I went to order a new Mini Convertible today in Arlington, TX (Neil the salesman is a great guy) and stopped short of ordering it, with Sidewalk package and fully loaded up since it seems that you can't get Sirius satellite radio in the Mini Convertible.

My questions are several fold:
1. Is this accurate? Their service dept said there is no way you can get Sirius in the convertible and the parts department said: yes.
2. If Sirius is a "must have" which to me it is, what are my options? (short of not getting the Mini--which honestly is where I am leaning).

Both my wife and I love the Mini and want to get one but the Sirius limitation is well a serious one.

Please let me know any feedback.

 

Get a standalone unit. I mounted my disc antenna on the dash and have no problems.

 

Is there an XM option? I keep hearing that XM will soon be merging with Sirius.....

Have you checked the electronics and radio thread? I seem to remember hearing something about a good install system a while back.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

The XM - Sirius merger is not a sure thing yet. The government is fighting the merger. There are a couple of different ways you can get sirius. I have sirius in my 04 MCs. you can buy a standalone receiver and use a wireless transmitter, or directly link into your factory unit with an auxilary cable, or a peripheral unit. Im not sure what new MINIs cd players look like in the back, but you could possibly use a Dlink type connector and an external tuner which can be hidden in the dash or under a seat, and will show sirius text on factory cd player screen. Worse case scenario, u buy an after market cd player that allows this type of connection if the factory does not.

 

Hey KLdesq, is this beacuse of Howard.

 

Neil, my MA has calls into the Regional VP's from Mini. The weird thing here is that there are part numbers for the conv install kit but the jury is still out whether it is a valid part number or not. I did an aftermarket install with my wife's VW a few years back and it was really not great. I have a Mercedes E500 and it has Sirius through the factory along with the Nav and it works amazingly well. I am looking for a factory solution that will work with the H/K as if I get the Mini I am going to order it and get the Boardwalk package (which I think is beautiful).

It just seems to me that for a 34K car that is awesome in so many other respects they should get the satellite radio issue (whether it is Sirius or XM really isn't that important as, while I'd rather Sirius XM would be fine) resolved positively with a OEM solution that is fitting of such a fine ride.

BTW, this has nothing to do with "Howard..." well maybe Howard Stern but that's about it..

Thanks for the feedback, I am supposed to have a definitive answer from Mini corporate on Monday and will advise accordingly.

Kyle