I'm a new member so first thing is to say HI!

Just got back from South Bay MINI in Torrance, CA where I ordered my first MINI and wanted to let anybody interested know that first they sell at MRSP and second the experience was as good or better than any other vehicle purchase I have done.

I ordered an Astro Black with silver roof and strips - my second choice was BRG with same roof/stripes. I still am waffling and have some time before it goes to production so any preferences would be welcome.

Same thing for the seats - I ordered the grey cloth (with black leatherette), but am wondering if the red cloth with black leather might be a better/nicer choice. Any thoughts?

 

I ordered my MCS about 3 weeks ago now and I have never seconded guessed so many of my decisions as I did with this car. I thought I was going nuts with the exterior and interior color and options. Nav or no nav. Leather or Leatherette or english leather. The funny thing is, it appears that the people that are attracted to Mini's share the same problem with the choices on configurations. All I can tell you is after 3 change orders to my MA on the seats and roof lining, I finally settled in and am at peace with my choices. The Nav is old technology and looks funny with the rectangle in the Circle so that choice was easy. Also I checked the owners lounge and my Mini is now scheduled for production and I cant hardly wait. here is the my configuration:

Dark silver with silver roof and "U" silver stripe
Cold weather Package
Premium Package
Sport Package
Convenience Package
Anthricte headliner
Grey/Black sport seats
Park Distance
HK sound
Arm Rest
Chrome Interior
Sport link

I will have my car services at the South Bay Mini. So its good hear you had a nice experience.

 

sounds like you have a great packaged mini coming your way.

I think the red interior would be a nice contrast to your black exterior... just a thought.

welcome

 

I opted for the red/black leather. Got lots of good input from my MA and others about the leather cloth combo. Plus it looks GREAT. I think it would be awesome in the AB/S combo. I know it's going to look great in my CR/B!

 

Astro black! Astro black! Good choice!

As for the seat covers, I guess it depends on how much you like sliding around, and how hot it gets in your area. Cloth seats will keep you in place while you're motoring around, and they'll be cool when you get into your car after a long hot day in the sun. Leather or leatherette will be hotter. Though you could get cloth OR leather OR leatherette in a lighter color that will stay cooler.

I went with leatherette, in black, because I'm in Seattle, where it's always raining. So, if anything, I WANT my seats to be hotter!

As for the red interior. I don't think it would look good if you're going with black and silver on the outside. If only there were some sort of black and white or black and silver seat cover option! That would look hot.

 

Hey Boneman,
How long did they tell you until it would come in? We were going to order from them but it was a minimum 3 month wait and Universal Mini had a 2 month wait with MSRP pricing.

 

Hey Boneman I disagree with the above post negating the R/B seats-- your ordered AB/S car is monochromatic in color scheme so red and black seats would look great!

Also, if U want better back support (esp. for the longer trips), you should know that the red/black cloth/leather seats have adjustable lumbar supports, whereas the others (cloth, l'ette) do not. Just a thought. Best money on an OEM option I ever spent--best of both worlds, cloth and leather (and the ALS)!

I drove a friend's MCS w/o the lumbar supports and my back would tire after a couple hours (all those G-forces) but with my MCS and the lumbar supports I don't feel any lower back fatigue at all, even after several hours behind the wheel (plus the heated seat element is within the lumbar pad--mmmm toasty.)

Welcome and good luck BoneMAN!! Jimbo

 

Join us in the Astro Black registery and on the Astro Black frapper map.

Just do a search for Astro Black

 

Greg - my order with SB will go into production in either August or September - while I'd prefer not to wait, it seemed pretty standard for the dealers in CA that sell at MSRP (I checked out South Bay, Long Beach, and East Bay up on Pleasanton). Bob Smith MINI said they could get it into production in July (but would not negotiate on the $3K additional markup). I checked out Universal too, who claim not to charge above MSRP but when you look into the details they install dealer accessories whether you want them or not - $995 for an alarm, plus they charge a setup fee of around $400 and a customer care package for $800 which supposedly increases the maintenance coverage to 50K miles vs. 36K miles standard. And, by the way, BMW & MINI maintenance coverage as any competent mechanic will tell you, barely covers oil changes because of their "lifetime" fill assertions ha ha.:impatient

 

i have the 06 astro black/silver mcs w/o stripe.. great car.. plus I love the extra crap I had added...

 

Yeah, they tried some of that with me and I just looked at the sales kid, explained to him that I knew what alarms cost, having installed them for 15 years, and have been in a commision sales environment for 18 years. He got the clue very quickly and ordered what I wanted. Since their end of the deal is effectively a cash payment there wasn't any of the usual F&I manager backroom arguing. We'll see if anything is tried on the back end. I doubt it will amount to anything as I'm not a nice person when someone tries to mess with me.