I put a deposit on new Mini

[Savager]

Hi guys. I am totally new to mini. My car broke down couple of weeks ago and I was shopping for new car. And I needed the car really fast but didn't know what to get. Well I kind of knew what I wanted it but it was totally unpractical, Honda S2000. My wife hated convertible but I still wanted a fun car. So my wife suggested Mini.

I went down there last Saturday and I found out that I had to order one to get what I wanted. However they have one car comes in within 2 weeks and that's pretty much what I wanted on the car. So I put $500 deposit and I left the dealership.

It's Cooper S. Pepper-White (not my first choice of color but looks pretty good) with black top. Premium Package and Checkmate package on it. It's pretty much fully loaded except navigation.

I still have a choice to get another car since $500 deposit is fully refundable. Do you think I made a right choice? I know it handles very nice and it's really fun car to drive around but how reliable is it? What is the stuffs that I need to know when I get the car?

My other concern, I just saw couple of topics about next model. When is this going to come out? Do you think it will lower my resell value on my '06 cooper? Should I go get some cheap used car and wait for next model?

I think I am 99% sure that I am going to buy this cooper but that 1% can't make me sleep at night.

Thanks guys. I will post my picture as soon as I pick up the car.

[cct1]

The car you ordered is the last year of this model--it should be very reliable, they've had 4 years to work the bugs out (and there were quite a few bugs in the first year). As for resale, as long as Mini's don't flood the market, residuals should remain excellent.

I wouldn't be in a rush to get the new model. Brand new everything--including the engine. I'd wait at least a year on that; there will be some growing pains with the first year model, with as much as they've changed. Plus, it's switching from the supercharger to turbo; IMHO the supercharger fits the personality of the mini better than a turbo. I think the next generation will eventually be awesome, and maybe I'll buy one in 4 years if I'm looking for a change from the current mini I have on order, although I could see myself hanging onto this one for a long time. But if reliabiltiy is a major concern, definitely get this years model.

[Savager]

I guess this is the last year model. I doubt my dealer will give me any discount even if I mention about the new model comes in next year. Well, I didn't expect anything other than paying MSRP price anyway. I tried to nego my price and my salesman kindly smiled and told me he can give me free floor mat, hehe. I am trying to get a free Mini toy to put it on my cubicle at work, he told me he'll work on it with his manager.

Anyway, do you guys have specification on next generation Mini? Are they going to do any dramatic change on appearance? Why turbo? I thought Supercharger is more reliable than Turbo.