hello! i am so glad i found this site for me to read all about the mini coopers that i have been looking at for the last two years!!! I have been wanting to get a mini cooper s for a while now, just haven't completely made up my mind. I am still young and spending 28k on a car takes a whole lot of time to decide and working out my budget. hehe
but this forum is totally making me want to get one now!!!
and yes, i have been building one online and i am looking at LB/White bonnet tripe/white roof top/ Premium/sports/cold weather/ convenient packages!
is that asking for too much?

 

Welcome! The obsession has started, and it doesn't really seem to go away! 28K for a car seemed steep to me too, but that's probably because I'm "frugal" and last bought a new car 10 years ago for under 20K. It all depends on so much personal. . .job, outside costs, etc. Every now and then a NAM member posts a car for sale. If you don't have to have it new, that might be a more affordable option!
Either way it happens, best of luck!

 

Welcome and good luck from here on in.. LOL... it's just a downward spiral now..

 

Welcome to NAM yiyid416, from central Ga. Where do you live? Check out
middlegeorgiaminis.com. If we can be of help in your search, let us know. If your budget doesn't allow a new MINI, check out any 05 or 06 cars for sale on NAM, sometimes there are great deals to be had.

 

Consider getting a minimally spec'd MINI. Pick and choose the specific options you want instead of getting every single one in all of the packages.

I'm waiting for the factory JCW kit which will be my big splurge, but other than that, my experience owning 2 MINI's is that the only things I really want extra are xenon lights, LSD, and a few other minor items. The factory can keep their sunroofs, auto climate controls, rain-sensing wipers (I came equipped from birth with rain sensing eyes), etc.

Only get the packages if they contain items that you really will want and use. You'd be surprised what a nice MINI you can build going a-la-carte.

My 2003 MCS came with most of the packages but our 2006 MC only has the specific options we wanted and nothing extra and we feel that less is more. Remember the each little electrical gizmo added is one more electrical gizmo that can go wrong.

 

thanks everyone for your inputs so far!

I did some research and it seems like the '07 model is a whole lot different from the 06, and i've been to the dealership to look at them, haven't test drive yet thoough. but i think i would prefere an 07.

I have thought about getting just the things i want from the packages instead of getting the whole thing. Maybe i am needy or snobby.. hehe.. i wanted some of those good features from each and it turns out that having the package purchase is the best way even though it doesn't make it any cheaper...

This will be my first car purchase and maybe i am aiming my expectation to be real high.. but being a young professional myself I felt that I can probably handle the finance part, it just that i've never made a car payment before so it seems a little scary to make that decision!

I guess my next question, wait for 08? or hurry up on the 07?

And to Silverbullit, i am from middle ga so i will definitely check out your site!

 

I concur.

yiyid, Welcome to NAM

 

It's probably hard to get a 07 at this point now (assuming you place an order in the next few weeks) - again assuming you want one you configure on miniusa.com. You might get lucky and find a configuration that you want (or close to one you want) at a dealer - that way you can skip the whole wait part.

 

I was 20 (currently 23) when I got my MINI....trust me...it is worth it... :-)

 

I went into the configurator with the same sense of things. I tried configurating () things a la carte and then let the 'rator let me know if there was a cheaper way to do things through one of the packages (Sport Package: 17" wheels {$600}, Bonnet Stripe {$100}, DSC {$500}, Xenon's {$500} = $1700 a la carte, $1400 through the package) or whether taking a package would bring down the cost of an additional non-essential item cheap enough to make the package worthwhile (Sunroof {$850}, MFSW {$350}, Premium package makes Auto A/C cost $200 more).

I'm no expert, but from what I saw, there weren't enough upgrades to the '08 to make me want to wait from the late-year '07. Had the R56 cabrio's been expected to be available in the next few months (prior to summer), I would have ended up waiting. As it stands, my wife sits waiting to find out my R56 experience to see if she'd want to go with an R56 Cabrio when they come available.

~Neal

 

Hi, and welcome. I havent been on NAM long and have owned my new MINI since October, a used 02 MCS PS with 45K. The first step for you would be to head to a dealership and plan on spending most of the day just driving the 1st generation and 2nd generation MINIs. I would highly recommend NOT talking price or talking anything about buying the first time you visit the dealership. Your first time is likely to be your most emotional time and when you would not make the BEST decisions. Despite how much you KNOW you want a Mini your mind MAY change after driving one. You also need to compare a Cooper to a Cooper S. My closest Mini dealer is 1.5 hours away so I found a used Cooper S and Cooper to drive locally so I could compare the two.

As for the financial aspect, I understand completely. Before purchasing my MINI used I hadnt had a car payment in about 5 or so years. I found I didnt get really comfortable with the car emotionally until I had made my first payment and knew that financially everything would work out fine.

And lastly, you can always buy used to reduce the price a bit. Prices are dropping a little bit as more of these cars are available for sale and if you look around you can find a deal here or there that will reduce the price quite a bit.

 

wow. thanks everyone for the input. This will help for me to make the decision. I can't wait to start a new thread telling everyone about my new mini!!! (prob be a few months tho )

Since its so close to the end of 07, and i am not completely ready to buy the car, i will prob get the 08 one after the new years and get myself a nice birthday present in April!!!
have a nice holiday everyone!

 

Welcome to NAM...