New OR Used !

And yes, agree, it's a matter of personal taste but you can't show me any car that is going to be correctly market priced for the price that I'm going to pay for my new Coupe that I'd rather have. It is not possible.

 

My attitude is the way it is because I refuse to pay $30k on a car unless it fits a certain set of points. My MINI I bought used because it was a great deal that I could not pass up. I also like the fact that it is now paid off after 2 years of paying on it. Also I like the fact that I van now modify it with money that would have been used as a car payment. I am not going to tell be how to spend their money buy, there are a lot of cars for that kind of money that have a lot to offer.

 

All a matter of how much money you have and how you choose to spend it.

I'm sure the majority of people out there would consider you just as nuts for spending a few thousand on mods as you find those of us nuts who spend $30k plus on a new MINI.

 

At 6'2" there isn't another new roadster under $50,000 that I can get in and out of comfortably. I absolutely love my R59. $32K+ was well spent. My money, my car, my choice.

 

Not much more to be said than that.

 

I also saw a Goodwood Edition at MINI of Peabody and the interior is very nice. I have had a number of cars with a full leather interiors and they are very nice. The leather dash on the one I saw was as nice as any I have seen in any BMW or Porsche. If they would make a JWC Clubman with the Goodwood Edition interior that would be a 'keeper' for me :-)

High end interiors can easily add $10K to any car - regardless of size. So think of it as a $42K MCS with a $10K interior. Not a main stream product but for a select few I'm sure it will find a market.

 

Hi All.

I am Mini owner from Australia. I have 2 Mini's.

1 2012 JCW Clubman

And the one talked about in this thread a Goodwood. I am looking for other Goodwood owners and so far I have found 1 in the USA and one other in Australia. PM if you like.

From what I have seen on this and other forums Goodwood owners might be a bit reluctant to come forward. Some of you guys are pretty negative.

 

No negativity here, mate.

You could, in fact, just about buy my house in Mordor, on the north slope of Mt. Doom, under the watchful eye of Sauron for $51,000--or at least you could two years ago. I got a steal of a deal on it--bought in at the bottom of the housing crash!

Cheers,
Dutch

 

Dutch

I didn't mean to say all were negative. I have trolled a good number of forums recently looking for other Goodwood owners. After reading some forums I can see why Goodwood owners don't want to post.

In Australia this car is $82k or about $84k USD at current exchange rates. My JCW Clubman was worth $69k new.

Australia and the USA are very different countries economically. We are are a smaller economy but wages are higher houses are more expensive. I paid $320k for my house 14 years ago its now worth $700k.

I am a middle income IT consultant I brought the Goodwood and the JCW on the same day. The Goodwood is my wife's car and the JCW is leased as company car for me.

Here are some photos of the Mini's http://www.flickr.com/photos/mowog/s...7630023983144/

These are the 3rd and 4th new Mini's I have owned.

Some of my other Mini's

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mowog/s...7622948959228/

 

Sure would love to get into a higher wage job.... I'm a Web Database Applications Programmer/Analyst, working mostly with PHP, MySQL, in a LAMP environment, but my employer only pays me as a straight Programmer. Southwestern France or Northeastern Italy beckon (I speak a fair bit of French, a little Italian, and a tiny bit of German), but Australia might be nice. I could probably learn to speak Australian, or even British....

Thanks for posting pics! The black with tan leather interior is really gorgeous!

Cheers,
Dutch

 

The pictures are great and your cars are meticulous. I love the wide angle shots at the beach.

Tell me what engine is in the Goodwood? In the US it's the S engine but I don't see the traditional hood scoop.

I think the interior is yummy on the Goodwood - the attention to detail is obvious - kind of like a mini Bentley - pun intended. Also, I can see you and your wife are dedicated MINI people.

One thing however - the steering wheels are both on the wrong side :-)

 

John

Thanks for the kind words about my photos.

The Goodwood has a Cooper S engine in all markets. The bonnet scoop on the Cooper S has been decorative only on the R56 series. The inter-cooler is front mount. The R53 use to have a top mount inter-cooler and the scoop fed cool air into it.

I might add the steering wheel is on the "Right" side. The left side is the wrong side...

 

Some dealerships have marked the Goodwood down to $46,500 from the $52,000 MSRP - some are still trying to charge a few grand over 52.

I'd have to sit in one to see if it was "worth it", but for those who can, I suppose it is.

 

There was one at MINI of Manhattan when I ordered my Countryman in July and it was still there (moved to the window) when I picked it up last week.

I have a feeling MINI's strategy on it is to use it as something to get people to go into the dealers, and if they sell a few at or near MSRP then it's a bonus.

 

My Goodwood was discounted nearly 6000 dollars but I was buying 2 cars at the time. The Goodwood only draws attention if you get close from a distance its black Mini. At 2 recent car shows you could see this happening as people walked down the line of cars they would almost walk past the "Black" Mini. But most did stop and walk around the car. We did have the windows down and it was the smell of the leather that most people commented on. We haven't cleaned the inside since May but thats more about the rules involved around getting in the car.

 

I'm jealous of your wife's MINI. I went with the Convertible because my wife wants one, but must have a minivan for the family - so she'll get to ride in/drive the MINI on occasion (I didn't exactly put up a fight!). I predict that, within 4 months I will be commuting in her Odyssey as she'll have stolen my Cooper!


I know what you mean when you wrote earlier about the disdain people seem to be showing for those who spend over 'X' for a MINI. The one I ordered is not cheap, but it's within my means and it has all the stuff I want. I think the only factory things I didn't get are the sport suspension, wind deflector, HIFI, Sirius and the Alarm.


I generally buy used vehicles because they're a better 'value', but with most cars, you can wait and find one that meets your criteria because the options are relatively limited. For instance, for the Honda Odyssey, we only needed to search for the 'Touring' package and the only variables were the color scheme and the mileage. Unless you want cloth and manual everything or only want the most common options but will settle for 'better things' if the price is right for the condition/mileage, you're going to have a tough time finding a MINI that isn't a compromise without waiting and waiting for it to show up!

Thing is, I could never find a used MINI spec'ed out the way I want, even given a reasonably small list of requirements for a used MINI: Convertible, 'S', Automatic (wife refuses to learn to drive stick and must be able to operate the second vehicle), Navigation, leather and preferably BRG. Except once - I found a BRG Sidewalk w/ Nav - and it was even local, but it didn't last long and that was before I was in the market. (I'm always keeping an eye out when my vehicles get 'long in the tooth') In fact - I couldn't find any new cars with those features either, so I simply resolved to order one.

I figure that, by and large, the people who order MINIs like the one I ordered are not the people who are going to trade or sell after just a few years (unless it's a lemon) and will probably come onto the market late and with very high mileage. People like me. I also find that those I would be interested in get purchased very quickly (as they represent exceptional value when used) while the others linger. We purchased my current vehicle new in '06 because, after Katrina, we couldn't trust any used cars. It now has over 126k mi on it. The MINI will only be our second new vehicle, and the first ordered from the factory with the stuff I want, and none of the stuff I don't.


I was at a CarMax looking at some used R56s and the salesman said that most of the time, people who are shopping for a MINI are not so discerning - they come in and say, "I want a MINI". When he asks if they know which model, or if they want an 'S' or not etc, they say, "I don't care, I just want a MINI". I doubt those people bother to post on MINI Cooper message boards, but I also tend to think that those are people who don't value cars as anything but some kind of accessory, or that cars are disposable toys best purchased used, run into the ground and discarded for another depreciated vehicle.

 

If I came home with a Mini costing that much my wife would kill me no matter if it was my money or not.

 

I for one do not begrudge people who buy an expensive MINI. As with every type of product there are market segments. It doesn't matter if its Shoes or Bicycles or Maple Sirup. MINI has done an excellent job segmenting the market and thereby giving the broadest range of customers more of what they are seeking. Frankly, this is a win-win. I appreciate that it is easy to pre-judge that someone is a fool for spending $XXX for a MINI but value is in the eye of the buyer. For gods sake someone just paid $500K for Bonnie and Clyde's old gun. In my mind that is dumb - but that just my opinion - I'm sure the buyer is thrilled.

I for one love seeing these niche cars as they spice up the brand.

My only advice is never buy a more expensive car than you can afford and always try to buy something you love to drive.

 

My MINI will be my last MINI and not because I hate it or anything, I just refuse to buy the same car twice. Those Goodwood MINI are super nice. The interiors are done by Rolls and have the fun look of a MINI. I wouldn't pay $52k for a MINI though... I'd rather have a couple years old XFR or wait until some used SRT Vipers pop up.

 

Denzien

We make choices about cars that suit what we need to do. We have 2 Mini's so my wife will stay away from mine... The Goodwood only gets out for club runs anyway. We do have a real family car/4WD a Land Rover LR4 "Discovery 4" I enjoy driving it as much as I do the Mini but for different reasons.

2 of my Mini's have been new. A Mini Cooper Diesel that was optioned to the max and the Goodwood. The other 2 which were Clubmans were both MINI company cars and both well optioned.

 

Oh well I am on my 3rd and 4th Mini... and I would buy another for me they are not just transport. The Mini is a lifestyle choice.

I also have a Land Rover LR4 and I would buy another new if needed.

 

My dealer has a Goodwood that lists for over 50 large. It's BEAUTIFUL . . . fashioned after Rolls Royce. Extra high end leather as well as wood. Lots of optinos and other eye candy.

Mini's are really cool, but when I think of the alternaitives in the $50k range, it's hard to justify. Just to name a few nicely appointed killer autos at that price point.

Audi S4 (V6 Supercharger) Quattro
Audi TTS Convertible
BMW Z4 Convertible
Chevy Corvette Coupe
Infiniti G Convertible
Lexus GS 350
Porsche Boxster

 

Our local dealer has two sitting on the lot, one in the showroom that they use as a display for the stain protection package. I was able to sit in the car and go through the interior while I was waiting on paperwork for my clubman. Having come from a background restoring classic Jaguars, I can say the level of detail on the interior is nothing short of stunning. Someone mentioned driving naked ealier as a joke but the interior surface treatment almost justifies trying it out. There are very few plastic surfaces left, which is a rarity in vehicles of any price today.

 

Afraid I'd still turn the Lotus away. At 6'7", paying me to take the Lotus off your hands will not make it a driveable car.
I just took delivery on a new JCW Clubman with nav and just about every other option except leather seats (which I found are too cold/hot anyway). The price I paid is what the car market will bear which, at the end of the day, is what the car is worth.

 

What material did they replace the interior door panel with?