# How do I verify a MINI is a JCW?



## xiayu (Dec 12, 2014)

How do I verify a MINI is a JCW? I have a feeling the previous owner of my 2006 MINI Cooper S just bought a bunch of badges on ebay or something, and then misrepresented his MINI as a JCW. Is there a VIN lookup that I can do to verify if this car is Cooper S, or also has the JCW package?


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## tim330i (Dec 18, 2001)

Welcome to Bimmerfest! I've moved your question to the MINI forum, you will get more help here. I would think the most efficient way would be to decode your VIN. I am guessing a BMW vin decoder will also decode MINI VINs. If you search for a VIN decoder you can do it yourself or post the last 7 of your VIN and we can see what happens.

Tim


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## BMWFatherFigure (Aug 5, 2012)

I think you will find the JCW thing is mostly a dealer fit Option situation. Cooper or Cooper S can be checked from the VIN. If you can locate the original selling dealer maybe they can confirm what they sold.


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## timfitz63 (Aug 10, 2010)

xiayu said:


> How do I verify a MINI is a JCW? I have a feeling the previous owner of my 2006 MINI Cooper S just bought a bunch of badges on ebay or something, and then misrepresented his MINI as a JCW. Is there a VIN lookup that I can do to verify if this car is Cooper S, or also has the JCW package?


Prior to 2009, there were no factory-produced JCW MINI's; there was a kit, usually dealer-installed (but no necessarily), that boosted engine output. There was also various trim kits attributed to the moniker "JCW," although the JCW badging was generally not applied unless the engine kit had been installed. That's not to say someone couldn't acquire the badging and put it on themselves, though...

As a result, a VIN check of model-year vehicles produced before 2009 will almost certainly not give you the answer to your question. But if I recall correctly, the engine kit had a certificate that came along with it -- so sellers could verify to a buyer that a MINI in question did have the engine kit installed, and was therefore considered a JCW MINI. Your best bet will lie in that approach: making an inquiry of the previous owner for that JCW "Certificate of Authenticity."

In the end, though, if your suspicions are confirmed, you may just be SOL... "Caveat emptor," as the saying goes...


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## Silver Shadow (Dec 12, 2014)

Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!


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## [email protected] (Aug 15, 2012)

My 2007 has a small JCW badge on the valve cover with a serial number, that matches the paperwork that came with the kit. The airbox will also have a JCW badge on it. You can also see if it was fitted with the JCW suspension by looking at the driver door jam. There may also be other info there, I just know the suspension is off the top of my head.


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