2006 Model Year Timeline

As someone whos pondered selling my 2005 MCS for a 2006 JCWs I find the extra time a good thing because I can get in some extra miles on my 2005 and still sell it before the 2005 model is replaced with the 2006… Then again, practicallity aside, I’d love to get in the 2006 earlier if possible…

i don’t think i can wait till December/January for another MINI, but it will allow a lot more time to save some cash… of course i’ll have to buy snow tires straight away now :(

Pardon my ignorance, but is the 2006 model (discussed in this article) primarily the same Mini and not the highly anticipated next generation?

BMW is quite possibly the only car company in the world that can make people sweat and lose sleep over wondering whether or not to purchase a car in its LAST model year.

Fantastic!

Just for clarification; would this mean that ’05 spec Minis will be built through October or so?

GOOD! Cause i definitely want a 2005!!

I would disagree with your assumption mataku. What makes the last year of a particular model sought after? There will be no mechanical changes to the cars from ’05. There will be no performance increases. The only thing we’ll see that is truly new are several of options that we know very little about. If you aren’t necessarily interested in the new colors, a couple of new wheel designs (oops, did I say that?), or some Recaro seats, I really see no reason to wait for an ’06.

Gabe said it well. The changes are minor and nothing to change my mind. Plus I will be waiting awhile anyway and There is no reason to make me wait longer. But the biggest thing is I am either gonna get Jet Black or Electric blue….. MINI doesnt like me apparently:/

I agree there is some appeal to getting the last model year of the supercharged MINI so I intend to wait it out. I only hope the $$ increase is no more than $500.00!!

Leasing is for suckers if the car holds its value as well as it does… just my opinion…

Yes, I suppose under the strictest of number crunching, leasing might not make sense – although, all luxuries have their price. I walked into the purchase of my ’03 S thinking that I was going to buy it – one of the reasons I loaded it to the hilt. But it was between order & delivery that I chose to lease. Guess that I was spending too much time on MINI forums & scared to be stuck with a lemon. A couple of years ago, the following were commonly cited problems:

“Stumble, yo-yo, cracked windshields, squeaky seats, squeaky windows, windows that mysteriously open while unattended, clunky transmissions, rear hatches that don’t close, rear hatches that leak, tire pressure indicators that don’t work properly, airbag warning light problems, rattling body panels, cruise control problems, & on, & on, & on… My MCS is due to be delivered within four weeks. Looks cool. Lots of toys. Test drive was fun. But, because of the above, I am only going to lease – don’t want to get stuck with a thorn in my side all for the sake of an occasionally twisty road. Come to think of it, I might as well keep my cherry-perfect-never-given-me-a-single-problem PT Cruiser for the time that the MCS is probably going to spend in the shop!!!!” {taken from a post of mine a couple of years ago on another MINI site}

Funny thing is I’ve had most of these problems & most have been seemingly/somewhat “permanently” cured. While I will concede that this car has been the most fun I’ve ever had with a car, it has also had more problems than any car I’ve owned – more problems than most people’s cars I’ve known. Miraculously the car has retained its value. Maybe this isn’t a miracle when you consider the “it” factor… I made several thousands off of the PT Cruiser I sold before the market dropped off for it. How long did the New Beetle retain a fair amount of value? How long will the “older” MINI version retain value? How long until the inevitable bugs of the new version are ironed-out? (If I had to put-up with another Stumble-Yo-Yo-like issue again for as long as I suffered it & have knowledge of it (God forbid) so pervasively leak into the marketplace that it affected market value, I would surely regret my purchase over lease.) I guess that the afforded comfort of knowing that I’m not tied to it definitely has value.

I’m still committed to driving a ’06 JCW – I’m just don’t know yet how committed I am to “owning” it. (Commitment issues? Dating, no kids, no pets, no plants… probably)

My ’04 was built in the first week of Oct which was the first week of ’04 production. Is this different for previous years? I thought that that was the norm and the ’05′s were the first time that it changed to an earlier date.

I am a little bummed that I can not order the 06 in July I have been counting the days now I can count the months. I am glad that it sounds like the JCW will be factory installed becasue I was planning on loading it up pretty heavy. That will be good. I do want to get a look at those new colors face to face so it makes it hard to order anything until I can see them.

That of course is why we use the terms “may” and “could”. Granted, this info does come from a vary reliable source.

As an owner of a 2004 Mini I am very dissappointed in the new interior of the 2007 Mini. It is ugly. Who the heck wants the LED info of the radio/CD in the Speedo. If something fails it will cost alot to fix. Right now the audio equip can just be pulled and replaced.

And the two line LED readout in the Speedo, no way.

The CD slot looks like some type of flying saucer or cat eye. I think they are trying to compete with SCION young crowd too much.

I’m glad that they will bring back the 2 spoke steering wheel.

I have also viewed pictures of the exterior and while I understand some changes had to be made (European Ped Safety) the rear end doesn’t appeal to me.

If MINI brings in all these changes especially the Radio/CD and other interior items, then they have lost me as a return customer.

I’m sure glad I purchased a 2004 Mini. I don’t understand why the 2005 had so many of it’s options eliminated/cut down for the non S Cooper (no 8 Spoke rim; which is a classic design i.e Mini Lites), Steering wheel option reduced to one, no bumper inserts, and in the interior the clock was made smaller and moved.

Everyone I know that purchased a 2005 dislikes what happen to the placement of the clock and they don’t like the steering wheel either.

On the positive side for 2005 I like the Chrono pack option and the fact that they made the Autodim Rearview mirror stand alone option(without having to get the rain sense wipers.)

The autodim rearview mirror should be standard equipment (Safety). I get blinded at night all the time. I asked the Mini dealer if they could modify my 2004 with the Autodim and he didn’t know.

While I understand that some changes are always done, it’s a shame they decided to make so many drastic changes to the 2007 Mini. They should have kept the MINI in a Classic style – Classic hood bump, keeping the hatch(boot) flush to the rear bumper, keeping the turn signal light out of the headlamp area.

Agree 100% with Blalor. When I first saw the clock change I questioned the reasoning. Now after owning an ’05 for two weeks I completely agree with the change.

And btw the ’05 actually has many more options than previous years. Granted a few were dropped… but quite a few have been added.

I don’t like the proposed interior, the design of the hatch not being flush with the bumper (as is now), inclusion of the turn signal into headlamp aray, the elimination of the classic “bump” on the hood, the speedo with 2-line LED readout, the look of the CD and radio controls.

Good points. Just to clarify, the rear hatch will be flush. I believe what you’re referring to is the testing mule that was spotted doing some cold weather last year. It was just a cobled together mis-match of body work that doesn’t represent the final car at all.

Also the bump on the hood should return in some way.