I'm hanging around these forums hoping to become a future Mini owner. I'm currently thinking of either a basic Clubman or Countryman, and was wondering how resistant the dealers are to having you order a basic model with few options?

I'm under pressure to divest myself of one of my two seat cars, but having a hard time finding one with decent mileage (getting 46.6 mpg in my Smart ForTwo).

 

Welcome to NAM.

My guess is that most dealers wouldn't put up much resistance to a low options order, but they may want some additional deposit up front on any unusual order (few options on a MINI is unusual) that might be hard to sell should you back out.

My last online build on a 2011 MC for autocrossing in SCCA H Stock totaled $21,850. It had only the Sport Package ($1250) and the sport suspension ($500), and I could probably do without those.

If you don't need a 2011, some dealers still have left-over 2010s that they are discounting several thousand dollars. They tend to have several option packages, have a few hp less than the 2011s, and your color choices might be limited.

There is no MINI option that would get anywhere near the mpg you're getting in the Smart, but you can trade some mpg for much more fun.

 

I've got a basic Countryman on order with very few options, total around $24.5k, no problems or grief what so ever, told them what I wanted and they placed the order. My deposit was $1K.

 

I ordered my car a year ago August. It's a base Cooper with only the winter package and an alarm. The sticker was just over $20k. Should be no problem.

 

I frequent Prestige MINI in Mahwah, NJ. They almost always have a base MC on the showroom floor. The only option on that car was automatic.

Many of their service loaners have the following options: auto, cold weather package and bluetooth/USB/iPod.

If placing an order, I am sure you can get as little or as much as you want on the car.

 

I ordered my MCS with no "packages", only black headlight housings/Xenons, and alarm system from the factory and had no problems with a $1000 down payment. I do dig the Smart Car too.

 

Good luck with your purchase! I don't think you'll have any issues.

 

Thanks for the replies. I did a TCO spreadsheet of a lot of cars, and the Mini and/or Countryman come out the closest in total costs to the Smart. The Fiat 500 might be of interest, but it's pretty much vaporware for now. I'm under pressure from a friend at Ford to consider the Fiesta as well. He'd get me the Friend/Family discount, but I suspect the build quality won't be up to the Mini or even the Smart car.

I've got 3 dealers in the Bay area (4 if I want to drive another 100 miles), so we'll see how I fare. I'll report back.

 

Any MINI will be a night and day difference from your Smart car. If you are just looking for gas mileage, you might want to consider a different car. If you are looking for a great handling car with lots of personality, then by all means get a MINI!

 

That could be true, when I ordered a 2wd truck in 2007 they doubled the deposit to $1,000 for that reason - since the dealership (Dave Smith) is in 4wd country. When GM canceled the order because they were "tooling up for the next model year". I turned around and bought a 4wd off the lot and have been very happy with it, and certainly have used the 4wd on occasion traveling in the winter from Seattle to Pullman.

Any trim MINI will me a trillion times more fun than any stinking SMART car.

 

Not to diss the Fiesta, but from what I've read the handling is not what it could be--Mazda 2, same platform, handles better--and the interior is not so great. But I haven't driven one myself. Sounds like you'd save pretty big bucks going with the Ford, I'd drive both and see if the Mini is worth the extra expense to you.