In Colorado, there are what... 3 days a year you need AC ? I spent about six weeks there one summer and it was GORGEOUS.

 

What-all is chrome on the exterior pkg? I too like the grill "bone" and maybe the mirror caps. I don't really like the chrome on the rear bumper nubbins (non-S) - at least in pictures the configurator. So what else is chrome that otherwise wouldn't be without the pkg? Is that grill "bone" available aftermarket or from the Parts department?

 

I bought my Clubman S off the lot. He was EXACTLY what I was looking for. We considered ordering and waiting, but once we had chosen all of the options. . .we realized that we had built the very same car sitting on the lot! Guess it was love at first sight!

 

How can you stand the humidity?

We've got 18 straight days in the 90's. 35+ for the year. And it's gonna hit 100+ again tomorrow.

That being said, it's a dry heat. Nothing like the 90/90s like on the east coast.

 

I'm with you on the A/C. Other passengers like it but I certainly don't need it or want it. It gets too wierd feeling and I prefer the windows down. In the winter I don't use the heater that much either.

 

I guess you get used to it.

I spent two years on Guam. This humidity, in comparison, is NOTHING.

 

Barley, your best bet is to look carefully at the configurator and both read the descriptions as well as look at the pix. Chrome exterior gave the Cooper Clubman the "bone", mirror caps, bumper "nubs" , fog light surrounds and I think that's it... I mean it's nice but I would have preferred black mirror cups... See we all have our idiosyncracies don't we?

Honestly, for me, there can be too many choices... Do I want the white turn signals or not, do I want this or that and, for me most importantly - can I afford it?

Listened to an interesting radio program on NPR the other day, wherein they discussed the incredible power of marketing and sales via the Internet and me thinks MINI has really tapped into that with their configurators - with one click you've got NAV along with the auto air co, even if you don't really want it. I'm really only slightly kidding - we all make our own choices but it is easy to fall prey to the subliminal. "The medium is the message" and all that.

P.S. Hey, CR - after Guam, I'd think Washington DC or Boston in the summer was cool and crisp!

 

I think I'd have liked to spec the rain-sensing wipers now that I've been through a typical Fl rainy summer. The wife's vehicle has them and I'm spoiled now...

 

At least around here you only get the nasty stuff for a few months of the year. And even in July or August you can catch a break of the weather pattern is just right. In Guam... never a break. You feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day... every friggin day, the same thing. 365 days a year. Hot and stinkin' humid.

 

My driver's side rubber mat has Velcro so no sliding. Not sure if it's stock or if the dealer did it, but it's great!

I do have Cruise and it is worth it.

 

I think the best way to approach whether to purchase a specific option or not is this. Try to envision yourself as the owner of a completely stock MINI. Now...as the owner of a completely stock MINI, would you drive down to your MINI dealership and plop down $2,000 cash for a Nav unit? Would you plop down $500 for park assist? You get the idea. It's so easy to buy things when you have a check list of things that are available, but you gotta try to distance yourself from the ease and ask if you'd buy these things after the fact.

 

Yes indeed ... BMW is the best at this. Pricing cars that are pretty loaded already at reasonable starting pricepoints and then giving the option of endless accesories at nice markups. Which is where they make their money.
The stripped car is probably a wash with the current market.

It was the same way when I used to sell Audio years ago ... I could sell a TV for $300 that had a profit of $15 ... and pitch a table top antenna along with it that sold for $40 but had a profit of $30.

There is no reason a car that starts at $20K should end up at $30K after accesories ... you really have to weigh your options with that configurator.

For example, the different color interiors trims, dash/door ... there really no reason for that costing $250-$300 or whatever it is. There is nothing different in it than the standard silver.

Same thing with the Anthracite headliner.

 

I was under the impression that you can't get a MINI without air conditioning. The only options are standard A/C, and Auto A/C.

 

If that's the case, must have been another change with the R56. I'll have to get on the configurator when I have time and check that out !

 

Somewhat true (from my understanding). All Coopers have standard A/C, the MINI One (not available in the US) the A/C is optional, so you can get a MINI without A/C, but not a Cooper. This is the way it has been and I'm pretty sure that they haven't changed it

 

EXACTLY

For example, $100 for the white turn signals...so do I get to also keep the yellow turn signals as a spare? NO. In theory, white and yellow signals have no cost difference. Same with a slew of other options offered. Ahhh, the price of individuality

 

True, another good way of controlling one's self. There are two options that I do like a lot - the cold weather package (OK, I'm spoiled but I live in NY - does that count? Not in the snow belt...more like the ice belt. ) and now having tasted the manna of the bluetooth/iPod option it's very difficult for me to envision not wanting it again - it works so well and it does add to one's safety factor - or one's offspring's, who is much more likely to be using an iPod than her mother is. I've researched handsfree bluetooth through the MFSW and it appears to me that the factory installed option is probably pretty worth it - unless one is extremely handy and not queasy about taking apart a dashboard to get to the head unit and the other stuff... I don't know, maybe I drank the Kool Aid?

 

You're really just paying for the fact that they ARE giving you a choice ... and God Bless MINI for that!

 

Then also consider how long you will keep the car. Then deduct its resale value. I bought my last car almost 19 years ago and still have it. Amortize that cost over the time you have the car and weight that against how much pleasure, convenience, etc. you would get from it over that time. Compare it to how many times you are likely wish you had that option. Then you can make a balanced decision.

As for the online configurator sucking you into options you might not want, I think it has the opposite effect. You can make a much more considered decision at home at your leisure, than talking to a dealer in a showroom. You add the options on screen and see how they affect the bottom line purchase price immediately. You don't get that at a dealer.

 

Robin, you've made good points, and I'm not just being diplomatic by saying this. We are all masters of our own checkbooks, or should be. And I do go the amortization route, too.

I can't tell you how many times I've reconfigured various MINIs...now that would be an interesting number to know... For every buyer, how many configurations did they go through before their final decision and writing their check?

 

I did quite a few, and fiddled with the last one many times before ordering.

I'm mostly happy with what I have. Most regrets don't have much to do with the configurator.

The garage door opener turned out to be useless for me. Wont work with my door opener, and I don't like its location.

Didn't realize that the leather seats had lumbar support. Almost got black lounge leather, but didn't like the white piping. Liked the Redwood, but was afraid it wouldn't look good with Pure Silver. I think I was wrong.

Dealer didn't have a good sample of English Oak, and I thought Piano Black would be a higher grade of plastic (more like my NHT speaker cabinets). I'd probably go with EO, now that I've seen it.

I like the NAV and Park Distance Control a lot.

Glad I have DSC and LSD.

Ended up getting rid of the 17" factory wheels, so that was a waste of money.

Glad I got the Anthracite Headliner, and rear fog lights.

 

I really like the auto A/C and MFSW. Just installed the center armrest. I love it. At 6ft tall, it fits perfectly to my driving position. It doesn't come all the way between the 2 seats when folded up. But I dont' care, I bought it to use it in the "down" position.

The sports package is very something I would have missed if I did not have it. With sports button "ON", this car changes personality completely.

I regret not having ordered the sunroof. Maybe in a few years, when I trade for a Clubman S...

 

I plan on keeping this for a very long time so I ordered quite a few extras and there is not one that I regret. I love the rain sensing wiper option, the garage door opener which works perfect (I can't understand why it would not work for you?), The chrome inside and out looks gorgeous, the uphostery is great but I sure wish they had a blue version with piping for the leather option but I can do that myself once these wear out down the road, iPod thingy works ok but can't seem to get as much volume from it and I never have from any of the automotive ipod adapters, love the 17" wheels (I actually keep the radio off most of the time so I can hear the engine and tires meeting the road), the sport suspension and limited slip diff. are incredibly responsive, auto lights and auto dimming mirrors were a must since I was already used to them on previous cars, secret storage area is too cool for sure, the Xenon lights are outstanding (especially when some idiot cuts me off at night and gets their loud glare), could never live without the multifunction steering wheel and sports leather steering wheel, and of course, the fog lights and auto light feature. I love not having to remember to turn on the lights. This is by far my favorite vehicle of all time! Thank you mini! There are in fact so many features in this car, that just about every day I discover another neat little thing that I did not know about. The multiple configurations for storage with the portable box, net, and seats are endless! I just loaded up a massive dog crate for our two new yellow labs (2 years old each) and it fit snugly with room to spare.

 

Nice review of your likes, ArtEd.

 

One thing I dislike about my MINI is the TPMS. The older TPMS system would allow you to change wheels without having to worry about the sensor.

I recently got new wheels for my MINI and the TMPS sensor wouldn't fit on the new wheels :(