Let me start by saying I'm not bashing anything. I don't have a JCW kit and I don't have any aftermarket parts on my car (other than PIAA rally lights).

In the last week, I have seen a post from one member who sold his car and did not get any additional money for having the JCW kit. I also saw another post of a member whose car is most likely totaled and his insurance company has informed him that the JCW is considered aftermarket and not covered.

So, has any had (or heard of) an experience where having the JCW kit installed was beneficial at the time of resale? (Totaled is a form of resale.)

Here's where I'm going:

we know it's expensive, and we know that similar results can be achieved through cheaper aftermarket vendors.

we know the warranty is maintained, and yet I have read of very few instances where the warranty was denied due to aftermarket parts. In fact, I can't think of one at the moment.

a lot of people have assumed that JCW cars would command a premium at resale time, but do they really? The two examples above would suggest otherwise.

Given all of that, is it really worth it to have the kit and have it installed by the dealer?

What are everyone's thoughts?

 

Interesting question.
I think this is just another thing to be factored into an individuals personal decision as to how (if at all) to upgrade their car.
Those, like me, that went JCW will have done it because they believe the warranty, prestige, resale, smoothness or some other intangible made it worth going that way.
Those that went aftermarket will be happy with their better deal, provided there is not some expensive rejected warranty failure.

 

What your car is worth depends a lot on salesmanship and if you are willing to hold out until the right buyer for you comes along.

As for the insurance value upon total, if you bought the JCW kit at the time of sale it will be listed as an option and it will be included in the value of the car. You will also pay the added premium for the total cost of the car. If you added the kit after the sale you should tell your insurance company and again your premium may go up. My insurance company allows up to $6,000.00 of unreported accessories but you must have receipts.


Dave

 

Agreed. I'm just involving the NAM community in my thought process.

I love my car; I just want more power. Up until last week, I was convinced that I would hold off until I could afford the JCW kit. I assumed there would be some residual benefit at resale time, if I ever got to the point of selling. Reading the 2 posts I mentioned placed some new doubts in my head. I was more surprised at the insurance company information than the resale. So, I thought I'd mine the collective wisdom of the group.

 

i think one factor that could come in to play when deciding on having your dealer install the kit is how their whole attitude has been with you, and if they have given you any problems for stupid little mods. because if they have, then their is more of a chance that may fight to not warrenty a part, even if it is the jcw upgrade. so in this case, you may wan to think twice about having the kit installed by the dealer.


just one of my opinions that was floating in my mind when i read the post, so take it for what its worth :smile:

 

I think you raised a couple of intresting points. When it comes to the resale value of the car it only seems logical that a $6000 factory approved dealer installed option will retain most of its value when selling the car, look at some jcw cars for sale on autotrader.com and this point will be confirmed.

As to the insurance replacement value you would need to discuss this directly with your carrier, if the kit is not included in the original purchase price. At the end of the day you get this kit because you want hassle free fun, and as the owner of a 210hp works car I assure you, you will have it.

 

Neither www.kbb.com or www.edmunds.com list JCW as a separate model, or even an option. Resale on JCW cars would probably be better if sites like that recognized the value of the upgrade.

 

If you need things that promise good resale on a new car to help you buy it, perhaps you're looking at the wrong car.

My salesman gave me the same spiel when I mentioned JCW.

I just glared at him and said Why would I want to sell my car??

The whole point of customizing your MINI is getting exactly what YOU want so you shouldn't be looking forward to getting rid of it!

 

I didn't plan on getting rid of my last car after only 4 years, but the guy driving the Ryder truck behind me made that decision for me. I didn't get paid any extra for the $800 suspension or the $200 tinted windows on it, but I knew that going in. There's a BIG difference between $1000 of aftermarket parts and a $6000 "factory approved" package.

As I said above, the insurance company refusing to cover the equipment is a bigger issue to me. If it is still considered aftermarket equipment, what justifies the 25-30% price premium over comparable, non-"factory approved" parts? Maintaining the warranty is one item. But is it enough?

 

-I have had 2 MSC's w/ Works kits (both w/ Brembo BBK's, suspension, wheels and other mods) and I told my State Farm carrier the "replacement" cost at the time of purchase. This meant paying a rate that reflects the value I declared ( $38-42 K respectively.) The increased insurance cost was only slightly higher than stock. As I understand it this is a standard practice BUT it requires the owner to keep all records & reciepts ( labor & parts.)
-As for the resale value of the Works it varies widely but usually amounts to between 40-60% of the kit cost. Not great and very much depending on the market & the buyer needs and as well as other subjective variables.
-I would not recommend that anyone attachs much resale value/expectation to any car mod as it is wildly unpredictable (look at the experience of many BMW drivers, Dinan modded cars, Vipers ,Corvettes, Audi etc.)
-FYI: I sold a Works car w/ 9K miles and got $7K over book value (but this included the Brembo's.)

 

I think the resale value will be there. It may not show up on someone who has an '04 with 7,000 miles and they then sell their '04 JCW. Not enough time to have an impact. There are not a lot of JCW's for a given year (about 1,500 in the US). As time goes on and people either further mod their JCW or JCW's are either destroyed, rusted out, crashed.... the value will increase on the smaller number of JCWs.

Take a look at the Mustang market. If you go back to lets say 1989, an unmodded Mustang GT is worth much more than the Mustang with $10,000-$15,000 in parts. Just like an SVT Cobra mustang from the 1980's is worth much more than a base GT or a GT with the comparable amount of upgrades in aftermarket parts.

As more and more MCS's become modded and more and more flood the secondary market the unmodded limited edition models will be worth more. It wasn't that long ago that ebay only had 10 Coopers on its site. Now there are a couple of pages.

Short term, you will not see a big difference between your car's price and an aftermarket one. But that is almost true for any car. My JCW is coming in one week. My goal is to keep it as close to stock as possible.

 

I don't understand why it is considered aftermarket by your insurance company. I would fight this. This is no different than a Mustang Cobra, a Saleen Mustang, Camaro SS... None of these kits are installed at the factory during the build of your car. All are shipped to a third party and installed and then from there they are sent to the dealership. There are many more out there like that as well. The Cobra is the closest tied to the factory, but it is still not factory. It can't even be bought or serviced at all Ford Dealerships, unlike the JCW which can be serviced by any Mini dealership. I think your insurance company is confused and probably has wrong information. A simple lawyer might be able to clear this up. The JCW kit is not like the Mopar Stage kits which are more aftermarket kits with no warranty. This kit is sold by BMW, is installed at any Mini Dealership, is fully covered under all warranties, and is serviceable by any Mini dealership.

 

Not his insurance - he was repeating someone elses position.

I think, as someone else mentioned above, that the insurance company would expect to be told of the change in "manufacturer" spec of the car, and would in turn be OK to increase the premium appropriately.
The day after I had JCW added to GBMINI, I delivered a copy of the JCW brochure and a copy of the invoice to my insurance broker. I hope never to need that, but I know that they have the information so they would be in a poor position to deny it ...

 

Just one person's opinion, of course, but... In the long run, I would guess that a Works car with documentation showing dealer installation on, or soon after, delivery will be significantly more valuable than a comparable standard S, given its relative rarity, the Cooper pedigree, etc.

Initially, I think the premium will be minimal, maybe $1500-$2500, depending on the buyer. This may even fall somewhat in the car's "middle age". But once it enters the "vintage" market in 40-50 years, and there is no doubt in my mind that the first-generation new Mini will ultimately be considered very "collectible", the Works premium will take off exponentially.

Of course chances are good that I will be completely senile by that time and could probably be convinced to trade my car for a couple of cases of Double Chocolate Ensure, so I may not be able to fully realize the upside of my early investment...

 

I think that JCW can add to the value of a used MCS provided that the mileage isn't too high and the car is in excellent condition and not too altered by other upgrades that might detract from the kit. You won't get too close to the full value of the JCW kit investment.

I know of a highly upgraded MCS with JCW kit that sold for a very high price. Asking price was something like $42,000 and I know it sold for less but it was a low mileage 03.

In my area there are no MCS with JCW kit for sale anytime in the recent past other than the case I mentioned. Most are MCS stock or somewhat modded. Aftermarket upgrades don't add that much to the value of an MCS on the used market. Low miles count more as do factory installed options. If tastefully done the mods can add to the selling value of the car- makes the car more attractive- like nice looking wheels or an aftermarket audio/video upgrade.