all extras hold the value. Selling a basic car is much harder than a specc'd one. By rain sensing wipres I assume you mean the visibility pack as you are in UK. This is great - I have it and love it! On your Cooper spec I would drop the full leather and go for MANUAL air con. I know several people who have the auto and think it's a pain. I have the manual and find it very good as well.
In both cases I would personally drop the HK (as I did) and go after market. I did this for specific MD reasons but it makes sense whatever. With HK you cant ever upgrade again as you cant change the HU. Also you fork out all that money and you cant take it with you to your next MINI, unlike an aftermarket system. The stereo is one thing that wont add much to the resale.
As for hard top or Cabrio only you can decide that. Just think where you use the car. How often it's left in unmonitored car parks etc and where you park at night. Just remember a cabrio is much easier to break into. The ones arent much slower than the Cooper and with a one click upgrade chip theyre faster.
Have you tried insurance quotes for both? Hopefully insurance compaines will be switched on enoguh by now to know the convertible is coming and have their prices sorted.
In answer to your original question, if I were a betting man, I would say that the One Cabrio would hold its value more than the hard-top Cooper. Convertibles seem to hold their value more than hard-top cars, per se, I think.
But in terms of choosing a chariot, my preferred ride would be the Cooper :-)
MINI Going.....Toyota Supra RZ-S Twin Turbo Coming....Standing Quarter, anyone....?
Sorry, I just think it is kind of defeat the object to have a poser car such as a cabrio or a trendy sports car, then have a child seat fitted inside it
Please don't flame me for saying that!
Not a fan of convertibles, so a loaded Cooper is what I would go for
I don't really see the comparison myself. If you really want a convertible then get it.
I have a ONE and find the performance pretty good, however with all the extra weight on the convertible (250kg or whatever it is) it might blunt the performance somewhat.
You might want to also consider a lightly speeced S for the amount you are spending on the Cooper
I think the Convertible would hold value better as it is a new model and will be scarcer than a hard top Cooper.
Extras will always depreciate faster than the car itself, however a few (not too many) well chosen extras would help re-sale.
When I say not too many, some things like PDC, vis pack, tinted windows and maybe even HK will not give you anywhere near the amount you pay for them come re-sale. Of course this will not bother you if you intend to keep the car for a good while - in that case get what you want.
Tricky ONE (gedditt??). I would probably fall on the side of the hardtop, although the residuals on the Cabrio will be much better. I also agree that some of the spec on your chosen Cooper is probably superfluous ie. auto air.
Just think about how much you would have the roof down on the Cabrio and decide on that basis.
It's not the size of your stick, but more the magic in your wand
wow, thanks for all the posts.
I currently have a smart roadster, which is convertible and I may keep it too, however, I do love cabrios and my last 3 cars have been the roofless kind.
I like the HK setup as I dont want to ever pull the car apart.. I could spend the same but would I really get much better using after market?
The isofix is for when we do have kids and comes standard on the cabrio i think.. the whole reason for getting a mini is to have backseats to strap kids to in a couple of years.
I really would like the loaded cooper, maybe drop the sunroof in favour of the aircon??? but then I would love a cabrio, im just worried that the spec will be too compromised.
I havent had quotes yet, however my current roadster is a group 9, which sits above the mini one and cooper.
Its such a tough decision and I really appreciate your comments in helping me make it.
As a side note, I do plan to keep the car for 3-5 years (I always mean to do this, but sadly I get bored and like to change every 6-18mths)
Go for the Cooper - Just such a great little package that you know deep down that it's the right choice (or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself as that's what I've just ordered).
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