I went to the Mini site to option out a new 2009 Clubman. Just for fun I hit most of the available options, not all but most and the grand total was $ 53,000!!! This included the car which was a John Cooper Works Clubman S and some admittedly "crazy" options like illuminated side sills special luggage and so forth.....but 53K!!! I think I could have added a few thousand more to the total if I really tried and of course the usual taxes and fees could potentially bring it up to near 60K. The base price on that car with no options is $30,800 which is in itself pretty darn expensive. Amazing stuff. I like the Mini but I think I would have to go with a "stripper".....the car that is not a dancer.
ddavidv
SuperDork
9/13/08 6:15 a.m.
I like 'em, but they are far, far too expensive for what they are.
924guy
HalfDork
9/13/08 9:42 a.m.
very easy to raise the buy in to well over 38k... i tried out a base model with sport suspension and seats, and a few odds and ends and was able to keep it under 22k... But the S is really the one to have, and with that, id just have to have the JC tuner engine ($2100 option), lowest i could get it to build was just over 26k... more interesting, the mini cooper diesel gets over 65mpg...but as usual, not available in the US... mini d article
I tried it and with all the stuff id get if I had as much money as I wanted to spend on one it was about $32k.
Josh
Reader
9/13/08 12:39 p.m.
I woudn't think too many people here would want anything more than a standard 'S' with LSD and Sport Suspension. Even that has far more creature comforts than you could ever get in an E30 or NA Miata :). My lone extravagance in pricing out my ideal MINI was the cruise/audio steering wheel, and the total came out around $23,700. Or $195 a month on a 36 month lease. I can't quite figure out why I haven't actually done this yet :).
Yavuz
New Reader
9/13/08 1:22 p.m.
When I was shopping for a car back in 2004 the Mini S was one of my top choices... That was until I built on the way I wanted and it came out to a little over $28,000. As much as I loved them, no way I could have justified spending that much for one.
Josh wrote:
I woudn't think too many people here would want anything more than a standard 'S' with LSD and Sport Suspension. Even that has far more creature comforts than you could ever get in an E30 or NA Miata :). My lone extravagance in pricing out my ideal MINI was the cruise/audio steering wheel, and the total came out around $23,700. Or $195 a month on a 36 month lease. I can't quite figure out why I haven't actually done this yet :).
Yup, that's exactly what I would like to do. Have a Mini S as a stock, lightly tweaked, daily driver.
Then the make the E30 even more focused.
My only exsperiance with A mini has been passing an S model in my beater big F-150 with the smallest available engine.
edit, semi related, how about optioning out computers, a maxed out mac pro is $27,498. What i speced one out for my self it's $20,476
Mowog
New Reader
9/15/08 1:17 p.m.
My wife bought a base 2002 "S" brand new in 2002 from Tom Bush here in Jax for $19,650 plus about $1800 in mandatory clocks, covers, floor mats, jackets, shirts, etc. We got $19,350 out of it 4 years later. My wife literally grieved over that car for the last two years although it was her idea to sell it. Turns out she felt guilty for having it as a toy. Sooo.... I found a beautiful, one -owner, very low mileage '04 S by chance at Tom Bush last week and surprised her with it. It's electric blue with a white top like her '02, but with bonnet stripes and white 17" S-Lite wheels. The only option other than the wheels and stripes is cruise and remote stereo control. I paid 16.4K for it which was a bit steep but it's local, has all service records and was babied by the PO. Plus, I wanted to steer clear of nav, auto climate control and the like.
neon4891 wrote:
My only exsperiance with A mini has been passing an S model in my beater big F-150 with the smallest available engine.
edit, semi related, how about optioning out computers, a maxed out mac pro is $27,498. What i speced one out for my self it's $20,476
Really? The 0-60 of an S seems to be just over 7 seconds, and an F150 seems to be 9.9 with the 4.6L...Seems to be not a very well driven MINI...
Joey
What do expect with those nazzzis over at BMW running things? Why does the 1 series cost just as much as a 3 series? I thought those were supposed to be the more affordable baby brother to the 3 series?
I went and test drove a Mini Cooper (not an 'S') last Sunday. With typical options, it's about $22k. It's a nice car for the money, though pretty darn slow in a straight line. Way nicer than other small "economy" cars. Is it worth the $5k premium over a nicely equipped Civic? That'll depend on the buyer.
The 'S' and "JCW" are ridiculously priced. I can't look at them without thinking "That's M Coupe money."