I hear ya - the basics have come back pretty quickly, but the nuances will take some time. I, too, will have to get used to slipping into neutral at stops, always preferred to just hold the clutch in for stops in the past. The heel-toe thing, I could never get. I always relied on my patented "Big toe on the brakes, pinkie toe on the accelerator approach." Hoping that will be sufficient this time around.

As is yours!

B

 

First MT for me as well. Haven't driven much MT since husband had his Paseo when we met in the 90's. Figure I'll be OK for basics and will need to spend time (oh, darn ) practicing to get the finessing down (and break bad habits like keeping the clutch in). Am looking forward to that hill-assist, though! I don't think there are any streets in SF that are NOT hills!

 

Why all the concern with holding the clutch in at stops? Is that like in red, bold print in the manual somewhere?

 

Here she is with her brother and sister

 

Quite a nice set of cars. you'll have to tell us which you like better:D

 

Keeping the clutch depressed means there's a load on the throwout bearing, thus increasing the rate at which it wears. Or so I've heard. I'm no expert. I just do what I'm told (my wife has requested to file a dissenting opinion.)

 

Still waiting on delivery of my MINI. My car's supposed to be at the dealer today, but no word yet from my MA. I'm crossing my fingers and toes to pick it up tomorrow, but might not be until Friday, since my MA's off Wed and Thur.

 

Supposed to be at the dealer according to the OL? The OL shows 8/17 for mine, but my MA still has not confirmed that it is on a truck yet heading for AZ I think our sport stripes really held ours up :(

 

Smack your MA! The sport stripes are supposed to be a dealer installed item. They actually had to repair one of mine; they called the stripe contractor in; he had it redone in less than ten minutes.

 

You see, there's the problem. My dealer doesn't do stripes. As a matter of fact, I also waned the roof stripes, but neither the VDC or my dealer would install them, so I'm SOL :(

 

You should be able to find a local body shop that will do them, no problem. Most dealers farm that work out, anyway.

 

they come from Port Hueneme, CA

 

nice set of toys... I own a G35 and do not really want to return it (lease)...but I am sure the MINI will make up for that

 

Did I not tell you guys how much I would like to spank MINI of Scottsdale?

I was unable to get floor mats for free and my MA Dave kept asking about getting extras. So, I told him that I was interested at LoJack (not immediately) but their prices might have been a little too SNoTTsdale-like (i.e Scottsdale) at $795 installed vs $695 average online.
Same with window tint at $275 vs. $150/$180 locally (thanks SuperGreg)
Same with floor mats @ $105 vs. $80 Mini Morristown (thanks SuperGreg)

So he offers $150 off the price of LoJack and window tint. I said "I want free floor mats or I will walk out of your dealership with NO EXTRAS! You know I will get them...but not from you! "

He called back and offered $250 off the regular price for LoJack, window tint andfloor mats (total $925). So I agreed since I won't have to drive around town to get the extras installed. Plus the dealership should have plenty experience to work on MINIs; other shops deal with all cars and I amlaways a bit concerned about that (from personal experience).

CIAO

 

Owned a red g35 coupe as well...wife traded for G37 in March 08. She still misses the old one though the g37 is all around better. After 5 years the g35 was looking great but slowing eroding on the inside with rattles and decaying plastic. Upgrade to g37 shows no sign of any of that. Mini will feel like the g35-raw power and a lot of fun.

 

picked up my MINI yesterday (Wed) and I am impressed by the power it has. I am not pushing it hard, nor do I plan to, but I can feel the turbocharged engine has got some *****. Very happy with the acceleration and pick up from lower speeds. I need to get used to the handling...the car is amazingly short but wide

 

Glad to hear you two are getting along nicely. What about the handling do you need to get used to? If you're not doing anything tomorrow, I'll be at our dealer picking mine up at 11:00am tomorrow

 

So am I the last one in the Week 28 group not to have my MINI? AFAIK, I'm not going to get mine (for no reason whatsoever) until 9/6 or later.

 

They're making repairs from dropping the 745iL onto it.


Or was yours the one that rolled off the ramp into the harbor?

 

Sounds like it.. where are you located? I had a week delay with financing, so I thought I'd be toward the rear of the pack, but I guess location plays a big part of it, too.

BTW, I've had it for a week, put on over 700 miles, and totally love it. I look for reasons to drive, instead of reasons to stay home.

 

I'm in San Francisco. Not exactly that far away from PH. My MA says now that their system is showing a delivery date of 8/26, but the OL still says 9/6 for me. So rather than get excited about 8/26 (or 8/28 or whatever), I'm just figuring that if I'm LUCKY I'll get my MINI before Halloween, and anything before that is just gravy.

This whole last bit - waiting at the VDC for no reason, and my MA not really doing anything other than waiting for a change in the little light in his computer system, has completely soured me on the whole 'ordering my special personal car" thing.

With my luck, the damn thing will be a lemon, to boot.

Next time I'm buying off the lot.

 

FWIW, my MA's expected delivery date was actually a day after it was delivered. It took a week to get from the VPC for me, but others have waited longer, with no real explanation. Sometimes, it's accessory installation, other times it's just volume of cars coming through (and mysterious rules of prioritization...) Beyond that, I guess everyone worries that their is one of the unfortunate ones in need of repairs. Everyone frets that, but the way I look at it is that I've bought every other car I've owned not knowing whether it was fixed at a VPC or not, so why care just because I can track it?