Hello everyone. I am trying to decide between purchasing my first mini...It's between a 2004 R53 MC40 edition with full JCW options or 2008 R56 with Sports package. Both are similar in mileage, price, and will be my daily driver. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated....

 

JCW...JCW...JCW...JCW...JCW...JCW...JCW...JCW...JC W...JCW...JCW...JCW...!!!
I'm a little partial to the R53 JCW. Nothing like the super charger whine. MC40 makes it even better! The very first MINI that I looked at buying was an 04 MC40 JCW. Go through the posts here in the first generation forums for things to look for. Ask for the maintenance records if at al possible. Look at the car in general, does everything look like it was well taken care of or is there coffee stains on the carpet, under carriage wires hanging down, etc.... Good luck and keep,us posted.

 

I 2nd the first gen MC40/JCW car.

 

Thanks for the tips and advice. I've been leaning towards the R53 w/ JCW options. Just needed some more confirmation.

 

Honestly it's fully up to you. Which do you like better? Have you driven both?

Personally I like the look and feel of an R56 better, but a good amount of people won't agree with me on that. However the R56 does seem to have a bit more reliability issues...

 

When you say full JCW pkg. be sure it has what you expect, the JCW pkgs did not get good until 05 and later, the early JCW did not have the airbox or 380 injectors. Brake pkg came later also.

 

Post pics of them both, kind of like the 2004 R53 MC40 w/ JCW package. I know some dealerships when the MC40 launched that added a bunch of JCW items to the list on top of the stock MC40. A rare car to find these days.

Good luck whatever you decide.