1. CP is a nice, solid, serious instrument. As noted, pups are very nice. However, it has teeny things that bug me given how well executed the guitar is otherwise. I needed to shim the neck a smidgen, frets are a little sharp, and after 'updating the classic Jaguar with some new twists' Fender STILL makes a fairly useless rhythm circuit (what a waste of wiring, FENDER STOP IT ALREADY). Mine is candy apple red and looks bitchin.
2. I went to a decent store Mr. music, Boston) when I got the VM JM. They had Jags too; most were just not that lively. Happily, one was and I bought it immediately. Olympic white, also looks nice. Neck pup (key for JM) shockingly good for a Duncan Designed. Bridge pup is overheated and crappy. Bridges on both JMs and Jags is a whole conversation, but the bridge on the VM just feels tinny to me. I haven't bothered with the trem. The finish though on this guitar is amazing for the price, hell for any price. frets are real good, neck is terrific. One half hour set up and she's singing like a canary. Can't imagine how I'd have felt if I got one of the others ....
3. Think about scale length. 24" can feel mighty small above the 12th fret.
4. How important are cases? Can't you add them later?
5. Jags and JMs have similarities but are NOT the same guitar .... I get the whole "I wanna offset" thing, just saying they won't play, feel or sound to you like guitars with a ton in common.
6. I know a lot of professional musicians who swear by Jazzmasters. Few swear by Jags. YMMV. But probably not.
If you mail order a VM, I'd prepare in advance to want to ship it back once or twice; the QC seems very uneven but the good ones are a steal.
Hope this helps.
Bumpity - interested to hear your reaction(s).
I'd already posted a long post previously, so I didn't delve into the details of the set ups, but I basically feel that when you buy a Fender, you are at Square 1 and there are several steps of set up to go. Even prior to shimming, I'd had to remove the neck to reset it and adjust the TR .... and I'm still just waiting for the moment the spirit hits me and I order a Mastery bridge for it.
Why Fender doesn't just freaking purchase Mastery and make those stock on all offsets, I'll never know. Imagine how competitive it would be to have a less expensive, higher-production rate version of those bridges in the VMs? Who would NOT be interested in that vs. any other surf/indie type guitar? And the CPs, AVRIs ... all deserve real Mastery bridges. I'm certain FMIC could accomplish that for $50-100/guitar in street price. If Yamaha can put real bridges on their surf guitars, so can FMIC.
Returning to the topic of set ups and Fender offsets, I just think that offsets require focused attention to set up. For that reason, they tend to either frustrate or be avoided by those who cannot or will not set up their guitars. Many, many times I've encountered an offset that someone describes as 'bad' one way or the other, and with some work ... voila! whattayaknow, now it sounds and plays great! Go figure. 
(Digression: I do not like the HTML code "manwink," that sounds super dicey in a California Male catalog way)
You can extend this line of thinking down the price point trajectory: cheaper guitars will have less quality components, less hours of finish time invested in them, and overall require MORE setting up. And yet, they are likelier to be purchased by those who are less able or willing to make that effort.
Which, really, means opportunity knocks for those who enjoy tinkering, tweaking and refining their axe(s). Some guitars HAVE to be considered 'modding platforms' because otherwise they're barely usable, but some just seem better for it - and in that category I put the VM Squiers.
Last thought (and I post this incessantly, apologies) is that when it comes to the lower cost components in cheap guitars, you really see tremendous inconsistency. Which means if you're able to choose from a large number of instruments, you are far more likely to find one that has some decent parts. My VM JM's neck is terrific - nicer than the neck on some American and Japanese Fenders I have. But the other 3 that were at Mr. Music were frankly crummy. I expect that, but those who look for consistency usually find their patience exhausted.
Let us know how you like them!
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