I am considering purchasing a Mini and need some advice.

1. Does the regular or the S have better resale value
2. Which one rides better, regular or S

I have the specs for one the dealership has in stock, can I get an opinion on it? Also, John Cooper Motorworks advertises a package for the regular cooper, but the miniusa site does not? Can you add the jcmw package to the regular.

 

I would say the "S" will probably give you a bit better leverage for resale- as they are a bit rarer (production % is lower, I believe). But even a regular MC has solid resale. I suspect it will soften a bit in the next few years, but I would expect it to hold reasonably. Say like a 3 series or regular BMW...

Regarding ride, I extensively test-drove a MC and MCS before buying (it was a concern of mine). The MCS rides firmer, no doubt, but I've never found it unbearable. The 16" v-spoke wheels tend to help the ride a little vs. the 17" wheels on the S (which come with your sport package, you can order all of the items form the package a-la-carte). I came from driving a 2002 Corvette with Z51 suspension...
RE: the JCW kit on the base, I personally think it's a waste of $$$ for the performance improvement on a newly bought car (case is more arguable if you already own a MC). I'd suggest buying an MCS if you want the extra "ooomph". A MCS with a JCW kit is cool, but you will have close to that level of performance with your planned mods... If you aren't risk averse, a 15% supercharger pulley (voids the engine warranty) will = JCW performance for thousands less. put another way with the mods, even if you blow the engine, you could replace it for around the same cost of the JCW kit...

 

I'm plenty happy with the ooommph factor of my regular MC. It is fast enough for have gotten me pulled over a number of times already for forgetting how fast I'm going. But I don't race and I know people with MCS's that are glad to have shelled out the extra bucks.

I went with the MC both because the number of posts here about stumble and yo yo-ing scared me, and when my MA told me the runflats cost about $450 each to replace (is that true?).

As far as ride, of course the MCS is stiffer and the tires transmit bumps more. But a friend with one has driven all over the country in his, complete with child in back, and tells me it rides fine.

It'll be a hard decision again if I buy another.

One suggestion is that you look at aftermarket venders for some add-ons like mats etc. You likely will find better prices for some things.

 

The Pirelli runflats were quoted to me at around $1400 from the dealer, balanced and installed. Way expensive.
-Cor.

 

wow..$1400?

Tirerack sells the Pirellis rfs for $165 each and with shipping it's still less then $800 for them. The dunlop 9000 dst are about $225 each plus shipping.