Questions about the Mini Cooper S
 

Hey everyone,
I'm new to the board. I currently have a BMW 325ci and since the lease is ending, I'm thinking about getting a Mini Cooper S.

I was looking at the Mini site and I really like the Checkmate edition in Space Blue or Royal Grey.

Can you help me on what to get from the factory?
I was thinking of getting sport package, checkmate package and limited slip differential (is it worth it?).
I really wanted to get the Works pacakge, but is there any better aftermarket "package" I could get that would be better? Dinan, magnaflow, etc?

I plan on modding it and hopefully getting some new rims and a new body kit.

Can someone tell me how much this Hamann front bumper is and where to buy it from?

http://www.motorcities.com/media/ima...-Hamann-A.jpeg

Thanks a lot!

LSD is worth it, I can't speak for the rest, but here's some opinion:

We've had our 06 MCS since about Thanksgiving, and if I were ordering again from scratch there are only a couple of things I'd do differently: 1) I would order the anthracite headliner since the white headliner does not go with the anthracite dash or the black seats, 2) I'd skip the factory armrest--it's just really not that comfortable, 3) I'd seriously consider the JCW package. I have little stomach for after-market mods, and I'm betting that a late-build 2006 JCW will have better long term value than any other Gen 1 MINI. I didn't buy it the first time around because it just seems so overpriced, but if I were ordering today I'd be tempted to drop some luxury items (like the premium package and the H/K audio and get the JCW.

Plenty of folks here have been more than happy with aftermarket mods, so listen to what they have to say as well.

Good luck! You won't regret getting an MCS.

thanks a lot for the informative reply.

I've also heard a lot about Mini's keeping up to faster cars like the G35, WRX and even the E46 M3...What would you need to do for it to have performance on par with an M3?