I owned a 1964 mini back in 1968.after blowing up 3 engines I sold it for a dollar.Fast forward................My wife worked for the agency that had VW as an acct. As head of print production ,she was sent comp copies of every car mag under the sun,and she brought to my attention the first pic of the new mini when it was still in the planning stages in europe.the decision was instantaneous!I went to a BMW dealership(because the mini dealership in Peabody,Ma. wasn't even built yet!) and left a $500 deposit approx. 10 months before the first Mini would hit American shores.All in all I waited close to 14 months for my 2002 July prod. Date mcs,dark silver/white roof,EBD,DSC,Winter Pkg,Black leather interior,trip computer,multi-function steering wheel ,cruise,9 spoke alloys on 16" all seasons(dunlop),wanted the Harmon cardin stereo ,but it wasn't avail. and would have cost me another 3 months.By the time the dealership actually had a car to show,I had been waiting 10 months,but I got to sit in one and I knew I'd made the right decision.I was given a tee shirt when I picked up my car showing the odometer in a mini with the # 173 on it indicating that I was the 173rd car to be delivered from that dealership. So count me in as one who definately bought my car sight unseen-sort of...Peace

 

I bought mine sight unseen from Mini of the Hamptons. I had test driven an MC, but never an MCS, I'd also only ever seen leatherette and leather seats, and never the anthracite dash,

So, I ordered an MCS (IB/W) with anthracite dash and space cloth seats. First reaction was "wow that's one dirty car" - sadly the delivery co, shipped in an open truck across the country and didn't bother to wash her. So external view was initially a bit "ho-hum". Then I drove it home and was "holy s**t" this thing is (a) the easiest car to drive I've ever had my hands on, and (b) what a rocket, this is way quicker than I expected it to be. Note that (b) was still keeping to the under 4,500 RPM running in period. I was particularly happy with the way better than expected low-end torque, this coming from driving a BMW330CiC that I really felt like I had to get into to make it move.

Once I cleaned her up I was delighted. I don't think it's possible to be disappointed with the appearance of a Mini (Cooper or S), they all look awesome. I love the space cloth, I also love the leather and leatherette interiors I've seen. I love the anthracite, I also love the alloy patina. More to the point, my wife even loves this car. She hated the BMW.