Never thought of that! Great idea with the thumb drive! And yes I think Itunes is a PITA!

We are going to have a lot of deciding to do. While we both love the Anthracite headliner if the right vehicle popped up somewhere soon then we might opt out of it.

Sometimes having too many choices can make life hard...LOL.....

Tonight we have narrowed the clubbie down to blue horizon with blue top black pillars OR Pepper white with Black top and Black pillars.

Ohhhh and we are DEFINITELY going with the cloth for the pure comfort factor of it. We both really liked the feel and the lack of "back moisture" is a big plus!

 

You have an attractive machine coming together there with your colors and all. I strongly suggest you skip the PIANO BLACK and go instead with the aluminum alloy on the dash. I had mine ordered with the PB but thankfully it was the early 07 screwup over the codes for the MFWS that caused the car to be reordered and I dropped that for the alloy dash. See my gallery. That's a lot like you are going to look so check my interior. Also, with all that dark interior, get those chromeline rings. With them and the alloy dash trim, you will have a very cool interior. Trust me.
I'd skip that premium package completely. Nothing in there you need in NM unless you're living in the very highest and coldest area of the state. I can't imagine being in NM and not having a six speed for the open backroads. And no matter what they say on this board, you don't need those upgrade headlights. Put on a pair of driving lights later if you feel the stock lights are inadequate. TIP: The stock lights are more than adequate. You think BMW would sell a car with bad lights? No likely.
Whatever you do, you want the LSD. I'd sure go with the six speed if your wife is agreeable.
So...no premium package, no sunroof, LSD, six speed or auto, alloy dash not the piano black. Again about the PB...it brings a whole OTHER type of BLACK to the grey and black of the interior...too confusing/too many colors. The alloy will accent better...same with the chromeline.
Hey, whatever you do...you're gonna have FUN.
all the best, Tom (surfblue)

 

Just a reminder that if you think you will ever need /want the adjustable lumbar support you need to select Any Leather option. That includes the less expensive Cloth / leather combo. Full leather package is not required.

 

Thanks Tom....the lights are not a biggie for us at all any longer. One of the reasons....I HATE being behind a car with Xenons or have one coming at me with misaligned ones. Seeing that some people have issues with them (other drivers) I would hate to have folks "hi-beaming" my wife when they she is driving! The six vs auto is one of the biggies as well as the roof rails, I can't tell you how many times we have used those on my wife's liberty.

Lumbar support is not required for us but thanks for the tip on the leather/cloth so that you can get it if needed.

It certainly would be nice if there were like a national database you could search to find the perfect mini from the home computer.

 

Mike1968NM;
I have the Roof rails on my Pw/PW - check my gallery if you want. I use Yakima bars and rack systems.

 

If you end up getting the Premium Package, I suggest that you get the sunroof tinted. I got mine tinted 20% and with the mesh screen it blocks out a lot of the heat and sunlight. The tiniting reduces the glare on the tach and speedo as well. I find the double sunroofs really great at cooling off the interior of the car.

Also, if you can afford it, or if there's a discounted but well-equipped clubbie on the dealer's lot, I'd get the navigation system. I didn't think I needed it but it came with the Clubman that I bought off the lot at a great discount and I love it. I find it really useful and very informative as far as seeing the service status of your car and also having realtime traffic info available. It also makes the huge speedo not look like a big dinner plate .

 

Thanks Oski,

Still in the process of looking. We will be getting the tinting done on the sunroof but I do not know anything about tinting windows. Will post a question in another thread about it. We will most definitely tint the top though to reduce the heat/light coming in!

 

Mike, get ready for some fun! I just got Pep about 3 weeks ago. I got a ton of advice from this forum and did my research. This forum is great for getting information.

Before I go any further, I only wanted a Clubman. While I'm not rich, I had the cash in hand to pay for it. Still, I'm always looking for a bargain.

Your build is almost identical to mine in terms of what is in the car. In fact it is bar the Xenons and the body color. I originally wanted Hot Chocolate with a Hot Chocolate roof. Well that with everything I wanted (which is again, the same as what you want) was tough to find. In fact I'm guessing it's more down to the color than anything. Anyway, they found two Ss with the color I wanted and everything else I wanted. In fact they had more than what I wanted as they had the chocolate leather seats. Well I wanted those seats, but I knew I could go without them. So both of the cars were in Pennsylvania. That meant a dealer trade and I figured I wouldn't get as good a deal and I had a trade-in myself. So that left the option of ordering my Clubman custom. Now that would have been ideal, but again, not likely to get a bargain. In fact my dealer pretty much said that they don't deal on custom orders. So seeing as how I like other color combos (as you seem to do) I decided to see what else they could find. Long story short, they had a Dark Silver w/ Black roof and everything I wanted on the lot. It just was w/o the Xenons. The other option was Sparkling Silver w/ Black roof and everything I wanted except the armrest. In the end color won out and I went Dark Silver. Now the great thing about this was that it was on the lot and they were willing to deal on that car. So my advice if you're looking for a bargain and you are open to a few color options, see what the dealer has.

As for the Xenons, I don't have them. I wanted them, but I've never had them before so I don't think I'll miss them. Also, I live in a city and I don't go to the country too often. So for me while the Xenons were something I wanted, I wanted a deal on the car more and I took the color I wanted.

I wanted the Bluetooth (I have regular, not comfort access) and I'm glad the car has it. Previously I had a 96 Camry, so you can imagine the difference in driving style between the two cars. Anyway, I figured I could just talk on the phone as I used to while driving the Camry. Well the Clubman S (coupled with the way I drive) definitely has me more alert (though I've always been) than ever. With as quick and fun as the car is to drive, the Bluetooth is great to have so you can really keep your eyes on the road. I'm not a big phone person either. Still the few times I've used it already in the past three weeks have been great. I would definitely recommend it.

I have a Zune and not an iPod. Still the car came with the iPod adapter. I haven't used it yet as I'm a big NPR listener. Still depending on your uses I would say get it. If you have an iPod and you like music I would think you would use it.

As far as the floormats, if you're negotiating with the dealer I would get them to throw them in right at the end. I totally forgot to do that (too much going on at the time) and so I had to buy some. Even if they're the carpeted mats, free mats are free mats. I did get my new mats today. I got carpeted mats and IMO they're pretty cheap. They didn't cost much and they'll do, but I'll definitely be looking into rubber mats by the time Winter hits. Also though, I got a rubber boot mat. Haven't put it in yet, but that looks nice and considering how often I use the boot I think it'll come in handy.

As for the armrest, I've read a lot of folks say it's sorta cheap and their elbow pushes it open. Well it isn't made of gold, that's for sure, but it's not bad. Also, I HAVE to have an armrest. My elbow NEVER pushes it open either and I always use it. Think about your current driving habits and if you use it. If you do, definitely get it. I also like the look of the factory armrest over the aftermarket one. Less storage yes, but I don't have a lot of junk in my car. Either way, you can get the factory installed one aftermarket if you need to so while I would say it's a must at some point, I wouldn't let it sway you too much.

As for the seats, I have the standard leatherette Sport seats. I think they're great and I would never go back to the cloth (especially when the the leatherette is the same price).

As for the sunroof, I've yet to feel really hot or that it's really bright in the car. I haven't had mine tinted and I was worried about this, but thus far it's fine. I'll wait a few months before making my final judgement.

As for the Navigation System, I'm sure it's a great feature. Still, it's a ton of extra money and a really great deal would have to be a really great deal indeed to get the price of that down. You can get a good GPS these days with lifetime traffic for $250. Also though, while I don't rely on it for driving, I love that the speedometer is in the center of the dash. It looks great and it's just another reason the Mini is so stylish and distinctive.

Anyway, good luck!

 

Blaugrana,

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE GREAT POST!

Seems to me like a very similar situation! I hate having to think about price and haggling/negotiating, thats why I have gone through fleet sales etc without going through the sales folks on the lot.

The mini experience I had was just the opposite of what I had expected. Very low pressure and very pleasurable.

I may make a trip there tomorrow and take a peek again.......