) but I'm just curious.

Thanks.

This will park beside my wife's '11 S PW convertable in our garage

 

Well I just ordered mine last week(options in sig) if your up north I would say cold weather pkg. It also depends on if you want more tech or sport out of it. Finally its my understanding that most accessories can be added later so I will get those later and not have to pay financing on them

 

Peterpan did they deal on the price at all for you?

I'm thinking of sending my build out to all of the local Mini dealers letting them know that's what I'm doing and see what they send back. Figured it can't hurt for trying.

 

I did exactly what you're suggesting and the offers ranged from $500 off MSRP to $1150 off MSRP PLUS the Motortober $$750 discount (no longer available unfortunately). It definitely pays to shop around.

 

No need for the cole weather package where I live, but here was my list of "must have" options:

Xenons with blacked out headlight housings
Arm rest (as pathetic as it is)
Rear fog lamps (to eliminate the blank switch on the dash)
Bluetooth/iPod adapter (I didn't get the MINI Connect option)
Lounge leather (looks cool and more comfortable)

 

Xenons are all I would definitely order. And probably heated seats. Pretty much everything else can be had better & cheaper aftermarket.

 

Xenons, white turn signals, factory alarm. For me, the sunroof was and still is a must have. Couldn't get the black headlights on my 2011 JCW, that would have been a must have for me.

 

Yeah the my wife has the black housing, looks really nice,
but the adaptive lights look pretty cool too and you can't get black housing with them.
but Xenons are a for sure!

 

And like you said you have to have the rear fog just to fill the toggle switch.

 

I agree with most of the things that the others have stated but I would add comfort access. Its really great not needing a key to unlock the car or to start it. This is something that you can't add after the car is built.

I also really like having the large sunroof.

 

Armrest, xenons, and iPod/Bluetooth.

 

Sport suspension 500 bucks.

 

I thought I was sold on Black/chili red roof, then I was messing around building one and I made Chili Red matching roof with sunroof and a blackjack sunscreen and was like, hmmmm kinda hot! Don't see many ALL red's out there

Decisions decisions....

 

Retrofitting factory options is not easy with Mini. I'm used to going light on the new car options and taking advantage of all the prewiring for CD changers (in the pre-ipod days), fogs, etc.. With the MINI, the retrofits are either not possible, or require twisting a reluctant dealer's arm to recode the car.

That being said, if I were ordering from scratch, I'd insist on the following: Xenons, front and rear fogs, alarm, cold-weather package, iPod/Bluetooth, auto-dimming mirrors, Homelink.

 

I pick up my '12 JCW Tuesday. I got a loaner for the weekend because I already traded my other car. Xenons are a must. I haven't driven without them for years, until I had the loaner (regular Cooper). The Auto AC seems much better then the standard. I got the HK stereo and my wife got Mini Connected in her Countryman. Im starting to wonder whether the HK just adds more speakers. The Connected seems to offer better sound. I would also recommend the auto dim mirror. Window tinting will not be enough to battle the SUV headlights

 

P.S. I tried to keep mine simple in terms of electronics. I didn't get the comfort access, heated seats, or other gadgets. Mini was intended to be a drive by wire experience rather than all the automation. I did splurge on aesthetics. I got the carbon fiber scoop, rear door handle, diffuser, black headlights, and black wheels. I also got the higher end leather with the red piping.

 

My old one.

 

Great, now I want to black out my trim $$)

 

This is my 2nd JCW. Unless you really plan to use the sunroof a lot, go no sunroof. You can't block the light, it adds a lot of weight and it's one more thing that can go wrong. I hated the auto climate control on my first one and got the standard one this time around. Very happy with it.

 

Sunroof, a MUST have does not add that much weight. Here it is December and I'm still driving home windows down, sunroof full open
Auto Climate Control. Salesman set mine on 68 the day the car was delivered a year ago and I have not touched a thing since. I love it but I live in a Mild climate, may not work as well in extream cold
Xenon's A Must Must Must have.
HK Sound ????? Maybe, Maybe not, Sorta expensive

 

HK sound? I have it. Less than impressed, it sounds OK if you play it really loud, but as you decrease the volume the sound quality drops off and the lower end fades away quicker than the upper mids and high end. I would think after market sound would be more expensive and a lot of hassel to install, but would sound better. In the MINI you hear a lot of road noise, so if you "listen" to the music you play then you need to play it over the road noise. If I was getting another MINI I would still get the HK sound. Not the best, but convenient.

 

Factory JCW - I think that about covers it. Everything else is just added weight

 

Xenons, clear signals, HK, cold weather, real leather, panoramic roof, BRG paint, auto climate control - oh wait, that's my MCS!

 

I say no sunroof
Xenons - must
HK System - must - It may not be great but, I find the base system is one of the worst stock systems I've ever heard (Porsche Cayman's system being THE worst...hahaha)
Leather - nice if you wanna pony up but, not must have.
Auto Climate - nice to have.
JCW Steering Wheel - must - yeah it's kinda expensive but, it is so much a part of the drive.

 

Really? I think mine sounds good. Leaps and bounds better than the system in my 09 MCS, but not quite as good as the system in my GTO. But I think it's far better than entry level sound and a lot better than others. The small size of the car helps.