I drove 125 miles alone today to pick-up my son from his campus. Oh I was very happy with my lil guy on the turnpike, but I kept thinking about a thread to post on NAM. So here goes; What option or package, factory, or after market, do you regret ordering for your MINI?, and the converse; What do you regret NOT ordering?

 

Don't regret anything that I have, sometimes I regret not having gotten an "S", but I really don't need the extra power as my "justa" goes plenty fast enough off the line and as far as top speed more than I should use (thank God for my V-1). I am happy.

 

I just about have as much of a base model as possible so it's easy for me to say what I would have added IF.... If I had unlimited funds and no common sense I would like to have some nice rims. I don't like the look of the 15 inch OEM's on the justa. Boring! I don't mind 15's but the rim itself lacks style. The older OEM rims on the justa's are at least fun. The new OEM rims suck. I also would have gotten the auto AC (the cooper is so small and with the sun roof it seems the temp can get hot or cold quickly and it's hard to regulate the temp so I am always fussing with the heat or AC) AND I don't need it but not having to use a key to open the door or start the car is pretty cool and convenient if you have kids and are carrying things.

One feature that makes me laugh (I live in NYC and used to street park my massive SUV that had 1000 blind spots in spaces most wouldn't dare try to fit in) is the park distance control. Really? It's a MINI.

As for what I added that I think I may not need..well the sun roof isn't as cool as I thought it would be. It is really loud when it's open and not very enjoyable when it is open. Too much noise and wind. Maybe it will be better once the summer comes. We shall see. I do love being able to see through it though and it makes the small interior seem less claustrophobic perhaps. I am guessing it will be closed 99% of the time. I don't regret but it is what it is.

 

As silly as they are on my wife's Clubman, I really wish I had gotten driving lights on my Justa. More for the look than the functionality, though. Although when I was driving back along country highways the last weekend, I wouldn't have minded having a bit more lighting available. (although I was pretty impressed with how good the stock bulbs lit up the road compared to my last car's high beams.) And they're ridiculously expensive to add aftermarket.

I wish I had thought about the exterior chrome line trim too. I didn't realize how much I liked the chrome on my PW/B until I lived with it for a couple of weeks. Similarly I probably would have put in one of the brown or tan interiors if I were being fussy. I'm sure a year or two from now I'll be cursing the chrome. Ah, fickleness.

I'm.. ambivalent about the sunroof. It's still winter, so it hasn't been good for much more than occasionally causing glare when the sun is in _just_ the right spot in the sky. The few days it's gotten over 32 and I feel like living on the wild side I like rolling down the windows and opening the sunroof all the way, so we'll see about it this summer.

That said, I'm really generally happy with what I got.

 

I have driving lamps that im taking off my mini do you want to buy them?

 

i regret not getting any type of paint protection for the front. Bieng in pa and with the recent snows im scared to look at my front bumper.

 

I think I have everything I would need on my Cooper S. I sometimes think I could have been just fine with justacooper instead of an S... but then I also enjoy the power that my S offers.

 

Regret not getting:
Xenon headlamps. The stock halogens aren't so good, and even upgraded...they're not so good. I went from driving a Wrangler to driving the MINI, and there was just something about the wider (and taller) flood of light from the Jeep that worked better with my vision.

Like kb30, I wish I'd gotten a clear bra installed. Have a few paint chips on the hood, and they discontinued my color (Astro Black).

Driving lamps woulda been cool, too.

Regrets for things I got:
Hmmm...I think I'm pretty happy. Hi-Fi, LSD (mechanical, of course), bonnet stripes (free, even!), MFSW, cloth seats. Oh, and that stupid blankety blankin' tire/wheel insurance plan whose underwriting company went bankrupt and dissolved last year...only a couple of months after I signed the contract. Farging bastidges.

 

You should have charged it! The CC company would have refunded the cost.

 

It was so long ago I forget if it was even ordered or if this was what came up. Back then, you had to be on a waiting list, or know somebody who knew somebody.

I do hate the sunroof. It is "boarded up" with cardboard. There was once a serious effort to get rid of it after a body-shop mix up, but a new head liner would also be needed. Insurance didn't like the idea of replacing what was not broken and I didn't have the cash on hand to do it.

 

I went a bit crazy with the chrome on my MINI when I got him. Wasted a lot of cash on some lame side rails and other stuff that I ended up taking off . Also wish I never atempted to install the PAC-swift adpter, caused a bit of damage to my wiring that took a while to fix (broke my steering wheel controls in the process).

My brother just got a fully loaded Clubman S so next time I am going with all the extras and factory navagation.

I love my sunroof but must be because I live in sunny south fl. I'll never pass on a sunroof.

 

My car is loaded with every option except Nav, PDC, Hi-Def Audio and Smartphone prep (where you plug an iphone into the cradle in the armrest and it will also play music).

I really wish I had Nav and that smartphone prep.

 

Before I spec'd out my Mini, I thought about just this - what would I regret not getting down the line, weeks, months or years from now. My solution was to get everything my heart desired so I pimped it out, Cricket style, and did not get the navigation. I bought a Garmin GPS that I can remove or put in another car if needed which was my solution (besides it was a LOT cheaper!) I absolutely love LOVE my MiniCooperS! I have a double badge holder on the rear plate & switch out my magnetic badges weekly to the delight of my coworkers. I'm always ordering more & look for new ones all the time.

Had a conversation with a guy who was looking for a new car the same time I was. We talked about it - I told him, why not get a car that's FUN to drive & makes you smile everytime you walk up to it? Well, he got a 'sensible' car and he just drives it. Me? I got my dream car & haven't a single regret. If I had the bucks, I'd get one in every color, all custom configured to my whims.

 

I should've had an Invisishield installed the day I bought my Justa.

 

I would have not gotten the bluetooth. But it was on the car. I would have liked to have the LSD, driving lights, chrome line interior, and leather seats after I found out the 'sport' seats don't have lumbar support unless you get leather. But I love my MCS. Such a fun car. My wife even asks to drive it!

 

iamsteve710,

Good post and it should be very helpful to the folks that are preparing to order!

As for me...I wish I would have ordered the rain sensor and auto headlamps. For some reason I just missed it in the options list. I guess I forgot to "scroll over" !

.

 

Ah yes, a textbook example of "halogen regret." Even mods get that now and then haha

No regrets on this end. 100% happy with what I have, including those rockin' bi-xenons!

 

Auto wipers, seat heaters. It's lame that a car made in 2010 doesn't have intermittent wipers standard.

 

+1 on both.

 

I regretted getting the arm rest (came in a package). I use the past tense because I ripped the $%&#ing out.

I also regretted getting the rear seat (not that I had a choice), and removed it as well. Enclosed the rear with a wall behind the front seats, a removable lid, and speakers on the sides of the top.

I don't regret the PDC. It is excellent for areas that have low-lying obstacles. Due to the high waist on the MINI, visibility to the rear is not nearly as good as on my Acura Integra.

I very much like Comfort Access, NAV, heated seats, rain-sensing wipers--all of which I was unsure about when I ordered.

I'm not so convinced about the Xenon headlights. Low beams are too bright, and have a sharp cutoff, so it is difficult to see beyond their cutoff. This is bad for dark country roads with oncoming traffic. Xenons are good on high beams, but there are few places I can use them for any length of time.

Replaced heavy factory wheels and runflat tires with lighter wheels and non-runflat tires.

Replaced HIFI audio with Image Dynamics speakers and amp., addes Bass600 sub.

Glad I didn't get the sunroof.

Wish I had some of the features that were added after 2007 such as one-touch window up. Glad I got it before TPMS sensors were required.

 

Uhoh... since they discontinued Mellow Yellow, will I not be able to get chips repaired?

 

No Xenons were going to be my number one regret, but I've never actually had them and maybe I'm better off without. I sometimes regret not getting a fancier interior, but the longer I live with it the more I appreciate the classic simplicity of the plain ol' black on black look. Works well with the white exterior.

 

Can't say I really regret anything yet...I hate the dealer I bought my used mini from, had a lot of troubles with them when I first got my car (I paid extra for the alarm, went in because I couldnt see any LEDs or anything... it didn't even have an alarm, I wanted my money back, they said they couldn't... big headache, but I won) Now over a year in, I've been extremely happy.

 

Can't say I regret anything and mine is pretty basic. The only thing I wonder sometimes is, given how much time I spend windows down and sunroof open, why didn't I just get a 'vert?

I didn't have it at the time, but since getting my MCS I got an iPhone. Would be nice if I could control the iPod on it with the MINI controls. Not a big deal though.

 

Intermittent wipers are standard. Activating them may be a bit obscure and requires reading the manual, but they're there.