New Motorfile here
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New Motorfile here
Greetings,
So on September 28th I made the run up to Tom Bush Mini in Jax and traded my fuel guzzling 2001 Mustang Cobra in on a 2007 Mini Cooper S. The Cobra was beginning to show its age and while I loved driving it (or at least I thought I did) I hated owning it. A little over a week and almost 800 miles later I am totally in love with my new car, and don't know why I waited so long.
I had been thinking about losing the Mustang for some time and had been looking at and test driving a variety of small economy type cars which get better than the Cobra's abyssmal 15mpg, and all along, though I had never even been in one, i kept hitting miniusa musing that while it looked cool there was no way I would be able to ride comfortably in it (my last experiences with little cars were an MG and a TR-6, so you see where I was coming from with that) and resigned myself to the fact that my new vehicle, though more gas pump friendly, would be something rather boring with no to negligible horsepower. But the Mini just kept nagging at me so I decided to shlep over to Downtown Mini in Orlando and test drive one, just to get it out of my system so I could choose my econo-box and move on.
The keys to the basic MC had gone to lunch with one of the MA's, and the MA I was dealing with warned me, "If we drive the S you're never going to be happy with the basic." Since I was already figuring that this was just an excercise in futility anyway, I went ahead and had him grab the keys to the S demo car and out we went. That's then the plan went astray. From the moment I pulled out on to the street and really hit the gas for the first time I was hooked. The ride was comfortable, the S was quick, nimble, and very comfortable. I was amazed not only at how much room there was in the front seat, but at how much power that cute little engine really had. I reluctantly, and only at the MA's prodding, headed back to the dealership to park the car. There was no longer a question of what I was going to buy. They didn't have exactly what I wanted in the showroom, and I went home to decide whether I was going to order or just go back in a week and find out if they had anything new and 'settle.' Ironically I would find out later that though they only had about a dozen Mini's on the floor, they apparently have a couple dozen more stored off site at the affiliated BMW dealership's garage. Shame on him for not mentioning it while I was there because honestly I was prepared to buy immediately after that test drive.
A few days later I was driving home from work and saw a guy in his driveway washing his '04 MCS. Figuring "why not?" I pulled over and got out to talk to him. While initially wary as I appraoched, once i mentioned my interest in the car he broke into a big smile and began to tell me all about it. When I mentioned my disappointment at the selection of Mini's in Orlando he pointed me to Tom Bush in Jax. I e-mailed their sales dept and promptly received a reply from an MA named Nick. I told him what I wanted and he searched the inventory, sending me specs on a few cars that came VERY CLOSE to what I wanted, but were not quite IT. Still, I decided that there was one on thel list I could live with (the only problem being that it was yellow, not my color of choice) and told Nick that I would be up on the following Friday to talk about it.
Friday came and with both sets of keys and the title to the Mustang in my pocket I left Port Orange for Jacksonville. Once there Nick took me outside to show me the Yellow MCS we had talked about, and a Laser Blue one that had just come in which was in fact just the car I was looking for. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was all over but the signing...and there was plenty of that. a couple hours of paperwork and a very thorough tour of MY NEW CAR later I was on the road, and I've barely stopped smiling since
So on September 28th I made the run up to Tom Bush Mini in Jax and traded my fuel guzzling 2001 Mustang Cobra in on a 2007 Mini Cooper S. The Cobra was beginning to show its age and while I loved driving it (or at least I thought I did) I hated owning it. A little over a week and almost 800 miles later I am totally in love with my new car, and don't know why I waited so long.
I had been thinking about losing the Mustang for some time and had been looking at and test driving a variety of small economy type cars which get better than the Cobra's abyssmal 15mpg, and all along, though I had never even been in one, i kept hitting miniusa musing that while it looked cool there was no way I would be able to ride comfortably in it (my last experiences with little cars were an MG and a TR-6, so you see where I was coming from with that) and resigned myself to the fact that my new vehicle, though more gas pump friendly, would be something rather boring with no to negligible horsepower. But the Mini just kept nagging at me so I decided to shlep over to Downtown Mini in Orlando and test drive one, just to get it out of my system so I could choose my econo-box and move on.
The keys to the basic MC had gone to lunch with one of the MA's, and the MA I was dealing with warned me, "If we drive the S you're never going to be happy with the basic." Since I was already figuring that this was just an excercise in futility anyway, I went ahead and had him grab the keys to the S demo car and out we went. That's then the plan went astray. From the moment I pulled out on to the street and really hit the gas for the first time I was hooked. The ride was comfortable, the S was quick, nimble, and very comfortable. I was amazed not only at how much room there was in the front seat, but at how much power that cute little engine really had. I reluctantly, and only at the MA's prodding, headed back to the dealership to park the car. There was no longer a question of what I was going to buy. They didn't have exactly what I wanted in the showroom, and I went home to decide whether I was going to order or just go back in a week and find out if they had anything new and 'settle.' Ironically I would find out later that though they only had about a dozen Mini's on the floor, they apparently have a couple dozen more stored off site at the affiliated BMW dealership's garage. Shame on him for not mentioning it while I was there because honestly I was prepared to buy immediately after that test drive.
A few days later I was driving home from work and saw a guy in his driveway washing his '04 MCS. Figuring "why not?" I pulled over and got out to talk to him. While initially wary as I appraoched, once i mentioned my interest in the car he broke into a big smile and began to tell me all about it. When I mentioned my disappointment at the selection of Mini's in Orlando he pointed me to Tom Bush in Jax. I e-mailed their sales dept and promptly received a reply from an MA named Nick. I told him what I wanted and he searched the inventory, sending me specs on a few cars that came VERY CLOSE to what I wanted, but were not quite IT. Still, I decided that there was one on thel list I could live with (the only problem being that it was yellow, not my color of choice) and told Nick that I would be up on the following Friday to talk about it.
Friday came and with both sets of keys and the title to the Mustang in my pocket I left Port Orange for Jacksonville. Once there Nick took me outside to show me the Yellow MCS we had talked about, and a Laser Blue one that had just come in which was in fact just the car I was looking for. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was all over but the signing...and there was plenty of that. a couple hours of paperwork and a very thorough tour of MY NEW CAR later I was on the road, and I've barely stopped smiling since
Last edited by Derleth; Oct 8, 2007 at 05:06 PM. Reason: Broke it up into paragraphs to make it more user friendly.
6th Gear
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 38,578
Likes: 2
Great story!!
It's funny how often MINIs get overlooked, probably due to their cuteness, but for the money thay are such fantastic cars and excel on so many levels. Glad to have you aboard...have fun out there motoring (and saving gas)!!!
It's funny how often MINIs get overlooked, probably due to their cuteness, but for the money thay are such fantastic cars and excel on so many levels. Glad to have you aboard...have fun out there motoring (and saving gas)!!!
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 479
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From: Seattle
There is this whole "mini is such a small car that we cannot fit in comfortably" mentality out there. That was my first question on these forums - i am a big guy - would i fit in a mini fine? If i had a dollar for everytime a friend of mine in the last one month said "OMG but isn't it too small for you", i would have....ummm around 20$.
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I'm waiting on my Autobot insignia to come in the mail and will post pics shortly thereafter. I've also got a euro style front plate on the way (see below,) but for right now it's a stock Laser Blue S with a white roof and bonnet stripes. But only for now...
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 479
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From: Seattle
Friday came and with both sets of keys and the title to the Mustang in my pocket I left Port Orange for Jacksonville. Once there Nick took me outside to show me the Yellow MCS we had talked about, and a Laser Blue one that had just come in which was in fact just the car I was looking for. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was all over but the signing...and there was plenty of that. a couple hours of paperwork and a very thorough tour of MY NEW CAR later I was on the road, and I've barely stopped smiling since
I took a test drive a month ago and once my MA Jarid took my order, i walked around with a goofy smile at work
. I know exactly whatcha mean 
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