I have been lurking on here for the past week or so, I figured it was finally time to say hello. I am the resident car junkie of my house, so I figured I would post that my wife has ordered herself a 2015 Mini Cooper S. There is probably only one option I would disagree with on this car, but again its not my car, its my wife's car. I'll let you guys figure out which option I don't agree with. Once the Mini is here she will be saying goodbye to her Infiniti G35x Sedan.

Here are the specs:
Blazing Red, White Top, White bonnet stripes

K9E1 Leatherette Black (I guess they used the code K9 since they knew we were going to haul our dogs in the back of this car)

ZCW Cold Weather Package
ZSP Sport Package (with summer tires), 17" Tentacles
5A4 LED Headlights with Cornering
ZWU Wire Upgrade (camera and hu display)
7KM JCW Interior Package with black headliner
7L5 Mini Wired Pack (Nav & Bluetooth)
2TB Automatic Transmission with Paddles
302 Anti Theft Alarm
322 Comfort Access
325 Rear Spoiler
430 Auto dimming interior and exterior mirrors
431 Auto dimming rearview mirror
473 Center Armrest
507 Parking Distance Control (rear)
674 Harmon Kardon
6NM Mini Connected
6NT Mini Connected XL
6UH Real time traffic
With destination charge its $34800

Dealer is saying its 6-8 weeks for the car to come in. Hoping its closer to 6 then 8.

 

congratulations and welcome to the site! (i'm new too!)

should be a really nice car... the only thing I wouldn't have picked is the automatic!

 

Real men don't need the alarm, automatic, camera, or park distance control.

 

Yep that's the only option I wouldn't have checked. Its her car, so she can have it as she wants.

 

Congrats, looks great. Hopefully she'll let you drive it occasionally

East coast, maybe six weeks. West coast, doubtful. It takes an extra two weeks shipping to go through the Panama Canal (after making one or two east coast stops on the way).

 

Agree on automatic part, (again its her car, not mine) but I have a feeling the camera bit is here to stay.... thanks NHTSA....

https://www.federalregister.gov/arti...ear-visibility

Alarm is handy for insurance reductions, will we make back the $500 on that alone? Probably not but, since the car lacks the other theft deterrent (clutch pedal) its about the only thing I could add to increase the challenge a little bit. The car will see time in a major city so its more of necessity.

 

The alarm is $500?! I don't blame you for getting it. It's just flabbergasting that this $26k justa I'm considering doesn't have an alarm when Nissan Versas at $14k do. It's 2014. Some things should come standard.

 

Does anyone know if the alarm be installed by a MINI service center if a car wasn't ordered with one?

Obviously there are plenty of aftermarket alarms available as well.

 

I'm in total agreement with you. The MINI product planners would probably tell you that they would have to add nearly $500 to the list if it were standard. MINI is big on customization, but if they made some of this basic stuff standard, it would mean simpler manufacturing and lower costs for those items.

BTW, the MINI automatic is faster than manual and makes braking w/ your left foot feasible. My MCS is my first automatic in decades, but no regrets.

 

She's gonna love it. And it's SO CUTE! Seriously the only option I don't see is the sunroof and leather seats (but leatherette is nice and you've got dogs). I had the manual trans on my 2007 and have the auto with my 2014 (I don't have the F56 though) and it rocks in the sport mode. I wish I could make it default to that.

 

From what I understand its a BMW style alarm, complete with its own hidden or hard to reach secondary battery pack and the usual collection of sensors etc. I agree with you on the simplification of the manufacturing by making more things standard. Whats more insulting about the $500 price tag is if you visit BMW's site and spec a 2 series out they only charge $400 for the alarm system. (and I am willing to bet its the same exact system)

Probably the most insulting option on the Mini is the $250 upcharge they are seeking for the garage door opener built into the mirror. $50 upcharge sure, for $150 you can buy an entire garage door opener system. My wife's exact words were, "for $250 bucks I'll use the damn remote that came with the system". At the very least they could bundle it with the auto dimming mirror.

It seems Mini has been reading Porsche's book on how really hose their customers when it comes to options that are standard on so many other cars.

 

Totally. So the question becomes how much of a risk is not having an alarm? I guess this obviously varies widely on where you live, if you street park, and your general driving habits.

 

We passed on the Sunroof as she has one now, and never uses it. While its nice to have its not really something on our must have list. The seats can always be swapped later, either by way of an upholstery shop, or finding a wrecked F56 in a few years. We checked out cars on the lot with Leather and Leatherette and she didn't feel it was worth the $1500 uptick. Plus with the dogs its so much easier.

 

Also is it me or do the older JCW hardtop cars have nicer leather seats then the new ones? When I mean nicer I mean the leather hides are of a higher quality.

 

If a person is going to steal a car, they'll steal a car. Period. I read somewhere that alarms haven't been a deterrent to car thieves in ages.

 

Experienced ones yes, teens with nothing better to do, they tend to go for an easier target.

Guys who are in the business to steal, nothing can really stop them.

 

You're the resident car junkie? If your wife picked this package she knows what she wants in a car -- EVERYTHING!
I agree about the garage door opener charge. That is included in the most basic cars these days. I skipped it and found a very slick three button opener with nice blue LEDs for $16. Programmed it to open both garage doors and the neighborhood gate.

 

If it was everything, she would have gone for the sun roof, leather, garage door opener etc. Probably checked the box for the fully loaded package. 18's etc.

I would agree that its well optioned out, but still not close to being fully loaded. She almost went ahead with an Audi A3 but backed away from it when she drove the Mini.

Currently browsing tire rack for some cheap rims to setup with snow tires. I know the car requires TPMS Sensors. Can you reset/initialize the sensors on your own from the car or do you have to take it to the dealership every time you rotate the tires or switch from your summer set to your winter set? Also since the car has active sensors can you pull the tire pressure and temperature setting from them? Like do they have an on screen read out? (aside from the idiot light telling your pressure is off)

 

We also test drove an A3. It is a very very nice car. (being that my last one was an Audi, I really like'em), but the MINI was a much more fun drive and had a helluva lot more personality.

 

I agree, I think Audi sort of screwed the pooch a bit with the A3. I think it came in about 3-5k higher then it should be. A3's are terrible to lease too. The lease on the A3 with similar options to the Mini came in around $570 a month (taxes all in).

To give you an idea of how bad that is, for same exact scenario $0 down other then startup costs and first months payment, 15k miles a year and $100 more you could have a moderately optioned Audi S4 all in at $670 month!

We almost went for the S4 but then we would have two of the same car in the house which is sort of odd. She opted for Mini after driving it and really falling in love with its size and the idea of owning a two door. That and she is squirling the spare cash she would have spent on the A3 or S4, which is fine by me.

 

Sorry to thread-jack with talk of the A3, but I have to agree with you. I think Audi had in mind an "entry level" for younger upstarts to get into the low end of the German Luxury scene, but seriously, optioning up an A3 to something decent, you're in A4 or low A6 territory (if you option it up to the gills)... At that point why bother?

The only plus I see to the A3 is quattro, at which point you're already in the low 30s.

I'd be more interested when Audi's TDI moves into their lower end offerings here in the states. ... Don't get me started on the US's lack of 3-door hatch offerings (A1, BMW 1 series, etc) Ugh. I love those cars!!!

I've also heard rave reviews about Mercedes' CLA, but for some reason my wife and I have an irrational aversion to MB's.

 

Well its sort of relevant since its sort of a competing car. I am sure we are not the first to cross shop an A3 with a Mini. The A3 1.8 engine is a complete dog, they should have started the pricing closer to 25 then 30 on that model. The A3 should top out at 40 not 45.

The Mini had far better bang for the buck. The CLA is a pretty car but gets very expensive when you get into the AMG version and start loading on the options.

 

You may be surprised, I test-drove a MCS automatic w/paddles and in sport it screams. But, I agree on preferring a 6-speed manual.

 

I have the manual, and love it, BUT I did drive a '14 'S' with the automatic and like you said, it rocks in Sport mode. In Mid mode, boring. My advice to anyone going with the automatic is to always use Sport mod. The shifts are then very crisp and it make the car much more fun to drive. JMO.

1Mini, congratulations to your wife. That's a nicely loaded '15 MINI S.

 

Welcome to another Philly guy. Your Mini is similar to my Justa except mine is manual. Hope to see you on the road!