New to this post so if its been covered...sorry. I am waiting the arrival of my car and have started looking into the pricing for the engine JCW package. My dealer is charging $6900, with other dealers in my area are charging $6500 and $6300. I have gotten the $6300 guys down to $5800 and will probably go with that. Is this much difference common? In general how do the service departments do with installing the JCW parts. I'm a little nevous they are going to eF something up. I contacted the JC company in England and there doesn't appear to be a way to get the car to their shop, to get the work done, short of taking delivery and then sending it back. Thats not going to happen. The chosen dealer is MINI of Towson, any comments???

 

$5800 sounds more reasonable. Dealerships can charge whatever they want, and some feel that they need to make a large profit on these and they have found that people are willing to pay for them. Typically the farther West you go in the country the more expensive it is.

 

While cost is a consideration, so is the JCW installation expertise of the dealer; just talk to "meb" on the "JCW scam" thread.

Personally, I'd talk to the dealers in your area and ask them some questions:

1. How many JCW kits have they installed?
2. How long does it take to instal a kit?
3. For how long has the dealer been installing them?
4. Who is the primary technician for the JCW installs?

Go into the shop (insist!) and look at how the techs are working. Are tools/parts in heaps on workbenches or are things better organized. Talk to the (JCW) tech and ask him/her the first three questions. Ask some open-ended qustions like what the most dificult parts of the install are and what techniques she/he uses to address these areas.

Evaluate your impressions of the dealer using this information then execute the next step: find out what other people think. The dealer will probably not give you names and contact information of customers who have had the JCW kit installed at that dealer, but you can post some messages on NAM and MINI2 to try to find someone.

Even if you can get the package for $5,000, the installation requires a great deal knowledge, care and mechanical expertise. You are at the mercy of the dealer's commitment to training and quality standards. Make very sure your MINI is in the hands of the most capable technical staff you can find and/or drive to.

I just had an '04 210 kit installed on my MCS. It took me quite some time to decide where to have it installed. And, while MINI of Peabody (MA) was two hours away, they proved to be worth every inch of the drive. I felt like my MINI was in the hands of a Formula 1 garage; very professional! Not a lick of trouble either...just a -eating grin from ear to ear!

FWIW,

Theo

 

Thanks for the info. I talked to the service people at Towson and they said they have put many packages in. I haven't visited the shop and probably won't have the option before I take it in for the upgrade. If the shop looks like my garage then I may take the parts and run. At some point though you have to hold your breath hope.

 

To kind of go along with this question, how many hours do other dealers say it takes to install a JCW kit in an '05? I have read that some take 10 hours while mine charges for 13 hours. Should there be such a disparity in the install time, or is the dealer trying to make up for only ( ) charging $100/hr?

 

Obviously, this will vary somewhat from dealer to dealer. It might also vary by Tech within dealer.

There is nothing about a JCW install in an '05 that would be different from an '04 with the airbox upgrade. I took my '04 to a dealer that has an outstanding reputation among Northeast MINI enthusiasts. They have done many JCW installs (maybe 50+) with precision and incredible customer service. I trust them when they tell me that the JCW with airbox is about a 10 hour install. They have been known to do JCW kits without the airbox in 6 to 8 hours; however, this was done by a Tech who has the most JCW installation experience.

When they did my '04 JCW with airbox, it took them 10 hours for the install; and these are very experienced Techs. The neat thing was that I was able to watch the proceedings...but refrained from bothering the Tech too much.

So...10 to 13 hours is probably reasonable, based on the number of kits they have installed. If they have extensive experience, I would say 10 to 11 hours is about right. If less experience, I could see 12 to 13 hours. The bottom line is to have it done at a dealer that will do the best work and have the greatest care and accuracy.

You can see pictures of Ian Cull's GBMINI getting its JCW upgrade HERE. (WARNING: The pictures in that post may be disturbing to some; especially those who are having the install done before delivery! )

Theo

 

I agree, $6,900 seems a bit steep. I would think that $6,000 is more in line with the average.

My only advise, verify every component in your 05 package before the install. My dealership didn't know there was a difference between 04 and 05 kits. Leading them to this information was sort of frustrating. Good luck

 

When I asked my service advisor (in Atlanta) what it cost to get the kit installed, he told me "around $6,000." I didn't push for details and he didn't go into it any further.