I am in the process of letting go of 2 toys (zx10 sport bike and a Yamaha Road star) and 1 commuter car (06 Mustang) and replacing it with a Mini-Cooper S. I took a test ride in one a few days ago and I am sold on it, I have done some initial research but i have a few questions, and hope YOU MINI MANIACS can help with some advice I would greatly appreciate it. This car is going to be my weekend Fun driver but week day commuter..
1. Should I go new or used?
I think S model up till 2011 is supercharged opposed to Turbo Charged what are your thoughts..
2. I am looking at getting the following options: Sports suspension, Traction control, Heated seats, 17" rims. should I get any of these after market or is stock the best bang for my buck?
3. I havent been able to find a stereo system or place that would work with a mini so it seem I will just upgrade the speakers and keep the radio stock any thoughts peeps?

if you respond to one or any of these THANKS!! if not.. Thank you for looking anyway... I cant wait to get my mini hopefully sooner than later...
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT HOLIDAY!!!

 

Welcome....
Glad to hear you are joining the ranks! If you go NEW, you get what you want!!!That was a Huge factor for me... Now compare the $$$ of a new car vs. a 2011. You might see that buying new is a better deal. Save your $$$ on the sport suspension and build it yourself, you have way more options to go with in the aftermarket world, if you search Integral Audio on NAM, there will tons of info to read on what is happening with AM sound.

My 2012 is my fun car too as well as a blank canvas to create...

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of MINI. You will find the car is awesome. But to answer your questions:
1) New is good, but if there happens to be a MINI Next (CPO) on your dealer's lot, you may want to consider that. It will cover up to 6 years or 100K miles of powertrain+. It may also come with an extended maintainance plan that could be pre-paid up to 100K miles. Seek wisely Grasshopper. The S model from 2002 to 2006 was Supercharged. 2007 to date are Turbo.
2)Forget the Sport Suspension. It rides like a rock and unless you are going out on the track forgetaboutit. Stability Control is standard and Dynamic Traction Control is an upgrade, but would most likely need to be ordered and now you have a 12 week wait and a 2012. If you fall into DTC then that is just a bonus. Heated Seats? Dude I live in New Hamsphire and bun warmers are a must here. I like my 17", but with wider diameter wheels come lower profile tires. Add runflat to low profile and you can have a harsh ride. I dumped my RFTs for conventional tires. I run 16" for winter tires. If you get aftermarket wheels make sure they have tire pressure transducers in them so your TPS will work. You can also add a Cold Air Intake or K&N makes a low flow air filter that pops in the air intake box. Short shifters are fun too.
3) I'm okay with my Harmon-Kardon stereo, but I'm not an audiophile. The passenger cabin of a MINI is not the most acoustically perfect place, but if a booming stereo floats your boat then go yachting young man.
Have a Happy Happy and Merry Merry yourself.

Motor on and Motor happy

WeaverNH

 

I would go new if you can afford it. However, an '06 GP would also be a kick to have (that is like the JCW on steroids).

Superchargers came on the Ss thru '06; the turbos started in '07. The turbo version gets better gas milage and has more stock Hp. The '11 and '12s have an updated engine which was done to take care of some issues and give it more power.

As for options on a new...
All of them come with traction control. What you probably want is the DTC. This gives you a couple of good things for spirited driving, one being eLSD which replaced the mechanical LSD they used to offer.
- In my book the sport suspension is a must.
- Get the seats with the leather inserts. These come with lumbar support and better bolstering. Can't do aftermarket with these unless you can figure out all of the nanny crap.
- My 2012 stock stereo is much better than the '07's. You could opt for the Harmon-Kardon. That comes with upgraded speakers. But I think that you will have trouble finding anything aftermark that will fit. Personally, I think the car sounds great with the stereo off
- If you live in a cold/snow climate...got to love the heated seats.
- Also go with the automatic climate control (wish I did)
- Stick with the stock 16" wheels, put snows or all seasons on them for the winter months and use the money you save to buy a nice set of light weight aftermarket wheels with some sticky gumballs.
- I am not a big fan of the dual pane sunroof. I found it to be noisy.

Just my 2 cents.

BTW - welcome to the insanity otherwise known as Mini Coopers...you've been bit

 

I just bought my first Mini. Literally picked it up two nights ago. I still can't stop smiling. It's the most fun car I have ever owned. Also the first brand new car I've ever owned. The wait was grueling but in the end, worth it to get what you want. It also gives you (me anyway) a stronger sense of attachment to the car. About the goodies, what the others said above is right on. I'm a bit of an audiophile. Not overboard. I used to be. Previous cars had custom jbl, alpines, Polk audio, etc, etc. so I know crazy loud and clear systems. I've heard many people complain that the HK systems n the Minis are substandard. I gotta say, I think it's great. It could have more bass(deeper) but that's the only complaint. It sounds great. I have RF tires now because that's how it shipped on 17"s. I like the ride. The vast majority of people here don't like them. Maybe I'll learn to dislike them as well. Haha. But for now I like them and don't mind the stiffer ride. Also. I have no spare, so Rfs make sense. Anyway, have fun shopping.

 

Thank you for your input... DANG!! and quick response =) You folks have given me more ideas and some more stuff to think about... in a good way.. I had taken my motorcycles to the track and I want to get the mini on the track also ... =) i think it would do awesome.... im near the california speed way.. I will look into that later.. but for now working on getting the mini first after liquidating my vehicle inventory... hehehe.. I did most of my own maintenance and upgrades on my bikes so when the time comes nothing like turning a wrench on your own ride.. specially when you do triple digit speed =) I cant wait to tinker with my mini =) and joining the rest of you in the MINI MADNESS!! MOTOR ON PEEPS!! MOTOR ON!!

 

Drive/ride in as many modded-MINIs as you can to get a feel for what direction you want to go. Visit MINI meets near you and talk to owners- we all love to brag and show-off.

With that said there are a few options, if ordering new, I'd avoid, for a daily driver/wekend track or SOLO car-

Sunroof- too heavy and all the weight is up high.

Larger diameter OE wheels- order the no-cost wheel and all season tires and plan on buying lightweight WIDER wheels and non-RF tires.

Sport Suspension- although relatively cheap there are better options out there.

I bought my MCS used from a close freind and when he ordered the car he asked my opinion on options; the only options selected were-

LSD (non-issue on a '07+) replaced with a Torsen during second clutch change.
Xenon Headlights- in order to get stiffer front springs, and to help visibility
Anthracite Headliner
Center Arm rest- since removed.

What I'd add if I had Mr. Peabody's WABAC machine? I'd add heated/leather cloth seats and OBC.

Very miminalist...but on a daily driver only- I'd load it up but still no sunroof.

Good luck!

 

If you are looking to track the car, then I would highly suggest the sports suspension, or if you have the money the JCW suspension. I know, there are a lot of people think the Mini stuff is crap, but it really is not. From personal experience, the base S suspension, while OK is not that good for the track. Even after some upgrades (bigger rear sway bar, camber plates, shocks, wheels with less offset) it still was marginal compared to the sport supension and was far below the JCW suspension. The sports suspension is an inexpensive option that will definately get you going. After you have been out for a few times then you can decide what needs to be mod'ed, if anything. I do know people, even one driver who races stock cars on road courses, who track their stock JCWs and find them to be very compentent on the track with no mods.

The stiffer springs that FWD-MX5 mentions when ordering the Xenon Headlights is the "sports package" and that does get you the sports suspension. I would order the suspension separately (which is what I did). The sports suspension gets you larger front and rear sway bars and stiffer shocks, along with the stiffer springs. So it is an all around suspension upgrade. The sway bar setup they give you, while both are larger, the rear is proportionally a bit stiffer which removes some of the dreaded understeer. IMHO a very worthwhile investment.

Also for the track you will want the DTC option on a new car (or any used car after '09). That will get you the eLSD (electronic limited slip differential) which is absolutely necessity on the track, otherwise you will spend half your time just trying to control that spinning inside front wheel on every turn. Use that until you can get a good mechanical LSD put in (there are a lot of posts about which mechanical LSD is the best).

While I have been basically talking about new here, you can look for these parts in used cars. The earlier ('06 and older) JCWs would make a good track car, especially with the mechanical LSD and the JCW suspension. The power of the older S, unless mod'ed with the pulley change, is a little low and you will probably be looking for more power (the JCW is ~208 hp).

Lastly, don't forget a good set of race brake pads...again a lot of posts about that subject on here.

Glad to see the enthusiasm

 

The xenons were ordered as a stand alone option, MINI had about 30 different spring rates depending on options. I was after the stiffest springs with the lightest option- xenons did this- in anticipation of Solo GS.

 

If ordering new, pretend to order with yourself (or your partner). The MA uses same tool on miniusa.com website. Then make sure you don't change your order for 2 weeks. If you still did not change your order you know what you want. Ordering these cars is kind of hard due to number of options. I've ordered 2 other cars i nthe past, bmw and jeep and this was by far the hardest. As far as options I would get the bluetooth for sure, due to state laws for hands free driving. From what I can tell, after market radio might be very costly. I've ordered the standard radio and I hope its ok, but if your already thinking of an upgrade just order with the HK. Good luck.

 

Is it possible that you have more options than we have in the States? I think we only have 3 maybe 4 spring/suspension options...stock Justa, stock S (may be the same), sports suspension and the JCW.

Just curious...it sounds like you didn't go with the packages that have the larger sway bars (sports or JCW), mind if I ask why not go with the larger sway bars with the stiffer springs for the Solo?

FWIW - I got the standard radio and like it. It is better than the one that came in my '07

 

My car is a US spec- I work for Uncle Sam in Germany.

There are specific springs for specific options- heavier springs for sunroof cars and even heavier springs for roof+sport suspension etc. Look at a few different MINI springs and you'll notice paint marks- each color represents a specific spring rate.

There was no sport suspension option for a MCS in 06.

 

Interesting observation.

 

Get a nice used one and use the extra dough to upgrade the heck out of it. Just my 2 cents.

 

Get a GP!

 

Go to your local bookstore and pick up the Dec 2011 Grassroots Motorsports magazine. They have a Gen 1 buyers guide.

It is performance based (vice how many cup-holders, babyseat fitments, etc.)

A '05 S w/ LSD was their suggestion.