Back in November I put in and order for a new '06 decked out with a lot of the '06-specific options.

What it is in a nutshell: My custom "Park Lane"
Royal Grey / Silver Roof / Silver mirrors / Silver hood strips
Sports Package (web-spoke wheel option)
Premium Package (sunroof, etc)
Center Arm Rest
"7" dash (gloss black)
Chrome interior highlights
LSD

All for around $27k

The phone call from the dealer cannot be too far away, so I'm getting prepared for the "panic! what options am i really going to get?!" mode.

I had originally spec'd the car trying to maximize my possible resale value by creating a unique-to-'06 machine. However, the cold reality of $200 per little piece of gloss plastic is hitting me and I'm starting to reconsider some options. If I can get it down to $25k I'd be much happier. I'm also reconsidering the RG color... I'm on the fence back and forth between RG, DS, and BRG.

I'm not exactly sure what the point of this thread is... I guess 2 questions:

1. does it make sense that i could increase value by choosing '06-unnique options?
2. do you have any recommendations on my option choices?

All thoughts much appreciated!

 

The money you spend on year specific plastics options won't come back to you for about 30 years when the car starts becomming a classic and collectors are looking for oddities. Until then, some of these options may actually make resale more difficult. Your best choice will be to select color combinations and options that you find aesthetically and functionally attractive. This way you are more likely to keep the car for a much longer time which is truly the best way to enhance its financial value to you. For resale purposes, this car will benefit from you loading it with performance features, rather than appearance features. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but performance and handling is universal.

 

Royal Grey/Silver is the best color. Check-out my gallery for pictures.

 

my personal belief - high resale value of a car is all good and well, but at the end of the day it's a depreciating asset. sure there are exceptions to the rule, but making a purchase decision on something like a car based on its perceived resale value is dodgy at best. i would buy the car that you want to drive at a payment level that won't stress you out. if it maintains its value when it comes time to sell/trade in, great. if not then you had a fun, reliable car for X number of years.

 

You ordered in November? What happened?

 

well said buy it with the intent of living with and enjoying it, not with an eye to sell at some unknown date, that way you will be happy owning it.

if you want to save some money you can drop the webspoke option from the sports pkg, the arm rest, metallic paint and chromeline interior (although i don't know how the piano blk would look w/o it, and I happen to really like the chromeline) and still have, functionally, the same car.

 

My sentiments exactly lhoboy, Then it depends how long you plan to keep your MINI. "If you keep your MINI until it falls apart then get what you want, even the $200 plastic thingy....."RG is a new colour keep it too many DS and BRG's out there.(no offense to the DS BRG owner's)

dashiel, Amen excellent post..

 

. . . ditto on the above and remember, even a few nice "200 per littles" spread out over the typical loan term are negligible in a monthly payment. Or, hold off on some items that can easily be added later when money permits if you've just got to hold a line in your mind on what you can spend.

 

Get what you really like! The Royal Grey is a wonderful color and much rarer than Dark Silver or British Racing Green, but if you like one of the others, get it! Good luck with it...

 

Excellent advice.

 

What he said

 

Seattle dealer...

6-8 month wait for delivery!

 

Thanks guys for the great feedback.

I like the RG, although sometimes it looks a little "brown"... but I like the idea of a color I like *and* the exclusivity of it being a little more rare.

I only ask about the resale value issue because I already have my eyes looking towards an '08/'09 model (decided to skip '07 and get my '06 now.. also probably can afford a JCW by then) and wanted to consider resale value 2-3 years down the road.

Yes, the $200 here and there is not bad stretched over a monthly payment, it's just amazing to see the price as a whole grow $2000. The thing that really pisses me off is that you can't get the silver racing stripes as part of the sports package!


OH! And I almost forgot! Apparently mini has run out of space grey cloth seats..??? Are the leatherette seats really bad or am I gonna be ok optin out of leather? (yes, i'll have to check myself, just asking for any opinions out there)

Thanks!

 

15000 miles on leatherette love them saved $1700 at the time

 

Get the leather Your back and legs will thank you for it. Leatherette = school bus seats (oops - I probably upset some one with that last comment ) Don't forget the English Leather or the Tartan/Leather combo. Disclaimer - I don't have leather, the Space was still available last year

And dump the web spokes - trust me! Spend the $500 on the seats.

 

I wanted space cloth and also couldnt get it. I ended up with gray two tone leatherette in order to preserve at least the aesthetic of the space cloth. The leatherette in the 06 feels much nicer than the leatherette in my old 03. I'm very happy with the result. I'm 100% opposed to leather. I've seen MINIs brand new, still on the show room floor, with baggy leather. As months & miles pass, it only becomes more baggy. Not my cup of tea.

 

Leather $1300
English Leather $1800
Leterette FREE

 

Tartan/Leather = $800 or
-web spokes + tartan = $300

seriously though, dump the web spokes.

 

Red seats, in my royal grey & silver car?? no thanks!

 

Completely appropriate. Think out of the box a little. You're getting a MINI, not a Buick.

 

Oh yes....the red would be lovely! The leatherette is very nice, btw. RG isn't brown...more of a bronze-pewter kind of look, I think, in certain light. If I were ordering a MINI today, I would absolutely get the Royal Grey....very elegant!

 

if the car was chili red, then i'd definitely go for the red leather.

gray/black leatherette it is...

 

CR with Tartan red is too much red and they're not the same. Tartan red looks best in contrast with other non-primary colors: white, silver, and -- oh -- Royal Grey.

Leatherette on RG is a boring choice.

 

I love the mini crowd..

Haha... yes interesting. I'll take a look next time i'm at the dealer.

 

I have the Lapis Blue leather in my RG/S MINI and I've got to say it looks amazing. I was nervous about it but it works very well.