i had searched the forums for Consumer Report and nothing came up so i went ahead and started this thread. If there already is a pre-existing thread up. Would someone be so kind as to link it to me? Thanks! Otherwise....please read on.
I have been contemplating buying a 2010 JCW MINI in a few weeks. As with buying any new car, comes the researching. This years most recent Consumer Report Magazine states the MINI Cooper as an excellent buy having excelled in almost all categories.
However, the Cooper S was quite a few ranks below the base Cooper. Especially in terms of value and "predicted" reliability. Consumer Report does not have anything listed about the JCW.
Do you people think that the JCW would be even worse? The issues the magazine states that the S model has that the base doesn't, aren't of any concern to me. I am only concerned with the overall reliability. Since the JCW performs better than the Cooper S, technically the car will probably have more problems sooner than the S Model?? I keep telling myself that maybe, just maybe... with all the upgraded parts in the JCW, MAYBE the car might have a better reliability because it had better parts . Forgive my occasional ignorance. i have had my heart set on a MINI ever since i was in High School. When the JCW came out i couldn't help but fall into a little bit of self denial.
On a side note, i know that many people have bought their NEW* Coopers at MSRP. Does anyone think with the economy these days along with the fact that the JCW that sells for 28,900ish has an invoice price of 25,550ish (large gap) not to mention with the fact that there is a brand new dealership opening up in my city. That i might stand a chance to get some kind of discount?

Thank You for your help!
Brandon

 

I've often wondered how Consumer Reports comes to some of their conclusions. Evidently they use a bit different thought process than we do. Perhaps their conclusion is colored by the reality that the cars tend to be driven harder as you go up the food chain.

The population of factory JCW's is quite small. I suspect that they don't have enough data on the JCW's to make a conclusion.

Good luck on the pricing. It seems to be hit and miss. BMW has made a point of growing the dealership ranks slowly. They avoid dealers getting into bidding wars between themselves. Unless you live in a major metropolitan area, dealers can get pretty thin. In the greater New York City area, I think there are 4 or 5 dealers. Out where I am, the closest dealer is 2 1/2 hours away. Perhaps I would have done better than list if I had driven to New York City, but that is 4+ hours away.

 

the bad is that the cars are a bit worse than the industry average, the good is that the industry average is very, very good. If you want a Mini, don't let below average ratings discourage you. Really, after driving the car you will find that the amount of driving exitement is hard to beat at almost any price. total ownership costs are hard to come up with, but the Minis hold thier value pretty well, so if you ever sell your car the retained value will offset any increase in maintenance costs that you may run into.

Matt