My wife and I are buying our Mini together, so we're trying to find a car that will suit us both. Unless a screaming bargain comes along, we've decided to go with a Justa. I love the S, but at this point in our lives we need a car that's as trouble free and reliable as possible and the S just has too many potential issues.

My wife really likes sunroofs (or convertibles) and heated seats. I've come across a lot of cars that would check all of our boxes, but they don't have heated seats. I hate to walk away from an otherwise perfect fit just because of that, but at the same if I'm spending the money, I want to get what we want.

Has anyone added heated seats to their car that didn't come with it originally? Probably would be aftermarket, not OEM Mini stuff.

 

You can have aftermarket ones added. Don't settle until you find the right one with the right options, it'll save you a lot of trouble later on. FYI, my Local MINI dealer always has cars with heated seats. I bought mine from their stock as it was optioned to my spec. 2012 Hardtop, Lightning Blue/Black with black bonnet stripes. Options included rear fog lamp, cold weather package (yes those heated mirrors are FANTASTIC in winter), bluetooth, iPod connectivity and 15" double spoke wheels with all season standard tires. FYI, it's MINI of Mt. Laurel, NJ.

 

you have 3 options

1) add OEM heated seats, however you will learn that BMW really means BreakMyWallet

2) heated seat covers, easiest least costly

3) uphostery shops can add heated seats inside the stock seats, the way i would go

scott

 

No doubt. Bought a lot of cars over the years, so we're looking for exactly the right one. Have enough cars, though mine is a bit older, at home to keep us going until we find it. At the same time, we're buying used. New just isn't in the budget. We've seen plenty of cars that would fit our wish list, but not at the price I'm willing to pay. Trying to find the best bargain out there. The question comes into play when I look at a car that's the right price, right color and has all the right options except for just that one. Heated seats are nice, but would they really be a deal breaker if everything else was right? We actually wouldn't need the heated mirrors, as the car will be garage kept and won't go out in the snow/slush/ice, we're keeping my old Volvo wagon for that purpose. But my wife likes to have her seat feel like someone cut the cheese in it (note I said feel, not smell...).

 

You forgot this:

4) add heated heats yourself for a fraction of the cost.

I wrote a comprehensive How To on exactly how I did it.
It's obviously not an easy mod, but I did it and it was easily the best mod I've ever done.

Here's the link to my How To:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...8-mcs-r56.html

Also, uphostery shops in my area said it literally couldn't be done because of the airbags in the seats. They didn't want the liability.

 

I'll assume that you're willing to take a trip to get the car so don't have your search too narrow. The best part would be getting a new car home during an adventure.

I know we're not too close, but there is the option to find used heated seats... (these aren't used, but you get my meaning)http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/2960847176.html

 

If you have your car garaged you won't use them that much. Get the wife a sheepskin and some beany bars and crack the ventanas.

 

My car is garaged.
I use heated seats ALL the time.

It all depends on the climate in your area.

 

The heated seats my wife would use pretty much every time she gets in the car from October through April, regardless of the car being garaged or not. I know it comes with the package, but I was just saying the heated mirrors wouldn't mean much for us, because the car won't be in a situation where the mirrors would get ice/snow accumulating on them.

And my wife doesn't need no stinkin' beany bars to help her... (no, she doesn't read this forum)

 

whats your budget/color prefs? this way we can be on the look out for you!

 

Keeping options really wide open. I've looked at a ton of stuff. Trying to find that perfect car. In a nutshell, here's what we're looking at.

Price range up to 17k, preferably closer to 15k.

Prefer under 30k miles, but would consider 30's for a perfect Justa at the right price.

Color choices are pretty wide open. Wife likes the electric blue best, but also like red, white, yellow, black, perhaps silver or BRG.

Must have pano roof, heated seats, and strongly prefer steering wheel controls. Basically a car with the cold weather package and premium package, though individual options are a possibility. I personally don't care about any of that stuff, but she does.

Still go back and forth endlessly on "S" vs "Justa". Love the extra power and the more aggressvie look of the S, but terrified of it's reliability. Plus the Justa gets a bit better fuel mileage.

I've seen cars fitting the criteria, but just haven't found "it" yet.

 

We don't get ice and snow where I live. But I do wish I'd gotten the heated mirrors. Why? Because we do get dew, and rarely even frost. The heated mirrors would be a very convenient way to remove the dew (or frost!) in the morning so I could actually use the mirrors right away.

 

Auto or manual?

 

My car is garaged and I use the heated seats all winter long and even on some cool nights when I want the windows open. Heck I even used them down at MINI's On The Dragon one evening (day temps in the 80's night temps in the 40's)

 

Manual all the way.

 

Not True!!! It all depends on the wife who is sitting in the passenger seat who happens to always be cold!! This option has saved me so much fighting over the temp control that it's going to be a fixture on the checked options list on any car I ever purchase in the future.

 

+1, wife is always cold, heated seats were on top of the options list.