Hey guys and girls,

Just introducing myself, dont have a mini yet but i have tons of questions.

First off im coming from an e36 M3, does any body have any insight on these two vehicles, any body come from something similar?

Also is the Sport suspension worth the extra money, can someone explain the major upgrades?

Is there any where other than the stealership to order things? For example I think the armrest for 250$ is outrageous.

Im on a budget here and so far the only options I have listed are;
lsd
xenon headlights
sport suspension

I noticed that there is an alarm option, is this an upgraded alarm or does the mini not come standard with one?

Any options you couldnt live without that i might have overlooked?

Are the options negoitable or is the price pretty set by the listings on miniusa?

btw The car will be my dailer driver but I also plan on tracking the car.

Thanks for any input,

Kevin

 

Congrats. Don't have my mini yet, but I can help some.

Prices seem to be MSRP, not much negotiations, but you can get some extras thrown in. I got sport stripes, floor mats and my iPod installation for free.

No stock alarm, AFAIK, the option adds motion sensor/interior sensor.

Yours is a "S" or just MC?

Options are up to you everyone has their own opinion...

 

Yeah going for the "S", maybe I can haggle a set of floormats and arm rest out of them..

 

Check out the vendor section of NAM to get an idea of what parts are available aftermarket. And check out any MINI dealers web site for a list of factory options. Between those two you should get a much better idea of pricing and parts selection.

As for the last statement, you might want to do some checking into what tracking your car would do to your warranty. I have no direct experience but have read some posts here that havent ended well for the owner and their warranty regarding tracking their car.

 

I had mentioned tracking the car to my salesman, and as long as it stays stock I dont see how they could refuse my service? Maybe im wrong but my salesman never mentioned anything.

I will check the vendor section later tonight, thanks for the input

 

Check out the Warranty section of the owners manuals. I do believe that they mention that they reserve the right to deny service if you partake in "competitive" driving . I don't think many dealers hold to this or actually care...but I do think it's mentioned. I don't think will have any trouble if you take it out to the occasional track day. Plenty of people do it and have never reported problems

 

suffering though my e46 M3 daily drive till my mini arrives(see gallery)....and check out https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=118225
i have to use the phone a lot so bluetooth was big for me. i don't know what the e36 drive feels like, but i suspect the sport suspension would feel closer to home for you. of course, you can mod the suspension later. i've got my wish list ready....believe me you'll have plenty of time to do research while you wait for your baby to get built and cross the pond! enjoy

 

A couple of sites that I have found that have some reasonable prices for parts/accessories are... minimania.com & outmotoring.com

They both have a pretty good variety of stuff, and if you or a friend is handy, you wouldn't need to pay for installation. Although I wouldn't recommend trying to follow directions on something like a different suspension, stuff like that should be left to the Mini Doctor.

Hope it helps...enjoy!

 

minigirl78, Thanks for the links. After doing alot of wrenching on the e36, I plan on doing all the work myself on the next project. (Still not sure what that will be) whatever it is Im not to worried about doing the install myself. Ive found alot of great write ups DIY's on the m3forums, so im sure theres some on here as well.

 

kwipp, where do you live? there may be a great resource nearby. for example, i found out i live 15 minutes from helix! http://www.helix13.com/mini/products
i plan on buying parts, getting advise, and using their shop for trickier installs. or you may find a good source of info from your regional motring club.