MINI One Convertible Auto - Yes or No?
Discussion
Hi all,
Despite agreeing on the idea of buying a cheapish second-hand Auto car, the girlfriend is becoming very interested in the prospect of buying a new MINI convertible. She wants to budget a monthly amount for her car-related spending and so the MINI with TLC package seems like an ideal solution. However she does have a monthly spend-limit (with a little help from me) and so I think the 'One' is the only one really in her price range.
I used to own a MINI Cooper with JCW kit and I thought it was lovely machine. My girlfriend will need an auto box though, which is something I know nothing about.
What do you all reckon to buying such a car new? Is this a better option than buying used? Are they worth the cash, and do you expect residuals to be reasonable? Any advice given would be greatly appreciated.
Despite agreeing on the idea of buying a cheapish second-hand Auto car, the girlfriend is becoming very interested in the prospect of buying a new MINI convertible. She wants to budget a monthly amount for her car-related spending and so the MINI with TLC package seems like an ideal solution. However she does have a monthly spend-limit (with a little help from me) and so I think the 'One' is the only one really in her price range.
I used to own a MINI Cooper with JCW kit and I thought it was lovely machine. My girlfriend will need an auto box though, which is something I know nothing about.
What do you all reckon to buying such a car new? Is this a better option than buying used? Are they worth the cash, and do you expect residuals to be reasonable? Any advice given would be greatly appreciated.
bells v8 said:
no dont do it they are gut less
I agree. Performance of my tintop, manual gearbox One is no more than acceptable (nippy from a standstill, not so good when needing to overtake on the open road) and I dread to think what it would be like with 100+ kg more weight and the CVT autobox that makes a Cooper about as slow as a manually-shifted One.
Does it have to be a convertible and and autobox? You'll be paying near Cooper S money for something about as slow as a Ford Ka...
That said, MINI is actually one of very few cars where it kind of makes sense to buy new, thanks to TLC package and high residuals.
Girlfriend has now decided that MINI is definately the direction she wants to go, but she's not gonna bother with a convertible as she reckons she just won't use it enough.
So she's now looking at a brand new MINI Cooper auto. In terms of options she doesn't want to go silly, but she does want something that's got a bit of spec to it. So the suggestion so far is to have: CVT tiptronic box, chili pack (with half-leather, 16" alloys, trip computer, etc), auto air-con, heated mirrors and washer jets, xenon headlight pack, TLC package. It's coming in at about £16k I think which, whilst being a fair old wedge of cash, is not too much more than a poverty spec Corsa or something.
Do these options seem wise in terms of helping residuals, etc? Is there anything else that anyone would recommend? Does anyone know the difference between auto air-con and manual air-con, other than cost?
In terms of colour she wanted to go for the Black Eye Purple. However they are apparently ending production of this colour in week 14 (beginning of April) which is probably a month or two early for her. So she is now thinking of Solid Red with white roof, alloys and mirror caps.
So she's now looking at a brand new MINI Cooper auto. In terms of options she doesn't want to go silly, but she does want something that's got a bit of spec to it. So the suggestion so far is to have: CVT tiptronic box, chili pack (with half-leather, 16" alloys, trip computer, etc), auto air-con, heated mirrors and washer jets, xenon headlight pack, TLC package. It's coming in at about £16k I think which, whilst being a fair old wedge of cash, is not too much more than a poverty spec Corsa or something.
Do these options seem wise in terms of helping residuals, etc? Is there anything else that anyone would recommend? Does anyone know the difference between auto air-con and manual air-con, other than cost?
In terms of colour she wanted to go for the Black Eye Purple. However they are apparently ending production of this colour in week 14 (beginning of April) which is probably a month or two early for her. So she is now thinking of Solid Red with white roof, alloys and mirror caps.
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