[Paul]

My mum (mom USA) has been in touch with me recently.

Last week she saw two Cooper S's on Tuesday, and three on Thursday, and she saw another two yesterday. These have all been light blue or dark silver, and they were seen between the hours of about 3pm to 5pm on a road from Wing to Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire....

She says they look very nice, but thought the blue looked a little strange the first time she saw it (it was foggy)...

So all you 'S' watchers with nothing to do in the evening, you know where to go.

This a regular journey for my mum and she's never seen them before last week, so something's going on!

 

[smartbomb]

That's nothing,
My mum (mom) saw 9 today !
The other day on a short trip I saw 5 !
They're everywhere round here !

 

[Paul]

So somethings going on for sure....

 

[smartbomb]

Yes !
Everyone is getting theres before me !
Any thoughts on colour while we're at it Paul ?

 

[Paul]

Dont even start me on the colour issue!

I like electric blue, but it's going to be a common 'S' colour, and eventually boy racers will learn to see that colour and try and hassle you.

I like the idea of all black a lot (poss with red interior), but then, is that boring?

Silk green/BRG green, not for me....

red/white... not really, too common...

Red/black... possibly....


Indi blue/white.... hmmmmm maybe...

Indi blue/black... more likely than with a white roof...

Candy blue, i like it, but could be waiting forever...

Pure silver/black.... another real possibility....

Aaaaaahhhhhh!



Help?

 

[smartbomb]

Thats helped !
I keep leaning towards yellow.....
BUT
Quite tempted with either silk green or indi blue, with white wheels and roof.
Although there are 2 black and white Coopers in my village and they do look rather tasty.
I am a big fan of the red interior which rules out yellow.....can I spend another £250 !?
Darn, I'm no closer deciding....!
BUT the silk green and white Cooper - the only one I have seen looked superb.
Arghhh...!

 

[Paul]

I quite fancy black/black with red interior BUT I am worried it will look too much like 'just another car'.

What do you think?

 

[smartbomb]

Personally I have opted for the Cooper as it has the uniqueness of the contrasting roof. I think that an all over one colour would look too similar to a ONE. The black and white Coopers that I have seen IMO look awesome. Most of the time the village ones are filthy but still look stealthy. But a clean one I saw on the road had a real appeal of menace.
Black is a pain to clean, but seems to look as good dirty as it does clean.
Going back to the roof colour option, an all black Cooper loooses it's Cooper - ness, gotta have a white roof - a must !

 

[Paul]

On the other hand, I know it's as common as muck, but I think that silver on a car cannot be beaten. It looks good clean and dirty, takes little scratches and nicks well, and reflects the light well. I also think it flatters the lines of the MINI....

But it's just there are so many of them.

I fancy pure silver/black, a real new MINI classic. Is Silver/Black the new Red/White?

 

[smartbomb]

I tend to agree that silver is the best day to day colur. It is the easiest to keep clean and shows the lines off extremely well. I have seen the S pics of silver and the white roof, but can't really decide from those pics if that combo works. For me the roof has to be white, black tends to make the windows blend in to one black area. Whereas the white defines the two. Black is cool if you want a sunroof tho !
My other half has a silver car, and it is a superb colour, would be a bit sad if we had matching colour cars before we got he matching anoraks !
So any thoughts on silver and white ?
Have seen silver ONEs and they look OK, just not special enough...

 

[Paul]

I dont think pure silver/white would contrast enough myself, maybe dark silver/white would do a better job?


I like the 'cut in half' look though.

 

[smartbomb]

Sure, the pics were inconclusive on the silver and white !
Silver and black is a supern combo, though I'm gonna be awkward as usual and go for 'something completely different' !
Dark silver is a cool colour, though I'd prefer a more graphite colour for my Cooper...
As it stands I'm choosing from the colours that remain by eliminating what I don't like....instead chooisng one I love !

 

[BruceK]

I'm trying to keep a real open mind on colors as I hope to pick up one of early the pre-spec'd Cooper S cars arriving at my dealer - colors unknown at this point. I'll refuse one for unwanted options, but not for color --- I think. Time will tell how strong I am if the opportunity arises.

I thought I didn't like Electric Blue, but then I saw a Z3 at the supermarket in that color yesterday and it looked very nice. So, who knows?

Not being able to actually see MINIs in the different colors 'in person' makes it much harder to decide.

 

[LMB]

Dont even start me on the colour issue!

I like electric blue, but it's going to be a common 'S' colour,

For exclusivity I don't think you can beat electric blue. Firstly it is exclusive to the S, and secondly most people that get a Cooper S will get the dark silver. I too am leaning towards the electric blue, but I need to see it first before I can make my mind up.

I think the Dark Silver is the nicest colour, I just think it will be way too common on the cooper S. As for the rest, I am not too sure, my Cooper when it arrives is BRG/White. Maybe I will get the same again...maybe.

..and eventually boy racers will learn to see that colour and try and hassle you.

You are probably right

LMB

 

[smartbomb]

Still in need of help to choose my colour !
Fingers crossed that some new colours arrive soon ! Other than gold, velvet red and white ! wow what a choice !
Funny, buy whenever I see a yellow car I think 'yuk', but when I have seen a yellow MINI I think 'wow' !

 

[coopercrazy]

I don't want my MINI to be viewed as a toy...
which is just be in the States since it will be small.
Therefore I'll be looking at:
Indi Blue / White
Dark Silver / White
BRG / White
Black / White
Silver / Black
...and I think in that order too?

Obviously I think the car looks better w/ the white roof.
At least it looks Different w/ a white roof...
Or at least it looks different w/ a contrasting roof.
-Which no other car in the states has!

 

[Viscount Charles]

Don't get me started on colour choice!

Obviously high on the list is dark silver - problem is, I think it looks better on 17" wheels, and THAT will add a grand to the price. Also every other tom, richard and harry will pick DS.

Pass on red with a white roof - it _ain't_ authentic, and it'll be common as muck. Ignore what people tell you about red being a good choice. The original Cooper S was available in red with a _black_ roof - white was only used on the works rally cars, and for production cars is an invention of some anonymous marketing clown. They _never_ had white stripes, neither! The original Cooper S cars were available in grey, almond green (think bogies), powder blue - all with white roof; or white and red, both with a black roof. If imitation is your thing ....
Ditto the BRG/white - although used on the track by the Cooper Car Company (with bonnet stripes), not a production colour until 1992. Also going to be common as muck.

Yellow with white trim appeals strongly to the hooligan in me. Any combination so foul is always going to be pretty exclusive, and it retains a high level of visibility in all conditions. But the dealer's face fell when I suggested it - he was thinking "Don't ever bring it back - we'll never be able to shift it off the forecourt". Residual values don't really bother me - I keep cars until the mileage is so high it's not worth selling it.

Then there's candy blue with white bits - authentic, almost as bright as the yellow but a bit classier, but no idea when it'll be available (my guess is November, or maybe Jan 2003). I'm _not_ prepared to wait past September though.

New on the VC Colour Chart, in at no. 4 but likely to climb, is pepper white with a black roof. It fulfills most of my requirements - it's not metallic (so won't cost extra £££), it's "Mini-authentic", it doesn't show the scratches or the dirt, and it looks good - the bonnet scoop seems less pronounced in white, somehow. Don't know how "exclusive" it'll be, though.

I'm passing on Electric blue - similar problems to dark silver (costs more than flat paint) and there'll be lots of S's on the road in this colour, plus it's too similar to the ubiquitous Peugeot metallic blue. The maroon is growing on me - if I had one car for each day of the week, one of them would be this nice, deep red, but I'd get bored with it as the only car on the driveway

 

[smartbomb]

My dealer too had reservations about me opting for yellow. he did seem keen for me to return and part ex my MINI for a newer model in the future. I'm certain I will stick with MINI, as it seems to be developing quite nicely.
However if residuals are as strong as we are lead to believe, then it shouldn't make too much difference on colour as dealers can't get used ones presently, and maybe for a while. I'm lead to believe that MINI dealers will be one of the few place where you will be able to buy a used MINI. Therefore colour shouldn't be that much of an issue as the dealer wants your car ! OK, red will be quicker to sell than yellow I guess, but it will still be a MINI, and desirable.
I am a little concerned over my choice of colour, still !
Leading the pack is still yellow, as the only yellow car I have owned was wicked !
Blue is safe, and is my second choice at present.
Not struck on any of the new colours. I have owned a white car and would never have another !

 

[Viscount Charles]

One local dealership has already sold its first used Cooper - the original buyer had had it 6 months before deciding on a change of colour and some extra options; I know how much he lost on the car (not as much as you might think after 6 months of ownership) and how much BMW sold it for, and yes, the cars do hold their value extremely well. I won't give figures, as it was none of my business really.

The interesting bit is that the dealer had a *waiting list* for the second-hand car, and had it back on his premises for less than 48 hours.

 

[smartbomb]

My local dealer has a used but badly specced Cooper for sale. It is at list price, and no doubt will sell no problem.
Hopefully the MINI will hold it's value very well, well hope mine does !
I'd guess that the dealer in question was quite sympathetic with part ex pricing to get repeat business....and knew that they wouldn't have agro selling his old car.Just hope that future residuals are favourable too !