A week ago I purchased my first ever Mini and it's been a blast! It's a used 2012 Mini JCW hardtop with 45k on it. I only paid $18k after haggling it down from $20k. I really liked the color combo of eclipse gray with red roof. So far I was lucky to find it has an extended maintenance program for another 2 years or 100k. I also found out it has a Mini CPO warranty enrolled in 2012 but the Mini changed owners after the April 2014 deadline and Mini USA won't transfer the warranty into my name just because I purchased it from a 3rd party dealer. I called nonsense but I feel like I won't get anywhere with them.

Anyway I already have an appointment to get an oil change with new spark plugs at my local Mini dealer in Knoxville. Having free maintenance will be great but I think I'm going to change my own oil in between service intervals. Probably every 5k miles since it's got the N14 engine. I've heard so many terrible things about it but I think it will be fine. The engine bay is spotless. No corrosion or oil leaks. This car looks like it's never been driven in winter. Plus I figured this JCW was a rare find as it's pretty much fully loaded.

It's of course got the N14 (I wanted an N18 JCW but finding a local fully loaded one for less than $20k seemed next to impossible seeing the JCW only had the N18 for 2013). I plan to be proactive by making sure all maintenance is done including oil changes every 5k. Only things I've noticed is occasionally there's a hesitation (jerking) in second gear when pulling away from a stop light and when I first crank it up I hear like a strange vibration noise coming from the engine bay that lasts less than 5 seconds. My best guess is it may need a carbon cleaning soon as there's no indication it's ever had a cleaning. No CEL.

So it's got lounge leather seats, navigation, glass roof, auto climate, rear fog, xenons, rain sensor, dimming interior mirror with compass, headlight washers, folding mirrors, heated nozzles, heated mirrors, arm rest, chrome line interior, Harmon Kardon sound, satellite radio, alarm, comfort access, park distance control and black challenge wheels. It's pretty much got everything except garage door opener, exterior dimming mirrors and heated seats. From what I've read if it's got an auto dimming interior rear view mirror and the mirror package then it may be prewired for auto dimming exterior mirrors. Fingers crossed. It also has most if not all the hardware for heated seats. So again I may be lucky and have an easy heated seat retrofit.

I've only had it a week and I can't get enough! Handles like a dream on the back roads with plenty of power on tap The previous owner put 225/45/R17 tires on it which seem to be a bit big but the ride is very compliant.

I plan to add some mods later on. Probably something like the GP2 rear diffuser to start with.

Here's a quick pic of my JCW.

 

Nice. I'm a bit partial to this color combo.



I want to blackout my headlights like yours. Mine doesn't have nearly the options yours does. I really wanted the sunroof but I feel like I got a killer deal on it so decided to live without it.

I've had mine 3 weeks. Like you, I wanted the N18 but I didn't have all the right info when I bought it. I really thought it had the N18 because it was 2011. Little did I realize the JCW was the exception. Honestly I wasn't even looking at the JCW because of the bump in value then I found this one and before I realized what I was doing I was driving 5 hours to pick it up.

Congrats on the car. Good luck with it!

 

The eclipse gray and red has grown on me since seeing it in the flesh. I originally was looking for a pepper white and red but most of the ones I found were bare bones with no options. I think the N14 is a good engine in the JCW since it's got updates to make it more robust than the standard one. I also justified it by saying it has less to go wrong with only having variable valve timing on the intake side. With carbon cleaning and good upkeep it should last, knock on wood lol. I really think Mini should have had the JCW version of the N18 ready for the LCI JCW in 2011. Yours looks very similar to mine except for the black headlights. I think the black headlights go well with black wheels. I've been thinking I want to replace the front chrome around the grill with the black out version. Maybe even retrofit the LED driving lights.

 

Looks great! Love the color combo.

 

Congrats on your new MINI! You should have years of grins ahead of you. Please feel free to ask any questions about maintaining or upgrading your JCW. We have over 40 years of experience on the street and race track with the brand.

To make sure everything is spot on, here's a handy service & maintenance guide for you:

http://new.minimania.com/Mini_Cooper...for_Gen2_Minis

When you are ready for performance upgrades, let us know. Here's a handy guide for that, as well:

http://new.minimania.com/Mini_Cooper..._for_your_Mini

Sounds like quite the find!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

 

malibujoey, i tried PMing you and says you don't have it set to accept.

 

I'll fix that Dave. Need to chat with you on brake pads dude. Thanks!

 

Awesome!
I just picked up my 2012 Hardtop JCW fully loaded with 15000 miles. It is the most fun car I have owned.
The n14 can be problematic but staying ontop of everything will definitely make it last. A huge plus is MINIs warranty. They can be very helpful when it comes to known issues. Chains, HPFP , goodwill repairs etc. As far as your CPO issue BMW just made that rule about a year ago . So good luck trying to get that CPO. Find out if you can add the 100k maintenance. That thing will pay for itself when you burn up your clutch.
Any questions just PM me. I worked for MINI for about 6 years

Copy and paste what Malibu is telling you.

 

 

New car factory maintenance and the 100k 6 year upgrade does cover a clutch. New car warranty and CPO do not. If you still had maintenance and your clutch was not covered I would throw a ***** fit.

 

 

Just had my clutch replaced under extended maintenance program back in June on my Coupe so I can 100% state it is covered. It was even covered under the factory 3-year 36,000 mile maintenance program too, which was a blessing for the early R56 cars that had low mileage clutch issues due to material choices. For 2017 onwards, MINI has changed per a BMW group change to no longer cover clutches under factory maintenance, but several service advisers and sales folks have told me the extended maintenance package is still offered and will still cover clutches.

 

Just noticing your car - are you sure it's a JCW? It doesnt have any of the JCW bits except for the badge? The bumper is wrong, the side sills are missing.... Could they be optioned like this? Sorry if I am wrong, it just doesn't look like anything the OP posted and his is the same year JCW as yours....

 

Justin, there were a few cars made in 2009 (first year of the R56 JCW) and in 2011 (first year of the LCI refresh) that were made from the factory without the aerokit as standard. If you look at the front left wheel, it has the JCW 4-piston Brembo brakes, which is another indicator it's likely a factory JCW (not a 100% sign as the brakes can be retrofitted, but not many folks want to do that).

 

Cool, thanks for the information. It's hard to keep everything in check especially being in Canada - we get funky options and packages and differences from states. Motor on!