I spent nearly £4000 on top of my Cooper convertible but I think the essentials are Pepper pack with 15" alloys, you can get a set of 16" or 17" secondhand for around £200 to £500 which is cheaper than speccing from factory and you can keep them when you trade up to another Mini. Air con I'm not so convinced on being essential as if it ain't raining roof goes down. I use mine very rarely mainly if it is raining on a hot day and it steams up, but I don't think I use £630 worth. Saying that helps with resale if you sell privately but not much if you trade in at dealers. It also saps about 15bhp (according to dealers!) and increases fuel consumption. Sports seats add more options of colour etc and definitely get them heated for driving in winter when it's -2 degrees! MFSW nice but only for CD controls hardly ever use the cruise control. Visibility pack, waste, I think I have used heated screen once! Cordoba beige leather is the best looking interior but again will swallow a fair amount of budget. Color, wait till September and get Pepper White or Hyper Blue and a CD player thrown in. These are spec ideas which work for me if I changed the car and would save a lot of cash which you can use with after market tweaks and add ons. No matter what you choose you will have one of the best looking cars on the road. The only extra that is absolutely essential are alloys, no steel wheels (yuck)! Oh yes wind deflector for winter, essential bit of kit. |