a sound engineer once told me the absolute best rock-ish CD to demo in any sound system, mobile or home, is ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery," because with the deep Moog basses, Yamaha organ's mid-range, and acoustic guitar highs, the music covers just about every (human) audible frequency range know to modern instrumentation.

Before you order the MINI hi-fi, however, take some of yr favorite CDs and make sure it is worth it to you. I, and others, find it lacking in the deep low end, and there's no adjustable mid-range EQ. But since audio quality is no biggie to me in the car, and I like to keep my cars as stock as possible, it was acceptable--but it's not as good as the H-K system in the first gen cars.

Only you will be able to hear if it is as good as yr V-dubs system

 

Sanek, you'll only spend as much time there as you need to, but it's always better to make an appointment.

For me, I did a lot of research on the options online, then drove thru their lot one Sat to see what colors looked like in the daylight. With my list in hand I sat down with the sales mgr, he found a car with most of what I wanted already in the que, he added the extras I wanted and we both signed off on the price - done deal, no deposit required. However, I am a current MINI owner and regular customer of that dealership, that may have helpd. Also, knowing what options I wanted made it easier for both them and me.

Right now is a very good time to buy a new MINI IMHO, dealers have plenty of inventory on the ground to choose from and they're mostly willing to make a deal. If you can find one you like already at the dealer, chances are you'll get a better deal, and instant gratification/delivery! There's no reason for an 8 month wait at any dealer right now, if they tell you it's gonna be a long long time, go somewhere else.

Good luck with your order, you're gonna love your MINI!

 

It has been a few years, but I was in and out in less than an hour, including a 20 minute test drive. I had my wife go in a few days earlier for a test drive to make sure she liked the car, than a friend and I went back for a test drive, I already had all my options printed out before hand as I did a lot of research here and elsewhere on what I wanted, gave them the printout and a $500 deposit, signed some paperwork, and I was all set to go. It was a considerably longer process when I actually picked up the Mini 5 weeks later and did the financing through BMW/Mini.