Hello all,

I've been looking around NAM for a week or two now and thought I'd say hello. I do not currently own a MINI, but hope to VERY soon, so I hope that I'm not intruding. The MINI has been, hands down, my favorite car for 4-5 years now. Right now I drive a MT white Scion xB (I know there are probably a lot of haters out there) but I'm hoping to be driving a MINI some day soon.

If you have any advise or tips on buying a new MINI (or know anyone who might be interested in a trade ) let me know.

I'm really not sure if I want to buy new or look for something used. Are there any types of creative financing available to keep payments resonable? Right now the payments on my xB are about $220/month and well, I need to find a way to sell the MINI idea to my wife so I'm sure the payment will be important!

I have a couple of friends who are MINI drivers and they have really got me excited about not only the MINI, but the whole MINI community associated with MINI's. So, any help you can offer a fellow enthusiast to hopefully become a real part of the MINI community would be great.

 

Welcome, are you looking at the Cooper (MC) or the Cooper S (MCS)? Are you looking for a stick or auto? I own two MCSs, one is auto and one is stick. When looking to buy our first MINI for my wife who insists on an auto, we test drove the MC and felt it was underpowered. I have had two auto MCs as loaners when one of our MCSs was in for service and I still feel that the auto MC is underpowered. Others will disagree, you would really have to test drive them for yourselves.

The consensus around has been that given the price folks have been asking for their used MINIs and the fact that they are so customizable, ordering a new one is the way to go. If you happen to live in a winter wonderland area, you might be able to find a dealer with something in stock that matches what you desire and you might be able to deal.

Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. Post some more information on what you are leaning towards and I'm sure that more folks will chime in.

 

Thanks for the advise! I love your MINI's too by the way! I'm looking for a MCS manual transmission and pretty open about the color. I like the DS/B combo, EB, IB, HB, and PW/B. Are you saying that if you live in a snowy state they have more in stock? I'm from Minnesota, so hopefully you're right and I may be able to pick up a deal.

One of my concerns is financing which I'll just have to work out myself, I'd just like to keep my payments flexible. Has anyone paid for their car w/ a home equity loan before?

I'm also wondering how the dealers do w/ trade-in values. My guess is that since I have a 2005 Scion xB (which holds its resale value almost as well as the MINI) is that I'll be best off selling it on my own. The xB was my first new car and I don't want to get rid of it, but I've been wanting a MINI for so long that I'd like to see if I can make it happen. Maybe I'll get lucky and the right deal will fall in my lap!

 

Don't know about stock as that depends on dealer allocations versus current sales but odds are that the MINI sales in the snowbelt are slow during February. Whichever color combo you get, you'll love it. Play with the online configurator and figure out what options you want and can afford. Good luck. Beware though, they are like potato chips - bet you can't eat (own) just one.

 

Hi and welcome to NAM. And never think you are intruding...

If you are going for a new '06 MINI...better act by May. I'm not sure if they will accept orders after May. I just picked mine up Friday...so I'm no authority...but my MCSa is all the car I need and then some. Lots of folks say the MC is underpowered, but I disagree. Even though I bought the MCS, I drove manual & auto regular MC and felt they had great power for the average person. Some folks are just more "enthusastic" enthusiasts than others. One point...if you test drive a new MC, also seek someone willing to let you drive a MC that's broken in with at least 10K miles. It seems these cars don't "loosen up" until they're well broken in!

 

Welcome to NAM, MiniAficionado!

Have you visited www.MINIUSA.com to configure a MINI and check out their financing programs? Somebody posted here yesterday that there were quite a few MINIs on lots in Ohio, so perhaps a few calls around would be in order? Also, be sure to check the Marketplace here on NAM.

Good luck with your search and keep us posted.

 

Thanks again for the tips and advise! I have configured my MCS DS/B with the #1 & #3 options and the tan leather interior and it comes to about $25,800 on the MINIUSA site. Just need to somehow justify that to my wife, which I'm not quite sure how to do yet seeing how my current car was about $10,000 less when I bought it new!
I will keep you posted on my progress and hope to be an owner sometime soon...as I've seen a lot of other post, "I've got the MINI bug BAD!" ...again...