F56 Mini questions

Author
Discussion

biggbn

23,430 posts

221 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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Can't help with advice re Cooper s etc, buy I'm into my fifth year of f56 ownership, basic oneD model, but I've put 60k miles on it and it still drives tight, no bangs or rattles, great wee cars.

Deep Thought

35,843 posts

198 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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nickfrog said:
The other thing I would miss with the S in the JCW seats, although perhaps there are some with them? Not sure?
I'm almost certain you could option them from new, but they'd be rare as no doubt +£££s to +££££s as an option.

I remember when i was ordering my Cooper S at the time back in 2018 seeing the options and it was there on the standard Cooper S.

Mine was a Seven, so had some limited edition colours and the half leather upgrade Cooper S seats.




Olivera

7,154 posts

240 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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Deep Thought said:
CrippsCorner said:
Can't you just add spacers? I had to 15mm on to clear the brakes, but there were no issues, works perfectly.
You can, and you can also upgrade the wheels to wheels that fit the bigger brakes, however neither of those gets round the fact that the servo is bigger on the JCW also, so you wont ever get "JCW brakes" on a Cooper S, even with the bigger brakes fitted.
The JCW also has brake ducting from the front bumper to each wheel arch, you can see this if you look inside the arches or take a wheel off. Fitting the JCW calipers, discs, pads, wheels to clear, servo and ducting setup to a Cooper S would be a huge expense and hassle.

Kuwahara

850 posts

19 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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Mrs Kuwahara just took delivery of a JCW F56 this week ,she previously had the R56 JCW and I never really got on with it and the manual was clunky.

This car feels on a different planet and the auto really suits it….

Deep Thought

35,843 posts

198 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
quotequote all
Olivera said:
Deep Thought said:
CrippsCorner said:
Can't you just add spacers? I had to 15mm on to clear the brakes, but there were no issues, works perfectly.
You can, and you can also upgrade the wheels to wheels that fit the bigger brakes, however neither of those gets round the fact that the servo is bigger on the JCW also, so you wont ever get "JCW brakes" on a Cooper S, even with the bigger brakes fitted.
The JCW also has brake ducting from the front bumper to each wheel arch, you can see this if you look inside the arches or take a wheel off. Fitting the JCW calipers, discs, pads, wheels to clear, servo and ducting setup to a Cooper S would be a huge expense and hassle.
Totally worth the extra for a JCW.

I really loved my modded Cooper S, but if i was buying another MINI in the morning it would be the JCW all day long.

matt21

4,289 posts

205 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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Picked up my wife’s new F56 Cooper S Sport in Nanuq white today. Love it so far. Feels quick, torquey and doing 47mpg. So much spec on it too. Makes my 5 Series feel basic. Very impressed.

ChrisH72

Original Poster:

2,204 posts

53 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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Happy Easter everyone!

Many thanks for all the info and owner reviews, its really helping to form my opinion.

At the moment I'm thinking definitely JCW. In all honesty I'd prefer an LCI which seems to be 2018 on wards. I want the proper seats (heated) and also the infotainment screen (just not that basic LCD strip). Nice to have would be 17 inch track spokes although I do like the 18's and could sort the ride with tyres. Pan roof possibly but not essential. And I'm considering opening it up to the auto which I believe was much improved with the LCI which has 8 speed DCT. Probably still prefer manual. Approved used would also be nice especially if I have to buy from a distance.

Something like this would be ideal if slightly over budget.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023032957...

Am I right in thinking that if I go for AUC then my local Mini dealer would be able to do any warranty work? That Cardiff car is Sytner which is the same group as my local dealer.

ChrisH72

Original Poster:

2,204 posts

53 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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This one looks good too.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302154...

There seems to be LCI and non LCI cars from 2018. Are the rear lights the only visual clue? I imagine some owners could have put the Union Jack lights on pre facelift cars. Obviously easier to tell the difference with the auto.

12TS

1,859 posts

211 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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Warranty. If it’s an AUC and covered by warranty any mini dealer will be able to do it

AFAIK swapping lights isn’t straightforward but it’s possible. Don’t know how else you can spot an LCI car.

Good luck with your spec shopping, it may take a while to get what you want. There’s so many options it can be tricky getting the right combination.

nickfrog

21,189 posts

218 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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I like both those that you just listed, the green one almost looks black.

I can sense a bit of budget creep, which is to be expected...

OldSkoolRS

6,754 posts

180 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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nickfrog said:
I like both those that you just listed, the green one almost looks black.

I can sense a bit of budget creep, which is to be expected...
I like them all too...budget creep is real though; I started looking for a shed replacement at about £4k and found only 'Prince' engine Minis in my budget, moved up to around £7k for a really tidy Mito with low miles. Then thought I'd look again at Minis...only a One or perhaps a Cooper (non S), but creeping up towards 9K now. paperbag

cerb4.5lee

30,724 posts

181 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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This thread really has me looking back fondly at mine, and it is making me miss it a lot!

I've also decided that red is now my favourite colour for these as well.

ChrisH72

Original Poster:

2,204 posts

53 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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Definitely a budget creep!

I think I'm probably looking at 20k for the right car. Could go more but my issue then is what else is available for the money. I've mentioned the i20N before and they seem to be available brand new for 25k with discount. Given that these 20k Minis are now 5 years old it really does make you think. Then of course there's the Fiesta which can easily be had for 18k and no need to search for options.

I never thought it would be this hard to choose but when spending that amount of cash I feel the meed to get it right.

Back from hols now so some test drives are in order!

On top of all that I keep looking out of the window at my 7 grands worth of 6 year old mk7 ST3..



Edited by ChrisH72 on Sunday 9th April 11:00

stevemcs

8,674 posts

94 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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I didn’t think the 8speed was a dct, just the Aisin box, the 7speed was dct.

OldSkoolRS

6,754 posts

180 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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ChrisH72 said:
Definitely a budget creep!

On top of all that I keep looking out of the window at my 7 grands worth of 6 year old mk7 ST3..
From the other end; that's my budget, but I'm too tight to pay the VED on it as a second car/shed replacement. Is that the less risky engine in those as I fancied a 'Zetec Red' at one point until I read about the 3 cylinder Ecoboost models being a ticking time bomb?

Good luck with the search. smile

ChrisH72

Original Poster:

2,204 posts

53 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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OldSkoolRS said:
ChrisH72 said:
Definitely a budget creep!

On top of all that I keep looking out of the window at my 7 grands worth of 6 year old mk7 ST3..
From the other end; that's my budget, but I'm too tight to pay the VED on it as a second car/shed replacement. Is that the less risky engine in those as I fancied a 'Zetec Red' at one point until I read about the 3 cylinder Ecoboost models being a ticking time bomb?

Good luck with the search. smile
Mk7 ST is a 1.6 turbo 4 cylinder. It's done nearly 80k now and been faultless. VED is now 180 I think.

I'll be sad to see it go but it's time to move on. Despite the cost to change I think decent ICE cars will remain desirable in the near future. Life's too short to worry anyway!

cerb4.5lee

30,724 posts

181 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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ChrisH72 said:
On top of all that I keep looking out of the window at my 7 grands worth of 6 year old mk7 ST3..



Edited by ChrisH72 on Sunday 9th April 11:00
That looks very smart. coolthumbup

Surely they are worth more than £7k aren't they? I wasn't expecting them to be that cheap.

ChrisH72

Original Poster:

2,204 posts

53 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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Mines quite leggy and I'd expect around 7k as part ex. Probably closer to 8k private but its due a service and MOT in June so it's whether I get those done to sell it or just trade it in as is. It'll go on a dealer forecourt at 10k I guess.

snorkel sucker

2,662 posts

204 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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nickfrog said:
I like both those that you just listed, the green one almost looks black.

I can sense a bit of budget creep, which is to be expected...
I had a Rebel Green one..lovely colour. Looks almost black in photos and in dull light but really opens up to a lovely green colour in sunlight.

It likes to be kept clean though and it does scratch easily being a non metallic colour.

snorkel sucker

2,662 posts

204 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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