Hopefully I have those acronyms correct. I am going ot be buying a mni cooper in the next month. I have driven a cooper s, and we are driving a JCW soon. I am curious about people's opinions between the two cars. It looks like we'd buy a circa 2007 convertible mini to have some warranty, and given that, most "S" cars are around high teens, whereas the JCW are in the mid to low 20's. That can be quite a jump in price ($4-5K) for the "works" tax and I'm wondering if you guys feel its worth it.

I should note that I have owned many sports cars from Jetta GLI's to a Corvette Z06 and now my new M3. I am a sports-oriented driver and do appreciate things like stiffer suspension, shorter throws and other sporty elements that make driving fun.

I also know that you can do things like add a 15% pulley and air box kits to make a S as fast as a JCW, but I dont think I'd want to do all the alta stuff only to be denied warranty claims later. I've asked my dealer and he said that non standard parts would deny claims. I suppose the solution there would be to get the dealer to install the JCW power mods (intake, supercharger and exhaust), but I am not sure what that would cost when all said and done. (Anyone know?!)

So, if you are like me, can you compare/contrast the two cars, and if you bought either of them, tell me why. Perhaps it will all be clear after I drive it, but just curious what people here think first. Cheers.

 

I am a proponant of buying the S and modding it yourself. There is a pretty good price savings, and my MINI is has considerably more HP than a "stock" JCW(you can see all my mods in my signature) for a lot less than it would have cost me to get the JCW. I do not know where you live, but in So Cal there are dealers that will not void your warranty due to mods. I would check around this forum and the others like MU or MA and check others who live in your area their histories with local dealers.

 

I bought the JCW because of the inherent performance differences over the standard S AND I wanted those parts that give me the edge to be covered under the mfg warranty.

 

I would personally go for the car that has the options that you want and what ever looks like a real bargain. (ie. milage) If you go for the S you can always upgrade to the JCW or mod it urself. If u go with the JCW u avoid the hassle and the stress of making sure everything will work properly... Take ur pick both cars are great enjoy!!!

 

I would recommend buying on condition. The JCW is nice but IMHO is not worth the premium $$$. If you buy an S you can get JCW performance or even more for less $$$.

I would drop by the local dealer & ask them what their policy is on modified MINI's. My dealer has been very good about that. I have a 15% pulley, intake & exhaust, they only mentioned it to me by asking how I liked the additional power. FWIW I do not think a pulley, intake & exhaust is going to cause you any issues.

Enjoy your new MINI!