Hi Folks,

I am new to this forum as well as Mini's. I went to me local BMW dealer last week for service on my 550i and met a gentlement from Mini dept. One hour later, I signed up for a nice MCS Chili Red Rally Edition... However, at that time, he showed me a very nice JCW Chili Red Competition Edition #34 of 64 available in Canada.

My question is, would you buy the JCW or get the MCS and mod it ? What are the down side of a MCS modded VS JCW as well as JCW vs MCS ? I like power and handling and understand that the JCW is "better" oem equipped. What about I use that extra money on a MCS ? Will it be better than a JCW and how much investment would it require to match a JCW ?

Might sound a lot of questions but I just want to be sure I got the right deal/car !!

Thanks
Bo

 

The JCW Competition Package car available in Canada only is actually a very good deal for the equipment level - JCW tuning kit, suspension, brake kit, LSD, shift ****, Alcantara steering wheel, factory Aerokit, etc., and it is a limited run of 64 copies.
I'd say this is the better car to buy compared to a Rallye package and then modding it, and some of the items will not be available or if so very expensive. The Aerokit alone is probably around $5K.
The CP car is the closest we get to the GP which is offerred in the U.S., UK and other parts of the world, but not Canada.
Buy one!

 

Many thanks for you opinion, I will await others comments

 

wow only 64? sounds pretty rare, good luck with your decision

 

Quick...lick the door handle! Its worth it!!!

 

What commercial was that? I remember something like that before... hmmmmm

 

Folks,

Now you need to convince me of all the pro of a JCW Competition edition over a MCS + Mods...

 

3 words... Warranty, warranty, warranty

And if you aren't worried about that, then still buy it because you have a great set of "mods" right off the get-go and you can "mod/upgrade" as you see fit.

 

Get the JCW if you want to have the warranty.

The JCW kit costs like 6K I think. For 6K you could have a JCW killer. I mean a car that is miles ahead of a JCW in terms of performance- like 230 whp and up. I mean think about it- if you got an intake, exhaust, and 19% pulley (~$1500 including installation) you could go from 168 hp to easily 185 or 190, depending on the car (some cars seem to have more hp stock then others). Then you could get some injectors and a custom tune and in no time you'd be at 210, w/o that annoying delay on the throttle. It is by no means cheap to mod either...I'd estimate about 3.5 to 4K(?) to equate to JCW.

I also like the sleeper look, so I'd rather have an S with 210hp then a JCW.

 

The pro of JCW is that the system, package, is tested and proven. All of the parts have been engineered to work together and are covered under warranty. If something breaks even when you aren't under warranty (older car) you could go to a dealer and they would know how to fix it.

Overall, the cost of the parts you get w/ JCW would be more then if you bought them all seperately from the aftermarket...but there are often cases where the mods don't match up correctly (modding bug can cause this), resulting in potential losses. You really need to know what you're doing to go far into the 200 range.

For 6K it is possible to have better performing car then JCW, but it takes skill and experience. I don't happen to have the guts or experience to go this route! So i'd be fine w/ JCW specs and debadge it (but its too much $$$!!!!).

 

And I am sure the OP appreciates the advice... a year later.... :impatient

 

AHHH!!! I didn't even realize that! Who dredged the thread back up?!

 

It was a jetta or Passat commercial. There is one left on the lot so the guy runs out of the dealer and licks the handle as someone else is looking at it.
I went the mod route myself, althought the warrenty is a good thing you really pay for it.
I've found great enjoyment, reserching mods and installing them as well.
I also went the route of finding a good body shop, since there rates are usually lower than the dealers rates for work.

It's really what you want out of the car. The limited run sounds pretty sweet though and its ready out of the door.
At that point you can take it further as well.

Good luck with your decision.

 

i would buy it just cuz with a run of only "64"?? gotta be in the lines of collectible just as the GP is

 

It's been a couple of years now. Is Mz3bo still around?
What did you end up doing?

 

I fell for this very "stale" thread too! In my case because I have one of the CompEd JCW's (#21/64).

 

error/15690

 

I agree & good luck with your project. It will definitely give you lots of fun smoking overpriced *** and lots of pride for taking chances and accomplishing it.