I purchased this grill kit from Amazon for 64.99 shipped (56.99 + 8.00 shipping) It is heavier than I expected and a glossy black. Easy to install and I looks better than hoped. Overall it fits well and the lower did not require any trimming of the louver, although it may fit tighter if there is some trimming. I may decide to trim that area if it bothers me.
Looks great, I was dead set on doing this even before I bought mine but I've grown to like the OEM grille much more now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I don't mind the R56 look. And I think it all depends on how you photograph it, too. Blue car is glossy "piano" black, red car is matte black (prefer that). You do need to paint the hood behind the grill flat black, or it looks goofy from head on angle. I got those two from ebay vendors, but they are essentially the exact same part as shown above. The clips that came with mine were junk and would not grip on to the plastic stems, but I was able to recycle those that came off the original grill, which really work well. Not a fun install job unless I just haven't figured out how to get those fasteners pushed on efficiently or without dropping them under the car. That's the main reason I haven't done the dark silver Mini yet. Maybe this year. Oh, and it takes a while of Goo-Gone or hot steam treatment to get off the glue from the original lower part. Again, no fun, but the result was worth it.
You didn’t need the clips. Just use a heat gun to semi melt the black pins and fold them over with a flat screwdriver and let it cool for a few minutes. The grill will be snug and not rattle.