Hello all!
This is my first post on this forum, and so far from reading various responses I noticed very vibrant Mini community (which is good). I am really, really, really thinking about getting a new mini. Part of me says, NO - stupid, get the Accord, it is reliable, it is new, and it is a family car. The other part says - NOOOOOOOOOOO - have fun, take a risk, get into it, enjoy the ride....

I am within budget and by looking for a new mini, I have noticed hundreds become thousands fairly quickly when adding options. My biggest break point so far was the JCW engine upgrade which costs 2100$ as an option on Cooper S. Now I love to drive stick shift, I would love to have a car that can pull and deliver on the go, but is it so much more, is it very noticeable compared to plain jam cooper S engine. Is it that much better. In other words, is it worth doing it?

 

Test drive the S, and see if you think you'd need more "oomph". If you're thinking of an Accord, the Mini S will be a crazy fun ride in comparison. I don't have a MINI yet, but I'm going to be getting a fairly base version of the Cooper S Hardtop.

 

worth doing, for sure. Possibly more bang for buck available from aftermarket BUT this is a fully integrated, warrantied product. It is absolutely a notciceable improvement to the R56 MCS.

Mine is on an automatic but my friend has a manual trans R56 and he is equally as pleased.

 

how about this? http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...catalogid=5277

buy the kit else where for less, then have it installed locally. the $2100 doesn't include installation so just get a quote for installation. Save you a few hundred bucks on the cost of the kit.

 

I would not opt for after market product and then risk the warranty. My main concern was if the JCW 2100$ is really noticeable addition to MCS when it comes to performance.

 

that's not aftermarket. it's from a MINI dealer site and it's the same JCW kit you are paying 2100 for.

 

If you have the money, then I'd say it's worth every penny.

That said, I would highly recommend test driving both the MCS and a JCWMCS if your local dealer has one available for you. Test driving the JCW clinched it for me; IMHO there is as much difference between the MCS with and without JCW package as there is between the MCS and the "Justacooper."

I also realized that there is more bang for the buck going aftermarket, but since the whole warranty thing was an important issue for me, JCW was an easy choice.

 

Yes...the car is far better with the kit..I have been driving the car since november and it is stupid fun..but watch out it won't stop there.it's addictive

 

Thanks for the insight.

 

Since the JCW Stage 1 Upgrade is a dealer installation, you could order your MCS without it. After you've had time to break in your MCS, you could then determine whether your MCS needs that extra oomph. That's what I'm going to do.

Conversely if you decide to order your MCS with the JCW Upgrade, you may able to get it it for less than $2,100 including labor.

 

bump

 

dont even consider that accord. an accord is a boring, unfun, slow, unmaneuverable (my new word), uninvolving, gas guzzling, piece of poop. while the mini is the opposite.


as for the JCW package, i don't think it's worth it, but i think you should consider getting it. let me explain.

it's not worth it to me, because it is way overpriced for the performance gains you get, however, the important part is, it is warranted. and there is no doubt that they are quality parts. also, it's something you can just buy and be done with. you dont have to think about anything. no tuning or trial and error. that is why it may be worth it to you.

i think you may want to get your car first, than see. i changed my mind real fast about aftermarket mods. i was looking at the JCW because i didnt want to void my warranty. my SA said people are usually to paranoid about that. they have to prove that the part caused the problem, but that is another thread. like everyone said, you should try to drive each one.

 

I wanted it, but chose not to get it.

I picked all of the options that I considered to be important, not including the JCW... Then I looked at the price of my car... I decided an extra 2k on top was too much.

I'd rather go aftermarket personally. Even if you want the JCW kit installed, you can get it installed later by your dealer.

And as far as the warranty goes, aftermarket parts don't void your warranty unless your part caused the failure. The additional warranty everyone speaks of covers the individual parts in the JCW kit. If you go aftermarket, just keep your stock parts.

 

I would get the car stock, drive it and get used to it. if u need more power then upgrade later on down the road..plus it will feel tht much better if you have a baseline to compare it to. On my Legacy GT I did all my power mods at once and I never really knew what each specific part did..if i had to do it again I would do them one by one..it would be worth looking forward to the next mod.