MINI USA Prices the ’09 R57 MINI Convertible

Hmmmm – Interesting how you guys have this information, yet dealers do not….

Dealerships are always the last to know…

I would love to have a drop top someday. But with a 10% price hike over the previous R52, this car is hard to swallow financially. Here I am thinking that a BMW 1 series convertible is a much better deal under the “European Delivery Program” as you pay 20% less than picking it up at your local dealer, get to drive in Europe (BMW even throws plane tickets for two in Lufthansa and 30 day road insurance) and quite frankly, you’ll get a car that is heads and shoulders above the MINI. I love the MINI but when these cars start to intrude in BMW 1 series price territory, one begins to wonder.

Oh and no rear airbag head protection for back seat passengers in the R57 is a deal braker for me.

Correction… Euro delivery option with BMW saves you an average of 7%-8% off sticker price over purchasing and picking up the car at your local dealer. Still, it is hard to argue with a BMW 128i ragtop that be be purchased for $31K and change under the Euro delivery program.

Seems to me MINI is pricing themselves ot of the market with every product launch.

Cool. Makes the value of my ’08 cabrio even higher. Hey I don’t blame Mini for bumping the prices the way these sell. Plus, I’m glad because I don’t want to see these everywhere like a PT Cruiser.

Weak dollar?!?! I’m not sure what you’re talking about. The U.S. dollar over the past couple or three months has been one of the strongest major currencies in the world, second perhaps only to the Japanese yen. The British pound is under $1.54 now, which is almost back near the low level it was when BMW first introduced the MINI to the U.S. market in March, 2002.

There’s no external reason for it: this is a big price increase in the midst of a failing economy — even bigger when translated back into British pounds — and BMW owns it all. Let’s not try to invent excuses.

Oh my god!! Where the fu*K is the JCW Cabrio?!?! You guys promised it’d be out at the same time as the regular models!!!

The slight price increase is surely worth the extra goodies. Its called inflation. More for more. Lets face it, MINI is BMW, except for the FWD and shape – the engineering shares similar 1 series components. Its called rationalization.

I guess it makes me happier to keep my 2002 BW 330Ci convertible. It doesn’t even have 6,000 miles on it and even though I wanted the Cabrio I love my Clubman too. At least I have one MINI to keep the smile on my face. And the 330 is a nice ride, just need to take her out more often.

x2 on the BMW 128i convertible pricing. Word on the street is that those things are going off the lot at $500 – $1,000 over invoice right now, which puts a low-option Bimmer at around $33k + tax including automatic transmission. In the USA. European Delivery would be about $31k with automatic — under $30k with manual. (Again, w/o options or tax).

I thought the 128i conv starts above 29k, and the 135i conv above 35k. How does the R57 pricing invade on that? I don’t get it. You folks are way off base.

Well be my guest to build away and report back.

Myself, I’m a low option consumer so its not going to ring true for me. Furthermore when you peak out on a CooperS, your next price point up is a lower performing 128i, and you need to ply on another 5-7k to get back into the performance range with a 135i.

So I just don’t see it no matter how you option them.

2009 128i Convertible Standard Features Performance and efficiency • 3.0-liter dual overhead cam (DOHC), 24-valve inline 230-hp 6-cylinder engine with composite magnesium/ aluminum engine block, Valvetronic, and Double-VANOS steplessly variable valve timing

• Electronic throttle control

• 6-speed manual transmission

Handling, ride and braking • Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), including Brake Fade Compensation, Start-off Assistant, Brake Drying, and Brake Stand-by features, with Dynamic Traction Control (DTC)

• Extensive aluminum componentry, including front suspension components (forged-aluminum lower arms); subframe; steering rack; and brake components

• Aluminum double-pivot spring and strut-type suspension

• Five-link fully independent rear suspension in lightweight steel

• Front and rear anti-roll (stabilizer) bars

• Twin-tube gas-pressure shock absorbers

• 4-wheel ventilated anti-lock disc brakes with Dynamic Brake Control (DBC)

Exterior and aerodynamics • 16 x 7.0 V Spoke (Style 255) light alloy wheels and 205/55 run-flat1 all-season tires

• Halogen free-form front foglights

• Heated dual power mirrors and heated windshield washer jets

• Chrome-plated exhaust tips

• Gray-band windshield

• Fully lined power-folding automatic softtop with heated glass rear window and electric rear defroster

• Black softtop

• Chrome-line exterior trim

Interior seating and trim • 8-way adjustable front seats, including 2-way headrests

• Manual height adjustment for front passenger seat

• Leatherette upholstery

• High-Gloss Black trim

• 3-spoke leather-wrapped multi-function sport steering wheel with audio and hands-free phone2 controls

Comfort and convenience • Engine Start/Stop button

• Automatic climate control includes micro-filter, automatic air recirculation, left/right temperature control, “Convertible” mode, MAX A/C, heat at rest, and recall of individual user settings

• Front-door storage compartments

• Front-seat center armrest

• Front-seat cupholders

• Tilt/telescopic steering-wheel column

• Power front windows with “one-touch” up/down operation

• Rain-sensing windshield wipers and Automatic headlight control

• Cruise Control

Instrumentation and controls • Service Interval Indicator with miles-to-service readout

• Check Control vehicle monitor system with pictogram display, oil status display, and Condition Based Service indicator

• Tire Pressure Monitor

• On-board computer with Check Control provides feedback on the vehicle’s operating status: oil level indicator and distance to next service appointment/oil change, as well as other detailed information, such as spark plug and micro-filter status. It also provides travel information travel range on remaining fuel, external temperature, and more

Audio system • Anti-theft AM/FM stereo CD/MP3 player audio system with 10 speakers, Radio Data System (RDS), Auto-Store and 3-channel FM diversity antenna

• Auxiliary audio input for portable music players located in the center armrest

Safety and security • Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

• Adaptive Brake Lights

• BMW’s Advanced Safety System for integrated deployment of passive and active safety systems

• Rollover Protection System

• Driver’s and passenger’s front airbag supplemental restraint system (SRS) with advanced technology: dual-threshold, dual-stage deployment; and front-passenger seat sensors designed to prevent unnecessary airbag deployment

• Front passenger seat-occupation recognition with Passenger’s Airbag Off indicator

• Automatic safety-belt pretensioners at front seating positions

• Front-seat-mounted side-impact airbags

• Interlocking door anchoring system to help protect against door intrusion in side impacts

• Central locking system with center console switch (leaves gas filler door unlocked), double-lock feature and 2-step unlocking

• Coded Driveaway Protection

• Automatic-locking retractors (ALR) on all passenger-seat safety belts for installation of child-restraint seat

• LATCH attachments for child-restraint safety installation in rear seats

• Crash sensor that automatically turns on hazard lights and interior lights, and unlocks doors

• Programmable Daytime Running Lights

BMW Services • BMW Ultimate Service™

1 Run-flat tires do not come equipped with spare tire and wheel.

2 If equipped with optional Premium Package or BMW Assist™ Safety Services with Bluetooth® wireless technology. Requires BMW-approved Bluetooth enabled mobile phone.

I’m too lazy to open up MINIusa.com — what is the price premium of the R57 MCc and the MCSc over their R56 hardtop counterparts?

^ I understand the article states the price hike over the previous model of convertible (though I don’t agree with the logic behind it… or with your estimate of a 10% increase — it’s barely over 5% for the MCS). But I was wondering/asking about the price difference now between the R57 and the R56 hardtop. A direct comparison of starting price between the second and first gen. convertibles is partially justified by the new content (just like there was a difference in price between the R56 and the R53). After looking at miniusa.com, I see that’s about $5,000 to $5,500 (for the MCSc and MCc respectively)! That seems like too big a price premium for the convertible.

^ The 7% savings are your bottom line savings to get the car in your driveway … except for whatever you spend in lodging, food, gas, etc while in Europe. I did it with my 325… and only wish MINI offered the same.

Since when has BMW done Euro Delivery and given the Flight tickets in with the purchase???

Let’s see… 128 Conv vs. Cooper S Conv.

Standard equipment is not significantly different.

Obviously the engine is bigger in the 1′er but the MINI is 635 lbs lighter. Standard wheel size is the same at 16″ on both. The BMW comes standard with auto climate control and heated washer jets and wing mirrors.

Some may also say that the standard dash trim is not equivalent.

So at $27,450 plus $500 for climate control, $250 for heated mirrors/jets, $250 for dash upgrade you get a total of $28,450. That is a difference of $6175. If your area does sales and or property taxes, those will be less on the MINI. Insurance will likely be less for the MINI. Resale value will be better for the MINI. Looks like a fairly significant difference in overall cost of ownership to me.

The euro delivery argument is specious. That is not a viable option for most people. If that works for you that’s great but it’s not exactly a practical option.

IAN – yes some NATO allies get the US Military deal – I think it is on the BMW.com website… http://www.bmw-military-sales.com/militarysales/index.html

Serve your country and get a BMW tax free!

I want to spec out a new R57 when the configurator becomes available to make a better comparison vs the 1er.

The MINI will come lower than the BMW — but it will be that much closer than it was before. For someone like me who wants the 135 cabrio, but was having trouble reconciling paying the higher price of the BMW over a JCW R57 (with suspension upgrade) — that exercise just got a little easier.

Additionally, for someone who might prefer a cabrio R57 over a hardtop R56, justifying the price difference just got harder — are you willing to pay a 25-30% premium to turn your MC into an MCc?

Some of the price increase must be because of those new pop-up roll bars. A big mistake in my opinion. More rear visibility might attract more buyers, but the higher cost will scare them away. So sales might stay the same!

My 2006 MINI cabrio was only a little shy of $40k when all was said and done. Only $5k below what my Z4 cost. Yes, you easily could get a real BMW for that price. There is a similar issue with pricing of the 1 and 3 series. A loaded 1 series gets you quickly into 3 series pricing – so why not pay a tiny bit more to get a full sized car instead of an ugly shrunken version? Although since the 1 convertible is the only soft top convertible in the BMW lineup, the price argument kinda doesn’t matter for it.

But no BMW model is anything like the MINI. Even the 1 series is a very different (and ugly) beast. People will buy the MINI and the MINI cabrio not because it’s cheaper than a BMW but because it’s the car they want. It’s not ugly as sin and doesn’t have the class stigma that BMW has. And did I mention how ugly it is? (and I was close to buying one)

And did someone complain about no rear side head air bags or something like that? Come on, the back seat of the cabrio is not for people.