New Mini Accessories

I have not received the official 2006 accessories brochure yet but sifting through miniUSA, there are a couple of new items that caught my eye... For the wrong reason I might add. Needly to say these are two options I will not be adding to mini dee.

The first was the bluetooth phone integration kit that takes advantage of those two buttons on my steering wheel.

MiniUSA:
The perfect marriage of mobile phone and MINI. Send and end calls with the multi-function Steering Wheel controls. Check caller ID and phone entries on your BMW stereo system display. Use voice-recognition dialing. And integrate your phone into your center armrest with a custom docking cradle that charges your phone and connects to an external phone antenna for enhanced reception. (Vehicle must be outfitted with armrest if not already equipped).
This item fits years: 2003 – 2006.
Separate Snap-In Adapter required for retrofit

Sounds good, right?.. well if you had $1250 to throw away... oh and don't for get the $250 arm rest if you don't have it. I actually passed on this option when I ordered mini dee. MiniUSA just started offering it for March builds back earlier this year, so when I specced mine out, there was not a demo to be seen with the armrest. If fact, I did go to the Chicago auto show just to check it out back in February and found it to be rather flimsy and cheap. So I opted not to add it.... anyways.

In addition to all of that, there is the "snap in" phone holder that is within the armrest...Add another $125! That brings us to a whopping $1625! Andd that with just parts. There's another three hours minimum of labor which could bring the total cost to about $2000! Ouch. Buyer beware, bluetooth earpieces are just about $50.

The second item that caughtt my eye was the 'power modul' speaker upgrade. Basically, it just swaps out the existing speakers for some a bit better..Which is good but again the cost is $1650 which, if you go with aftermarket speakers, could get you an entire quality system installed.

MiniUSA:
Designed for the MINI, this hi-fi system delivers unparalleled power, sound quality and style, courtesy of a Class-D digital amplifier, liquid-cooled tweeters, a 160mm front woofer, and 6x9 rear coaxial speakers.
Item # 82 83 0 392 52

Again buyer beware. Mini is a premium car but its not supposed to be completely out of reach for a great majority of mini owners.