Hey Dave,

I forget where in WVa you are-Parkersburg? Anyway, would Mini of Pittsburgh be any closer for you than Columbus? It might be close if you are in Parkersburg. Either way its a hike for you. There was a post not long ago touting MoP service from someone fairly far away from the dealership and how they picked up their car from their home and gave them a loaner.

It certainly made me feel better about the service dept!

What level of tinting did you have done on the sunroof? I'm getting tinted this Friday and am considering having the sunroof tinted as well. Did they apply the tinting on the inside of the sunroof?

Post some pics of your Mini if you can. I'd love to see it.

 

DaveJ,

Are you a member of the Country Roads Minis?
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...play.php?f=288

I had read some posts that indicated there was at one tie a problem with tenting the sunroof's. Did you happen to check into that? I am curious as I would like to do something similar to mine.

 

Kelly,

So your getting tinted, cool. What are they charging up your way? If you don't mind me asking.

 

Yes, Finnigan gets his "sunglasses" on Friday... the price is the interesting thing. The reason why I waited until after taking delivery to get the x pel invisashield and tinting was that he is the same guy who does the work for the dealer and when I called him about different tint options, I found out that I could work directly through him and get the tinting done for what the dealer was going to charge me for just the invisashield.

I'm getting both for $500. I want to say the tinting was around $175 through the dealer quote. It seems like a good price after seeing what some people have paid around the country for the invisashield alone.

BTW, Finn got his new wheel/tire set up today too. Once I get the graphic/stripe thing straightened out, I'll be happy and hopefully done!!

Things came together perfectly. I posted the wheels/tires on Craigslist 2 days ago and someone called me today and offered my asking price and met me at NTB to pay/pick them up. It was great, I didn't even have to drag the originals back home.

I looked at the local club posting you had. That looks like a fun, active group. Do you think you might get involved? We have a local club here and would love to do some things with them but right now between family obligations, work and house there isn't enough time as it is!

 

Hermione made it finally home today. What a beautiful car, every thing we hoped she'd be. Spend about 4 hours at the dealership and one more in stop and go traffic, relearning to drive a stick shift. I would have almost said, "Nothing to it" until I was sitting at a light and accidentally but it in reverse instead of 1st gear. Let's hope that won't happen again. Now it's time to read the manual cover to cover, can only remember half of what our MA said.

 

Kelly,

It sounds like you have it all figured out. You had mentioned you were working direct with Xpel installer, and I thought about it. But my problem was the 4 hour round trip to get it done. Have you asked him about tinting the sunroof?

The club is about two hours away, but I do plan on keep track of what they do so I can catch an event or two. There is a club out of Winston-Salem that has a sub group that is much closer so I may check that out as well. But like you, work and the house always seem to get in the way of fun.

I am trying to work out going to Mini's On The Dragon 2009 as it is only about 3 hours away.

You did great on selling the wheels and tires. So did you notice a difference in the ride?

See ya,

 

Greg,

I have not talked with him about tinting the sunroof because I was planning on the sunroof graphic cutting the sun (which it does) but I'm not completely happy with the graphic so since they need to remove it anyway, I'm leaving it off and just having the stripes installed. That's the reason why I'm considering the tinting. Like you, I have read about problems with sunroof tinting so I will inquire and let you know...

I understand what you mean about the drive. I have a 40 minute drive to where the x pel installer is, and I considered just having him do it through the dealer before taking delivery because its an extra day and more down time. Four hours round trip and I don't blame you!

I keep reading about MOTD but still don't have the specifics of what, where, when and how long. Sounds like fun though. We'll have to keep in contact and if Ken and I go, maybe we can meet! Its been fun conversing with you through the process.

I definitely notice a difference in the ride and wasn't expecting it. I knew going an inch bigger with the wheels would cause a slightly rougher ride but I thought with the softer side walls of the non runflats, it would have been pretty comparable. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but it is definitely a little "harder" ride. The 16" wheels with the Continentals were a really comfortable ride. The look is much improved though in my humble opinion.

 

Congrats SiggiS! Hermione sound beautiful. That stop and go traffic is tough when you are trying to get used to a new manual transmission, especially after not driving one in awhile. I struggled the first day or so, but its fun now. I still don't like it when I get stuck in rush hour traffic on this big hill I hit every morning on the way to work though.

I doubt you'll ever make the mistake of going into reverse instead of 1st again! That's one of those mistakes that you learn quickly from.

Happy motoring and post pics of her when you get a chance!

 

Kelly, it is pretty much a toss up between Columbus and Pittsburgh and I am more familiar with Columbus. I'm located almost exactly halfway between Parkersburg and Clarksburg in the middle of nowhere.

When I went up to do a test drive and hat check (6'4'') I asked about the roadside assistance and what that would mean to me at this location. He said that means that he would truck my car back to Columbus and bring me a car. Actually, that was the turning point on my decision to purchase.

The guy who did my tint used something called Solar Guard and he put it on the inside. He ask me how dark and I told him to use the darkest. As I waited the 30 minutes I kind of worried about that decision but it turned out really nice. I can see through during the daytime enough to get the sunroof feeling but it removes almost all the daytime glare.

Greg, they charged me $50 per window and count the sunroof as 2 windows. Kind of hard to argue about it being 2 windows. I haven't looked at Country Roads Minis but I will right after I look into tinting problems for the sunroof. I had searched and found where several people had tinted the sunroof but that doesn't mean that all or some of them had problems later.

DaveJ

 

Kelly,

Here is a link to a MOTD page.

http://www.minisonthedragon.info/MOTD2009.html

The road is on the TN/NC boarder not to far from Gatlinburg. Absolutely, if you guys come done we will hook up.

 

Dave,

Thanks for the info on the sunroof tinting. I'm not sure of the brand of tinting he does but he told me he could show me examples of the different kinds and levels of tinting. Tinting his specialty (he's only been doing the invisashield for a few years) and his website shows all kinds of tinting. I'm interested in something basic to cut down on heat and UV rays. I'm probably going to be conservative because PA tint laws are fairly strict. I may have to get the medical prescription from my eye dr that its necessary *wink*, just to be on the safe side.

That is definitely some stellar roadside assistance and matches with the experience I had read on here about MoP. Let's hope none of us need to use it.

Greg- Thanks for the link. That definitely sounds like a blast. I bookmarked the link and put the date in my calender so I don't forget. I've never been in that particular part of the country and it looks beautiful.

 

Kelly, you had asked about pictures so I took a few after lunch. There is one in my gallery of the tint job. You can't tell much from the photo. It looks pretty much like dark glass on a dark roof. I lowered the resolution on these 2 before I realized I had access to a gallery so I just stuck these and a couple others there.

 

Thanks Dave. Very nice! I had a tough time deciding between the different colors but when I finally got it narrowed down to 2, it was between laser blue and dark silver. Obviously you know which way I went but I really like your combo!

Did you just get the sunroof tinted?

 

I got it tinted yesterday and then Greg mentioned that some people had trouble after tinting the sunroof. I did some searching after that (quickly) and I think that most of the problems came from tinting with a reflective tint that returned the heat back through the glass. At least that is what I choose to believe until I find out differently.

There were some that had sticky sunroofs after tinting but sounded like there were as many non-tinted with the same problem.

The laser blue was actually my first choice but there is one already in the area so I went with second place.

DaveJ

 

Hey Kellypgh

Great looking car. I was week 37 production too. I just picked her up from Lauderdale Mini last week. Traded in my 08 Sidewalk
Funny you mention Tint.. I have already had all my windows done including the full panoramic roof with the darkest legal tint.. Which is pretty dark in FL.! But it looks great. Check out my gallery Pics

My question is do you know a good place for tint around Pit. My Girlfriend lives Near Monongahela south of Pit and we were looking for a good Tint place for her 08 Honda Accord..
Best of luck with your new cooper

Thanks
Scott

 

DaveJ50

Hi Dave

Your pictures look good also Sparkeling silver..

I havent had any isssue with tinting the Roof.. Im in South FL so tinting is a must. Besides it looks great..

Best of luck with your New Mini

Scott

 

Hi Scott,

Nice Mini. It looks like there's not much you didn't get on your JCW. Can't believe you traded in your 08 Cabrio already but its a great choice.

I know exactly where Monogahela is. I have a good friend who lives there. The tint shop that came highly recommended to me by some local club members is in Monroeville, which is 20 minutes east of Pittsburgh. Monogahela is about 45 minutes south of Pittsburgh. It would be a pretty long hike for her but may be worth it. When I'm there tomorrow, I will ask Toby if he can recommend someone closer in the Mon Valley/ South area and let you know.

Solar Control Window Tinting (solarcontroltint.com) is where I'm going if she wants to check the site out. Good luck.

 

Hi Kelly

I checked out SolarControl website.. It looks like a real Quality place. I checked Google maps. it only 56min so that is really about 45.. Its not far at all for a quality job. I will be up there in a few weeks so I will call And make an apointment. Let me know if your happy with the job. Did you get a price qouote?

Thanks again for the recomendation.

I checked the pics of your car the Blue interior looks great. I like the Union Jack too.. I did that on the side scuttles. I need to post some interior pics. Not today, its a rainy day in South Fl.

take care

Scott

 

I will definitely let you know how it goes. They are installing the X Pel invisashield on the bonnet, headlights, bumper, side mirrors, around the paint by the door handles and along the door edges. Also tinting the sides, back and maybe the sunroof windows.

I need to reconfirm the price with him. I have no problem letting you know what I actually paid, once it is done. He led me to believe that I was getting a discount due to the club referral and that I'm getting both done together. It may be difficult to determine just tinting but you could call him. He's super nice.

Thanks for the compliment. Its definitely a work in progress. There was a mistake with the sunroof so its coming off and I don't think I'm going to replace it. I'm having black sport stripes installed once the invisashield is on and I had new wheels/tires put on... then I'm done... maybe!

I love the interior I chose (Greg- that's one subject we never talked about but I think you got the same as me or similar). I'm sure the redwood lounge leather is sharp! I thought long and hard about the black lounge leather but really liked the blue accents. There is so many cool options with building a mini. If I had the money, I'd start all over again and build another one.

 

DaveJ,

I did not mean to concern you about the tint. I was hoping you had heard what was causing the glass to break. It sounds like you may have the answer.

Since Eagleav8r lives in South Florida and has no issues I suspect your reflect tint idea may have merit. I grew in FL and the sun gets pretty intense.

Kelly - Finnigan and Bella are so close to being twins it is not funny. I got the same seats you did, and I got the matching blue trim on the door handles and part of the dash. The biggest difference between the two is you got a stick and we opted for the auto.

 

Eagleav8r,

Your mini looks great, I also looked hard at that color combo. Does your handle have anything to do with being an F-15 pilot at one time?

 

Kelly & Gang,

I found a flaw in the interior design of the Mini.

This morning we stopped at Starbucks (drive-up window), both of us got Vente size coffees. After putting them in the the Vente cups in the beverage holders it was impossible to actuate the drivers side window switch. I had to remove the cup to get to the switch so the window would go up. I guess my first electrical mod will be to explore rotating the switch so down is up and up is down (hmm, that might get confusing).

The other option is to get a smaller coffee. Nope, not a option, guess I will deal with it.

I wonder if anyone else has noticed this issue.

 

I noticed that design flaw too. The other issue for me is that certain travel mugs can cause shifting issues... you smack your knuckles into the cup and you can't open/close your window! ... I still love it though. I noticed that the r53's had a larger cup holder up higher. Wonder if there is anything after market that's available. I've been pretty good about not drinking in the car cause I don't want any spills but that's not going to last long.

I was wondering if you went with the full blue color line, now I know. What color is your dash?

I may have mentioned the transmission before but I went against my hubby and dad's suggestion about going with an automatic. They both think I'm going to regret manual. I hope not but so far, so good. The steptronic paddles are fun. Have you used them at all?

 

Kelly,

Here is a quick photo of my interior.



I went with the auto so my better half would enjoy driving it. Yes, I have used the paddles, it is pretty neat.

 

Greg, glad you mentioned the potential tint problems. It is easier to do a little research that it would be to clean 1000000 little pieces of glass from my car. I almost went with the blue interior but the office voted it down for the dark silver. I'd still like to see one.

EagleAv9R, thanks for letting me know that the tint is working out. It does make me feel better. After driving around a few days with the tint I'm sure I made the right choice in darkness. I don't even shut the screen now.

By the way, that is one sharp Mini. Kind of makes me wish I had ordered the driving lights.


DaveJ