Choosing Spec for new Cooper

[SF2001]

I owned one of the earliest Mini Coopers, bought new back in October 2001. I was really looking foward to my first new car, but unfortunately I had to reject it after just 8 weeks due to numerous faults, the main one being the infamous "pulling to the left"... It was pretty bad.

I then had to rush out at Christmas and buy something else. My car for the following 3 years became a Golf GT TDI 130, which is well made but pretty boring to drive.

A couple of weeks ago, in the search for a more enjoyable replacement (I have a 20 mile commute to work), I rented a new 2005 model Mini Cooper for the weekend. Driving the MINI again brought the whole thing back to me. Maybe my memory is faulty, but this time the car felt fantastic, much better than it did 3 years before. Everything came together beautifully to create my dream drive, with absolutely no pulling to the left! We ended up heading all the way to the Isle of Skye and back to Edinburgh.

Okay so I have now sold the Golf and ordered another Mini Cooper at the weekend. I have two weeks to confirm the spec for my January 2005 built car. My thoughts are:

Electric blue and black (Hyper Blue Coopers not available yet?)
Chili pack (needs the sports seats and 3 spoke wheel IMHO)
CD Boost
Sunroof
Auto wipers / lights

I really don't want to order a car which is over-specced and will therefore lose loads of cash over 3 years. I missed the sunroof on my first Cooper (it just had AC) as I think it makes the interior feel more airy and spacious. I find it hard to think of a high quality modern car without aircon though. My Golf has climate control and its good in the current damp weather for drying the air out. £1230 for sunroof and aircon is a bit steep so I feel forced to choose between them. Any thoughts?

[Indiblue2]

ditch the sunroof and get air con IMHO

[Hat]

i'd definately go air con, buyers are looking for this more & more these days. you might want to look at some of the options that come dowm in price when specced alongside the chilli pack, such as the muti-function steering wheel. also ASC+T is a bargain at £100

[DrDiff]

2005 Mini Cooper

Jet Black
White Roof/Mirrors
White Wheels
White Bonnet Stripes

Cold weather pack
Heated front seats
Heated Side Mirrors and Washer Jets

Sport Suspension
5 speed Manual
15" 7 Holes (All Season)
Xenon Headlamps w/Power Wash

Standard Octagon Panther Black seats
Silver interior Surface
Cockpit Chrono Pack w/Onboard Computer
3 Spoke w/Cruise and Multifunction
6 speaker AM/FM CD Player

[SF2001]

Thanks for the advice, I have taken it!. I popped back into the dealer today and tweaked my order:

Electric blue / white roof
Chili pack
Manual A/C
MFSW
Heated mirrors
Rain sensing wipers
ASC+T
CD Boost

I like the sunroof option a lot, but decided that aircon was the priority for comfort all year round. Hard to imagine the pleasure I might get from a sunroof when ordering the car on a freezing day in November! I can see that the other extras also add to the enjoyment of the car for only a small increase in cost. Also hope they help when I sell in a few years.

Loved the pictures of the blue / white Cooper in the Paul Mullett review item. They also have this colour in a Mini feature in CarBuyer (or something) magazine this month . Only seen this colour in the flesh on MCS so far. I assume it will become popular on the MC in time. Looking forward to January 2005 now!

[gokartride]

Your Cooper will be fantastic....nice job!!

I'm still crushed (and somewhat disbelieving) that EB is not available for any Coopers in the US. How fair is that?!?!?! If it were, I'd definitely be much more tempted to trade in my '03 IB/W (which I love).

When you get your MINI please post pics so I can be tortured yet again. (Paul's pics had me in fits!!!)

[SF2001]

Hard to imagine how the production line can keep track of the huge number of different MINI variants on offer - No Electric Blue Coopers to go on that ship! etc. Maybe they don't do that colour in left hand drive format (yet)?

The options list is also a minefield and personally I've just been glad to read other owners' opinions on this site to help me decide. I'll be sure to post pics in a few weeks as I know how hard it is to find EB/W photos. Thanks for advice folks.

[MaRKaSaURuS]

sunroof spoils it IMHO. id get your windows tinted. looks awesome on the electric blue, especially with your big ass spoiler. get it done privately tho not thru BMW

[SF2001]

The built-in time delay between ordering the car and finalising it's spec before build must be a cunning sales ploy. I have just spent another wad of cash adding the Harman Kardon speaker option....

First time I heard it, HK sounded a bit bass heavy playing the salesman's clubby dance CD. On second listen with my own CD today, it did sound quite a bit better than standard Boost. Being fussy about sound quality, that was yet another option I just couldn't resist. However restraint is now required - that's the last thing I'm adding! Now looking forward to my perfect new MINI.

[specy]

I've an EB & white cooper and it gets a lot of admiring looks and comments. I also went for DSC thought it would be best to have max safety options. I didn't take the HK system preferred to get my own and also allows you to mix and match components to suit your needs and purse.
Factory tinted windows look superb on the car as long as you get the two front passenger ones done after delivery. I did this and my car looks good. Cant remember if you mentioned spots - but come highly recommended as loads of people complain about the standard and xenons without this extra boost.
making myself sound like an expert - am anything but - but did make the mistake of under-specing a car which resulted in me trading it in after only four months. My exercise in saving some dosh turned out to be darned expensive though i just love my Wee Eck.