I test drove some MINI's yesterday and the salesman told me that in his experience customers preferred the aftermarket MINI armrest over the factory armrest.

Has anyone been through this decision process when ordering their MINI?

 

The factory arm rest stinks. It's flimsy, holds almost nothing and is in the way of the lumbar adjustments. Plus, it is too easy to open by accident. I plan to remove mine and get the aftermarket one. However, since I use bluetooth, I don't have to worry about the phone connection in the factory rest.

 

I declined the factory arm rest due to getting all of same comments listed. I will be looking at the aftermarket one after my Mini arrives.

 

The factory armrest leaves much to be desired. Once it breaks, which probably won't take too long, I'll get an aftermarket one.

 

Which company to use for the aftermarket??

 

Hmmm. I saw one I liked in a couple of places, but now don't remember. Try Moss Mini, Mini Mania, Minspeed.... It attaches to the seat bolts.

 

I have the MINI FINI in my 04. LOVE IT!
Not sure it will fit in 07+

 

There is an aftermarket arm rest available?! I know I couldn't stand the factory ones in the dealer cars. A more useful and sturdy aftermarket one would definately be handy.

 

the factory one is junk but anything is better than none.

 

Outmotoring.com sells the aftermarket armrests and they are sweet. Lots of storage, very stable and easy to install. Just follow the instructions included. They are good people to deal with. Fortunately we live near their New Albany, OH location and can just drop in to select our goodies.

 

The one I saw on their website for the R56 looks identical to the factory one, and I think they even said that it is the factory one.

EDIT: Nevermind I'm an idiot and I found it http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...h_storage.html

 

WOW! that does look rather nice.

 

I agree with litletimmy. The Euro armrest (the one in the OutMotoring link above) is absolutely the best armrest available. It installs simply under the rails of the front seats with just two seat bolts. It holds a ton of stuff and looks great. If OutMotoring has them in stock I would grab one because they are often hard to find in the States. I had to order mine from Germany.

 

Yeah, that's the one I was referring to. My only concern is that it only mounts from 2 rear posts. I am afraid if someone puts some weight on the rest, for example, pushing down on it to reposition oneself in the seat, that it will bend down in front. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

I've wondered about this also. I can't believe that two points of support at the rear would work as well as front and rear supports. I bought the TT Design armrest for my '04 before the car even arrived, and it has been one of my best aftermarket purchases. It is supported at two points in front and the cupholder at the rear: http://tinyurl.com/2h5ukx

Unfortunately, I don't think they make anything for the 2nd gen MINI.

 

Yeah, but, then again, the one MINI is putting in at the factory on the R56 doesn't have front supports, either....

 

The legs are made of steel, and they have some spring to them. I have pushed off with my elbow a few times to reposition and it's very solid. But it's an armrest, and any armrest is designed to be just that. None of the armrests will take a lot of weight. I had the OEM armrest from the Premium Package before and it felt like it would break when you put pressure on it. But not the Euro.

 

Thanks. Methinks I shall be ordering one soon. Do I need a Torx to remove the seat bolts & if so, what size? Thanks!

 

I used a Torx socket from Sears, 10mm. You also need Loctite. Here are the instructions:

Instructions Here

 

TYVM

 

The bracket is heavy steel and has a foot which fits under the seat rail (through which the mounting bolt is inserted). This makes it darn sturdy.
It was a pretty easy installation. The hardest part was positioning and aligning the bracket under the seat rail so the bolts aligned. It helped to have my wife eyeballing the location from outside the car (I filled up the back seat). Do yourself a favor and park in the shade or run the A/C as it got hot back there!

 

Here is another good reason to lurk here before ordering. (Note: Delete armrest from order)

 

So, you think the Euro one is the best?

 

Outmotoring arm rest. This is the exact same armrest for the R56 that the Mini dealers stock. Check your local dealer.
-I installed one and it is good but be ADVISED: it will not fold up, back & out of the way completely. Because of the design it does not fold to a 90 degree position perpendicular to the down positiion (more like 70.). As a result it makes driving with it folded back (up) virtually impossable. Think of those track events or sport driving moments when the the arm rest lowered becomes a shifting & arm position obstacle. Sometimes I just want to let my right elbow hang down and relax sans arm rest.
-Also the storage deck lid is very hard to open.
-My grade: A for looks, B+ for structural rigidity and C for practical functionality.

 

I was in Charlotte today, so I stopped by Hendrick Mini just to check 'em out. Their parts department is very well stocked - I picked up a few goodies that my selling dealer didn't have in stock last week.

One thing they did have that I nearly bought was the aforementioned aftermarket armrest. They wanted to charge me 1 hour's labor to install it ($95), so I passed. Had I seen the post above before I saw the armrest, it'd be in my car right now.

One thing I don't like about it is the cheasy vinyl covering. If I buy one (which is very likely because I'm not impressed with my stock armrest at all), before I install it I'll remove the cover (6 small bolts hold it on from the underside) and have it recovered with some good quality leather. Probably a $20 job, tops.

Nice piece.. much more sturdy than I imagined.