The wife and I are going tomorrow morning to put in an order for her new MCSC. Planned options are Hot Orange w/ black stripes, sport/cold/premium packages, LSD, and driving lamps. We've got a credit union loan lined up.

Any last advice before we go in?

Thanks,
Felix

 

Sounds great...but I'd add the rear fog lamp so that you have the complete toggle switch setup. Other than that it sounds like a sweet ride!

 

A couple of lessons learned:

1) DO get a 3M clearbra of some variety. I have Xpel brand. The front of these cars seem more susceptible to chips than any other car I've had so far... The clearbra makes a HUGE difference (I already have a couple of little chips in the small areas where the Xpel doesn't cover - and a monster divot in the clearbra that would have been a monster chip on my bonnet without it). If the dealer offers this, consider getting it financed in. Compare their price to other installers locally. Only use installers experienced with the MINI - it's a bear to install right. While this decision can be made later, it impacts 2 and 3 below.

2) DO NOT get factory installed stripes - especially black ones. Unless they've changed them, these are printed vinyl and are much less durable than aftermarket solid vinyl stripes (and more expensive). I ordered a package that included stripes. If I knew then what I know now, I would have requested NO stripes, even though I was paying for them. Mine are four months old are are already showing significant wear.

3) DO NOT have your clearbra installed over the stripes. Stripes last about a year. Clearbra lasts about 5. Get the stripes put on later on top of the clearbra.

4) DO get the MINI rubber mats. I love mine. But you can buy those later.

5) DO get the fog lamp to fill in the toggle panel. Else later that gap in the toggle panel WILL haunt you. (Luckily I did this due to others' suggestions).

Otherwise, good luck and enjoy - the Cabrio is an AWESOME car.

 

I almost went for a hot orange car when I ordered mine a month ago. Things to also consider that really trick it out is the hot orange interior color dash/panels, etc. and if you are considering leather, the blue/orange leather (I think half is leather, half is not) looks really great with the orange interior.

My two cents.

 

Thanks for the advice, everyone, and keep it coming.

Sorry, Macbest, I'll need to follow the wife's wishes this time around. She's not a fan of the matching dash color, and I think we're going with the Leatherette.

 

Make sure that they have a tire jack and accessories included with the tool kit.

 

try to get the Wind Deflector ... ask them if they can throw it in for you or give you a nice discount.... You'll want it later ..

 

FYI....someone in NC was advertising the sale of his '06 Mini Cooper SC for $27k - in this color combo with low miles, and it was loaded with options - if you are interested - it was put on this NAM site on Tuesday - it may be worth checking it out - probably no sales tax required for a person-to-person purchase.

 

does your dealer have a wait list for converts? Hot orange is leaving the color line as of March production!

 

Sounds like a great setup-in fact almost exactly like mine. You have great taste(of course I'm not biased).

I hope you realize that you will get a ton of opinions here. Since you asked, I guess I'll throw in my 2 cents-give or take.

I also recommend the rear fog lamp. My car didn't have it, and I eventually added it. Doing it later costs quite a bit more than if you ordered it installed. (My wife who is not a MINI fanatic also says "Get the rear fog!") The full toggle bank looks great, and the rear light looks better than that empty grill in the back bumper. And heck, a little extra light to the rear in the rain and foggy days is always good.

I'm surprised no one mentioned the cost of the driving lights. I don't have them but many people here recommend aftermarket saying that the factory ones aren't as bright and cost a lot more. As I said, I don't have them-this is what I have read here and I haven't priced the factory lights in quite a while.

As for the stripes......

I definitely say get stripes-either factory or aftermarket. In my opinion, a MINI needs stripes!

I had the factory stripes (black with white pinstripes) on my car for a while. I liked them and had no problems with wear, etc. They are more expensive than aftermarket and if the dealer installs them, the price really shoots up. (I bought Gromit off the lot and wanted the stripes. My dealer quoted me $80 for the stripes and $222 to install them. I later learned that the same stripes bought aftermarket sell for about half what the OEM stripes cost. A friend did the installation for me. He did it for for free and had a heck of a laugh about what the dealer was charging.)

After several months with the factory stripes, I changed them to aftermarket black with chrome pinstripes and like the look much better. They came from Aesthetic Creations (http://www.aestheticreations.net/index.htm), a NAM vendor who does awesome work. My reasoning was that other than the stripes there isn't any white on the car. It is Hot Orange, with black top, and chrome trim. My wife wasn't too sure about it until I put them on, and now says they are much better looking than the black/white combo. I did the removal of the original stripes and installed the new ones myself with no problems and I am about as mechanically challenged as you can be. If you don't want to do it yourself, you can probably find a place that does vehicle graphics to do it for you. There are a couple of pics of them in my gallery if you want to see them. Unfortunately, the car was dirty so the pics aren't very good.

Having said all that, it's your MINI, so get it the way YOU want it.

Most important of all: be sure to join the Hot Orange Frappr Map. We are a minority in the MINI World, so we always want to know where the other Hot Orange MINIs live. You can click the link in my sig to see and join us on the map.

 

Thanks, again, for all the help everyone! Yeah, I checked out that HO mini in NC, but my wife didn't like the matching dash color.

You've convinced me, and more importantly her, on the rear fog light. Thanks! And I think we'll probably go with the factory stripes to start with and replace them with aftermarket if we need to later. We'll already be paying for them in the Sport Package.

We'll be at the dealer in a couple hours. Wish me luck!

 

just enjoy the ride

 

Make sure you (and your wife) are comfortable with the rear visibility. If you haven't taken a cabrio out on a busy highway and made some quick lane changes.....you haven't lived.

 

Well, no dice on the Orange. The MA that I first met at the dealer (and with whom I'm still fairly upset) told us that March 1st was the ORDER deadline, when in fact it's the build date deadline. Meaning that we would have had to order the Hot Orange by mid January, which was just about when we first went in there and met said MA. Thanks.

I'm going to have another MA, one that seems a little more knowledgable, do a nationwide search for a HO MCSC that's got all the options my wife wants today, but we'll probably end up just ordering a Green one. That's the new color of her dreams.

 

Bummer! Hopefully he can find one. I know that a couple of weeks ago there was one on the lot in Indianapolis(Dreyer & Reinbold MINI), but I don't know what options it had.

 

I was at a drive that started at my dealer on Sunday and they had a HO. It is in Cincinnati. Here is a link to there inventory.
http://www.cincinnatimini.com/New-In...oryId=16521998

Good Luck

 

A couple of suggestions...if you can find a HO, like the one in NC, you could always add an aftermarket dash such as the carbon fiber or JCW leather, which shouldn't put the price higher than buying exactly what you wanted new.

Also, if you get the BRG beware of the Cordoba beige leather interior...it looks great with BRG! (and costs a pretty penny)

 

I still can't believe they're stopping HO. CoB will be lonely without it. No matter what color you end up with you'll love it. And you'll be getting it just at the right time for some topless motoring. Good luck and enjoy!

 

Thanks everyone, I just had my MA put in an order for the BRG, CW/Sport/Prem, LSD, Rear Fog, Chrome Grill, etc. I still need to figure out if I'm willing to pay to have the chrome grill, ipod adapter, and driving lights installed. I might end up just doing it myself.

Felix

 

DO get all the toggles!

Do NOT pay extra for the 'TrueCoat'. Dey put dat on at da factory ya know.

Rubber floor mats are great. Stock stereo is nice, but I wish I had popped for the HK.

DO be prepared to be axed about your car on a regular basis.

DO be aware that Britney Spears has one. :impatient

 

So, just to be sure, what are ALL the toggles? I thought the driving lights were one, but that switch is mounted to the driver's left, right? I mean left, correct?

 

From left to right the toggles are Driver's side window, DSC, Locks, Rear Fog, Front Fog, Passenger Side window.

As for dealer vs. self installation, I would have the dealer install anything that required a switch to be added simply because I don't know a whole lot about electrical systems. (if it's not plug and play I get worried) I'd suggest looking on motoringfile.com and NAM to see if there are install guides for the items you are thinking about. That way you have an idea on whether or not it's worth the money to have the dealer install those items.

Finally, what wheels are you getting with the Sport Package? I like the 5 star bullets personally

 

Wait a mo....are you 'ordering' an '06? Oh wait...they're still making OG Cabrios, right. OK...you need driving lamps and rear fog lamp and DSC and then you'll be all toggled up.

 

That's my plan. I'm going to do as much research as I can in the next few days to decide exactly what I want the dealer to install. I'm no mechanic, but I've worked a little bit on cars. I'm willing to dive into it as long as I'm confident that I'll be able to keep the stock look.

And yep, 5-spoke bullets.

 

We ordered an '07, still a Gen1 cabrio. But, wait, I didn't think the stock driving lamps switch was in the bank of toggles.