MINI Cooper

hpulley4 · July 2002

I would prefer the chrome bumpers but love the silver 5-stars like I have. I got the white roof and mirrors but I still prefer the silver wheels. At 4000km, the brake dust is finally calming down too...

Nice colour though.

crcoxe · July 2002

That is a fantastic color. I agree, however, that the bumpers look better with the chrome than without. Without the chrome, it looks like something is missing. One of my few gripes with thie car is the failure to compensate for options you DON'T get. For example, I did not get the fog lights and there are two missing toggle switches as a result (front and rear controls). I would prefer if they put the toggles in there anyway just to complete the overall look. On the bumpers, I think it would be better if, instead of putting a body-color "insert" where the chrome would go, they just shaped the bumper as if chrome was not supposed to go there.

And this is also personal preference, but I think the 16" rims are a must on this car. I don't mean to offend drivinisfun, it's just that the 15"s are just a little skimpy on the otherwise beefy-but-small overall image. They promote the car as having a "bulldog stance," but the smaller wheels make it seem more like a pug. It may not be too late to change your order ...

hpulley4 · July 2002

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/index.php?gallery=Varse

Look down toward the bottom of the gallery.

I much prefer the chrome (I know, slap myself in the head, my needle is skipping). In general I don't love the bonnet stripes but on this white/black roofed car it looks pretty good. I still think it looks cleaner without stripes.

docrad · July 2002

Anyone interested in a COOPER S inbound to the US in August? Able to ship to east or west coast. Respond if interested. MSRP

raybear · July 2002

Looking for two right now. Didn't you get my fax?

docrad · July 2002

Are you serious? I did not get anything by fax,

raybear · July 2002

Sent it to every dealer in the Country at my customer's request.

claywaterfill · July 2002

I'm glad to see supply has caught up with demand for these cars. It should help with pricing as well. I saw an article about a dealer in Pennsylvania with a wait list, but I don't see how. Here in Atlanta, I passed Global Imports BMW and saw a line of them. When I checked their web site (atlantabmw.com), they showed 16 in stock--8 base models and 8 "S" models. Plus, I have seen MINIs on the used lots at Saturn of Gwinnett, Acura Carland and Peachtree Ford. Anyway, hope they are dong well for you; and, it's good to see such a large supply all ready!

raybear · July 2002

You've got to be kidding. I can't find an available MINI at a reasonable (MSRP) price anywhere!

milwaukeeboy · July 2002

I just got off the phone with Bob at Global Imports. According to Bob:

* They have no cooper S cars in stock.
* If one placed an order now, one could have a 2003 Cooper S in Decmeber.

In my experience, that is about best case for the S. Worst case is the dealer here in Milwaukee who claims to be sold our for the next 2 years and who is still asking a $4000 premium for S.

This week I ordered an S from Roadshow MINI of Memphis, who still has a few production slots left for 2002 cars. My car is supposed to be built in August or September and I'm supposed to get it in early November.

Had to settle for Chili Red because British Racing Green is not available til sometime in the 2003 production season.

claywaterfill · July 2002

That is amazing about Global Imports. I passed the dealership 4 days ago and saw the MINIs out front. I did not stop to see if they were S models or not--but their web site said 8 of them were. Maybe those were sold but not delivered or something. I did see the yelow MINI in front of Saturn of Gwinnett about 3-1/2 hours ago, though. They have had that one for about two weeks now.

speeds2much · July 2002

Maybe this helps:

Princeton Mini in New Jersey recently had a line of a dozen or so outside, so my Dad stopped in. Turns out only 1 was still available, and only because a customer had cancelled his order. The delivery trucks had just dumped 'em off, and the dealership had been shrewd enough to line them all up along the road for a little free marketing.

rickrover · July 2002

I think there may be waiting lists for people that want/ have to order their MINI's with specific options/ colors. If you aren't too picky you can walk right in and buy a pre-spec'd one at my dealer. Orlando MINI has a bunch of cars that have body color roofs that look great. They have an Electric blue S available and a dark grey metallic S too - both with body color roofs. The dark grey S has blue/ black leather and Xenon's with no premium or sport packages for $22k MSRP. They have around 10 Coopers that aren't spoken for.

They seem to have stopped putting sold signs on cars that aren't sold, that really annoyed me. I may check back and see if they still have the $1k and $1.5k in mandatory accessories garbage still going on. The MINI hype seems to have died down quite a bit around here.

nyccarguy · July 2002

I saw a Yellow Mini Cooper (base model) with a black roof, black bonnet stripes, front rally lights, and what looked like the 16" wheel package parked on the street the other day when I was looking for a parking spot. Great color! About 10 minutes later while still looking (gotta love alternate side of the street parking here in Manhattan), I saw a Red Cooper S with a Black roof & 17" wheels. Also a stunner!

wolf22301 · July 2002

I'll soon be placing my order. Have waited months on the waiting list. I wanted the S but was told it would be next year before one was available. I drove the Cooper and found it fun so am willing to order one. I will order in August and expect to receive it in September. But is there a difference between '02 and '03 model years? Also, we are debating the sunroof option. I didn't like the fact that it is always glass above you and I've heard it is very noisy when open. Any one have any experience with the sun roof? I also do not like black interiors because of the heat, but it seems most of the choices consist of black. We are considering a red one so we can get the red cloth interior.

johnny36 · July 2002

wolf22301,

I agree about always having "glass above". I test drove a cooper with a sunroof on a bright early afternoon and the sun was hitting my eyes pretty much the whole time. Since there is no option to completely block-out the sunroof, I opted not to get one.

I got gray cloth interior and have not felt that it gets really hot. Since most of the windows are practically vertical, not a great deal of sun light gets into the cab.

drivinisfun · July 2002

Yeah we noticed the same thing when we test drove a Velvet Red/White Cooper equipped with the dual panoramic sunroof a few weeks ago. Make no mistake, it is really nice as the sunroof openings front and back are nice and big, making the cabin feel airy; However, the biggest downside of the MINI's sunroof setup is the lack of a true solid slide type sunshade like the ones found in most cars. Having just the glass there in hot climates (Such as S. Florida) is the quickest way to cook a BBQ right on top of the car occupant's heads. For this "Flaw" we passed on it. Otherwise is a really nice option but they need to install a real shade in there to block the light/heat when not in use.

We opted for the standard black leatherette seats when we placed the order for our new '02 Cooper (Pepper white/black roof and mirrors). We were tempted to go with the Kaleido cloth instead, but we passed it up because our other car already has cloth seats (Tan/Neutral) and the Kaleido cloth color choices (Gray or Red)are not of our immediate liking, but I must admit that the Red Kaleido cloth seats look terrific in the Pepper White Cooper, but it could be a bit much to other people making the car more difficult to sell in the future. We figured that if we were going to have black seats, the leatherette would be a nice change (Also BMW leatherette has a very good reputation, it is even recommended over the more expensive Leather seating option) making the car look more upscale, easier to clean, etc. In a hot climate we are not keen of dark or black interiors, but given that the MINI does not offer light gray or tan standard interiors in either leatherette or cloth (Unless you shell out $1250 to get the tan Cordova leather seats with matching tan door panels)we decided to break out the "All Black" color monotony of the interior by getting the interior door panels in "Silver Gray". So it makes up for a nice balance...you get the silver door panels, silver gloss dashboard fascia finish and black steering wheel, dashboard top and seats. It is a pretty agreeable interior compromise to us.

To me the Kalaeido cloth red seats in a Chili Red car is a bit much to be honest, but if you like "Seeing in Red" all the time while inside the car, absolutely, go for it! To me a nice combo would be a Chili Red/Black roof with red seats. The red seats go much better with the Pepper white car. It gives a very racy looking style to the interior. Check it out.

drivinisfun · July 2002

Do you think that cloth equipped Coopers will command higher resale values in the future due to "rarity", as mostly everyone would have opted for Leatherette or Leather upholstery?

Has anyone bought a new Cooper 'S' with the "Space" cloth seats?

someblondeguy · July 2002

I have the panoramic roof on my Cooper S, and both halves of the roof (inside the car, the roof is split in half) have shades that slide open or closed (manually). The shades are perforated and allow SOME light through, but not THAT much.

From a month of owning the car, I feel the shades do a sufficient job.

crcoxe · July 2002

I also have the sunroof and have no complaints about unwanted sunlight in the car (isn't that why you would get the sunroof in the first place - for extra light?). Anyway, the perforated shade provides plenty of protection when the sun is directly overhead. Also, with the sunroof open all the way, the shade can still be closed so the air flow is not affected but the sun is not quite as strong. I really like having the extra light in the car, even with the shade closed, because it makes the interior feel that much bigger. Of course, it's deceptively big even without the sunroof.

The bigger issue here is that people are spending time complaining about having "to much sunlight" with the sunroof, or that there's "too much noise" with it open. Yes, a sunroof by definition allows sun to to come through your roof. And yes, with it open, noise from outside can be heard inside the car. Absent some seriously advanced technology (an invisible forcefield?) from the folks at BMW, these are two things that cannot be avoided with an open sunroof. Yet another example of how well this car is built -- there's nothing else to complain about!

silver_bullet · July 2002

Go to www.mini2.com and read the forum outlining all of the problems folks are having with their Cooper and Cooper S's. Maybe when some of these issues are dealt with, I'll consider ordering a car.

crcoxe · July 2002

I have seen the reports of problems on mini2.com and have little to say in response. Mostly because I have yet to experience any of these problems myself. What I will say is that it appears as though many of the gripes seem to be coming from owners in Europe and that even with these problems, they still appear to be very satisfied with the car. MINI / BMW service appears to be among the best - especially for an under $20K car.

As with any new brand, there will be some glitches. When you buy any new car (especially one like the MINI that is not built on the platform of an existing model), you should expect that some of these things might happen and be willing to deal with them when/if they do come up. That's why there is a 4 year/50,000 mile warranty. It's also why I amended my insurance policy to include rental car reimbursement - just in case. It could be an inconvenience, but at least it's covered. Yes, I am an optimist (probably to a fault), but I think that the MINI will do just fine in the long term. Besides, it's SOOOOO fun to drive ...

hpulley4 · July 2002

If you actually check mini2 you'll see that new cars have most of the problems worked out. Alignment problems, windshield problems and shift linkage are all fixed in recent builds. So I'd say some, if not most, of the problems have been dealt with already. For a first-year of a brand new car design, I'd say it has not been too bad. The shifter linkage problem on some early built Coopers is the scariest problem, IMO, and I hear they are now preventatively fixing that in some areas (not mine yet but hopefully they'll let me know soon if mine is affected). So far after 2.5 months and 4500kms I've only had one minor interior issue fixed, back of driver's seat cover's clips broke -- already replaced.

Go check out vwvortex (the VW board), the Subaru boards, heck even engine sludge on the Toyota boards and you'll see that most car companies unfortunately build some cars with problems and people who buy them post about their problems.

segesta · July 2002

Just got back from driving (a rented Lancia wagon, not a Mini!) through northern Italy for two weeks. Many Mini sightings, and nearly all were Pure Silver and black. Which just happens to be my color combo here at home.

For whatever the heck that was worth. Oh, and none appeared to have ridiculous dealer bolt-ons. That must be an American phenomenon.

wolf22301 · July 2002

Grey.
I used to live in Rome and was surprised at the number of grey cars. Everyone I knew who ordered a new car got it in grey, especially those in upwardly mobile wheels like Merc and BMW. It seems they are slaves to fashion. I have to admit that the Mini in silver with a black roof is chic looking. I just worry about its perceptivity in marginal lighting situations. I want a color that ensures that other drivers (especially those in SUV who are talking on phones) can see me. I had the scary experience recently of almost running down a tiny car (dark green Geo Swift) that was going slowly in the left lane. To my eyes it appeared several car lengths further ahead, I almost ran into the back of her. I'm ordering either red or yellow with a white roof and mirrors. Actually, I'd love a white car with red roof, but suspect that's not an option yet.

stryder · July 2002

I don't think any roof colors besides White and Black are official options yet, However I know there's a person who regularly posts on MINI2 with a red cooper with a green roof that was ordered through some special catalog that was an option in the UK. See if you ask the right people at MINI USA, maybe it is possible. They can't deny its an option in the UK, so perhaps it might become an option for US cars if there's interest.

dallasmini · July 2002

I've had my MCS/PS/BLK for one month and 4000 miles and have no complaints. The car handles like nothing I've owned or ever driven.
Planned upgrades are carbon fiber intake, coil-over suspension and exhaust....hoping to hit the 200hp mark.

muffin_man · July 2002

hoping to hit the 200hp mark with intake and exhaust?

hpulley4 · July 2002

At least at the crank (where most other manufacturers measure) as it seems like BMW/MINI really underestimated the engine numbers. People are getting over 110HP at the wheels of stock Coopers and over 160HP at the wheels in stock MCS cars on dynos. Assuming a 15% drivetrain loss, you might say stock Coopers put out over 127HP at the crank and MCS already puts out over 184HP there. That means you'd just need at most 16HP of gain which would be quite good but not impossible with changes to the intake and exhaust.

ECU re-flashing, SC belt changes, new head, etc. are what Cooper Works adds along with intake and exhaust to get even more out of it.

someblondeguy · July 2002

You can get body-colour roofs, as well. So 3 choices are available.

White
Black
Whatever colour the rest of your car is.

nippononly · July 2002

they had a roof painted in the Union Jack available? That would be cool - I would lay down the money for that!

silver_bullet · July 2002

The Union Jack, checkered flag, and American flag roof treatments are decal kits, I believe, not paint. If you want a white Cooper with a red roof, you could order a solid Pepper White Cooper and have a bodyshop paint the roof - should be easy as long as you don't have a sunroof!

muffin_man · July 2002

Wow, if that's true, it's very impressive. But it seems like if those were the right numbers, the car would test better.

crcoxe · July 2002

... are inevitable, I know. It's just sooooooo frustrating when the first one appears on a brand new car. Especially when I put it there myself. Hard to admit to people I don't know, but it's true. On one of my few stops at the gas station, I was getting out of the car when I hit the concrete bar that protects the pump with the door. Sure enough, a glaring door ding. Aaarrggh!!!

Which begs the question, did anyone else get touch-up paint from their MINI dealer? I did not and am now uncertain as to whether I should have, or if I can get some now. Any thoughts?

hpulley4 · July 2002

Some people are running 6.5s 0-60 in the MCS. For a car of it's curb weight with FWD and its tall gearing I think that is fairly decent.

I didn't get touch up paint with my car but I bet they'll sell you some if you ask nicely.

muffin_man · July 2002

Sounds good, keep us posted on your car.

someblondeguy · July 2002

"they had a roof painted in the Union Jack available? That would be cool - I would lay down the money for that!"

Several roof decals are available of many different countries, not just the three silver_bullet mentioned. They are perforated (like the adverts on city buses) to allow light through (ideal if you have the panorama glass roof), yet still look solid from the outside. They can, of course, be removed later on if you change your mind).

I purchased touch up paint for my Cooper S (Chili Red) for $20 Cdn (I got a discount because I used to work at the dealership). It comes with a bottle of clear coat, as well).

P.S. I HATE stone chips!

hpulley4 · July 2002

You can remove decals on the roof and the bonnet stripes but if you do it years later you'll probably find the paint surrounding the covered area has faded more that that under the decal (unless these are some newfangled ones that allow UV to pass through).

rickrover · July 2002

You can also go to a paintless dent repair place - Here in Florida I use Dent Doctor but there are a lot of other companies that do it. They basically massage the dent out with special tool from behind the panel. Most recently a shovel handle fell off my garage wall and put a small crease in my X5's hood and my GTI got caught in a hail storm that put 6 or 7 small dents in it's hood- no problemo for the dent doctor guy, he came out and massaged all the damage out of both cars to good as new condition, I highly recommend paintless dent repair, I paid $150 for both cars. Cheap considering what a body shop would have charged and I still have my original factory paint job intact.

Another product that's good for touching up minor paint scratches is Langka - you use the factory touch up paint with Langka for a perfect touch up. Check out www.langka.com

I am anal about the condition of my cars - Dent Doctor and Langka keep my sanity intact.

bimmerpilot · July 2002

Here in Utah there is only one Mini dealer and they have eight or so cars but all are sold. They say 9-10 months wait for an S and it requires a $2K deposit.

I've seen a few Minis at non-Mini lots with substantial markups. I'm not willing to go that route.

Is there an internet site where you can determine if any one Mini dealer across the US has the car you are looking for? Are there any Mini dealers out West that typically have cars available?

9 months seems like a long time to wait by today's manufacturing/dealer network standards. Is that the norm for an ordered S?

stryder · July 2002

9 months seems approximately right, once you order the car its about 3 months to get it made and then delivered. I suspect other dealers would have shorter lead times, more likely in the east where they're closer together (always fly somewhere or pay $500 to ship the car) but as far as I know there's no online listing, especially since very few dealers have any S's in stock, (the ones that do, price gouge (through packages or dealer ad-ons), usually thousands of dollars)

If you check on MINI2.com or other places there's plenty of discussions about which dealer charges what and how long, but certainly calling around couldn't hurt.

If you test drive a cooper, you might be tempted into getting one, which would certainly cut down your wait.

hpulley4 · July 2002

I don't think there is a central MINI stock availability website around. I've heard of a good number of westerners that buy in the east (fly out, drive back) to cut down the wait. If you want a pre-speced car, someone may even have one or will put you on a list for people who can't get financing, etc. when their car arrives and lose their deposit.

My local dealer has an EB S in stock and a bunch of Coopers ready to be bought for MSRP, no waiting, no markups or mandatory accessories, but we're in Canada and they won't let them be exported at the moment (though if they sit on that lot much longer they may rethink that policy).

I 'just' have a Cooper but I think it's great so you shouldn't count one out. Just make sure you can test one that is broken in as the first 2000 miles of work really opens the engine up.

nyccarguy · July 2002

but I saw a light blue Mini Cooper S with white bonnet stripes/roof/mirrors and rally lights this weekend in the DC area. Great looking car/color combo

hpulley4 · July 2002

Is the only blue available on the S right now. IndiBlue will be available for 2003s.

wolf22301 · July 2002

Stopped by the Dealer to drive the Cooper with Sunroof. I didn't like the roof my better half did. The dealer offered us an "S" to drive. What a hoot! 90mph on the merge ramp. After the drive my other half said lets get it and I'll drop the demand for a sunroof. So its a done deal. The dealer was nice enough to switch us from the Cooper wait list to the "S" without a loose of time. We should get ours in March '03. Which is fine with us since we spend winter in Miami and don't need the car.

I was somewhat disappointed to discover that the "S" can't be had in solid white. I'd been considering buying a white one and then getting the roof painted red. So we still have some decisions on color and options.

jamesspot · July 2002

Test drove an "S" with my wife along as the passenger in Virginia Beach. Great dealership - gave us the keys and said come back with 50 miles or less put on the car.
I'm 6'5" and the S without a sunroof is as roomy as front seats come. The car is a little slow to get rolling, but then it's a great little ride with tight handling, smooth-shifting transmission, and excellent brakes. My wife, as a passenger, "hated it", as it really is a tight "go-kart" suspension that feels every bump in the road. On a smooth autocross track it would be amazing, on the highway, the ride is harsh due to the tightly sprung suspension with little travel and a short wheelbase. I thought the car was fun.
Other minor issues: Too small of a rear view mirror, seat cushion length was insufficient, and only legless midgets could fit in the back seat behind me as the driver. I'll be purchasing a larger (A4, 325i, G-35) car with a more luxurious ride, but I sure enjoyed the handling and the wind up of that tiny supercharged engine.

revka · August 2002

Edmunds.com now has an electric blue Mini Cooper S in their fleet of long term road test vehicles! Owners can compare notes... and others can see what it's like to living with a 2002 Mini Cooper S. Hope you enjoy!

Their vehicle also includes the Sports Package which also comes with the 17 inch wheels.

Thanks for your comments! ;-)

Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Wagons Boards

crcoxe · August 2002

Looks like the edmunds tester experienced the shift linkage problem that has been lingering in the background of a few discussions on mini2.com. I was glad to read, however, that the MINI roadside assistance program responded well to the problem and that the warranty covered the fix with no cash out of pocket.

While I have to admit that this issue presents quite a predicament for the MINI / BMW folks, it is nonetheless one of those things that is to be expected in a first-year car. I was not so much interested in the problem as I was in how MINI responded to it. Sounds like they were professional and did not give Phil any major hassles (aside from having to find a way to get his family home) in fixing it. I'll probably take mine in to the dealer to check out the shift linkage in mine just to be safe. I have about 2300 miles on my Cooper so far and no problems (knock on wood).

BTW, I still don't like the electric blue on the "S", but those 17" wheels are fantastic!

hpulley4 · August 2002

I thought the linkage problem was only on the base Cooper? I wonder if there is a different problem with the 6-speed Getrag in the S getting stuck in reverse?

drivinisfun · August 2002

Based on what I have read in the MINI2 and MiniCooperOnline web sites, I also taught the shifter cable linkage problem/recall only affected the 5-speed base Coopers and not the 'S' models equipped with the Getrag 6-speed manual. To my understanding, the Base 5-speed Cooper comes with a ZF transmission.

Anyway, we went with the CVT instead, so lets see how things will go with the automatic tranny.

MINI Cooper

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