North American Motoring

Mini Cooper 2001-2013: Popular Decal Modification Options

There are a lot of ways you can use vinyl decals or pre-covered aftermarket parts to change the whole look of your car. Here are some common modifications to help get your creative juices flowing.

By Bryan Wood - June 29, 2016

This article applies to the Mini Cooper (2001-2013).

Tired of the same old look? One of the benefits to owning a Mini Cooper is the ability to easily customize it to your liking. With a little patience, and just a few low cost tools, you can change the whole look of your Mini in a huge variety of ways. If you can wrap a present, or hang wallpaper, you too can make your Mini uniquely your own. Listed below are some ways vinyl decals are used on Mini Coopers, to provide some inspiration.

Decals

Mirror Caps

Mirror caps come in a variety of styles

DIY Cost – $60-200

Professional Cost – $200-300

Skill Level – Easy; only a few tools are needed and little skill.

Unlike a lot of the other style mods, changing the mirror caps actually involves tools. With a plastic prying tool and a screwdriver, the old caps pop off and in just a few minutes you have your own new style. For less than $100 you can buy a pair of ready for paint covers and do your own design, or save the trouble and for $200 choose from many ready to install looks. The most popular of course are the checkered flag or Union Jack design.

(Related Article: How to Replace Side Mirror - NorthAmericanMotoring.com)

Fender/A-Panel Decal

union jack a-panel decal matching the mirror cap

DIY Cost – $50-150

Professional Cost – $100-200

Skill Level – Easy; just clean, peel and stick.

The unique clamshell style hood of the Mini Cooper leaves a small triangular body panel between the front edge of the door and the shut line of the hood, called the A-panel. Another popular, simple and low cost way to tweak the Mini is to apply a decal here that matches the mirror cap. Again, Union Jack and checkered flag stickers are the most popular. This is also a cool place to match the style of any racing stripe or roof decals.

Bonnet and Boot Stripes

orange mini with white bonnet stripes

DIY Cost – $50-150

Professional Cost – $100-200

Skill Level – Easy; just clean, peel and stick.<

There are various types of stripes popular with Mini owners, but the easiest to apply are the bonnet stripes. The hardest part of applying vinyl decals is keeping it straight and flat as you transition between panels over the length of the car. The bonnet stripes are easier to apply because they are shorter, and only on one panel. You can choose to apply matching stripes on them rear hatch as well, but since they are so far away, it is impossible to tell if you don't quite line them up. Besides being one of the easiest stripes to apply, the slanted bonnet stripes are totally a throwback to the original style of the 1960's Mini.

Rally/Racing Stripes

3 color rally stripes

DIY Cost – $75-200

Professional Cost – $200-250

Skill Level – Moderate; the larger the vinyl, the harder it is to apply perfectly.

Unlike the bonnet stripes, the rally or racing stripes tend to go from the front bumper, over the hood, over the roof, and down the hatch. This long stretch of body work, along with the transitions, bumps and contours make it harder to apply perfectly. Still, if you are patient, and have a friend to help pull and smooth the pieces, you can make your Mini much sportier in only a few hours with contrasting and multi-colored racing stripes.

Roof Wraps

Mini Roof Decal Designs

DIY Cost – $175-300

Professional Cost – $250-500

Skill Level – Moderate; the size and curvature of the roof makes this the hardest decal to apply.

There are literally dozens of Mini roof decal designs to choose from, plus many sign shops can make unique custom decals for you. You can do anything from a solid white panel, to get the retro two-tone look, to full custom graphics where the only limit is your imagination. Don't even think of applying one of these large decals without plenty of time and an assistant. The large size of the vinyl and the curved edges of the roof make these much harder to apply. Just getting the bubbles out from under it can take as long as applying some other decals.

Related Discussion, Sites and Videos