I\'m looking at getting myself a new Mini. I can either get a regular Cooper, or stretch to a pretty poverty-spec Cooper S.
Has anyone any idea how this will affect residuals. A/C is a £700 option and I\'m concerned that not having it will make it harder to shift a few years down the line. Would I be better off giving up on the Cooper S and settling for a well spec-ed standard Cooper?
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Buy what YOU want, not what you think the next owner is going to want. It you that's paying the bill. If you want the performance go for the 'S'. If comfort's more important go for the air con. If you are worried about a few pounds difference on trade in consider whether you should be buying a new car at all. They all lose money.
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I've heard somewhere that the main difference between the power of the MINI, Cooper and S is the chip. The advice there was buy a MINI One, specifying a different colour roof if you want it to look like a Cooper or S, and have it chipped. I can't recall where is saw/heard this so it might be complete spheres. If you can get an in-line chip it can be removed at service time.
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GOG,
The main difference between the One and the Cooper engines is indeed a chip, but the S is supercharged, which puts it in a different league to the others in terms of performance.
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dan,
I have driven both the Cooper and the S and strongly suggest that you to do the same before making your decision. Both are excellent, but there really is a big difference in performance, and consequently insurance costs, between them.
If you are buying a Mini mainly for the pose and most of your driving is in town, then the Cooper will be ideal.
If, however, performance is a priority and you are prepared to pay Group 16 insurance, then it has got to be the S. If you drive an S and enjoy it, the Cooper will always seem second best.
The time to start thinking about spec is when you have made this decision.
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Air is a must - you only need run it once a week to make sure it doesn't pack up, so won't need to worry about the fuel costs.
& don't forget to order that BIG sunroof, too!!
Body colour, either in yellow for fun, or that deep burgandy, to be 'smart'.
VB
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The Chilli pack on the S gets you air-con, xenons, half-leather and big wheels etc for £1500, so not much point paying £700 for a/c alone. I think white with black roof is the best colour. If you don't need the extra power then the Cooper is fine and does much more mpg.
My Mrs's Cooper is up for sale very soon (before the bubble bursts come MOT time) it's a 51-plate a/c, chilli pack, cosmos black metallic, ASC+T, Sports suspension plus, TLC, 10k miles.
Going to give it a punt in Autotrader at £10999 and see what happens???
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