[GregW]

I’m thinking about asking the dealer to remove the front and rear JCW badges on our new Mini when it arrives. The side badges look more difficult to remove but because they are smaller I’m less bothered.

Are many people here debugging their Minis? Is it a common thing in the Mini community?

This is our first Mini, so I don’t want to do something considered to be in poor taste.

 

[mini2mini]

if it was me I would leave them on , but its up to you

 

[jeremybingham]

No no no leave the badges wesar them with pride. The only people who debadge their cars are those who tart the base model up to look like the sports model. If i see a debadged mini i automatically assume its a mini one(you can't always see brakes etc) . if it's a BMW its a 318! Always worth enabarrassing them!

 

[brandonbardsley]

I forgot to add model deletion to the order so I had to ask the dealer to debadge the rear of my Cooper SD, purely because I just think the scripture is too long and I liked the idea of a clean smooth boot hatch.

I think mine looks great, however I agree with you - I'd still have the boot badge removed. I'm not so fussed about the grille badge, because if you remove that then you'll end up with the black plastic shape of where the badge should be and it won't look very good.

I can think of the reasons why you may be thinking of a full debadge but I'd say the rear is the only place you can do it without affecting the look of the car, i.e. the grille and side scuttles.

Just to add - my car was left with a ghost mark of the badge after the dealer had removed it on delivery... They forgot to buff it clean, so just makes sure there's no marks or residue left before driving away - try catch your boot lid in good light at different angles.

 

[brandonbardsley]

 

[sootyvrs]

No no no leave the badges wesar them with pride. The only people who debadge their cars are those who tart the base model up to look like the sports model. If i see a debadged mini i automatically assume its a mini one(you can't always see brakes etc) . if it's a BMW its a 318! Always worth enabarrassing them!

Not true - I have had a few top range model cars debadged... I personally think the boot can look cleaner without a badge and also it can draw less attention.

OP - Not sure if you can remove the front JCW badge as it's part of the grill and is moulded on. I think you would have to change the grill from another model

 

[brandonbardsley]

No no no leave the badges wesar them with pride. The only people who debadge their cars are those who tart the base model up to look like the sports model. If i see a debadged mini i automatically assume its a mini one(you can't always see brakes etc) . if it's a BMW its a 318! Always worth enabarrassing them!

Hmm.. It depends though because the 320d and 335d X-Drive both have the same tailpipes... So don't go trying to embarrass a 335d now will you.

 

[johnan]

I always assume a debadged car is a base model, just leave them on and wear them with pride!

 

[jeremybingham]

Sorry sooty it is probably not true about you at all but generally is from my experience, as johnan says. Regardless of if its true or not i look at a debadged car and think. ' shame they couldnt afford a decent engine!' Just me personally (but referred this to swmbo who totally agrees and isn't that into cars!)

 

[sootyvrs]

Sorry sooty it is probably not true about you at all but generally is from my experience, as johnan says. Regardless of if its true or not i look at a debadged car and think. ' shame they couldnt afford a decent engine!' Just me personally (but referred this to swmbo who totally agrees and isn't that into cars!)

I agree that it is probably a majority that debadge want to hide the fact that they have a lower spec model... We live in an image oriented world and it's a shame that many feel some sort of shame that they have a lower spec model that they feel they need to hide that...

I also know of many (including this forum) who feel offended when others put badges on their non top of the range models e.g. JCW, BMW M, Audi RS S, VW R etc.... to make their car seem as if it's like their top of the range models... for me isn't the best form of flattery is someone aspiring to have what you own so try and copy? Not everyone is in a forunate position to own the more expensive cars...

 

[Desert Rat]

Sorry sooty it is probably not true about you at all but generally is from my experience, as johnan says. Regardless of if its true or not i look at a debadged car and think. ' shame they couldn't afford a decent engine!' Just me personally (but referred this to swmbo who totally agrees and isn't that into cars!)

But also some with fast or top tier cars prefer to be incognito and not advertise it.
It's your car, do as you wish. No wrong answer, I've seen some de-badged JCWs and then some where the only thing the owner left off was a huge arrow on the roof pointing to the car.

 

[jeremybingham]

Totally agree,sad reflection on society. I like my cars standard. I even liked the city sticker on my metro city!

 

[Davyboy]

My view is do what you want as it's your MINI.

There are a million combination which saves us all having look alike MINI's.

Apart from some people who remove the badge from base models they are also people with modded MINI's who also debadge.

The rear one is easy to remove with a hairdryer and dental floss, then a good buff and polish. The front will take a bit longer, you will need to remove the grill, as said above the badge is part of the grill but you might be able to remove the backing with a Dremel or similar.

 

[GregW]

I think mine looks great, however I agree with you - I'd still have the boot badge removed. I'm not so fussed about the grille badge, because if you remove that then you'll end up with the black plastic shape of where the badge should be and it won't look very good.

I’d assumed that the front badge was clipped in to the grill somehow. As you say it’s going to look odd if there’s a piece of black plastic with the outline and no badge.

Just to add - my car was left with a ghost mark of the badge after the dealer had removed it on delivery... They forgot to buff it clean, so just makes sure there's no marks or residue left before driving away - try catch your boot lid in good light at different angles.

Thanks for the image. I plan to clean, strip any sealants and and detail the car as soon as it arrives. If the dealer removes the rear badge I’ll make sure to give that area special attention.

 

[GregW]

Not true - I have had a few top range model cars debadged... I personally think the boot can look cleaner without a badge and also it can draw less attention.

This is exactly where I'm coming from. I like to be somewhat stealthy ;-) Also I've found a lot of badges have grown in size to the point where they can be a bit garish.

 

[GregW]

The front will take a bit longer, you will need to remove the grill, as said above the badge is part of the grill but you might be able to remove the backing with a Dremel or similar.

In my twisted OCD mind it's got to be front and back or nothing at all. This is what's making me think twice, it's quite a bit of effort for modest gain. With the exception of some subtle debating on higher end cars' I subscribe to @jeremybingham's philosophy of keeping things stock.

 

[jeremybingham]

As has been said, it's your mini have it how you like it-that is the beauty of the car. I'm a sad stock person; had a fiat x1/9 with modded wheels and spent ages hunting out an original set, it's just me i am afraid-i only ever buy a car i love the looks of as is-couldnt buy it if i didnt love it with a view to modding it (much anyway!). I know i'm odd-takes all sorts!

 

[ollie87]

Get them to fit Mini One badges.

 

[jeremybingham]

Hee hee, now that would be fun; pop mini one badges on a jcw! serious stealth--you could scare some drivers!

 

[02fanatic]

Many years ago, my first car was a 1955 Chevy with a 6 cylinder 235 cu in engine, with a 3 speed on the column! Great car! I was a real motor head even in my teens & before, so I decided to drop a 327 V8 into the engine bay & put the 3 speed shifter on the floor! The first thing I did was paint the car a bright burgundy red color & add the classic crossed flags emblem with "327" on both sides of the front fenders (or wings as you Brits say)!

After driving to the local speedway to the races on a weekend night, some smart mouth guy in a hot rod yelled hey you got a 327 in that thing? So we sort of raced away from the stop light & of course he got a good laugh due to my inept performance....it was mostly me despite my 6 banger not being that fast (but still a good engine).

Long story short, after swapping in a new 327 V8 engine & moving the shifter to the floor, and adding fake white walls to the tires & chrome baby moons to the wheels (I couldn't afford fancy wheels) I started enjoying my then very fast 55 Chevy!

Next time after the races, the same guy that made fun of me had to eat crow after I out performed him big time! Mind you, to this day I'm not one to street race, but in my day the stop light drags were quite common and safe with no problems!

The guy yelled over to me and said what happened to your car?....I said "the engine swap is now complete!...the badges aren't fake anymore!" ;-)

Some things never change! LOL!