I am checking out this 2008 Mini Cooper in Portland at this dealer. I am in love with this color but I am trying to come up with some sweet upgrades that will complement the Blue. Ideas?

I feel like wheels are a must and maybe tint...

 

Very nice! I hope it checks out for you. I have a 2012 Cooper Hardtop Automatic and have been loving it since December '11!

p.s. Did I miss something? Profile says IN(diana?) and you're looking at a car in Portland, OR?

 

I have family in Oregon so its an excuse to get out West. Plus, they have no sales tax there!

 

Nice, I LOVE that color. I wish they had offered it on the "S" models. ...I have a 2008 S, and still love it as much as when I first bought it.

as far as upgrades,
it all depends on what you want and are going after.

for me, the best upgrades that have made me the happiest have been:

1)Wheels, ...you can have wheels mounted and balanced on tires from places like "discount tire direct.com" for super inexpensive. Just install them yourself and your ready to go. I got a really nice set of tires + wheels for about $1k ...a shop would have charged a lot more.

2)Blacking all the chrome out. I painted my headlight surrounds, door handles, gas cap, etc.. (not applicable to your non-s) w/ a gloss lacquer then clear-coated to match my black roof and black mirrors. Again this didn't cost much. I am pretty good w/ paint and know how to wet-sand and get everything glass smooth.

3)Interior: Check out RedlineGoods.com. I put leather around my interior door rests and the "colorline" ...makes the interior look so much nicer. My interior is black leather, ...so i had the vinyl cheap looking door armrests and colorline wrapped in black leather. Everyone who gets in my car is impressed w/ the interior quality. I think the RedlineGoods leather material has a lot to do w/ that. Again, I did this myself. So all I paid was $150 for the actual leather that was all pre-cut. I just had to remove the interior parts then wrap w/ the leather and re-install.

4) Joey modded my headlights. No cost other than a can of high temp paint. (this is a mod you have to be really careful w/ but if you are a patient DIY'r type person it should be pretty easy).

5) short antenna. There are a lot of different manufacturers of the short antennas. They are inexpensive, I think I got mine from "Alta". It is a quick, easy mod that gets rid of that super long remote control looking thing sticking off our roofs! Whenever I see a stock antenna I think of a remote control car ...like someone else is controlling that MINI!

6) tinting the windows a darker shade. This cost different amounts in different parts of the country I suspect. I had my 5 windows (front, rear, and back) tinted. The back 3 are super dark, the driver and passenger are slightly darker. Looks way better and is much nicer on hot days!

-- those are all my fav' mods that dont' really cost a lot but make a huge visual impact.

other mods I've done that you may or may not want to consider:

-Custom Exhaust
-Custom Air Intake
-Carbon Fiber trim and parts
-Lowering the car slightly with coils suspension or shorter springs
-Clear bra to protect the front from rock chips (not cheap but works great)

I am probably missing a few other things I've done and enjoy ...there are not any mods that I have regretted or I thought were not worth the price.

Hope you get that MINI! It looks nice.

 

No Sales tax, cool, it's like Delaware. HOWEVER... Don't know how your state does it, but the taxes are paid when you register the car in your own state. Is this your first car?

 

@eR1c Thanks that is exactly what I was looking for. RedlineGoods.com seems to have tons of great stuff for clean and tasteful mods. That is what I am mostly looking to do. Keepin' it tasteful.

 

@amancuso Good point, didn't really think of that. I will have to check with the DMV to see how the taxes work.

 

Yeah, RedlineGoods is great, their leather and quality is top-notch. I think you can go crazy w/ what they offer, getting too many colored options stitching and stripes in the leather, etc... which is cool, but not for me. I went w/ solid black leather w/black stitching. ..boring i know, but it looks really nice.

It is pretty reasonably priced. I found online coupons for their site, ..look around, I think I got 10% off my order.

 

As for a transferable 12/12 B-to-B warranty.

 

FYI....When i bought my car in Portland I needed an Oregon license to get no sales tax, at the time I still had my NJ one from when I moved 2 years prior; that kind of $ will make you run to the dmv quick!

 

Just my two cents, seems a bit pricey for the mileage and it being a justa. I bet you could find a better price around as I paid 17 flat for my 07 S with 17k miles. Just my initial impression is all. Though, we all know you can get them to drop the price before you buy it so possible you'll get a reasonable deal on it.

 

^^^ I agree.

Last May I bought my '08 Clubman S with 32,000 miles for 19,900, and it came with the paddle shift auto, the premium package, the sport package, the convenience package, lounge leather seats, running lights, tinted windows, center arm rest, and was in almost brand new condition. Plus it was still under warranty and had new tires.

I'd keep looking - unless that one is exactly what you want.

Below is what I got.