Hello everyone,
I live in NJ & am helping my girl get a new mini which she has been coveting for some time. She is interested in leasing the vehicle. I do not know much about minis except for the fact that it was ridiculously fun when I test drove it. I am in the same car family though since I currently have a bmw 335 so I am family with the bmw/mini.

Anyways the reason I am posting is because I am not sure what the differences are between the 2007 cooper & the 2008. So in order to help her I figured I would get the honest opinions from people here before I brought this up to a dealer. We were casually browsing at dealers a few months ago.

I am trying to convince her to get the Cooper S instead of the Cooper but I guess thats another discussion altogether. Basically she is looking to get the car in sparking silver, black sports stripes, with a black roof, auto trans, spoiler & thats about it.

She is looking to put down 2,000 on the 36 month lease with 12k miles a year. So basically I am assuming the number would be around 300-320/month for the Cooper.

My question is has anyone gotten good rates in NJ?
Is buying a 2007 off the lot going to be that much better of a deal than a 2008?
What are the major differences in a 2008 vs 2007?

Whoops looks like my post got kind of long. Any help that anyone has, would be very helpful! Thanks!

 

I believe only the Cabrio versions are available in 2008 as of now...

If she doesn't want a convertible, then it won't be until January until they're available. The differences, I believe, or some minor price increases/decreases for packages.

I bet the 2008s have slightly better build quality... the second year of a new generation.

 

Now is the time that NJ dealers are more likely to deal on inventory as sales start to slow with the onset of the cold.
Check out Morristown and Prestige and see what they have because if they have something that suits on the lot they might deal.
Otherwise, as mentioned, the 08's will likely be delivered IN 08 and there would be that many things different to make the wait worthwhile IMO.

FYI - if she likes the MC, go ahead and get that. It's a fun car even without the turbo and the fuel economy kicks ***.

 

Perfect thanks for the input. Does Morristown & Prestige have a good size lot? I am familiar with Princeton Mini because Princeton BMW is where I got my whip so I have been there quite a few times.

 

Avoid Princeton like the plague. They have a bad rep in NJ. I know it's a pain in the *** the schlep up to Mo'town or Prestige but it's worth it.

I know that Mo'town got a bunch of cars about 2 months ago and they probably have a few left.

 

ok thx for the heads up... whats the bad rep princeton has so i know? service or sumthin else?

 

Don't lease it.

 

Bad all round but service is meant to be the worst aspect of the dealership.

 

I just purchased my mini this week. In my city, (Calgary, AB Canada) the cars on lot were all marked down from $37K to $34K. I unfortunately didn't find one I wanted in my city so I had to have it shipped and missed out on the discounts. Oh yeah, I have to wait two weeks for it to get here!

 

According to the Company rep from Oxford who I spoke to yesterday. All 2007 MSC produced after Sept 07 have the 08 upgrades already included. So you will not see a difference on the base price on the 08 except for the packages which have been changed around and average about 100 dollars more per package.

 

Some of the packages have changed (an '08 with the Cold Weather Package will have the powerfold mirrors, for example), but if her car's going to be as lightly specced as you say then it shouldn't matter '07 vs '08.

The only thing different in a base '08 vs an '07 would be auto-up on the driver's side window. Though this has been rumored to be on delayed rollout in the US, so if you ordered/bought one of the first '08s there's a good chance it won't have that anyway. On the other other hand my MA claims that MINI's pretty good about retrofitting options, so you might be able to get that enabled should you get an '08 if it (the auto-up, not the MINI) ever makes it to our shores. Or maybe not. I can't imagine it's the kind of option that'd be a deal breaker either way.

The other main change for the '08s would be the addition of a USB port with the Bluetooth option that'd allow you to connect a thumb drive/MP3 player to the stereo for the playing of the MP3s that the kids find so popular these days. But if you're not getting the Bluetooth option ($600ish) then it doesn't matter.

The sport (almost typed 'spork') stripes can be installed very easily by the dealer, so the route I'd go would be go down and see if they've either got any SS/B Coopers with an auto on the lot or nearby. They can always throw on the stripes. The spoiler might be harder to come by unless the car's got the entire Sport Package (well worth it on the Cooper, IMHO [better seats, DSC, spoiler, front fog lights, 16" wheels, bonnet stripes {if you want them}]). Working out a deal on an '07 sitting in the lot will be easier than negotiating on a new order '08. Negotiations in general will be even easier if you solicit quotes from a wider range of dealers geographically. If you're willing to travel a bit you can save some cash, or you can just threaten to travel and hope your local dealer will match the best offer.

I test drove both the Cooper and the Cooper S, and both were a lot of fun. If money is an issue, and she doesn't really care so much about the power then I wouldn't be afraid to get the Cooper. It compared very favorably to the '97 318is I'm driving now.

 

I visited the Princeton MINI dealer...I didn't find anything wrong with them. The sales guy I dealt with was very friendly and helpful.

 

hi, i had the same dilemma when i was hunting...i went in thinking of getting the 07 but the rep said the 08s were coming out, then they also said there isnt much of a difference btw the two, except the up window and standard usb....so if those arent things you really care for..i think 07 is a good choice. i put in a deposit for the 08 but i went w. the 07. the 08s base price might go up too...i guess it's also a matter of how long you'd wait for the car. not sure how it is in NJ..
you should chk out bankrate.com...they have a questionnaire you can answer to help determine if you should lease, buy ....how much car you can afford...find the lowest interest rate a bank offers and then it calculates what your monthly would be...

good luck! i just picked up mines today!

 

perfect sounds good! thanks for the good advice everyone!

 

VerdMan17, the 2008 models will have the auto-up window feature. I confirmed this with my MA. he checked and said even the December production '08s will have it. I'm probably going to put in an order for an '08 myself at the Princeton dealer. Like I said, had a guy that was pretty helpful.

 

Please let us know what you decide and how much your monthly payments will be. Thanks

 

Info on Motoringfile suggests that the autoup feature has been pushed back to later in 08.

 

I had my MA call MINI and they said it will be available on December production models.