So I had an '03 MCS a while back and loved it. Ended up selling it due to financial trouble, and ended up buying a new sportbike when my money woes were over. Anyays, now I don't have time for my bike anymore with school and work so I am probably going to be selling my bike soon. I need a fun vehicle and I really miss my MINI! So I went out and test drove an '09 MCS JCW and man it was a lot of fun. Seems to have more get up and go than my modified MCS did, and the sounds of the turbo and BOV brought me back to the days of tuning my '96 Eclipse GSX...
Anyways I had some questions I hope you guys could answer. I did do some research here but did not find all of my answers.

First off is there any problems that the newer ones have (LIke 09 - 11) that I should be aware of before getting into one?

Is the JCW package worth it? I love the Black with Red roof and black/red stripes, and would want the JCW aero kit anyways, so is the rest worth the extra cash to just go for the JCW instead of an MCS?

I know there used to be a sponsor on here that was usually cheaper than other dealers and they provided free shipping if you bought one of their cars or ordered one through them, are they still around? Trying to figure out how to save money in the buying process if I go new.

Any information you think I should know, post up!

Thanks,
BE4TNUT

 

I didn't go jcw on my 06 mcs thinking I'd do it aftermarket (like you ultimately did?) and regretted it because my warranty fears prevented me from doing the mods I wanted. This time I went for an 11 clubman s and AGAIN didn't get JCW, but out of financial concerns with a family, not desire.
I say go jcw!

 

Yeah the first MINI I got was used, had everything but the JCW package. I modded the car to my liking, probably close to JCW performance levels with a smaller pulley, intake, computer, bigger intercooler, coilovers etc... But I am thinking it might be cheaper in the long run to go JCW and I don't really think I would need to change much at all performance wise. I loved the sound fo the exhaust too. Doesn't sound like a four cylinder haha. I would need to save up quite a hefty down payment to bring the monthly payments down to a reasonable level though. Specced out how I want it (with a couple little sacrafices) is like $37K and then I could most likely get a couple thousand knocked off with the American Express car buying program if not by just negotiating.

 

We have, here in the sf bay area, whatever's the opposite of the Amex / Costco buying programs. In other words the market here seems to bear higher prices overall.

I hear you on the matter of pricey jcw buildups. Once my build got that high I backed off. Reallife costs prevent that high of a monthly, and I didn't want to put cash down when I would be taking a loss on trade in.