I went for MFSW + Sports seats best things for the car
Re: interior lighting package usless your a chick or you like to wear make up (not that there's anything wrong with that!) don't bother about it as It's mostly for the Vanity mirrors.
Xennon lights give you another 10m more range
Metalic Paint depends on the colour you want. or if your lucky you can get a special paint job like Cjay's
Will the rear spolier provide any real downforce.... I think not except if your car is in 2 Fast 2 Fourious
I found up one of my old brochures, and here are the prices......
Mini Cooper 32650
5 star alloy wheels 900
MFSW 700
Sports seats 610
Sports suspension 410
Making a total of 35270 AUD, plus on roads.
If you want a couple of nice little extras on top, try the DSC (1090) and front foglights (290). The great things about Mini, and the biggest pain is that your chances of finding all this in a stock car are bugger all, and that's where you get your discount.
Go for it man!!
Last edited by swamos; Jun 24th, 2003 at 09:24 AM.
Hey there JugMan, I havent read all the comments in this post yet but I reckon someone you should talk to about buying a mini on a budget is ME. You sound exactly like me about 3 months ago when I could not decide what the heck to buy. Since I bought the car myself (im 18, studying full time and pretty much working full time for the sake of my car), I needed a fantastic deal. I was going to buy a second hand S, it was the best deal I ever heard of... 4500 kms, EB/W, MFSW, LEATHER, INTERIOR LIGHT PACKAGE all for 37,000 and this was January this year. The guy was leaving, NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR perfect! I couldnt get it cos I had just started working, and my mom cannot and refuses to drive manual. So i resorted to a cooper. To cut the story short, this is what i got:
Cosmos Black Metallic pt-650
16" X-lite white rims (cooper-S ones)-1300
Cooper-S rear spoiler-410
Full leather Cordoba beige interior-2400
Fog lights-290
Interior light pkg-180
Sunroof-1700
MFSW-700
CVT cooper-34850
The car I got is worth 46,500 with no discount. But I REALLY shopped around to find myself the best deal... i pretty much went to every mini in sydney... (a few of them hate me now and I got the car for a bargain price!! If you work for a big company they will give you a discount 1000 for the dealer delivery, its called Executive Purchase Plan (EPP). I was under a really tight budget too but if you push hard enough, you can get a really good deal and ask the dealer for a good price, its easier to get that price if you have alot of accessories. You know, I was like you, thinking I'd just buy a basic cooper with leather and thats about it. But it works out better if you get more accessories and push for a good price cos you could just maybe be paying 1000 for like 3 extra options and stuff, if you know what I mean. Like I said, I was really deciding what options to get so I wouldnt blow my budget, but I recommend you get a quote for more and push for a good price... I'll give you more detail if you want in a private msg or something, cos I stirred up some negative controversy between some dealers when I bought my car and yeh... Im not too proud of it but it saved me a few thousand dollars!
One thing I recommend you to think about is the MFSW, i agree its very useful but one thing I didnt consider when I got the option was if i wanted to change the head unit. Im a pioneer fan, and apparently the radio control buttons dont work with pioneer and you need a sony head unit. Another reason why its a waste of money is if you are thinking of connecting an ipod onto it (which Im going to do soon), then the radio control is just a waste. So get the MFSW only if you're not going to fiddle with the sound system or connect an ipod, then its just a bit of a waste.
When I bought the cooper what I thought to myself was that if you're going to spend like close to 40,000 for a car that you love, an extra 2000 or so for accessories is worth it if you're going to love it more. Anyways thats just my point of view. Feel free if you wanna ask me any questions about good deals!
Btw, insurance for my car at the moment is about 4K a year...
but I know i can get it in the 3K range somewhere but I have to pay the amount in full. Sydney is expensive for insurance... but I inquired about the difference for S and just the MC. I was told by many companies that insuring the MC and MCS is virtually the same price, also told to me by BMW insurance.
hey brett, yeh thanks for the info I had thought about the adaptor but im going more the ipod direction. does the ipod work with the radio control tho? yes i know theres cruise control but for regular city driving, i virtually never get a chance to use it (i want to tho!)
hey jugman, im still slaving away at work... does this still sound like something to envy about? hehehe... work work work... thats what I have to do to enjoy owning a mini~
jugman: just my thoughts on the options...options r the hardest things to decide on a car...as there's so much to think abt..."ooh i like that! but is it necessary? is it worth the money? can i get something similar later? will that be cheaper/better/more expensive if i get it fitted at a later time?
what i think is get the stuff that is useful (as in u'd use it everyday from the first day u have the car) and get the stuff that u can't get put on or it costs too much to get put on later on. for example, sports seats and MFSW are two good examples of this. they are relatively cheap options now that would costs a SH*TLOAD to change later...
the thing abt bmw (where u'll be going to if u want to change stuff later) is that it doesn't cost much when u get it new with the car but if u want to add it on later it costs a lot more due to labour charges etc...for example, fog lights are a $290 option now but if u add them later they cost almost $600 including fitting!
if u want bigger wheels and lower suspension (whether it be for cosmetic reasons or for handling/safety reasons) then u can get this stuff later for around the same money - this saves money NOW.
my BUDGET list of options is as follows:
-foglights (coz they look cool and so that u don't have an empty hole in ur toggle switches later) - $290
-ASC+T - well DSC would be much better but think abt it, some traction control is better than none and it's $290 versus $1090! and again, if u don't get it, u'll have a hole where a toggle should be! ) - $290
-MFSW - trust me, u'll use it EVERYDAY and cruise control helps for boring STRAIGHT stretches of road with cops sitting around just waiting for u to speed! ) - $700
tips to save money NOW (hey what's more important u've got a great car or u've got cool looking wheels eh? i vote the car):
-choose a non metallic color (CR/W is a great combo - that's the colour of my car! ) that's $650 saved!
-don't get stuff that u want but don't REALLY need if u sit down and think abt it...eg sports seats...they're pretty cool and help u not slip and slide around as much when ur going around those lovely curves in the road but it's another $610 u could be saving!
-get aftermarket wheels and lower suspension - costs abt the same and gives u more choice later on...unless ur scared abt warranties and stuff then just get them now
one more thing...i know i've said a lot already but i just thought of this.
if u buy ur car with finance then just get whatever u want as when ur paying for something over a long period of time (like a few years) then options will only add a few dollars a week or month or however u pay for it and what's a few more dollars a month when u can have the car of ur dreams with every option that u want?!?
anyway good luck to u mate....but remember, a good option is to get a second hand or a test car because u save a few thousand dollars and as they're all still under warranty and all only abt a year old then it's another good way to save money - but then u don't get to choose ur options and that's missing out on part of the experience of buying a new car
i got an exhaust because i wanted to make my car sound fast, but its not fast at all, so therefore i am a ricer....
I must say, I really appreciate everyone's posts. I must say, when it comes to buying things, and there are so many options, that I kinda just stand there goin... "tick tick tick" as the cogs rotate (very slowly) just due to sheer indecision, because of the sheer number of combinations.
I'm the first to admit, that I'm a newb when it comes to large financial decsions. I've never really bought anything over a few hundred bucks, so I'm valuing this advice from everyone who's already been there, done that.
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as It's mostly for the Vanity mirrors.
Student Budget Mini Cooper 
and I got the car for a bargain price!! If you work for a big company they will give you a discount 1000 for the dealer delivery, its called Executive Purchase Plan (EPP). I was under a really tight budget too but if you push hard enough, you can get a really good deal and ask the dealer for a good price, its easier to get that price if you have alot of accessories. You know, I was like you, thinking I'd just buy a basic cooper with leather and thats about it. But it works out better if you get more accessories and push for a good price cos you could just maybe be paying 1000 for like 3 extra options and stuff, if you know what I mean. Like I said, I was really deciding what options to get so I wouldnt blow my budget, but I recommend you get a quote for more and push for a good price... I'll give you more detail if you want in a private msg or something, cos I stirred up some negative controversy between some dealers when I bought my car and yeh... Im not too proud of it but it saved me a few thousand dollars! 
i got an exhaust because i wanted to make my car sound fast, but its not fast at all, so therefore i am a ricer....
