Just a quick update from the last of the week 32'ers to not yet receive their car. The dealer called and said it was in and should be ready in a couple of days. So it took ten days from the boat to the dealer to the owner, not bad if you don't count the month for transport from England to the left coast and the month + a few weeks from the order to the production cycle. Jez after all that time you would think they would expedite the delivery time oh well the wait is just about over...

 

Hang in there! Please update us when you get your mini!

rtwerk ..... haven't heard from you in a while.. still waiting?

 

That is a definite yes. I plan to get a second set of wheels I can use for R-compound tires for the track (and maybe to double as winter wheels).

 

Just thought I'd let everyone know (if you haven't seen the news) that the remnants of Ike blew through Ohio Sunday with wind gusts over 70 mph (no rain... in fact the sun was out during much of the high winds). My neighborhood (old houses, large trees) has trees and large limbs down everywhere. One half of a large tree in front of my house fell across the street (it's still blocked). We have been without electricity since 2:40 p.m. Sunday, and there's no word on when it will be back on.

There are lot's of power outages all over central and southwestern Ohio, but pockets of power here and there. They said about 2/3rds of all stoplights in our area are out. I stayed home yesterday and spent the whole day cleaning up my yard. I probably have a truck load of debris in the street to be picked up. Just a huge mess. We have lost all the food in our fridge and freezers, of course (as have tens of thousands of other people). Fortunately, the temperature is mild and no rain is in the forecast. I think they said it was the highest winds recorded here, and the Governor has declared a state of emergency - the first in Ohio since a blizzard in 1978.

Needless to say, Phantom was safe in the garage throughout the winds (which lasted about 4 hours, I think, but were not constant). Probably the most amazing thing is that in my neighborhood, despite the fact that there were lots of trees down, I saw no houses or cars hit by the trees. They all fell on open ground, between houses, etc. I'm back online because I'm at work, and there is power here. We hope to get power back at home soon, but we have no idea when that will be.

I hope the rest of you west coasters get your cars soon. Keep the pics coming!

 

Thanks for the update Phantom.. I sometimes forget that these storms do affect inland states! Hope you have power restored soon!

finaddict - great news!!! Gosh, the patience all you west coasters have are amazing! I would be literally pulling my hair out!! LOL Than again, some of you may be like my husband, who ordered his JCW MCC on 9/5 and has NEVER CHECKED the status!!! I have, and it is due to arrive while we are on vacation, but he really isn't excited as I was. He should be.. as it it his first brand new car in 20 years!! ( I always got the new, and he got the used!) LOL

 

Good luck finaddict! I know it must be agonizing hearing about the rest of us driving around while your cars are still seasick!

Phantom, so sorry to hear about the mess in Ohio. Glad your house is okay, good luck! Believe me, I know the pain! I'm doing two pickup loads of debris a day down to the road. Trying to not kill myself. We've got 3.5 acres of limbs and trees...

Sure hope Sikamini didn't have a tree on his/her house and is doing okay.

Off to work on my two truckloads, be here to meet the insurance adjuster at noon who will hopefully think our demolished barn was worth as much as we did!, then clean up and drive the loaner car back to Baton Rouge to pick up Bernard from his overnight at the dealership getting the invisishield.

Have a great day 32er's!!

 

Thanks, gbsim, but our pain is nothing compared to what you have endured, and continue to deal with. Just got word that our power is back on. So, no real damage to us other than the loss of some trees and some food. There are blessings in all things. I hope Bernard is better than ever, and I'm sure you'll be happy to be driving him again.

My son was home yesterday for a quick visit, and he and I took Phantom out on the road for a quick spin. Even in a justacooper I can get the speed up very quickly on the highway (that's what we call Interstates here in Ohio). I was able to hit 80 without even trying. Had more fun with the paddle shifters, too. I think I'm not going to miss a clutch at all.

I, too, am anxious to hear from sikimini. I hope he made it through it all OK.

 

Hope it won't be long before we hear from Sikamini!!

I noticed our thread slipping downward ... last post was from 10:30 AM ET!! Must not let this thread die off.. we still have many west coasters that haven't yet picked up their MINI's!!

I haven't been driving as much as the first few days.. but do so whenever I get the chance!! I have roughly 630 miles on her. How is everyone else (who have their mini's) doing? Anyone close to the 1200 break-in mark?

 

I'

I'd love to keep it going. I noticed some that are still going for a year now.

Picked up Bernard from the dealership, where I got the invisishield and the snapin adaptor for the armrest. Looks fine and now I'll be ready to get started on the detailing on Thursday or Friday.

1200 miles?? I only wish! Between the lovebugs and the hurricane, I've only got 275 in 2 weeks. Hopefully that will change soon!

 

I've only logged a couple hundred miles myself so far. I drive whenever I can, but since I take public transportation to and from work every day (it's cheaper, faster, and easier), my driving is almost all recreational.

Went down Lakeshore Drive and back up again last night, and then up to Evanston via Sheridan Road -- which was all pretty fun. Hit a couple of terrifying potholes on Lakeshore, but my wheels and tires don't seem any the worse for it. Whew!

There are actually some decent turns to be found in this flat, straight-roaded city of mine...too bad there's always too much traffic to really have much fun with them.

-Will

 

good, so I'm not alone . I was fine with the waiting until I started to see a lot of posts from fellow west coasters getting theirs, and not knowing what happened to mine. It's agonizing. I'm biting my nails, tapping my fingers, checking my phone every 2 minutes for any kind of message...I get the worst after my 1.5 hour bus ride to and from work, 3 hours on a stinky bus everyday. I'm goining freakin' crazy here.

It's good when you have others on the same boat (haha); makes the waiting not so hard.

 

70 mph winds ... jeez, some remnant! What a mess you have to clean up but glad you and Phantom are safe. thanks for checking in.

Sikamini, where are you?

 

I've only put 200 miles on since last Thursday night when I picked mine up from the clear bra installer. I was going to drive more, but have been tied up putting out fires at work.

This weekend I will join our local MINI club for a drive out to the wineries. In two weeks I'll do a 1200+ mile road trip (for our annual pilgrimage to Petit Le Mans). At the beginning of November I'll do a weekend track DE.

 

Well, we have power at my house. Came back on about 10:00 this morning. Some in the neighborhood have it, and some still do not. It's very strange. Thanks for all the good wishes week 32ers.

Where's that sikimini?

West Coasters... hang on... it's worth it and once you have your new baby, you will forget that you ever had to wait.

I spent a few minutes tonight just sitting in Phantom checking all the settings, adding stations to the radio, making sure my iPod works, etc. I leave for VA this weekend and will put about 850 - 900 miles on Phantom. I have about 150 now and will probably still have less than 200 by the time I leave on Friday.

There's still lots of downed trees and limbs to be picked up here. Many still with no power. But fortunately, the weather has been beautiful so everyone can get on with the cleanup.

I hope to post my impressions of Phantom next week sometime, and I hope some new pictures. Everyone have fun motoring. Be safe!

 

jess, I think the end waiting was the WORST!! Hang in there... won't be long now!!

Sounds like everyone has been pretty busy, but we'll put those miles on soon enough!!

I love the 'first impressions' so keep them coming! Phantom, you have a nice road trip ahead, so you should be able to really get a feel! It will be nice to get away from the clean up/mess. I should mention, living here in FL I have had a few high wind storms, however we lived up in TN for a year and some storms that crossed over that area were worse than FL!!

gbsim.. the snap in adapter..??? for your phone? I have been researching, and I don't think one is available for my phone. Did you have to ask your dealer or did you see a list somewhere?

 

I called Classic MINI and they're ordering one for my iPhone (1st generation).

 

Hi everyone. I'm up to 600 miles so far. The 2+ hour drive to South Dakota made up the majority of those miles. So half way to sport button pressing

Mine goes into the dealer tomorrow for tint and repair to the clearbra. Any last minute thoughts on tint %? The repair is on the side mirrors at the bottoms as the clearbra did not stick correctly so there are few hanging bits. Nothing major but for $600 odd and a lifetime warranty it should be fixed (actually replaced).

Racetripper - let us know how the iPhone snap-in adapter works. I'm struggling with the cords in the front. It's ok - but I would much rather a cleaner solution. I also have a 1st gen iPhone - bluetooth is great and I have the iPhone/iPod convenience plug and box in the front console which works very well with the OBC. I'm just a little bothered by the cord coming from the box to the phone so surely there is a neater solution.

On one other note - I do have Nero, wheel armour and another lambwool cleaning mitt coming tomorrow. What do others use to clean their wheels?

 

I did not get the Smartphone prep so the adapter is only giving me charging and the car antenna while the phone is in the armrest adapter. To use the iPod integration I'll still have to plug it in at the front of the console. I hope there will be a DIY to retrofit the smartphone prep.

 

I'm trying an experiment. I thoroughly washed my wife's Camry's wheels and then applied Epic. I thoroughly washed Phantom's wheels and applied Wheel Armor. Both should be much easier to wash now, but it will be interesting to see which lasts longer, or if there is a real difference in how easy the wheels are to clean.

 

Yes, I found the adapter part number here on the boards.... someone has a spreadsheet which lists all of the details of phones and bluetooth including the adapters. They are actually BMW parts and have BMW part numbers.

My dealership was clueless. Tried to convince me that the adapter was only for the '09's yet to come with the smartphone prep. We wasted about 30 minutes on this the day I got Bernard. Finally I convinced them by showing them the owners manual that there was actually a use for the center armrest. They said they would track it down. Meanwhile I got on NAM and found out the part number and price for my phones adapter so I was prepared (1st gen iphone)

Fast forward 2 weeks... MA called all cheery and said that they had ordered the part and cables and it would be 450.00!!!! I told them that they could keep it as I would be ordering it online for about 300.00 less, thank you very much! MA said well yes it is only 120.00 for the adapter, but we'll need to run wires from your armrest through the car etc etc! I about went nuts!! As patiently as I could, I explained to him that the comfort bluetooth pkg with the armrest was already wired and the part was truly "snapin"!!

It was such a fiasco that in the end when I picked up the car today after the invisishield, they had the adapter in place and didn't charge me for it. I did appreciate that ...... Hope I help some other new owner.

It charges the phone and boosts the antenna signal. Will be nice to use on trips so I don't have to have a cord etc charging the phone. Probably won't use it much about town, but nice to know that I can just pop it in to recharge if needed and I can keep my old car charger in another vehicle now.

 

RaceTripper - My solution is not much better than yours. I can't believe the 2009s have a much better smartphone option - I think ipod integration, charging, and car antenna are built into the armrest. Fingers crossed for the DIY solution.

 

iPod integration is built in the armrest only if you order the smartphone integration. That was the one screwup about my car order as I didn't get it.

 

Mr Wickham,
I do like the adapter. I wasn't going to actually put anything in the armrest anyway. Easy to get the phone in and out. The armrest top sort of pops up after it slides back to make it easy to insert and then you push the button to pop the phone up to remove it.
I'm using a separate ipod for my music and have it hooked up to the cable in front of the shifter.

 

And only available in 09 models... most of us week 32ers are 08's except for you lucky JCW folks.

 

I agree it seems like all the dealerships are clueless about the adapter. I just think the adapter should also do the ipod integration - not just charge and boast

RaceTripper - just when back and read what I wrote - I meant to say that my additional option is NOT that much better than what you received especially for the extra $$- sorry if it came out like my was that much better - certainly not intended. In my opinion this is one area MINI has not been great about. Thank goodness I'm enjoying everything else about this car. Pretty small stuff considering