Official 2006 MINIUSA Pricing

<p>I imagine they’re holding the line in order to create as much interest as possible for the last production year of this generation. You can bet the 2007 MINIs will be significantly more, for many reasons.</p>

<p>Speaking of those nice English seats, I wish they would also come out with a premium leatherette seat. The leatherette they use is not very high quality and doesn’t breathe particularly well, compared to the leatherettte which used to be found in the A4 (and “premium” vegetarian shoes you can find).</p>

<p>Gabe, will the checkmate pkg price include the cost of the metalic paint?</p>

<p>Very sad to hear how much they want for JCW.</p>

<p>Very sneaky, saying the prices aren’t going up (or only a little for the S) but raising the price on just about everything else, even making previously no cost options like the dash cost $$. For most people it really is effectively an overall price increase. Bet as of 06 production it goes up more as it did in 05.</p>

<p>I wonder if they are waiting for factory JCW production to introduce the auto version?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>I was looking at the MINIUSA website, and it looks like the price of the base Cooper S hardtop is actually $20,950, which would mean the price increase is actually around $500.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You may want to look again. The base price <em>without destination charge</em> is 20,400 for 2005. For 2006 it is going to 20,600 or 21,150 with destination charge.</p>

<p>Please excuse me, if this is a stupid question. I have an ’06 ‘on order’, gave the deposit to the dealer with the specs based on the ’05 model. I am told I will get it in Sept (on east coast) so when do ’06 orders officially go in at the dealer?</p>

<p>Gabe – After looking at the miniusa website, the base price on the MCS is $20,400, that would make the 2006 MCS $1,050 more. ????</p>

<p>WOW the JCW kit sounds like a steal considering it includes the brakes AND LSD. So maybe a trade in is in order…</p>

<p>Throw us some Hi-Res bones Gabe.. </p>

<p>I want to see this stuff every day as my wallpaper! Love the top pic! </p>

<p>Craig</p>

<p>Oh yeah, because 500 bucks is really gouging… no offense or anything but 500 bucks is not a whole lot in the big picture…. why it’s just 2.5% (based on a nice round 20k price) </p>

<p>Additionally, the JCW direct from the factory is super cool… Whereas the kit might cost about 5k, some dealers are adding on as much as 2k to do the intstall. As well the install price varies DRAMATICALLY from dealer to dealer, at least here in California. I’ve took my MCS to Long Beach Mini and they took care of me for $2500 less, in regards to the whole package of add ons that I had done, when compared to the next lowest priced dealer in either the San Francisco or LA area…</p>

<p>cheers all and remember… Motor On…</p>

<p>Also, just raising the price on the MCS hardtop, which is likely the bestseller (at least seems most in demand in the US) well, frankly would appear to be gouging…</p>

<p>$200 is gouging? Given the current exchange rates, as Gabe alluded to earlier, it seems to be – at most – a market correction.</p>

<p>…And there is still time to order an ’05 if you don’t want to pay the additional $200 for an ’06 MCS. ;)</p>

<p>And $50 for the pakcages is exactly the same increase as in previous years. Yet, interestingly, the individual options did not increase, just the packages. — Which means it isn’t so sneaky after all. :0</p>

<p>My 2004 MCS went out the door at $22,999 with metallic paint, leather and Premium package. A similarly equipped 2006 would cost me $24,600. To me, a $1,600 increase over two years is a bit steep. </p>

<p>It looks like the cheapest factory works cars will be just under $30k:</p>

<p>2006 MINI Cooper S $21,450
mandatory sport package $1,400
JCW package $6,300</p>

<p>Total $29,150</p>

<p>geez guys… such complainers! i have spent nearly 40k on my 2005 mcsa by adding in all of the packages, jcw intake, exhaust, brakes, wheels and suspension. these cars aren’t free! if anything i think we all need to remember that the mini is probably the greatest sports car bargain of all time. a stock mcs outperforms ferraris through the cones and the quality of the detail throughout outshine many cars costing twice as much. try to remember that inflation and a weak dollar aren’t mini-proof and enjoy ; )</p>

<p>cheers – drew</p>

<p>Drew, I’m right along with you. I’ve plunked down a fair share of change for my MCS too… I’ve nearing the 40k point for my car too… AND I FREAKING LOVE IT!!! There’s nothing I’d change about it… so to all those who like to complain about $200 and $50 there…deal.</p>

<p>cheers</p>

<p>Wow, I’m not going to speak to every post responding to my opinion (and yes, like you I am allowed to have one) but as someone else pointed out over on NAM, the real model year increase is $700 as it went up midyear in January.</p>

<p>And I find it funny that people don’t think $200 pre tax is much, but try to take that out of their wallets in other circumstances and see how the attitude would be different 🙂 Anyway, I didn’t say it was much people, just that it seemed like gouging – since gouging is simply charging more for something just because it is in higher demand I said it appeared to be just that. </p>

<p>Again,all I said it was sneaky the way it was presented, take it or leave it like anyone’s .02. Heck, I’m not complaining, I have my car already.</p>

<p>I feel bad for the people who want the previously free body colored dash, that increase would have been tough to anticipate.</p>

<p>Looks like all of us with an 05 JCW MCS need to make sure we have the brake kit to ensure we have similar resale compared with the newer factory Works cars…</p>

<p>reading y’all’s posts i wonder if MINIUSA wantst keep the factory moving at all – -or are they planning on finally offering discounts…</p>

<p>I understand the dollar to be quite the weakling these days, might that have just a bit to do with the ups in cost?</p>

<p><blockquote>So what MINIUSA has done is essentially cut out the labor costs previously tied to the JCW kit option. While I’m sure a number of you might not be happy with the price, I think it’s actually rather fair all things considered.</p>

<p>You would think so, Gabe. Why do you seem compelled to be such a coporate BMW/Mini apologist?</p>

<p>Regarding Gabe being a BMW/MINI apologist. I agree, he certainly is one, but he has to be in order to get the info he gets when he gets it, and some of the perks (test driving Minis for a week, a free ride in a JCW at King’s Point).</p>

<p>I like the site for the facts that it provides, but I write off most every opinion Gabe has on the car because it is tainted. </p>

<p>Gabe’s harshest words for MINI is, “Well, let’s just wait and see.” I have yet to see any real critical thinking on his part regarding BMW/MINI.</p>

<p>Having said all that, I love the site because he does get the scoops faster than anyone else. But that does cost in objectivity.</p>

<p>…I agree with Gabe. When one looks at the big picture(inflation,dollar to euro,etc.),the ’06 pricing isn’t that bad. Besides,the money I saved with the complete warantee(bought my mc in ’03) has allow me to have my baby paid off by the end of ’05. Therefore,I’ll have a nice,juicy down payment in the form of a ’03(in mint condition). Thanks,Clark Howard…</p>

<p>Most of you guys are looking at the price of the JCW all wrong! When you factor the kit into the lease – it is much much cheaper. If the MCS with JCW was leased in NJ in 2006, the total payments after taxes will now be $520.73. </p>

<p>In 2005, this figure was somewhere in the neighborhood of
$595.49 for the exact same car!</p>

<p>This is a saving of almost $2,700 over the cost of the lease. This is because the JCW package was only partially factored into the residual of the lease. Now that the entire car will be assembled in Oxford with the Works kit, the residual of the car is much higher, and therefore, the lease is much better.</p>

<p>If anybody is curious I calculated a 30k lease with a 60% residual at 36 months with an interest rate of 7.89 – which is very close to retail Mini leases in NJ and NY.</p>

<p>Gabe,
I think that the majority of long term readers would disagree with the MINI apologist comment. We know you’re no sell out.</p>

<p>To keep this partially on topic, the prices in the US are much cheaper than those here in AUS. Though while yours have been going up, ours have come down a few times.
KLF23.</p>

<p>Is it known whether the other JCW options, i.e., the air box, suspension etc. will be only available as dealer installed options or will they too be factory installed?</p>

<p>Regarding selling out, there are plenty of people who wouldn’t be satisfied til the Mini is sold for $9000, then when BMW stops making Minis cause it’s not profitable, they’ll complain that BMW sold out. </p>

<p>Americans don’t care that their currency is turning into toilet paper – well here’s your reason, Minis are just gonna keep getting more expensive.</p>

<p>ok, just my .02, but the MX-5 and MINI are two totally different cars. the MX-5 is a great little car, but it has nothing even close to approaching the character of the MINI. and a stock MINI will still out handle a stock MX-5 ;)</p>

<p>Gabe,</p>

<p>I have been reading the site for over a year, and went back and checked some of the archives. </p>

<p>If it was any other car, would you have such an “aww shucks” attitude on replacing so many windshields?</p>

<p>There was also some very tepid criticism for running MCO offline by BMW/MINI.</p>

<p>That was about it. I can only imagine if you had a Scion (and you did not have scionfile.com) and you went through 3 windshields, you would be pissed off and would probably call the car a steaming pile.</p>

<p>Like I said, I don’t have a problem with you whitewashing everything MINI does, much like the way radio broadcasters for sports teams pretend to report “objectively.” Just don’t pretend that your experiences with BMW/MINI would be the average person’s (who does not run a gushing website).</p>

<p>Could you point me to some significant criticism of the car/company by you on the site? I have yet to see it, but you wrote off what I said as laughable.</p>

<p>Wow Vaper,</p>

<p>Did I say venom and anger?</p>

<p>You seem to be the one spewing it. I have used no profanity or vitriol in my comments.</p>

<p>I have seen over and over, Gabe rushing to the defense of the company when a comment is critical of the “company” however.</p>

<p>Perhaps, you need to grow up, and learn some critical thinking.</p>

<p>Ian,</p>

<p>Let me ask you this.</p>

<p>If Gabe came out and said something like</p>

<p>“I question the build quality on my MC because of the windshield issues” or when the new interior comes out, he would say something like, “I think the new interior is a mistake” (assuming he feels that way)</p>

<p>that he would get some of the perks from MINI that he does?</p>

<p>Like I have said, and it seems to have been overlooked by some; I think the scoops he gets are great, and I look forward to them, because they turn out to be correct, but in my opinion, he has to sarifice to get them.</p>

<p>Gabe challenged me to go back in the archives. I have, and I still don’t see anything to change my mind. </p>

<p>But I will still check the site every day. :)</p>

<p>Thanks for the information Gabe.</p>

<p>That does make the Checkmate package much more appealing. Hmm.</p>

<p>Great info on the pricing. Thanks Gabe!</p>

<p>Off topic, but are there white or silver bonnet stripes/roof in the pictures of the checkmate package mini in this post?</p>

<p>I know they will not be available in white in the US.</p>

<p>This site needs to be about the car not Gabe.</p>

<p>jack</p>

<p>Marcr,</p>

<p>“Currency is not really an issue”.</p>

<p>I beg to differ. For any multinational corporation, currency fluctuation is a HUGE issue. Are you saying that BMW/MINI is not a multinational corporation?</p>

<p>So the dollar has gained back 3 pence over the last year. And the Euro? Yes the dollar has gained back a couple of cents. But overall, the USD stinks. Can’t deny that fact. Try taking a vacation in Europe with your USD. What about the fact that the car was “under” priced for the U.S. market to begin with? Do you think that the MINI brand in the United States is a cash cow for BMW/MINI? That’s what a 7 Series is for.</p>

<p>Currency is an issue. And yes, this site should be about the car and not Gabe.</p>

<p>Trying to motor on…</p>

<p>Everyone should check out how much a MINI costs in the UK and then they’d realise what a bargain they are. My ’05 w/ sport pk, cold weather pk, leather, mfsw, obc, and anthracite headliner was 1000 pounds cheaper than what the base ‘S’ costs in the UK.</p>

<p>Oh boy… a take a day off for some track time and look at all these wonderful comments 😉 Seriously though – thanks for the support guys. </p>

<p>Here’s a couple of questions answered:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>The $2200 checkmate pkg, does that include the cost of the metalic paint (the new blue color shown in the pics)? </p>
</blockquote>

<p>No. Actually the Checkmate Option will be available on a number of colors including one non-metallic. I’ll have the full run down early next week.</p>

<p>Robert – damn fine post my friend. I couldn’t say it any better. </p>

<blockquote>
<p>Is it known whether the other JCW options, i.e., the air box, suspension etc. will be only available as dealer installed options or will they too be factory installed?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>At this point it appears to be just the engine and the brake kit (+LSD)</p>

<p>Now onto Dave’s comments:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Like I said, I don’t have a problem with you whitewashing everything MINI does, much like the way radio broadcasters for sports teams pretend to report “objectively.” Just don’t pretend that your experiences with BMW/MINI would be the average person’s (who does not run a gushing website).</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Last thing I’m going to say on this. Dave, I respect your opinion and your eagerness to question what little authority I have, seriously. However do you really think I’m a normal guy? Do you think any one of us frequenting auto websites are what most people would consider normal? We’re enthusaits and we have enthusasim for our cars. </p>

<p>I also happen to be what you might call an optimist. I find life a little more enjoyable with that frame of mind. Therefore I’m also optimistic about my car. Yeah I went through four windshields. Yeah i was pissed. Yeah I felt there was something not quite right about the early windshields. However every single one of those cracks was caused by a large rock. How angry could I really be? The angle of the MINI’s glass isn’t exactly what one would call sleek. Things will hit it often and hard. So what should I have done? I had full coverage from my insurance and it was fixed in an hour each time. Not really much to be angry about. </p>

<blockquote>
<p>There was also some very tepid criticism for running MCO offline by BMW/MINI.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I’m not sure what you’re getting at here but I had been working with Mark (along with others) to help him with a new name for six months (who do you think designed the NAM logo). I posted everytime there was any news in that little saga and anytime Mark needed something to be said. There were many times I would have liked to have posted everything I knew but out of respect for Mark and the ongoing legal talks, I didn’t. If I wasn’t as critical as you would have liked so be it. That’s why MF has comments. </p>

<p>Dave – if you want to continue to have this conversation I would much rather do it over email then drag this post further off-topic. </p>

<blockquote>
<p>This site needs to be about the car not Gabe.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Well said Jack.</p>

<p>I guess I’ll ask again:</p>

<p>In the 2006 Options writeup, Gabe said that the MC will be available with the current 15″ Holey wheels, the 15″ 5-Star Rockets from the MC Convertible or the new 15″ Delta Spoke wheels shown on the MINI One Seven. </p>

<p>Do we know which will be the standard wheel and which will be optional? Will the optional wheels cost more or will the buyer be able to choose which they prefer, like on the current MC Convertible? Thanks</p>

<p>I have a 06 MCSc on order,would like to know if the new space blue is going to be offered and if there any other new options.I dont have my build date yet so I still have time to change some things. I like your site very much, Jason at Northwest Mini told me about it Thanks for all the good information</p>

<p>Ok, a few questions (which may be answered next week anyway). Is the colored dash part of the checkmate package, or is that (now) a $200 extra?</p>

<p>Is it possible to get the checkmate package without the stripes/checkers I think I read somewhere else stripeless was going to be offered, but how about a checkerless checkmate)? I’m thinking about doing the SB/Silver (Black would probably be better, but that’s a no go on an MCS), putting on some aftermarket “traditional” silver bonnet stripes, but no way I’m getting this car with those damned checkers on the side (Unless they’re vinyl graphics, and can be easily removed).</p>

<p>And finally, to anyone who has seen Space Blue in the flesh…Is there a color that’s comparable to it on any other car? I’m going to have to see it in person at some point, but it looks significantly different from one picture to the next (as well as from one computer monitor to the next).</p>

<p>As for Gabe’s usually positive spin on the Mini–as it’s been pointed out, this is a mini enthusiast site; the overwhelming majority of people who frequent this site are mini enthusiasts–it’s not just Gabe who’s “tainted”, but virtually everyone else (including myself) who posts here frequently. That’s not to say that I haven’t read posts/stories that are critical here, but heck, almost everyone here is a mini fan/addict (and anyone who has this strange, incurable, obsession knows exactly what I’m talking about), so gratuitous mini bashing isn’t going to be the number one priority (There are other sites that do that quite well), and yes, things are going to be more toward the positive. That doesn’t make this site any less useful (at least for me); I have yet to find a site that posts the latest as quickly and succinctly as this one.</p>

<p>Just went down the delaware river with an MA who swore up and down that there would be no price increase whatsoever on the S. only in the packages. Add that to the MA in Hartford that argued adamantly the indefinite US availability of the factory installed JCW, and I wonder what’s going on????</p>

<p>On the pricing of factory JCW engine package, I suspect the pricing is at least in part a result of the sourcing. The price Gabe quoted is about what I expected and I don’t see how it could be much less.</p>

<p>Complete engines are built by Tritec in Brazil and shipped to Oxford for assembly into the car. JCW parts, at least the heads, injectors and supercharger will have to be added after the fact. Unless MINI has made some arrangement for Tritec to add the JCW parts at the engine plant or to ship partially completed engines, they have to either contract with someone (JCW?) to remove parts from completed engines and add the JCW parts or add a facility at the Oxford plant to do it themselves. Either way it is an additional step in the build process and it adds labor cost to the process.</p>

<p>This is more efficient than dealer installs, but it isn’t as simple as just putting different parts on during assembly. Even if it is done at the Tritec plant, the JCW parts have to be shipped to Brazil.</p>

<p>Maybe there is some savings by making use of the parts taken off, but I’m not sure how these parts could be used or returned to the manufacturing process. The exhaust system is about the only piece of the package that can just be substituted on the manufactuing line in Oxford.</p>

<p>The whole package price of $6300, including brakes and LSD, is still about 10% less than some dealers are currently charging for the engine kit alone.</p>

<p>THank you for the hot news on the price increases gabe! I think we are going to go quickly and get our 05 order in, the package & dash adjustments would really affect us!</p>

<p>great site, great news, great job!!!</p>

<p>-jac</p>

<p>for all of you complaining about the price increases, here’s something to chew on… i went into the dealership earlier today to spec my 06. My 06 will be $34,100. i just spec’d the same car on the MINIUSA congfigurator and the 05 was $33,300. but wait… then you add installation for JCW and other accessories and now am up to over $36k. </p>

<p>just some food for thought.</p>

<p>I just ordered the ’06 MINI and I was wondering if it is going to be possible to now have both the ipod connector and the bluetooth in the car.</p>

<p>Also, I really wanted navigation in the car but I was not willing to sacrifice the awesome large speedometer. Does anyone have the navigation here and what are your thoughts on it?</p>

<p>Mike,</p>

<p>My ’06 MCS is on-order with the Nav system and to my understanding, the integrated Bluetooth system is not yet avialable. Therefore, we have to get the dealer-installed non-integrated unit (separate controller and not the steering wheel controls) or order a different 3rd-party unit like the one from <a href="http://www.newministuff.com" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.newministuff.com</a> which is the one I’m leaning toward for about 1/2-price of the Mini dealer one.</p>

<p>I’m also planning on adding in integrated XM, too. woohoo!</p>

<p>-Scott</p>