R56 To buy an S or JCW?
i'm on my 1st (pre-owned) and didn't know anything about the car. I just saw someone with an R53 at work and knew I wanted a Mini. Wish i'd done my research more and would've looked for a JCW. I love my MCS but for sure my next one will be a JCW!
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,800
Likes: 2
I have a pw 2007 S. See my gallery. That car has, what, 176 hp? Torque figure near that. The 2011 S has what 196? hp and a similar torque jump, plus they electronically engineered the torque steer pretty much OUT of it. Back in 2007, those 2011 S figures pretty much covered the JCW car in 2007. Unless you're going to the track or just have a bunch of money to throw around, I'd go with an S.
Somebody made a comment about their JCW getting "all the attention". You bought a JCW Mini Cooper to get attention?? That's silly. Cars that get ATTENTION get TICKETS. See my gallery. TOO MUCH ATTENTION. I was out yesterday...stopped at numerous places, PESTERED everywhere I went. It gets VERY OLD. Great if you want to meet women, though.
Anyhow, save your money and buy a 2011 S. It has everything you need to lose your driver's license times over.
Somebody made a comment about their JCW getting "all the attention". You bought a JCW Mini Cooper to get attention?? That's silly. Cars that get ATTENTION get TICKETS. See my gallery. TOO MUCH ATTENTION. I was out yesterday...stopped at numerous places, PESTERED everywhere I went. It gets VERY OLD. Great if you want to meet women, though.
Anyhow, save your money and buy a 2011 S. It has everything you need to lose your driver's license times over.
Driving like a nut gets you more tickets than the colour or style of your car IMO.
I like the attention my car gives me and I have a Justa.
Not the primary reason I chose the car mind you...
2nd Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Columbus, MS
Warranties are for wusses. If youtruly like pushing what your car can do, you have to void that thing, best bet is to buy an older one, save some REAL money and mod the heck out of it. That is where I am going....
3rd Gear
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 163
Likes: 1
Sure, lots of bored "automations engineers" around. Simply find one who will, apparently for free, figure out how to squeeze a twin supercharger under the hood. Don't forget the belts, pulleys, and mounting fixtures for those superchargers. Then put it on a dyno to tune it, you'll be doing that often, or maybe your 'automations engineer" will do it for you. Then if your lighter duty MCS clutch and trany can handle the extra power maybe not one JCW will touch you till the first turn where the JCW's bigger brakes are going to let it come into the turn much hotter and be right back with you. Or are you going to be drag racing? After a couple of weeks of finding and beating all the JCWs in town, find your automations engineer again and let the rebuild begin.
Sure, lots of bored "automations engineers" around. Simply find one who will, apparently for free, figure out how to squeeze a twin supercharger under the hood. Don't forget the belts, pulleys, and mounting fixtures for those superchargers. Then put it on a dyno to tune it, you'll be doing that often, or maybe your 'automations engineer" will do it for you. Then if your lighter duty MCS clutch and trany can handle the extra power maybe not one JCW will touch you till the first turn where the JCW's bigger brakes are going to let it come into the turn much hotter and be right back with you. Or are you going to be drag racing? After a couple of weeks of finding and beating all the JCWs in town, find your automations engineer again and let the rebuild begin.
2nd Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Columbus, MS
Sure, lots of bored "automations engineers" around. Simply find one who will, apparently for free, figure out how to squeeze a twin supercharger under the hood. Don't forget the belts, pulleys, and mounting fixtures for those superchargers. Then put it on a dyno to tune it, you'll be doing that often, or maybe your 'automations engineer" will do it for you. Then if your lighter duty MCS clutch and trany can handle the extra power maybe not one JCW will touch you till the first turn where the JCW's bigger brakes are going to let it come into the turn much hotter and be right back with you. Or are you going to be drag racing? After a couple of weeks of finding and beating all the JCWs in town, find your automations engineer again and let the rebuild begin.
When you figure out what twincharging means you will have found you that it has nothing to do with double superchargers. Hate to ruin it for you. In my case I did find a bored engineer with a background in both super and turbochargers. We had more fun adding a large turbo to a supercharged redline. But to be fair, the other guy on the team is a metal building salesman. Maybe I should have started off with, "Find yourself a bored metal buildings salesman..." Yes we did get out for under 6.5k. Taking a transmission apart is a pain but it's fun too. You should try the SAAB one that comes with a supercharded ecotech. Yes we still take the car apart regularly, but then again, we are grease monkeys and we like to race. So a 10k 2003-4 MCS with some miles gives you about 20-25k of wiggle room there, you might jut be able to squeeze a brake job or a tranny in at that price. If you want a no hassle package deal, get a JCW. It just isn't as much fun, but it will give you the smug feeling of superiority knowing that you spent 6 and a half grand for 25 extra horses.
Last edited by artforge1; Nov 21, 2011 at 02:53 AM.
4th Gear
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 493
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
I just don’t think there is that much difference between the S and JCW anyways. When I bought my ’08 MCSa, it was just under 31K. I paid the same amount for my ’09 JCW.
The only difference between the two was the ’08 was an automatic and had the JCW brake kit. (which is obviously standard on the JCW)
I don’t know how everyone comes up with a 7’ish grand difference. Perhaps if you order on the Mini site? (I bought both of mine brand new but already on the lot)
Mark
The only difference between the two was the ’08 was an automatic and had the JCW brake kit. (which is obviously standard on the JCW)
I don’t know how everyone comes up with a 7’ish grand difference. Perhaps if you order on the Mini site? (I bought both of mine brand new but already on the lot)
Mark
Well Hendrick has (had) two JCWs 2012 both with sticker prices of over $38,000. My S's sticker was was $27800. Yea different options accounts for some of that but my S is still pretty much loaded and for $10,000 grand difference ?????
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,800
Likes: 2
Ask me again tomorrow!But I look forward to seeing what you do with your car.
Anyways, to the OP, it's your money. Spend it on what you think best fits you.
The base price difference between a S and a JCW is $6800. All of the other $3200 price difference was in options.
In other words, if equipted exactly the same, the JCW costs $6800 more.
In other words, if equipted exactly the same, the JCW costs $6800 more.
I went with the JCW partly because the last time I faced a decision like that was years ago. It was either save money and get an Integra GSR or get an Integra Type R. I went with the GSR and had ITR envy and regret for years. So this time around, I went with the JCW. I ordered mine 3.5 weeks ago, but am still waiting for it to go to production. :( Supposedly they only build them once per month, and I needed an April production unit since I wanted aero kit with the new factory installed price drop.
I have a S and a JCW. The reason I have the JCW is exactly why you are getting one. Love it I dont regret it at all. The S is a great car as well I love both of them but there is just something about stepping in to a JCW.
3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 188
Likes: 0
IF i had to do it again, I'd probably go with a JCW, but then again, price was an issue, my 2011 MCS was was almost 10K less than the JCW i really wanted. Wife was not so happy with a mid 30's Mini. In the end, I'm extremely happy with my MCS however, i do look at JCW's from time to time and say if I did it again, i'd probably try to sell her on a JCW
3rd Gear
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 163
Likes: 1
Six and a half thousand gets you 27HP, bigger brakes, beefed up clutch and tranny, less restrictive exhaust, and its on a brand new car, not an eight year old. It has a full warranty. Add an Alta AccessPort and an FMIC and get another 25HP (approx.) and still have a brand new, reliable, fun car, and the local MINI dealer still honors the warranty. Don't recall calling the JCW the "King of all cars".
2nd Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Columbus, MS
Six and a half thousand gets you 27HP, bigger brakes, beefed up clutch and tranny, less restrictive exhaust, and its on a brand new car, not an eight year old. It has a full warranty. Add an Alta AccessPort and an FMIC and get another 25HP (approx.) and still have a brand new, reliable, fun car, and the local MINI dealer still honors the warranty. Don't recall calling the JCW the "King of all cars".
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 453
Likes: 0
From: The Ville
I love my 11 MCS, but there are times I wish I had a JCW. It is pricey, but I think when you look at all the differences (upgrades) over the MCS, I think it's worth it. I plan to keep my MCS for a long time, but if I needed to replace it due to an accident or something, I would seriously consider the JCW, especially if it had a JCW version of the N18 engine, which I think is definitely an improvement over the N14 engine. We will have to see if they ever come up with a JCW version of the N18. Other than the higher initial cost of the JCW, the only other detractor is what appears to be a greater rate of depreciation. It seems a 3 yr old MCS has almost the same value in the marketplace as a 3 yr old JCW, which is discouraging.
OVERDRIVE
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,201
Likes: 8
From: Norfolk, VA
Yep - the used marketplace treats the JCW almost the same as a heavily-optioned 'S', rather than as a completely different model. And since money spent on options depreciates at a much faster rate than the money spent on the base price of the car, JCW owners pretty much take it in the shorts come trade-in time.
