Hey everyone,

So I went to go order my 12 MCS, black on black on black, and as I was talkin with the MA, I told him my plant to vinyl wrap the car in a JCW color scheme. I was being pretty conservative in my build.... That is until, he mentioned that they just took delivery of a '12 JCW in exactly my color scheme, you know the one, Black, chili red roof and mirrors and chili red interior. The only option was Black headlights and xenons. I was sold even though it doesn't have dual panoramic, or the bluetooth I wanted.

Can anyone make me feel good about the purchase. I won't take delivery until next week, but I am second guessing.

will I miss the Panoramic roof, or the lack of bluetooth, or even Mini Connected.

Please weigh in and make me feel better about this. The price was awesome btw. Almost at invoice due to my insurance co's car buying service (USAA), pre-negotiated prices.

 

JCW is a the way to go!

Also, personally I think mini's look better without sunroofs. So, good choice!

Btw, you should post this in the second generation forum.

Congrats!!!

 

You will be fine. Enjoy the car. I currently have 2. One 2005 base with the panoramic roof and I love it. It is nice to have the glass and all.

My other car is an 09 JCW that I recently got and it does not have a panoramic roof. However, the tradeoff in raw power from a base cooper to a factory JCW is friggin huge

Neither of my cars have MINI connected so cant weigh in on that.

 

Have owned my JCW for 6 years and never miss not having a sunroof.

 

You did good! The sunroof weighs 80 lb. That raises the center of gravity a bunch and inherently faster. Also, less to go wrong, no worries about if you left it open and it starts to rain. Relax and enjoy the ride.

 

Me personally.. I could not deal with not having the sunroof or the Bluetooth.

BMW/MINI lets you spec it out the way you want. Get the car you want. The way you want it.

 

I have an 07 MCS with sunroof, if I ordered a car, I would not order it. Too much wind noise for no more than I have it open. Plus adds to making the car interior extra hot in the middle of summer.

 

My wifes 07 has BT and my 03 doesn't I would like to have it but not a deal breaker. As for the sunroof we both have them and hate them. BUT we live in AZ and it's like being in an EZ bake oven.

You won't miss them

 

I have an 09 Cooper S and no sunroof, didn't want one, due to possible leaks and having to worry about if I closed it or if it is open. Also, there's no sliding cover, its like a back door screen cover, so if you ever wanted to officially close it after closing the glass because of sun, you can't, so if I had it I would of gotten that tinted as well. Not to be lazy but you have hold the button down the entire time to open and close the sun roof, and that is annoying. I know from experience because whenever I get a loaner for the most part I get a sunroof and that is the only time I ever use it.

Per Blutooth or Mini Connect, I don't have it, and don't miss it, because I have a Blu-tooth Headset, one less thing to connect to my phone and to my car. Sure I have to charge it, but connection issues I don't have to worry about. You will be fine, great choice- Motor On!!

 

I got my '06 justa used, and it has a sunroof. It's okay but if I were to spec a new car, especially a JCW, I would not bother with a sunroof or any tech stuff. It's a driver's car, so the simpler and more raw the better IMO. Enjoy!

 

Having factory bluetooth is huge if you're using the car as a daily driver. I'd say the same for the sunroof option. IMO the JCW is a drivers car when its equip with few creature options. I prefer having the sunroof for either hot or cool days cause it brings light into the car especially if your side windows are tinted. If having factory installed options such as bluetooth not a factor for you then there's plenty of aftermarket stuff to solve that issue. The same for cooling off the sunroof. Like another has said get what you want and have no regrets.

 

There are aftermarket options like Parrot that offer Bluetooth systems which can even be a less expensive option.

As for the sunroof, it is all personal opinion. I have them but I wouldn't miss it if my car didn't have them. The heat in the summer with the sun beating down on your head can be annoying.

 

How often would you use the sunroof? - that's the real question. In our case, we've got a sunroof on our Harley Davidson F-150. If it cost us $1000, then I'd say we've paid about $100 for every time we've used it... and now it rattles and doesn't work right.

 

I could do without the sun roof easy. That is a no brainer in my book especially in the cloudy, rainy northwest. However I could not do without the bluetooth, heated seats and mirrors and Xenon lights. I also have a particular affinity for the auto dimming mirrors. Oh and I have to have the rear fog just to fill the toggle hole up.

Once you drive one with all the goodies it's nice to have them.

 

i live in FL. so, the sunroofs, while "nice" make the car an oven, as others have stated.

also, good points about weight, leaks, ect. (i actually left mine open once. it poured inside my car :p ) also, no sunroof gives you better structural integrity, so, +1 on that.

as for BT... get a simple hands free device. they are on ebay, in stores, ect.

lastly, go post in Gen 2! lol... this section is for Supercharged Minis Only!

 

He Said:The mini sun roof is not only 80 pounds on top of your car but without the insulation in the roof you will have a virtual extremely hot car when parking in the sun.

As far as "Blue tooth goes you can actually get a gizmo at your Mini dealer to allow your phone to use hands free.

I have a "Blue Ant" from Amazon that works perfect with my blue tooth phone. I'm sure there are other devices that will be just fine.

You are probably going to really fall in live with your JCW.

Good Choice congratulations.

 

I hardly used my sunroof but it was part of the package and on the lot when I bought it, along with all the other creature comforts.
I just ordered my 2012 JCW with only the black headlight surrounds, Xenons, sport suspension.
This will be a daily driver but I'm more in tune to the driving and handling of the JCW and not a driving office lounge. But its all up to what your happy with.
Luckily MINI offers so many options to tailor to your taste.

 

bluetooth is nice addition, but i definitely didn't want the sunroof on my mcs and i'm glad i didn't. i have the anthracite headliner too, so it's so much nicer/cleaner that way. i think you made a good decision.

 

It's really up to you. For me, I would NEVER be without a sunroof. Not having one makes any car more claustraphobic. And no, I don't suffer from claustraphobia, I just like being more connected to the environment outside the car. Windows are always down, sunroof is either open or the shade pulled back, and if it's a convertible, the top is always down. For me it simply makes the motoring experience more enjoyable. That's why my JCW is a cabriolet. Yes it's a little heavier than the regular JCW, but hey, it'll still run rings around an S.

For me, it's worth waiting for what I want. I learned long ago that the urge to satisfy and the immediate gratification usually pales compared to the long term experience of having what you really want.

 

Did he change his mind? His post was about 6 weeks ago.

 

'Nothin' like buyer's remorse when the purchase involves a lot of money.

 

It's worse if you don't have the car. If I start getting that remorseful feeling I go drive the car and it goes away! :-)

 

For us our cars both have the sunroof and they are used daily, except when raining, mine has 3M Tint which blocks Alot of heat on all glass but the wind shield, so I am very happy and love the Nav and Bluetooth, and many packages the cars have, get wht you like and you will ultimately not regret your decision later.... It's justa car and we all learn what we like with each one we drive...

 

I went from an 05 MCS with the panoramic sunroof to my GP with no sunroof and I thought I'd miss it, but I don't. The worries about weight, leaking (eventually), and the sun beating down through it are gone and I'm happier. I put in a JVC head unit with bluetooth and that took care of that issue too. You'll be fine

 

I reckon it all just comes down to how much you want it. I have both and love them. I use my sunroof any time I can and with the windows down in summer it’s almost like a convertible. I do live in a very hot area but I wouldn't bother if I lived somewhere very cool.
All the people saying I don't want to worry about leaving it open or it’s to hot, come on. Your car has air con and you could say the same about leaving your windows open when it rains. Weight isn’t an issue unless its a track car or you were racing a JCW without one.