It isn't really luck that gets you money to burn buying toys. There's a method to it.

If you have $6,000, buy a $3000 toy and put $3000 in the bank. Don't buy comprehensive and collision insurance, and don't borrow any money. If you destroy the car, or it gets wrecked or stolen, you're back to square one. If it stays in one piece and you can sell it for something, plus what you've saved, then you can buy a $5000 car and keep $5000 in the bank. Repeat until you find yourself dropping $25,000 cash for a car and keeping enough in the bank to cover any losses. Repeat. That's how you do it.

Or if you don't want to wait, then be the guy who only asks "how big are the payments? Can I afford the payments?" And then you can be yet another guy on the forums saying "The dealer reamed me!" or "The insurance company reamed me!" or "The finance company reamed me!" It's so unfair! A warranty is a financial instrument, like a loan or an insurance policy is a financial instrument. They're all designed to take advantage of people who don't have any money of their own, and aren't willing live within their means and wait.

I'm not talking about buying a house or getting an education. I'm talking about buying toys. If you want a new toy that you don't have the cash to buy, then there will necessarily be a reamer and a reamee. If you're OK with that, that's cool with me.

 

And the pissing party begins.

BTW Way I got some questions I will be PMing you.

 

Way, you don't say what "smart" is... Are my mods "smart"? I'm about 1000 miles shy of my first checkup at MINI of Charleston. Will I have a problem?

Jerry from Savannah.

 

Moi? I dono crap about MINIs yet bro. Just driving for now

 

Not you others thinking they know what is right and what is wrong. Happens here all the time.

 

I pretty much aggre with this statement, however, I'm still weary about modding. I wanna mod my 50Camden with JCW parts, but am a little weary on the warranty issue. Not trying to build 30PSI beast, just tasteful upgrades in the same sense as Nismo to Nissan. assuming that JCW parts are beneficial

are JCW parts even considered aftermarket parts on an MCS???
Does Mini even make a suspension lower than MCS stance???

 

The JCW parts are OEM, so they do not impact warranty/Should actually be covered by it.

 

There is no should they will be covered under warranty. When I had my JCW exhaust even though I bought it used from someone else and install by someone else it was still covered.

 

Also, the JCW suspension kit drops the ride height 1cm.

 

is that even functionally and cosmetically noticeable??

 

i havent had any problems with my MINI dealer here yet ever since i started modding a couple years ago. exterior mods mostly, and mechanically i have aftermarket exhaust and suspension. so it really depends on the dealers in your area.

 

You can see it and yes it is functional because it changes spring rates and all that suspension craziness.

 

The 2012 Hyundai Accent GLS Sedan has a 1.6L engine. On regular unleaded it produces 138hp @ 6300 rpm's. Torque is 123lb-ft @ 4850 rpm
With the automatic:
0-60 is 10.3 secs. and the quarter mile is 17.9 @ 80mph [From Motorweek]

All with 30 mpg city and 40 mpg highway.

The 2012 Cooper has a 1.6L engine too. It produces 121 hp on premium @ 6000 rpm's. Torque is 114lb-ft @4250 rpm.

With the automatic:
0-60 takes 9.6 secs. Quarter mile is 17.2 not sure of the speed. [MINIUSA.com]

MPG is 28/36 for city/highway. So the Cooper will cost more to drive.

Yes the Cooper Handles better, is more fun to drive and to me looks cooler. But a little more out of the engine would be nice. The Accent has surpassed the Cooper in economy and is getting closer to Cooper performance. All with Regular gas. With the Justa Cooper already 4K+ more than an Accent getting the S for another 3K+ seems high.

I think MINI (Or BMW) needs to do some updating. Because the competion isn't sleeping.

Anyway, another 10 to 20 hp for the justa Cooper would be nice. Or whatever it takes to improve it.

 

This is a bit off topic, but MINI, for whatever reason, WANTS to do what they do. TWENTY years ago honda was getting 100 hp/liter from normally aspirated production motors. Making more horses than Hyundai or whoever would be trivial.

 

Remember the motor was at 118 before the 2011 update. Not much I know but some.

Plus it is still hard to compare apples to brussel sprouts (who likes those anyways...). I could not get myself to buy a 2012 Hyundai Accent GLS Sedan. I had to copy and paste that as I refuse to learn how to spell heye-un-day

 

You're probably okay...To me the one mod that's in no way arguable is an ECU tune. You can argue all day that if your engine blew with a tune that MINI would have to "prove" it caused it. Nonsense. Any jury or judge in the country would conclude the ECU tune blew the motor after MINI told them "the customer changed the safe operating parameters of the engine," i.e. did brain surgery on the car. Your mods are basically superficial add-ons.

 

I agree that generally buying in cash is best, and that folks should avoid credit where they can. However, advising against collision and comprehensive insurance to build wealth is about as wise as recommending lottery tickets. It might pay off, but then again, it might not. And you'll be out a lot more than a dollar in the case of no insurance coverage.

There is peace of mind value in a warranty as well, especially with cars with less than stellar reliability.

Personally I'd recommend that people keep their car payments, if they must have them, well below their maximum budget, and factor insurance and warranty coverage into that budget as well.

 

Well that is what you get when you buy a BMW product. If ou wanted cheap you would go somewhere else. Sadly even though MINI does not have the best track record for reliability right now you will see more of them on the road in 20 years then you will see Hyundais. Though Hyundai is getting better they are still not even close to what MINI is.

You are right the Cooper needs about 20hp more but they have to make that porportional to the Cooper S and JCW. Now with the rumors of the redesigned Prince motor(N18) having a possibility of 200hp+ for the S(not even knowing what0 possibilty of the JCW platform might have), the Cooper might see more power and better fuel economy.

 

Just my .02 here. BHP can be pretty cool to quote, but more isn't always faster, everyone knows that (how about weight?). Mods don't neccessarily void a warranty, but I've read threads where the dealer claimed that it did (I think it was a CAI or some downtube). As I recall the person objected and finally got his engine fixed on warranty. The JCW suspension only lowers it about 1cm so as not to result in rubbing on the bumpstops and on the ground. Other springs that lower 2" can get to that point, and you might need camber plates to realign it. The JCW coilovers and rollbars are all different than stock.

 

I turned part of your post blue and underlined it.

It that because the Accent is "disposable" and the Cooper is collectable, The Accent is low quality and the Cooper good quality or the Cooper is fun and Accent meh. I don't know.

I had an 07 Accent for almost 5 yrs. I got my Accent for < $14K (Worth around 7K now). No lights or issues (Except the tires) for the entire time. Yes it is loud and has some small rattles. It certainly wasn't sporty. But it started and ran everyday. Now my daughter has it. 20 yrs who knows. I'm getting a Cooper because I have wanted one forever (Well the mid 70's). But Hyundai has come a long way in a short time.

Sorry I went off topic.

Having read this topic I am sure I will stay away from ECU tunes. Having an engine blow is no fun.

 

Thank you, mtbscott.