white male consumer

So today I stopped in at Keeler MINI and finally put down the deposit and ordered my car. It took a while, they were busy with quite a few test drives and inquisitive faces around the place. A lot of nice MINIs, not a huge variety of colors though. They had three Purple Hazes, and it’s such an awesome color in person. But I really don’t think I’m secure enough to drive a purple MINI. A few Chili Reds, a Solar Red, Dark Silver, a few British Racing Greens and Pepper Whites (three?). They had a Hyper Blue, which sealed the deal. No Royal Grays however, which was my second color choice heading into it all.

The final spec? As follows.

2006 MINI Cooper S – Hyper Blue / white roof (6-spd. manual)
White R84 V-Spokes (16″)
Cold Weather Package
DSC (Dynamic Stability Control)
LSD (Limited Slip Differential)
On-board computer
Front fog lights
Rear fog light
Xenon headlights
Chrome Line interior trim
Hyper Blue interior
Panther Black Leatherette
Anthracite headliner
MFSW (Mult-Function Steering Wheel)

I very nearly switched to a black roof, until switching back to the white. I made the right choice.

It tipped the scales at just over $25,000. This didn’t come as a surprise, this was the exact spec I had been working on on the MINIUSA website configurator for the past several months. Everyone at Keeler MINI was great, and my parents and I went over several of the showroom MINIs thoroughly. Among the discoveries:

• Full-sized adults certainly can fit in the backseat, especially depending on the position of the front seat
• The lumbar support of my test drive last August was dialed up way too much – the seats are VERY comfortable after the proper adjustment
• The hood has hydraulics instead of a little metal arm to keep it open, the same as my old 9000, and the much classier way to do things
• A 12″ thumper in the boot will take up about half of the space back there
• The Chrome Line interior really does look nice
• So does the Purple Haze (especially with silver roof and the ‘V’ bonnet stripe! Wow!)

I can’t wait for this thing. “Six to eight weeks” is the estimated time from ordering to taking delivery. This is so much faster than what I’ve heard from the West Coast, or other countries. I’m eagerly awaiting my VIN and production week number, so that I can start following my Coop’s progress.

Now I need to figure out insurance (I’m paying my own way from here on out) and get a job. I have a huge down payment ready, but still need to pay off a few grand. We’re putting it in my name. This is all mine. The burden, the enjoyment. With this car, I’m slated to work from now until I die (or retire, if that ever happens). It’s a disheartening thought, but considering the benefits, I think I’ll manage.