About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

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Buster65
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About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by Buster65 »

I have two remaining questions:

(1) If I am buying a mini cooper and my preference is a manual transmission will selling it down the road be more difficult because nobody seems to drive manual anymore?

(2) I'm leaning towards the red color with black top or a dark blue with black top. What color do folks think looks hot in the Mini?
Beck49
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by Beck49 »

I have a Cooper, but not the S.

1. We have the dark blue, with racing stripes. Looks cool. The red is very nice as well. You won't be making a big mistake with either.

2. We have a manual, but with the Cooper. I wouldn't shy away from an automatic with the S, particularly the new ones. Having said all that, I think you are worrying too much about resale. That's well into the future. You are going to drive this car every day. If the manual brings you that much more pleasure, then that's what you should get. Otherwise you are thinking everyday, "wish this as a manual, but boy when I sell it I guess it will be worth it.". Good luck.
YttriumNitrate
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by YttriumNitrate »

archman65 wrote:(1) If I am buying a mini cooper and my preference is a manual transmission will selling it down the road be more difficult because nobody seems to drive manual anymore?
Just a guess, but I'd say it depends. In the near term, you are decreasing the pool of potential buyers. However, if you keep the car for 20+ years, and keep it in great shape, having a standard transmission might make it more desirable to car enthusiasts.
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Toons
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by Toons »

Volcanic Orange /white stripes/white top :happy

http://www.miniusa.com/content/miniusa/ ... rdtop.html
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dratkinson
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by dratkinson »

British racing green didn't make the cut?
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lawman3966
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by lawman3966 »

Can't respond to the color question.

However, when I faced this issue, selling a used manual transmission vehicle proved to be very difficult. Dealers pretty much refused to even look at it. I had ads running in various places in the Boston area for weeks without a response. I ended up keeping it and driving until the end. In fairness, this was some time ago, in 1989, and the vehicle was a Dodge Omni, perhaps not the best of breed (yet not a bad car).

Unless the vehicle has a niche following, and you have some particular knowledge of the market for used vehicles of the type you're buying, I would only buy such a vehicle on the assumption that you will keep it till it's towed to the junkyard.
MGBGTV8
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by MGBGTV8 »

Look at ebay listings for used BMW Minis and see if manual transmission is a desirable feature noted in descriptions of the cars. Also, look at NADA and KBB prices- they may add to value for Auto trans as an option.

My hunch is that you are ordering the Cooper S, which is more performance oriented, so you will be OK. I would drive the automatic version, since you may like it better. Personally, I would order the manual gearbox, resale be damned. You are ordering a new car- order it to your own preferences, especially a mini, that you can customize to the last detail.
BuckyBadger
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by BuckyBadger »

No one* wants a manual SUV or mini van.

No one* wants an automatic sports car.

In my opinion, people who drive Mini Coopers, in general, would prefer a stick.



*or at least very few
dgdevil
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by dgdevil »

archman65 wrote:
(1) If I am buying a mini cooper and my preference is a manual transmission will selling it down the road be more difficult because nobody seems to drive manual anymore?
I would buy it off you. Stick all the way.
Jack FFR1846
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I dont know minis but I know subaru wrx's. Similar enthusiast's car. An auto Wrx is worth $3-$5k k less than a manual. Get a manual. It also costs less, right?
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earlyout
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by earlyout »

If you are in a warm/sunny climate you may want to rethink the black top. I have a Mini with a silver top and the AC has trouble keeping it cool in the summertime, particularly with stop and go driving around town.
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BTDT
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by BTDT »

My better half loves her laser blue Mini Cooper S with six speed manual. The smile on her face far exceeds any concerns over manual versus automatic resale value. Life is short..........enjoy it while you can :oops:
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TareNeko
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by TareNeko »

+1 on the manual.

I haven't driven the latest MINI, but the previous generation (R56) has a very good gearbox/clutch. Also being a MINI, the pedals are placed with heel & toe in mind. It's great fun to drive a manual MINI.
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bertilak
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by bertilak »

About that automatic --

Perhaps it is more than just an automatic. Many today, especially in performance oriented cars, can be shifted manually even though they are automatic.

My VW Passat has that feature. I don't use it but I do use both auto options -- D (normal) and S (sport?). I use S when merging onto a busy highway or anywhere I think I might need to get out of the way quickly. The S position will rev the engine higher, including downshifting sooner.

It could be called "F" for frisky 'cause sometimes I use it when I'm feeling extra frisky.
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TareNeko
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by TareNeko »

No automatic transmission (including DCT/DSG "double-clutch" types) can replace the sensation of manual transmission. They are more advanced, enable faster shifts, increase mpg a little but still they do not have the involved feeling of manual transmission.
bertilak wrote:About that automatic --

Perhaps it is more than just an automatic. Many today, especially in performance oriented cars, can be shifted manually even though they are automatic.

My VW Passat has that feature. I don't use it but I do use both auto options -- D (normal) and S (sport?). I use S when merging onto a busy highway or anywhere I think I might need to get out of the way quickly. The S position will rev the engine higher, including downshifting sooner.

It could be called "F" for frisky 'cause sometimes I use it when I'm feeling extra frisky.
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bertilak
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by bertilak »

Erhan wrote:No automatic transmission (including DCT/DSG "double-clutch" types) can replace the sensation of manual transmission. They are more advanced, enable faster shifts, increase mpg a little but still they do not have the involved feeling of manual transmission.
Agreed. I almost always had manual transmissions up to about 15 years ago so I know what you mean. They are about as much fun in a 1967 VW Karmann Ghia as in a Mini (the real ones!) or a bug-eyed Sprite or TR3 -- all of which I have owned or driven (among others).

But some of the newer cars have their own charms and the newer transmissions are part of that. One can get one's thrills in a variety of ways. For me a motorcycle is the real toy! I do like the older styles, though, not the "crotch rocket rice burners"
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YttriumNitrate
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by YttriumNitrate »

At least on my wife's Subaru it has the automatic transmission with a pseudo manual option, but the Subaru engineers idiot proofed all the fun out of it. By golly, if I want the engine to be running at 7000 RPM while going 30 MPH I should be able to shift into a gear for that.
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Epsilon Delta
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by Epsilon Delta »

YttriumNitrate wrote:At least on my wife's Subaru it has the automatic transmission with a pseudo manual option, but the Subaru engineers idiot proofed all the fun out of it. By golly, if I want the engine to be running at 7000 RPM while going 30 MPH I should be able to shift into a gear for that.
It's not only automatics. I drove a manual BMW a decade or two ago with an aggressive rev limiter. If you reached the red line it would cut the engine by about 1000 rpm. It felt like you'd hit something.

In modern cars the entire driving experience is computer controlled. What people think of as "natural" is often the computer simulating a quirk of the previous generation. (Hybrids that creep forward when your feet are off the pedals is one example)
chuppi
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by chuppi »

Selling a mini manual wouldn't be an issue. A lot of people would prefer a stick shift in a sports car. In the country I came from my mother-in-law drives a manual. What's up with the people here? :)

I have an Subaru outback stick shift. I had to wait for 2months for the dealer to deliver it. I will keep it till the end of time and so didn't care for the resale value. I don't think I can sell it without taking a very big hit. But then again there will be some people who are fixated on a stick shift and they may give me top dollars. You never know.
cjking
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Re: About to Order my first Mini Cooper S

Post by cjking »

For colour I would go for orange, black roof and no stripes. The same with red instead of orange would also be good, though I note red costs more. Not very keen on blue.

In general for light/bright body colours I think a black roof looks better than a body colour floating roof. The black of the roof integrates with the pillars and windows to create a simpler classier look for the car as a whole. Instead of three-layer sandwich (black pillars/window between body colour roof and body) it becomes two layers, black on top of body-colour. (I went through this exercise with a Range Rover Evoque which had similar styling options, though in the end I didn't buy one. Certain colours such as grey looked good with a body colour roof, but most (bright/light) colours look better with a black roof. With the Evoque orange body wasn't an option, my selection was red body with black roof and panoramic sunroof.)

If I had to have the blue, which is quite dark, then maybe a white contrast roof would be better than the other options. I would even add white stripes in that case, despite not generally liking stripes.
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