Shouldn't every dealer have a JCW to test drive by now!! Mine doesn't, Does yours? Im going in for an oil change today and wanted to test drive a JCW because i was entertaining the idea of having it installed. when i called they said they don't have one. who would buy a $2,400 kit without trying it out first? seems to me they would sell a lot more if they have one available to drive. BTW my dealer is Classic Mini in Cleveland.

 

International Mini in Milwaukee has one with the JCW tuning kit.

 

Many people would/have.

Would you buy a JCW off the lot that had 100+ miles of test drives on it?
Keep in mind it isn't broken in yet but has probably been abused - by many people. I could see why a dealer would be reluctant to have a JCW available for test drives. Even if it would make the JCW kit an easier sell.

 

People buy test cars from dealers all the time. What's the difference if its an MC, MCS, JCW or a jeep for that matter. If having a test car for customers to drive sells more kits (there is no way im buying one without driving first) then i think its a nobrainer to have one available.

 

They should have one that is fully optioned for test drives.... nav and jcw. people will order more options.

 

There's just a much greater chance of a JCW car being driven very hard. The type who wants to drive a JCW isn't going to be shy when they drive it.
While that could also be the case with a regular S model it's less likely. A MC or Jeep probably hasn't been leaving rubber lines all over the roads. Remember that video titled "R56 TEST DRIVE" where the guy is smoking the tires and buries the speedo at 150mph on the autobahn. Would you want to buy THAT car?

If I were a dealer I wouldn't want people test driving my most expensive cars unless they were serious about buying that particular car. ESPECIALLY a fully optioned one.

I personally wouldn't want to buy a car that had been treated like a revolving door.

That said, I would like all dealers to have them but I just doubt it'll happen.

 

well then thank god you didn't see me test the cooper s before i ordered one. lets just say there was a nice well done smell coming from under the hood.

and i agree with you, i would NEVER buy a demo car. but some people don't car. my buddy buys them all the time to try and save a buck or two.

 

We don't have a JCW demo, for many of the reasons listed above, plus the 'lot boy' factor.

 

Mine does and I did.

As far as driving before buying... how many people here had the R56 on order without first driving one? Lots of us! That's no $2400 kit, its a >$24,000 car!

 

checkered flag mini in virginia beach has 3 in the service loaner fleet with jcw kit installed and 1 sales demo with the jcw kit

 

3 stick shifts as loaners? wow

 

Well, let's see, all of us who ordered our R56s before they arrived in the U.S. spent a lot more than that sight unseen.

 

I'm a MA for FLOW MINI in NC. We don't have one and we won't do a JCW demo car. We're going to put some JCW parts including the engine kit on a car for the showroom, but we don't have people requesting one to drive first. After driving the MCS if they think it's not powerful enough they know what options they have.

Drew

 

The dealership I worked for could not get a JCW kit. They wanted to put one on a demo car, but said they were on backorder. I don't know how some dealerships got 5 kits and others did not get any. Doesn't seem right.

 

It's consistant with MINI dealer car allotments, though. Some dealers get very few pre spec'd/demo cars/build slots + long customer waiting lists. Some dealers have a full lots and two month order-to-delivery times .

 

it's maily because of the csi and amount of cars sold and accesories sold all depends on how many cars mini will send the dealer to sell.

 

Many dealers have the kits installed on their personal cars. I'm sure MINI doesn't rush to give dealers free JCW kits out to all their dealers. Many dealers have a customer base that don't include many performance oriented drivers.

I can't knock a dealer for not having a fully equipped vehicle, but I'm glad mine did have one and I was able to give it a test ride. Unfortunately I was not as impressed as I thought I'd be, and JCW Stage I engine kit has dropped off my list of must haves.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Helix, Alta and others come up with. Too bad no dealers have cars with turbo back exhaust kits installed. Candyman, if you're reading this, would you take me for a ride in yours sometime?