Greetings,

My ol' 96 Integra is really on its last legs now...had to get it towed to my mechanic yesterday morning....

so finally serious (with my better half's blessing...) about getting a MINI!....

Of course that means 'decisions, decisions' time....

What to buy:

A) MC or MCS? (lean towards MCS...)

B) New or Used? (would like new if $'s OK...otherwise, 2006 or 2005??...)

C) What options? (See my list below for starters...)

D) Where to buy (In general SF Bay Area region, recommended dealers/ MA's...I'm live w/in 2 miles of Mini of Mountain View, but willing to consider other dealers too...)?

Have used the MINI website configurator tool and found that at first I ended up a bit over $30K for a new MCS and with CA state tax/reg that puts me about $32.5K or so, which is more than I'd like to spend...

After agonizing over options I deleted some and got cost down to $26.5, so with tax/reg that puts me at about $29K, which starts to be realistic..

Here's what I came up with in that scenario and would appreciate some feedback on this approach:

$21,850 2007 MCS
$500 LSD
$450 Metallic Paint
$500 Sport Suspension
$100 Rear Fog Lamp
$1,500 Leather w/Colorine
$200 Center Armrest
$300 Auto AC
$300 Powerfold Mirrors
$350 Parking Distance Control-Rear
$300 English Oak Trim
$35 Stone Guards
$62 Mud Flaps
$40 Bumper Protection
$53 Leather Shifter
$49 Leather Emerg Brake
$26,589 SUBTOTAL
$2,425 CA State Tax/Reg
$29,014 GRAND TOTAL

Only item I can think of to possibly still delete would be the powerfold mirrors (cool idea, but not really needed...)...but what do you guys think?

Also, would welcome any other thoughts or suggestions about my other decision points above....

Thanks!

Mark

 

Ours is on order so I can't give you practical advice..but I would say:

Ditch the Park Control...the sight distance is very good from the rear and it's a pretty small vehcile.
Ditto on the power mirrors. Then see if you can neg on the smaller items like mudflaps.

Best of luck!

 

Good suggestions, sbutler!

That brings my total down to about $28,250....

Meanwhile, since I see that you're over in Sacramento, did you buy thru Niello's?? If so, how was it and who did you deal with?
If not at Niello's, where did you buy and who did you deal with??

Thanks,

Mark

 

Remember, the stone guards, mudflaps and other itmes in the configurator listed as accessories DO NOT include dealer install, which is way-overpriced. If it were me, I'd ditch the PDC and auto-fold mirrors. I would also seriously think about the sport suspension. Have you test driven the MINI with and without it? Not saying it doesn't make a difference, but you may not like the difference it does make (or think it's worth it).

 

Thanks for your thoughts, LynnEl...

You're right I do need to test drive one with the sport suspension to see if it's really needed for me.....

Gettin' down there....if I do what you suggest, gets me down to about $27.6K....

Much better (financially, that is....)

Meanwhile, with all that I've stripped out from my wishlist, is there anything anyone thinks should be added to the list?? That would be good to know as well....

BTW, assuming I buy, I'd plan to keep it for a long time....to give you an idea, have owned my Integra for about 10 years..

Thanks,

Mark

 

Well, I am a gadget guy, so hard for me to say. It really depends on what YOU like. For me, I love the navigation, sunroof and xenon lights. The HIFI upgrade is a disappointment, but still better than stock. On the other hand, the English Oak Trim is of no interest to me. So, hard to make any other suggestions. My belief, though, is, if you want it, get it. All the moreso if you plan on keeping it a while. In a year from now, the additional cost will not mean much to you, but not having something you really wanted will never pass.

 

Its all a matter of personal preference and budget. Here are some of my reactions to your list:
- I wanted to like the armrest but it felt really flimsy to me. I dropped it.
- Auto fold mirrors could be useful, but not to me.
- Park distance control: Again, only you can answer the need.
- Stone guards, mud flaps, bumper protection. I don't see the point, maybe you do.

As to dealers, you need not pay over MSRP. East bay mini is great and charges MSRP. I hear concord does the same.

 

Not sure if you're attached to it, but I did not get the Auto-AC and I haven't regretted it. I hardly ever use that feature on my other cars that came with it and find that the manual controls are easy enough to use.

Only reason I would've gotten it was to clean up that playskool-look a bit.

 

I purchased my 07 MSC from Mini of Mountain View, they had great service. Also they provide a loaner when you take in your car for service. Mini SF doesn't do that.

 

Very good points, LynnEl....will try to keep that in mind as I 'hack & whack' on my list....I agree in the long run, don't want to be 'penny-wise, pound foolish'.....

As for the English Oak trim, not sure if that's what I want yet, but thought that even if I don't go with that I might want one of the other trims, so wanted the cost in there as a placeholder if nothing else....

Thanks,

Mark

 

Interesting comments, gaston.....

Good to hear about East Bay and Concord too...

 

Definitely agree re: the center arm rest. In a few months there will be very good after market ones. I'm afraid to press down on mine. Plus, that slide top sometimes gets knocked open by accident. On the other hand, if you are not interested in the after market route, it is still nice to have. As far as auto a/c, I love it. It's not that the manual controls are difficult to use or anything, I just like the idea that I don't have to, but can if I want.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, Tribblez.....

As for Auto-AC, the only reason I'm even interested in it is for the extra carbon filtration (or whatever it is..) that if I understand correctly is part of this system and NOT on the base AC, right?

If I'm wrong and the base AC comes with the same filtration then I'd drop the Auto AC....

And the reason I care about that is for when my wife is in the car, she's very sensitive to smells and other allergy inducing stuff....

I could care less about 'the Auto-AC control' part of it....basic AC is fine...

Thanks,

Mark

 

That's reassuring, peppysq!

Do you recommend the MA that you dealt with?

Thanks,

Mark

 

I didn't see MFSW (multi-function steering wheel) on your list, and I wouldn't consider a car w/out it, after having it in both my MINI's. I also love the look of the auto A/C on the R53- it's worth it for the way it looks lit up at night alone- but I don't know if there's any difference in appearance between auto or regular on the R56.

 

Another consideration for at least asthetic sake is front fog lamps. I haven't seen a MINI without them, but can't imagine it either. For 150 and a complete front end, I say it's a must. Two more cents to the pot.

It just occured to me, perhaps they're standard on the S? Dunno. But I didn't see it on the list above.

 

Dunno about MFSW, fms, I've never had one, so I guess I don't know what I'm missing...

As for AC, besides just having AC that works, as mentioned previously, would just like the best filtration system for my wife's sake....

Thanks,

Mark

 

Good point, Evergreen....will have to check if they're standard on the S.....

BTW, see your're located near my ol' stomping grounds (Beaverton area....) many moons ago though...

 

The section of the bumper where fogs go looks pretty good with or without, which is great as that seldom is the case. The front parking lights take up part of the assembly...fogs take up another. So if you don't have fogs there is still a light in the hole. If you don't get front fogs no one will notice.

 

Mark,
I am working with Tony at Niello.

So far so good. The car is scheduled to his the port on 5/21 so I'm hoping to have it by the middle of the next week 5/30. I went the web route for a price quote and he contacted me to schedule the test drive. they wouldn't give me what I wanted for the trade in (2000 BMW 323CI Sport), so ended up ordering special, and doing the wait.

I'll report back when the transaction if finalized.

 

Appreciate that info, sbutler.

Hope all goes well with your new MINI!!!.....

Mark


PS....At lunch I went and test drove a 04 MCS.....very nice and fun to drive!!!! was ready to drive home in it and leave my ol' jalopy on the lot....

 

You haven't said what is "important" to you ..

A sporty drive?
Luxary?

You got a lot of luxary items in there you will never get the money back on on resale (and some day you will care about that). On the other hand, if you keep it a very long time, then that it is important to you. You need to decide what is important to you.

See below

$1,500 Leather w/Colorine

expensive bling. I had leather seats ... nice, but not really needed.

$300 Auto AC

more bling ... you can't just reach over adjust? ... I got auto AC now and hate it, always turn it off.

$300 Powerfold Mirrors

??? IMO a waste of money

$350 Parking Distance Control-Rear

No need on this tiny car

$300 English Oak Trim

bling if you like it

$35 Stone Guards
$62 Mud Flaps

both most likely not needed but up to you

$40 Bumper Protection

rear bumper. If so ... yes.

$53 Leather Shifter
$49 Leather Emerg Brake

bling bling

sport suspension?

If you have intentions of modding the car with a suspension, waste of money because you will rip it out.

Personally, I'd get it stripped, lowest cost except for LSD (and/or full JCW when it comes out).

 

Nobody's commented on the Sport package--no DSC or xenon headlights? I consider both safety items...

I agree with the comments on the interior trim and seats--okay if you like them, but not functional. And power mirrors? What narrow streets are you going to park on?

 

Thanks for your candid comments, chows4us....

Although if you read my other posts, I already stripped out most of what you suggested as I agree that most things are not in any way necessities...

My original list was really just a starting point for discussion...which has been quite lively so far!!

Thanks,

Mark

 

Good points, daffodildeb....


Please see my comments in post above this one...(agree with you...)

Thanks,

Mark