^^ so berky, you're saying you're a spec racer?
(magazine car spec racer)

 

I walked into the dealer ready to order the JCW but then decided on the straight MCS... this is what did it:

1) Tested an MCS and JCW back to back, yes JCW had more power, but it wasn't as significant as I was hoping for, or as significant as the price would have suggested.

2) Asked what the lease residuals were on the JCW vs the MCS, just to get an indication of what they thought the car would be worth down the road. was surprised to hear the JCW was 4% points below the MCS (58% vs 62% after 3 yrs). That would mean the JCW add-ons should have a 42ish% residual to bring the whole car down to 58%.

3) Just knowing myself, I figured that if the Mini's build quality is not the greatest in the world (I'm coming from BMWs and Audis) and she starts rattling here and there, I won't really care if I've spent <30k..... however, if I'm spending near 40k.... it would probably start pissing me off.

 

^^ very good point.