[DoubleA]

Hi guys,
Finally decided upon purchase a MINI one convertible, and over time I'll prob get it remapped etc. but for now, I have to come to the agreement (with myself) that I'm only going to spend £2500 on extras for my MINI on top of the basic spec.

So with £2500...what would you buy?

I really want the aero kit, xenon's, cordoba beige interior, but then that blows my budget already, and I have even started thinking about chrome line interior, front fog lights, floor mats, alloys!

Give us your best spec with £2500 to spend (also your best colour options, remember metallic paint don't come for free )

[Rakey]

MFSW is a must

Wind deflector is essential

Chilli pack gives a lot of toys

Body coloured dash as it is

Interior chrome, a bit of bling

Air con, manual will do just fine

Those are the basics I couldn't do without

[paulworthing]

Well take a look at mine as I think I spent about £2,500 getting tango to look that good.

Aerokit (the classiest body kit you can get for the MINI)

X-lites (my favs but any 16"s as they ride the best and what the MINI was designed to run on)

Metallic paint (would not have black as its a nightmare to keep clean and Cool Blue on a cloudy day looks grey!) - for me it would have to be Hot Orange although I have heard that Hyper Blue is going out across the range for next year - if you can wait that long!

Colour coded dash - brings the colour from the outside into the car in a classy way. Only downside is it will limit the number of colours you can choose from as its not available in all colours

Heated seats (a must for those chilly winter/night drives)

Sports seats in fabric - improves the look of the interior and without the leather you are not going to loose the skin off the back of your legs on those hot summer days when you climb into the car after the roof has been down wearing shorts!

salt pack (gives you loads of little bits)

TLC


plus your on the road costs and that just about is your budget spent!

[DoubleA]

Liking paulworthing spec alot!
Really want the beige leather tho

How about Aerokit & beige leather, then what about using the rest for other options?

Quote:

why not spend the extra 2500 on a cooper instead of a one

To answer this, once you start adding extras on top of the cooper, it ends 5000/6000 more, when i could just add extras to my One, and get it remapped and modded to 130BHP if need be.

[ALD0]

Harman Kardan + Xenons

Alsoo as Rakey said MFSW

[Fevs]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rakey

MFSW is a must

Wind deflector is essential

Chilli pack gives a lot of toys

Body coloured dash as it is

Interior chrome, a bit of bling

Air con, manual will do just fine

Those are the basics I couldn't do without

plus get the cooper you get better options with the chili pack

[paulworthing]

Quote: Originally Posted by DoubleA

Liking paulworthing spec alot!
Really want the beige leather tho

Well if thats what you wanna spend your money on then go for it - its YOUR MINI - just remember that it does not come with alloys and, IMHO, you need to get it shod with something nice (although I would accept that £950 for X-lies is a lot of money for 16"ers! - maybe you could source some second hand ones off of ebay?)

[rentagas]

£950 forX lites is a crime considering you can buy 18" JCW's for £1000+vat

Buy:

Heated seats
Wind delector
Manual air con
Red plus white stripesand driving lights
Fog lights

Colour code the exterior ? plus aero side skirts
chrome int and ext
aftermarket stereo
MFSW only if you want bluetooth and are buying the CD player

How much is that?

[Rakey]

Quote: Originally Posted by rentagas

£950 forX lites is a crime considering you can buy 18" JCW's for £1000+vat

Buy:

Heated seats
Wind delector
Manual air con
Red plus white stripesand driving lights
Fog lights

Colour code the exterior ? plus aero side skirts
chrome int and ext
aftermarket stereo
MFSW only if you want bluetooth and are buying the CD player

How much is that?

far too much, but its how it is supposed to be

perhaps find a deflector on ebay and pay less, also find a nice set of 17's on ebay or here for about £450 (thats how much I sold my S Spokes for on MINI2), saving money already

Always spec the things that cannot be added later without great cost or huge labour charges, then you can add as you go along

[paulworthing]

Quote: Originally Posted by rentagas

£950 forX lites is a crime considering you can buy 18" JCW's for £1000+vat

I know they are not cheap but the JCW ones are -

a) too big and would compromise the handling - remember that the MINI was designed to run on 16"ers and these give the best handling/comfort

b) the JCW's are plus VAT - so that would be another £175.00 - does that £1,175.00 (£225 more than the X-lites) include tyres as I know JCW are not cheap and I would not be surprised to find that they would be extra to that.

and at the end of the day you have to buy the wheels which you like best and, IMHO, the X-lites are those. Imagine how dull it would be if we all went for the same wheels, body kits, ICE, etc - thats hardly the point of MINI now is it?

[Griffer]

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.

[paulworthing]

and definately do not bother getting the graded windscreen - its hardly noticeable and a waste of £50!

[DoubleA]

Spec so far:
MOC
Black
Aero Kit
No Alloys (going aftermarket)
Corboda Beige Interior
+ Sport Seats (neccesary with cordoba beige)
Standard Stereo (going aftermarket)
Xenon Lights
Chrome Line Interior

This is my spec so far...Do you think things like Pass seat adjustment, & trip computer & foglights?

Also does anyone know if I order my MINI now with Pepper White colour, will it be ready for Sept, or will I have to order in Sept then wait from then? Due to the colour changes?

[paulworthing]

Would advise you to go for the heated seats too - you know what those crisp winter's days are like and it does make a hell of a difference to the temperatures you can bear with the roof down! Most convertible owners I know who did not spec it have regretted it.

As for the passanger seat adjustment (surely you're buying the car for you and not the passanger - and how many other cars offer it?), trip computer (I would not be without it as I use the speedo on that rather than the centrally mounted one - its also handy for getting the outside temperature as well but thats all I use it for - who cares about MPG or average MPH??), front fog lamps are going to be a must for you tho with the aero kit fitted!

[miniboyblue]

Could'nt agree more with Pauls last comment, for the money the heated seats are a must.
Also on your budget I would go for the Aero Side Skirts rather than the full kit.
If Black is your choice I would also have the Chrome Interior/Exterior, and manual air con.
Would be wise to consider what options really have to be factory fit, as things like wheels, spots, ICE, even Aero can all be added later when you have saved up some more "readies".
You will find that once it is yours you will be constantly wanting to add the individual items that make your Mini, yours !!
Mine is a year old next week, and I still have'nt finished !!

[DoubleA]

Thanks for comments!

Think i might actually go with the aero side-skirts. How much do they cost?

Also does anyone have any information of when i can order a pepper white convertible as it is on the 2005 sept colour change?

[convertible]

Air conditioning - whilst it sounds good to have, I have found little use for this option in the UK and if I was to have another convertible I would not specify this option.

Alloy wheels are a must have, but why pay the dealer £1100 or so for a set of 17" wheels when you can buy them for less than half the price on ebay? I have just bought a set of 17" wheels for £400 with about 6000 miles use and there are plenty of others available, including new ones, and 15" alloys being are practically being given away.

The only essential items to spec are, IMHO, a wind deflector (but then again, can you find one on ebay?), and front sports seats. Everything else is down to personal choice.

There is currently a set of new 17" Mini Alloys on ebay finishing 18th July @ 19.19 and the bidding is currently at £400 and there are 4 Mini wind deflectors on ebay.

[paulworthing]

So DoubleA have you fixed your spec yet or is it still 'fluid'?

[DoubleA]

Test drive today at 3PM for Mini Cooper S Convertible...
I think I'm going to be swayed to purchasing one once I get in it!


I'll report back once I come back! (After my MINI dealer will try to persuade me to upgrade to S )