Hi everyone,
I'm Dustin and I just bought a 2007 Mini Cooper S that seems to not have any of the special option packages. I'm not a newbie at cars by any means and have even had some autocross experience in a friends supercharged Cooper S.

Will I have questions about this car specifically? Most likely, though I'm a big fan of simply using search features to find my answers.(I'm a huge forum junkie and have been on plenty of car related forums so I know how painful it is to answer the same thing 5 times).

What do I bring to offer? While being in the automotive industry my entire working life and being a car enthusiast all around, a good general knowledge to share. I've also been in the car audio/electrical industry my entire driving life and have great knowledge anywhere from the DIY to the high-end audio realms to offer up.

While I may ask plenty of MINI specific questions, I also want to offer any and all advice/answers to anyone with any car audio specific questions. One thing I hate seeing is someone doing it wrong the first time and having to re-do it again down the road, so on a car audio aspect, I hope to be of some assistance in preventing that.

Thanks, have a good one.

 

Hi Dustin,

I can figure out how to reply just fine!

I am new to this site, too, and got my first used 2003 mini cooper just a few months ago.

You have great skills and I am sure you will be helping out a lot of people on this forum.

Thanks for the help you gave me tonight!

 

Welcome to the both of you.

 

Welcome aboard! This is a great forum community with lots of great folks.

 

I look forward to my stay. BTW, what part of Maine? Born and raised Mainer, only lived out here in Omaha for 4 years now.

 

Since you offered, Dustin, I need to pick your brain a bit. Are there aftermarket stereos available to fit a Countryman with better audio at a cheaper price than the optional $750 Harman Kardon. I have heard that the stock stereo is less than impressive....

Thanks for your reply.

 

I personally don't know anything about the Countryman, but I do know that there is a dash kit adapter made by Metra that allows the installation of either a 2-DIN head unit or a 1-DIN head unit and a storage compartment(included in the kit) in the 07-10 Cooper. I did a quick search and turned up nothing on the Countryman unfortunately, but I did find a picture of the interior and the dash panel looks almost identical so I am curious if the Cooper dash kit from Metra would also work in your vehicle. But I cannot say for sure.

If there is some sort of dash kit available to make it fit, any aftermarket stereo would work and it would come down to telling me what specific features are must-haves, and I can point you in the direction of some brands I know to be high quality. A good source unit for under $750 is more than easy to find. It just comes down to if there's a way to fit it to the dash and finding the right one for your needs.

 

and on that note... "GO Buckeyes" tells me you're from Ohio, so I can't really offer up any in-person consultation unfortunately lol.

 

Thanks much. Last aftermarket stereo I installed was in my 1957 Chevy. Not really familiar with the new technology!!!

 

Not a problem. If there are ever any audio related questions, I'm always eager and happy to offer my opinions and assistance. I'm actually looking forward to doing up the audio setup in my new Mini. I just have one set of components I need to get sold before I have the cash to do it how I want.

 

Hi Dustin and welcome.