I am finally ready to get a Mini, I sold my motorcycles and placing my Mustang on the market or trade in...
but I don't know which Mini to get... JCW or S???
I have only test ridden an 08 S and it was AWESOME!!!

Anyone have some advice???

 

I have my sights set on ordering a Coupe down the road. Have been playing around in the configurator and have decided JCW is the way to go.
By the time I optioned out an "S" the way I wanted it, I was at very nearly the same price I was for a JCW similary loaded.

Giving up a couple of MPGs for added horses and cooler aesthetics ? You bet !!

 

1 point JCW LOL!!!

 

There is no way it's close to the same cost with the same options. THe JCW is about $6700 more expensive in ANY configuration.

 

If it fits comfortably in your budget, go for the gold and get the JCW.

 

When I bought my '12 MCS w/ JCW aero this spring I had a choice of it or a well-optioned JCW for $8K more. Given the big difference in price I went for the S. It was definitely the more rational decision from a budget standpoint.

In hindsight I wish I had gotten the JCW. Forget rational, I absolutely should have gone with my gut. Ahh, regrets. No fixing it now though. If you can swing the extra benjamins for the JCW then I say go for it. I wish I had.

 

Go option out an S with lots of JCW goodies on it before you say things you are only assuming.

 

The JCW works out at about $4500 extra when I try it. Apart from the JCW package, what else were you adding to your builds?

In my builds the JCW was $6500 extra because I could do without the aero kit and the other bits in the JCW package (except DTC).

Both the S and JCW (and even a Justacooper) are awesome, the JCW is just a bit livelier. Not sure its really worth $4-6k, but it sure is fun.

 

i contemplated the same thing, and even went so far as to order a pretty bare S with the JCW package, and even then, it was only about $4500 off from a factory JCW that already came with all the features of the JCW package and the little things here and there and the extra boost in power set the JCW over the top for me so I cancelled the order for the S and got a JCW.

Like most ppl will say, go with your gut, you won't regret it. Just think, if you get the S, will that thought of ughhh, what if I got the JCW?? be running through your head all the time? $5k'ish in comparison to how much the car cost as a whole isn't all that much. If it's that big of a deal, wait a couple extra months to save up the extra cash and get the JCW, you won't regret it.

 

In addition to the package, I added the JCW suspension and strut bar. That brings it very close to the price of a factory JCW. Add in the tune kit and you're over. Of course, why do that... it would be a JCW coming off the line.

 

Jcw

 

Just a side note for the OP, the aero kit is now standard on JCWs.

 

I think you all are missing the point I was trying to make. A MCS has a base price of $23,800, a JCW is $30,600. That's before you add any options. That's a $6,800 difference to start with.

Yes you can add almost all of the JCW goodies to a MCS, and it's probably a little cheaper than the base JCW, but it's not a JCW, it doesn't have the different engine internals, or the JCW MAP sensor, or other sensors or the wheels. At this point only MINI can really offer tuning for the N18 MCS engine.


Anyway, Use the MINI site, if you can afford an optioned up JCW for close to $40K go for it. But I really doubt that most people will EVER use the performance advantage of a JCW over a MCS. Like most people that buy a GT3 RS will ever outdrive a regular 911...

 

I agree with Danny. I sold my Goldwing trike and an Accord and paid cash for my MINI. I was going to get a Justa, but my wife said I would not be happy unless I got an "S". I really would have liked a JCW but...when Mama's happy...

So I say with Danny, if you can afford it go JCW. And while you are ordering, consider a convertible. That was the best option I picked. You can always put the top up, but if you get the harptop, you can't put it down. And there is nothing more fun, IMO, than top down motoring in a MINI.

 

Agreed, unless your taking it to the track! My mini coupe s was close to 38$ optioned out, I would have gone with JCW but wanted an automatic.....

 

A JCW doesn't come with those things, so you'd have to add them to your JCW bringing the difference to $4500 again.I wasn't thinking accessories, just factory options. If you're going to add a tuning kit, you might as well go JCW from the factory and you get the tougher engine internals and uprated clutch as well. The only reason previously to add that to an S, rather than go factory JCW would be if you wanted auto transmission. Now they're going to be adding those to factory JCWs I hear.

 

We optioned all our MINIs just as we wanted them, and what we want seems to be light on the options. We added the go faster parts, but not many of the fripperies. (Just Cloth/Leather seats, Auto A/C, garage door opener and iPod/Bluetooth, to make things more comfortable.) So we're around $33k. I can never work out why "fully loaded" is a virtue, we don't want the extra crap.

We are planning on using the performance advantage. The idea is I can be a little more comfortable in the advanced run group at track days, so the wife can run in the intermediate group. I was perfectly happy in intermediate in the S, but the wife was stuck in beginners in that case. In either run group I'd be up against people in GT3s (and other interesting cars) who knew how to drive them. My models indicate the extra power should be worth an extra 3 seconds a lap at either Laguna or Sonoma.

 

Btwyx, for the 2013's the Bluetooth will be standard so no extra cost

 

WOW!!!! thanks everyone for the different inputs.
I don't want to add fuel to the fire but from what I see on Base S and Base JCW the motor hardware (Turbo, Mapping, Air Box) are the main difference. Is there an upgrade KIT that I can do afterward? or is there a JCW specific Item or items that can only be purchased from factory?

 

I thought MINI said that the engine internals were upgraded with the factory JCW, though I can't find the reference now. You can get a JCW engine upgrade to the standard S engine, but it only pushes the output to 197hp, not the 207hp you get from the factory JCW. MINI also say the factory JCW has upgraded clutch and transmission. The engine and transmission can't be purchased later.

 

Hi--

I recently ordered a 2013 MCS Hardtop (completed Friday and now off to the docks) and struggled with this very question. For me, it was a matter of the best value--and by my tally, I could essentially get a loaded MCS or a JCW with a fraction of the options. And the difference in the JCW specs just didn't seem worth near the additional $5K-$7K.

So for $33K, I got the midnight black MCS with EVERY package--including the JCW package--plus xenons, black headlight housings, rear fog lamp, alloy interior, anthracite headliner... Not to mention that with the 2013s, I got Lounge Leather at NO charge with the JCW package. That would have been an extra $2K on a JCW car.

If I were going to track this car--where fractions of a second and better brake hardware can make or break a race--my perspective certainly could change. But this is guy who just traded a I 2009 Porsche Cayman S for a 2013 MCS. I could, however, see myself considering a JCW tune from the dealer down the road--depending on the cost.

Thanks for listening and good luck with your decision.

 

I can't find the reference either but you are correct!

 

Really??? Almost wish I had waited to order now...almost...

I definitely think if you can afford the JCW then go for it. But for me, a base JCW with nothing added would still have been $650 more than my MCS. Yes, I would have gotten the better engine, internals, brakes, etc..., but it would have been an additional $3800 just to add the basic options that I got that aren't included on the JCW. If I could have swung that I definitely would have, but it wasn't in my budget.

 

I checked into this and it is a couple thousand for the kit, plus labor. I did not add it at the time of my order because I saw on the forum that they were having problems, I believe with the software. I have been told by the dealer that all of those type issues have been resolved. Something to consider.I wanted the JCW and manual, but due to a knee injury had to choose the automatic. Had to be an S for me. Love my Mini though. good luck with your decision.

 

Has anyone analyzed the difference in insurance and expected maintenance costs? It is easy to compare the sticker prices (with the realization that a portion of the difference will be coming back if/when the car is sold.). The other costs may be as significant over time. Thoughts?