[Sparky68]

Anyone got any experience of owning one of these?
Went out in a lad at works one last week and it is a little rocket. Thinking about getting the Mrs one to replace her Cooper S.

[Fluoxetine]

Owned a late 2009 JCW for 18 months, selling it last November.

+ve

Felt pretty premium for a small hatchback - Spec'd with xenons / cruise / auto lights and wipers / bluetooth / heated seats etc

Was seriously quick - I drove it to Italy last summer, and while passing through Germany it clocked a GPS verified 151mph on the autobahn

Great fun to throw around - Has a fake e-Diff setting on the stability control

Brakes (316mm 4 pot Brembo's at the front) were excellent

Averaged 35-38 mpg in mixed driving, with potential for 40 mpg +

-ve

Reliability niggles - I was lucky, and only needed work done on a knackered a/c condensor during my ownership. Many have problems with rattly timing chains, coked up cylinder heads and other gremlins.

The boot is tiny - Much smaller than the missus's Renault Clio

They're basically 2 seater's - Room in the back is for kids / emergency adult use

Parts are pricey



Here's my old one at the top of Stelvio



And the blingy OEM Recaros I fitted:



Any queries, just ask

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by Sparky68

Anyone got any experience of owning one of these?
Went out in a lad at works one last week and it is a little rocket. Thinking about getting the Mrs one to replace her Cooper S.

Tey are good Sparky in fact they are a riot to drive but they have weaknesses.

Super Knocking and fuel cut off is one usually partly due to the same issues as we have on the 335i, namely coked inlets, however these cars have issues re the breather system as well, there is a breather within the rocker cover plus one in the inlet manifold as well and guess what now you have to match them up as they've been modified.

If you know your Peugeot's though they're aware of this and have a breather solution

[Sparky68]

Thanks for the info guys, we have been looking at a few but, as per usual for a female she can't make her mind up.

Good to hear the negative bits , will give me some more questions to ask the stealers if she does ever make her mind up!

[Sparky68]

Well, she could not find a car she liked and ended up buying another Cooper S ! Women!

[Sparky68]

Wonder if I can get away with fitting meth without her noticing

[JustinGTP]

I've only owned a Cooper S but to this day I still miss it. Can only imagine the fun a JCW would bring.

[OGM2LCI]

Girlfriend has the old supercharged S, although it's expensive to run it is a good laugh to drive

Mum has the newer turbo charged S but she wont let me know, would love to know how they compare

[Sparky68]

Must say Im liking this one a lot, goes well but, wtf is it with BMW , not only is the sound systems in the e90 useless, they did exactly the same to the Mini. It is worse than the stereo that was in her r53 Mini , a lot worse.

[Sparky68]

Originally Posted by Fluoxetine

Owned a late 2009 JCW for 18 months, selling it last November.

+ve

Felt pretty premium for a small hatchback - Spec'd with xenons / cruise / auto lights and wipers / bluetooth / heated seats etc

Was seriously quick - I drove it to Italy last summer, and while passing through Germany it clocked a GPS verified 151mph on the autobahn

Great fun to throw around - Has a fake e-Diff setting on the stability control

Brakes (316mm 4 pot Brembo's at the front) were excellent

Averaged 35-38 mpg in mixed driving, with potential for 40 mpg +

-ve

Reliability niggles - I was lucky, and only needed work done on a knackered a/c condensor during my ownership. Many have problems with rattly timing chains, coked up cylinder heads and other gremlins.

The boot is tiny - Much smaller than the missus's Renault Clio

They're basically 2 seater's - Room in the back is for kids / emergency adult use

Parts are pricey



Here's my old one at the top of Stelvio



And the blingy OEM Recaros I fitted:



Any queries, just ask

Well after buying her Cooper S I ended up getting one as well, not a Cooper S though.

[j8mbo]

I had an R53 Jcw model . Was a truly wonderful car to own and surprised many many big bhp cars on the road, Downside parts are expensive and have quite a few common problems but what cars don't now a days

[Sparky68]

That looks nice and clean, get what you are saying about suprising more powerful cars, especially on b roads!