ok so i was going to order a 06 Hyper Blue MCS and get the anthracite headliner and the body colored dash with the chrome trim. And today i found a 05 Hyper Blue MCS here on NAM that looks promising and is about $4k cheaper than what i was going to spend on the new one. So my question is, how hard (or costly) would it be to change out the interior of that car to match the one i wanted to order? Everything else about the car is exactly how i was going to order my car (or there very small differences i can change easily or live with like black vs. grey leatherette and silver instead of white wheels) So how hard would it be to swap in body colored panels, chrome trim and a anthracite headliner. Would it be worth the $4k i would be saving vs. ordering the new car? Please let me know.

 

Hmm, Thats tough. Personally, I would go with the new one for several reasons.

1) Its a NEW car!
2) The car will be able to ajust to your driving style, not his/hers.
3) Its an '06, and you'll have a longer warrenty. That other one has already lost a year.
4) You can take care of the car the way you think it should
5) The interior pieces should be easy to change. There are a few how to's on NAM, try a search

Hope that helps!

 

IrishCooper I would also get the used car (But I love new cars). The dash and most interior bits can be replaced easily. Although the only cheap way to get them is second hand either on NAM or eBay.

I'm not sure what you would have to go through to replace the headliner costwise.

 

I would get the used one, money talks to me. The chrome bits are easy to change, I am guessing the body color dash is a few torx screws harder but not too bad. Don't know about the headliner. A lot of things however you may get used to and not want to change. To get an idea about pricing, call Classic MINI and tell them what you want to do and they should be able to get the prices for you and give you a better idea.

 

I would go with the new car. Get it just like you want it. After you swap all those things out the $4,000.00 might not look like a big enough number to have given up all the smaller details like the seat and wheel color. If you want to really look into it, call classic and price out the headliner, the body colored dash and any other little things you can think of. I think the dash will be easy and the crome stuff is simple but the head liner could prove a bit tricky. I would make sure the the headliner doesn't change any other little piece on the roof that you might need to order also.

It is a personal choice but I like new when I can afford it because I want to have broken it in and know my cars whole history. Some people look at the money more. I have to make payments so over four years I don't mind $40.00 or $50.00 more to have gotten it new with everything I want on it.

 

Yeah, i have looking into it and the dash piece brand new from my local dealer are close to $1000 (without install) the chrome bits maybe $150-200 and the headliner i can probably live with. But $4-5,000 cheaper on the car means $100 or so less a month in payments which give me more money do make the car the way i want it. I am still pricing stuff, and if the used car after changing out everything (plus the cost to get it from New Jersey to Texas) is still a signifigant savings i will go that route, if i get close to the cost of the new car, and it doesnt save me much to get the used, then i will buy NEW.

 

What color dash is on the used one you are considering. I have an '06 Hyper Blue with the HB dash and would be willing to trade if it has an anthracite dash.

 

nope it was the alloy patina but, its over now, its no longer for sale

 

About a year ago, I priced the body colored dash from Classic MINI and it only came out to about $200 total for the three pieces. That doesn't include colored door ovals (they only come with the entire door panels). I think $1000 should get you both door panels and dash.