Here's some links to the new Roadsters we still have in stock. Three of the links do not have updated pictures, and I know one of those is Chili Red with the JCW Exterior Kit and a manual transmission (sweet Roadster). PM me if you're interested in more details on any of these. We have people contacting us from all over the country now!

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2525805153

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2467327543

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2520164833

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2446377173

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2533754953

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2525805123

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2491827183

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2472435443

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2510174303

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2509361233

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2510174173

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2515249363

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2510174313

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2520164843

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2494135513

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2479939773

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2547368533

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2494135503

http://www.minioftampabay.com/Vehicl...-FL/2525805143

 

Boy, everybody must be mowing their lawn like crazy. The forum have been so quiet...

I was checking out on the Superleggra this evening and there is still a bit of talk going on about it which I think it's great"

http://www.carscoops.com/2016/02/min...n-instead.html

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-new...dster-in-2018/

Aside from our MINI, I'm hanging on to my soon to be 11 years old car until there is something I find worth buying... I am fond of my daily car I must admit. The Superleggera could be out in 2018 which would be very tempting for sure by then. Though I'm sure it will be price higher than the roadster was.

Sadly there isn't a tone of choice. I don't mind the Miata, and I'm sure it's a great driver's car. But some how it doesn't pull me in. It doesn't make me dream much. The rest, even including all convertibles, is either out of reach and/or a bit boring (for me that is).

 

Hopefully it will go into production. Yes the grass is growing like crazy.

 

I've been hanging out over on the FB group a bit more recently. I do check here every day, but I haven't been doing much to the car at the moment (sorry ECS!) so I don't have a lot to post. Still loving the car, and I'm hoping there is another Roadster of some kind, Superleggera or something else F57 based, but after the LCI where I'm hoping they fix the front end.

 

No problem, in spring you get so busy with cleaning the MINI and driving it, not much time for anything else. On the LCI i bet the front end gets a touch up.

 

As a new Roadster owner, I did a bit of digging into the total production numbers - here's what I found from the BMW Annual reports:

2012 - 9292
2013 - 9315
2014 - 5101
2015 - 3075

For a total overall production of 26,693.

They don't provide breakdowns based on colour or JCW, but still a pretty small club worldwide.

 

Welcome, good luck with the car looks like driving fun. Repatriated?

 

Thanks - yes, it was a Canadian car, shipped down to California, but then languished in storage for a few years when the owner found out that the DMV wanted $7000 to register it. The best option was to sell it where it was registered (BC), so advertised it in Canada and offered to ship it back. I bought it and drove it back up to Vancouver last weekend - nothing like a 2500 km test drive to convince you that it's the right car!

 

IMNSHO I think that the popularity of our roadsters will increase over time. Consider other "odd" cars over the years. The initial popularity was not strong enough to support sales but future generations will find them as 'cool' collector cars. So...hang onto your roadster! They are fun to drive. Easy to maintain. And, if I am right, will increase in value.

 

If you enjoy driving top down, the Mini Roadster is about as good as it gets. Classic styling, great engine, rail like handling and quite efficient, too. Although, it seems that a convertible's appeal isn't quite universal. Total production numbers tells that story. This car may eventually be a collector's item, but that will probably be a ways down the road. The Roadster's short production run definitely pushed it into the "unobtainium" column way too quickly.

 

We recently picked up the electric Fiat 500 as a third car, but it quickly became our primary driver around town.

Why? Cheap to operate and fun to drive.

• $69 /month lease ($2400 at signing, +$400 to cover tires and dents at end of lease )
• $75 /month for insurance
• $35 /month for "fuel"
• $0 maintenance for 3 years (really. Tires and windshield wiper fluid, that's it after 3 years there would be brakes and suspension.)

Our experience has been so positive that we were in the first 100k who reserved a Tesla Model 3 to replace our Audi A4.

I still drive my roadster to and from work, and it's the car we take out for extended drives on the weekends. However I am in the camp that feels electric vehicles are the future (at least on the west coast, they don't make much sense in other parts of the country for now).

I am really hoping that the Mini Superleggera is released as an all electric vehicle with a 250 mile range. BMW recently announced that the new series 3 will be built on a chassis that can support a 90Kwh battery (300+ mile range) so hopefully they will make a convertible 3 again.

And then there is the reported new Tesla Roadster based upon the Model 3 platform.

Of course price will be the concern. The Mini R59S was priced right around $30-$35k. Hopefully one of the above will come in somewhere close.

 

Where did you get that Fiat deal? Don't see anything like that here in Oregon. Only thing close is Chevy Spark EV for $99/mo.

 

Colleague got something similar on an electric Smart in the Boston area.

 

A new ad for the upcoming 2017 Mini Convertible caught my eye the other day. It is a minor redesign with more interior room and some other improvements. I like that the rear roll bars are now hidden, that was my big beef with how the convertible looked top down.

I will now be looking at the 2017 JCW Convertible. Being 6'5" there are very few cars I fit in comfortably, the Mini Roadster was one, so I imaging the redesigned convertible will be great.

Anyone else catch this ad on TV? Thoughts?

 

It's undoubtedly a good car. It looks great in that Caribbean Blue colour. However:
- I've never liked how the top "piles up" on the back of the car.
- The boot lid flips down like the classic MINI and unfortunately opens onto a boot space that's about the same size. We couldn't use this for road trips, I want my luggage covered in the boot and not flying around on the back seat.
- I much prefer the more raked-back windshield on the Roadster and the rear antenna. I've never cared for the little bit of roof with the centre mounted antenna on the Convertible.

That woven-in Union Jack top does look pretty great in person, but who has the top up anyway?

 

Well the new Convertibles are already out so no need to wait. I sat in one at the NYC Auto Show back in March/April and I thought it was great. The pop-up roll bars are completely hidden, the seat belt is easier to access, the windshield is taller so it should be easier to see traffic lights. The clutch was a lot lighter and shorter throw. And most importantly, when I adjusted the front seat to my own driving position, I was actually able to sit behind myself! I am only 5'7" so I know it's not a big deal, but in my 2015 Cooper S Convertible, I cannot sit behind myself with the chair in my driving position due to no legroom.

 

GREAT news. I did not realize they were out - for some reason I thought they meant April 2017....

 

The new Mini convertible definitely looks better than the previous generations, though still not my favorite. There's something slightly ungainly about a rear seat and the top sticking out. Doesn't matter what brand of car if configured this way, Beetle, Fiat, Beemer, Mercedes, Buick/Opel, you name it.

Even the original Mini...




Guess it's gotta be a Roadster for me to really like the convertible version. But, then again, open air driving beats any closed hardtop most of the time and the concept goes way back...

at least you could hide that rear seat on the old Ford...

 

SoCal. The Fiat 500e is an emissions compliance vehicle for CA and a handful of other states. The law was written so that sales in one state can fulfill other states quotas. And Tesla can sell there credits to other companies. I believe only Ford, GM, FCA, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are required to make their quotas.

LA, San Francisco, and San Diego are easy markets, but they lease at a loss, just to fulfill fleetwide emissions requirements.

The chairman of FCA hates electric cars, and there are reports that Fiat losses $14,000 on every 500e they sell. But they need to make their Republic of California quotas.

That $69 per month lease is with $2500 net due at signing, with an unrealistic $19,000 residual after 3 years. And FCA takes the $7500 federal tax credit and the $2500 state tax credit.

Deal is higher at some dealers because they don't claim the $2500 state credit.

Deal is still on. Check out OC Fiat
http://ocfiat.com

 

I went to Mini of Annapolis over the weekend, they had no JCW's of any sort and No "S" cars with an automatic that I could test drive. They did have a new justa convertible, so I could at least try out the new design. I am AMAZED at the amount of room that car has inside. The only area it is small in is shoulder room, PLEANTY of headroom with the top up and more than enough leg room.

It is like the Tardis, bigger on the inside than it is on the outside!

 

But the new Mini covert is bigger on the outside! So the Tardis has to have even more room inside, compared to the old Tardis that went before!

 

I have a small 2-car garage and the garage fridge is on my side. Loaner Gen3 MINIs don't fit; no access to the garage fridge.

Those new to MINI might not care about the weight gain, but those of us who thought even the Gen1 was not small enough are out of luck.

I'm sticking with my R59 until a fun to drive electric roadster in the $35k range becomes available. So probably 5-10 years out.