[ddtully@]

Waiting for delivery next month - wife's 50th birthday gift.

[AndyzDad]

Is that the same color / spec? Heck, I'd want that then! A friend of mine's ordered her's in Black w. a custom pink roof.

Looks sweet though and the Minis are fun to drive!

Edit: Did you get the the JCW package?

[ddtully@]

Yes - EXACTLY as shown with white silver, stripes, black headlight housings, etc.

And yes - JCW package.

[Yoko22R]

that looks awesome. lucky wife! can i be your son? i'll have no problem calling you dad or your wife mom. get back to me. thanks.

[ddtully@]

Sorry, sons get 1998 CRV's with 150k miles on them.

[axis]

Looks like a fun little car, although it would look a lot better if it was lowered about 1.75"

[Dark_Knight_335]

My fiance had a "regular" Cooper. We were not at all impressed with it. Fit and finish was shoddy, dash rattle 3 months into the car, impossible to see traffic lights too. Numerous trips to the dealer for engine light nonsense then one final "update" that killed the car ultimately prompting us to leave it behind and we are over them. Although I respect people's decision to love them, I couldn't detest them more. Are all Coopers like this? Are the S models miraculously head and shoulders better than their underpowered counterparts? Anyone else have bad experiences with them?

[SilverII]

funky

[ddtully@]

I have found that every make and every owner out there has their horror stories regarding a particular make.

Many regard BMW as a maintenance and dependability nightmare. I for one have not had a single problem (save the lone fuel pump issue with my first 335i) with any of my 4 BMW's.

As far as the traffic light issue is concerned, you didn't have traffic lights on your test drive ? I had the same issue with an Audi TT but the number of times that happened was infrequent enough that that car's qualities far outweighed the inconvenience.

Her love of the looks and performance (the JCW blows away the S which blows away the standard Cooper - think 328 to 335 to M3) will outweigh any minor inconvenience.

[TheStigsTwin]

Man that looks like fun! Will you be tracking that car at all?

[DaveL]

That's too much of a reward for turning 50...Get a civic for the older you get the value goes down.LOL...just being a jerk the Mini looks sweet she should be very happy,Nice choice.

[ddtully@]

Doubtful that its heading for a tracking life - she makes use of all the car's capabilities but tracking is not her thing.

That being said, we'll be selling a gently used 2006 GTI MkV with only 26k miles.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by SDeFranco1

My fiance had a "regular" Cooper. We were not at all impressed with it. Fit and finish was shoddy, dash rattle 3 months into the car, impossible to see traffic lights too. Numerous trips to the dealer for engine light nonsense then one final "update" that killed the car ultimately prompting us to leave it behind and we are over them. Although I respect people's decision to love them, I couldn't detest them more. Are all Coopers like this? Are the S models miraculously head and shoulders better than their underpowered counterparts? Anyone else have bad experiences with them?

I had one as loaner while my 335 was in the shop for two months. It was a regular Cooper and pretty much fun with one exception that drove me nuts - not being able to see traffic lights.

I'd suggest to the OP that his wife spend some time in a similar car driving around city streets with lights. Not being able to see street lights gets old real quick and was a dealbreaker for me. Aside from that, the quality seemed similar to other cars in that price range although the buttons and switchgear looked and felt as if made by Fisher-Price. The center mounted speedo takes some getting used to.

In Europe, stoplights are generally not hung from wires high up in the sky. They are generally mounted on light poles and visible from inside cars with steep windshields.

Please make sure that your wife checks this before she buys it. She may be able to see just fine if she is "short of stature" but if it is a problem, then it will zap the enjoyment out of driving the car.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Originally Posted by ceb

I had one as loaner while my 335 was in the shop for two months. It was a regular Cooper and pretty much fun with one exception that drove me nuts - not being able to see traffic lights.

I'd suggest to the OP that his wife spend some time in a similar car driving around city streets with lights. Not being able to see street lights gets old real quick and was a dealbreaker for me. Aside from that, the quality seemed similar to other cars in that price range although the buttons and switchgear looked and felt as if made by Fisher-Price. The center mounted speedo takes some getting used to.

In Europe, stoplights are generally not hung from wires high up in the sky. They are generally mounted on light poles and visible from inside cars with steep windshields.

Please make sure that your wife checks this before she buys it. She may be able to see just fine if she is "short of stature" but if it is a problem, then it will zap the enjoyment out of driving the car.

HA! That is actually a really good point ceb! The car DID originate in Europe didn't it?

[axztx]

I'd have to wear an adult diaper if I drove that thing around Jersey. I wouldn't want to get hit in that by any of the gigantic SUVs that Americans love to drive.

[Uber V8]

I thought the OP's question was "how would this look next to his 335is?"

[Anonymosity]

Originally Posted by FwdFtl

I thought the OP's question was "how would this look next to his 335is?"

Nope, it was "How would this look next to my 335is ?"

[Dark_Knight_335]

Originally Posted by axztx

I'd have to wear an adult diaper if I drove that thing around Jersey. I wouldn't want to get hit in that by any of the gigantic SUVs that Americans love to drive.

LMAO

[ddtully@]

wife is barely 5' so lights not an issue - plus in the Boston area, most lights are on poles not strung across street.

[MR///M3]

Originally Posted by ddtully@

I have found that every make and every owner out there has their horror stories regarding a particular make.

Many regard BMW as a maintenance and dependability nightmare. I for one have not had a single problem (save the lone fuel pump issue with my first 335i) with any of my 4 BMW's.

As far as the traffic light issue is concerned, you didn't have traffic lights on your test drive ? I had the same issue with an Audi TT but the number of times that happened was infrequent enough that that car's qualities far outweighed the inconvenience.

Her love of the looks and performance (the JCW blows away the S which blows away the standard Cooper - think 328 to 335 to M3) will outweigh any minor inconvenience.

The JCW doesn't blow away the S by any means... It only has about 20-25hp more than the S whereas the S has around 60hp more than the standard Cooper.

[ddtully@]

6.1 vs. 6.5 vs. 8.3 seconds to 60 respectively ... 208 hp vs. 181 vs 121

[Boost Gomez]

So it's more like 328i to 335i to 335is