Okay, my wife and I are ready to place our order. Anyone care to comment on our option list? We plan to autocross the car and use it as an additional daily driver.

CAR
2006 Mini Cooper S
Convenience Package (Auto-Dimming Rear-View Mirro, Rain Sensor and Auto Headlamps, Universal Garage Door Opener) ($400)

PAINT
Hyper Blue Paint ($450)
White Top-Mirrors

MECHANICAL
Sport Suspension Plus (Standard)
Limited Slip Differential ($500)
6-speed Manual Trans (Standard)

WHEELS
16" V-Spokes w/White Paint (All-Season Tires)

INTERIOR
Sport Seats (Standard)
Space Grey Cloth
Interior Surface Color: Hyper Blue ($200)
On-Board Computer ($200)
Anthracite Headliner ($200)
3-Spoke Steering Wheel w/Cruise and Multifunction ($250)

ACCESSORIES
iPod Adapter ($149)
Digital POWER Sound Modul (new upgraded stereo system) ($1650)
Shift **** in Body Color (Hyper Blue) ($90)
Floor Mats: Black Carpet (4) ($95)
Cup holder Accessory (standard?)
Glove Box Organizer ($32)
Grocery Bag Holder ($25)
Bumper Protection (Rubber) ($40)

1. When you order the 16" tires, does the car come with a real spare? What do you get when you order it with run flats?

2. We've been told the Anthracite headliner is jet black in color.....correct? What color is the factory headliner? I've been told it was tan which wouldn't match very well. That's why we're going with the Anthracite.

3. I was told by a salesperson that all 2006's come standard with the side mount cup holder. True?

4. Notice that we have a lot of accessories. We're a little nervous about the dealership installing all this stuff. Especially the Digital POWER Modul. We're considering not buying any accessories for this reason.

Thanks in advance!
--
Mitch & Sherry

 

No premium package? thats usually the big one.
From there on, the Accessories are a hit or miss, ask them how much install will be, because everything under option 5 (accessories) those are the prices and there is still a dealer install after it

 

The factory headliner is a light grey color, the anthracite i haven't seen in person, i have the anthracite dash and its a dark metallic grey, looks great, yes the cupholder came stnadard in my 06 as well, as for the accessories, I say go for it except the stereo. For that price, you can get an incredible system purchased and installed for less and would be twice as loud and have twice the clarity.

 

Thanks for the reply!

Because we plan to autocross the car, we didn't go with the premium package (we wanted cloth seats, etc...)

The dealership is quoting me installation prices on the Accessories. Hopefully we'll have something by tomorrow.

 

The only reason we're considering the Digital POWER Modul is for theft reasons. Nobody steals factory systems.......we hope. But we're really on the fence with that one. Maybe the Harmon Karden system is good enough? (we don't like the idea of the dealer doing such a major install)

 

Factory headliner is light grey.

You're paying for floor mats?!?!

I only paid $850 for the stereo upgrade.

16" V-spokes in Canada come with run-flats and no spare.

Cup holder is standard and fugly.

I agree with illegalprelude: the premium package gets you the sunroof. Mini can be a bit claustrophic without it.

 

HK unit is one of the nicer head units I have had in recent cars - and it is plenty powerful, though with the cabrio I keep wishing I had about 3 more notches to crank it up with the top down at high speed.

Please consider at least the sunroof - that, is, unless you are really wed to some really cool roof pattern that would be ruined by the glass. The cabrio was the best thing I ever did - but I could probably be happy with the sunroof as a fall back. With no light above my head, the MINI would be much gloomier for me..... But that's just me......

You need to push your dealer to donate mats and the glove box organizer. My deal gave me TWO sets of mats - carpet and rubber and the organizer.

Bill

 

Make sure you get quotes from the dealer on what the accessories cost installed. Lots of what you have there shouldn't cost anything, but the iPod adapter might cost double that to get it installed.

Size of tires doesn't mean you get a spare or not... if its an MCS, there's no spare.

 

I didn't get the white rims because of the brake dust.Am to practical to create work for myself.Every other option looks great.Q

 

Don't bother with the sunroof. It adds weight to the top of the car and it's expensive. It could rattle and squeak, too.

 

Well I'm a fan of keeping it simple, more stuff is more stuff you have fix when it eventually breaks.

Convience Package? I'd say gimmick package. With the option for standard daytime running lamps when you do your programming you'll always be seen even if you forget to turn the lights on full, and is it really that hard? And I really can't think of any benefit to auto sensing wipers, just flick the stem and they are on, why have another gizmo that might break and limits replacement glass options. Garage door opener is sweet, but can't you get it without the other stuff? Yeah it's $200 stand alone, but why $400 for only one truly convenient thing? Penny saved is a penny earned.

Anthracite headliner? Looks awesome! especially if the rest of the interior is dark, the light gray standard looks kinda funny to me with darker interior shades. Though it still kinda bugs me they charge for this.

Onboard computer? What exactly does this do that's really useful? Do you need to know your average speed? I guess the remaining range could be useful, but just fill up when you reach the last 1/4 of tank. And you already get outside temp and/or digital speedo on the tach display standard.

Carpet Mats? I really like the rubber floor mats, just got em the other day. Never had carpet mats in a car that held up to my satisfaction. I also like how my heel moves on the rubber mats, there is grip but not too much and my heel just moves perfectly. Though try to get them for free if you can.

Grocery bag holder? Novel idea I kinda like it, but I'd rather have a smooth surface on the backs of the seats when I fold them down, seems like it would hamper sliding a large object in, it'd only have to p me off once then it'd be gone. It's not like there is alot of space in the boot for things to slide around anyways. It's not a cavernous trunk where you'll have to climb in because the gallon of milk slid all the way to front.

Sunroofs? Well since others are addressing this guess I will too. I'll give you one man's opinion. Maybe it's just from seeing too many cars where they didn't work, or they leaked, but I just don't dig em. They generally seem to make it hotter inside, and never really provide good ventilation just make alot of noise when open, though I don't have experience with the one on the MINI. Plus it adds weight to one of the worse places you can add it on a car you're gonna track. Going from a large family sedan to the Mini can't say it ever felt small, but maybe that's just because it's a joy to drive so I don't think about it. The only thing I can think to justify a sunroof is if you're frequently gonna have topless or scantly clad women hanging out it.....sorry ladies it had to be said. I suppose it could be topless ripped guys as well if you're a lady, or a guy that's into that, but it just wouldn't be the same.

Everything else looks good, white wheels will be a challenge to keep clean though. Cup holder is standard, and there is no spare.

Ultimately I'm being kind nitpicky and these are all kinda small things relative to the overall cost of the car, it's your dime so do what you think will make you happy.

 

I totally agree. When I first looked into MINI, I way overloaded on options. Then as time went on, I became more sensible and I'm adding the things that I would really use. I wanted the sunroof since it is unique, but it really is just another thing to go wrong with the car and I live in a hot climate. I won't really miss not having it since I haven't had a sunroof in a car for about 10 years or so. I think looking at your current car and thinking what you might want to upgrade or use is the way to go when picking out options.

 

Skip the OEM mats, you can better online.
Try www.ggbailey.com or www.cocoamats.com
I have premium and cloth seats, so it can be done if you want.
Tell the dealer not to install the cupholder and to just give it to you. It is really annoying so see if you can live without it, if not you can put it in yourself (mine is still in the box).
For that much money, I'd go with an aftermarket sound system, or at least look into it.
The grocery bag holder sticks out from the back of the seat, so when you fold the back seats flat it protrudes up. Just something to think about. I wanted that as well, but decided to wait and haven't missed it. I was glad that I didn't have it when I packed El Kabong for the Dragon, I used every inch of the back and might have had issues with the bag holder there.
Good luck whatever you decide!
Annette

 

I hate sunroofs. I've had them on many of my cars as a standard feature and never used them. If you plan to auto-x (seriously) you probably don't want one. I have the anthracite headliner (it's black) and no sunroof and I wouldn't consider the interior to be gloomy. I'd stick with the stock stereo (wouldn't bother with the H/K upgrade); stock isn't that much worse than the H/K in my wife's MCS; to my ears, at least.

 

Thanks Everyone! Great comments/advice! We're going to be making some changes. But thanks to your advice, we've got a few more questions... (see below)

FLOOR MATS
I'm going to see if we can get them for free. (or look into aftermarket ones)

Hu99: How did you only pay $850 for a $1650 stereo option? Or are you talking about the Harman Karden upgraded system?

WHEELS: We're still not sure whether to go with 16 or 17-in wheels. I've heard the 17-inch wheels are too heavy, and you really notice their extra weight even on the street. But we sure like how they look! (we're going to buy light weight 16-inch wheels/tires for autocross use)

WHITE WHEELS: We spend a ton of time washing our cars....and we enjoy it. So we're not worried about keeping the white wheels clean.

CUP HOLDER: I've seen that they moved the cup holder so it mounts much higher on the console. I think that will help keep it off the passengers knees. (My wife is insisting on a cup holder that works for her morning mochas)

SUNROOF: As much as we'd love to go with a sunroof, because we're autocrossing the car seriously, we need the additional room for wearing a helmet. And I've heard it adds 65 lbs of weight up high. (not good). But I know we're going to miss it on the street. :(

PREMIUM PACKAGE: We can't get the Premium Package, because of the addition of the sunroof (see above)

iPOD ADAPTOR: We're thinking of taking this off our option list. We've read that when it's plugged in, the display on the iPod no longer works. (that's a big negative isn't it?)

AUTO SENSING HEADLAMPS: Does the Mini come standard with Daytime running lamps? We don't care much for those! Or does adding the Auto Sensing Headlamps also add day time running lamps?

OUTSIDE TEMP/DIGITAL SPEEDO: Does the standard tachometer display outside temp and digital speedo? Or do you only get those functions with the Onboard Computer?

GROCERY BAG HOLDER: Good points about it sticking out. I think we'll skip it.

STEREO: This is the toughest decision for us. I wish we had a Mini dealer near us so we could compare the standard with the Harmon Karden and even the Digital POWER Modul. Hmmmmmm......

Thanks again for all the help! This is a fantastic site/resource! We can't wait to get our car! (if we order now, we'll get a June build date for delivery the end of July - first of August)

--
Mitch and Sherry

 

You may also want to consider a Whalen shift **** vs the MINI colored shifter.

 

As a personal experience for the time ive had my MCS with white wheels, i really love the way they look in the car and when they start getting dirty its just an incentive to go and wash it
As far as the stereo goes, i only went with the stock and i actually like it but eventually i will change it to an aftermarket system.........even when i find myself driving around at low volume and enjoy the whine i get from the supercharger.
With the sunfoof i have to agree with what other people have said, it adds more weight to the top of the car and its just more problems in the future.
And that large cup holder i havent taken it out but i hate it

 

My bad! I am referring to the HK system. IMHO the HK is worth the money since it is plenty loud enough and provides crystal clear sound and wicked bass.
The Y-spoke wheels (16") are dirt magnets regardless of whether you have white or not. I just changed from Y-spokes to 17" S-lites and I'm impresssed with how much cleaner they stay for longer. The extra weight of the S-lites should be a benefit in autocross, or so I'm led to believe.....somebody with more a/c experience could weigh in here.
Cup holder is an absolute neccessity despite being fugly! If it ain't there, you'll only regret it the first time you drop $5 on a Starbuck$ latte and have nowhere to place it. The little "cupholders" are only useful for parking meter change or a doppio espresso.
Yes. The OBC isn't neccessary for those two displays.

 

I hope this sounds really, really good, cause it just screams "DEALER PROFIT!!" to me.

"Digital POWER Sound Modul (new upgraded stereo system) ($1650)"

 

I've listened to the Base stereo in my friends a lot, I have H/K and I've heard the digital POWER. The H/K is definitely better than base and for me worth the $550, but the digital POWER module is absolutely not worth the extra $1,100 over the H/K, no matter how you slice it. Get the JCW suspension instead if you're going to AutoX.

 

Xenons, Xenons, Xenons

 

No spare tire in the MCS. That's why you get runflats from factory.

I like your spec very much. The Xenons are good to have if you do a lot of driving in pitch dark roads. Otherwise the standard halogens are enough, weigh less and cost less than the Xenons.

May I suggest the front and rear fog lights? They provide added safety in poor visibility conditions, inexpensive, look cool and best of all, you'll get the coveted 6 toggle switch bank with no blanks.

 

postrin: we thought about Xenons, but we've never had them on any of our other vehicles, and we don't seem to miss them. Plus we'll never use the sprayers. They do look nice though...

amg6975: You're the first person I know of that's actually heard the Digital POWER Module. I know you don't think it's worth the money, but did it sound ANY better than the H/K system?

Right now I'm thinking we'll go with the H/K and then add a small/removable sub.

Does anyone know the difference bettween the Standard system and the H/K? Different speakers? Amp? Sub?

Thanks!

 

c4: I like the fog light idea. We'll look into that one.

 

I promise you the xenons are the greatest invention ever. Once you've had them, you will always want them. It's amazing how much more you can see at night. If i were to buy one option, and nothing else it would be xenons

Paul