Hemi - What hood scoop are you looking to get? Having it cooler under the hood just makes good sense to me!

And on the invisishield, I take it that is something that you will be installing yourself? I've not read much about this at all - I'm just learning and considering it for my soon-to-be Clubman.

 

My bad - it says its the "Genuine MINI Factory Original Equipment OEM" MINI Cooper S and Clubman S JCW John Cooper Works Carbon Fiber Bonnet Scoop - fits model years 2007 2008 2009 and 2010. Does anyone know if the scoop for 2011 is the same as the previous?

 

After a run to the Black Hills 2 years ago, the front end of my Jet Black R53 was covered with white specks where the gravel and rocks had chipped the paint down to the primer. If I were getting a dark MINI again, I would definitely get the invisishield.

My car still shows as being "Returned to Shipper" so I'm just going to start assuming it's on it's way. Need to talk to my MA...

 

[quote=hemisedan;3158003]Just ordered a M7 turbo heat shield. After feeling the heat that comes from the turbo, and that was in light driving, I decided that if for nothing else, to lower the heat on the hood, and redirect it to the sides and lower. From what I've been told by those that have this turbo heat shieled, it also lowers the engine temperature quite a bit. Next on the agenda is to get a hood scoop that offers more of an opening. Not the agressive Vortex hood scoop, but their more conventional scoop. Yes, and paint it Midnight Black.


hemi .. let me know what is ur feedback about the m7 turbo heat sheild, coze its in my list.

 

That's what I am trying to avoid, those little pin ***** chips. Our new Mini dealer, here in Des Moines, is going to put this one tomorrow. In my estimation, this has to be installed by someone that knows what they are doing. If not, what a mess it could be. Also, for those thinking about this, I prefer the full hood type, rather than the 2/3rds that has a seam about 2/3rds up on the hood. To me, it just makes sense. As for cost, it's going to cost, but again to me, it's worth it and the extra to get it to fill the entire hood. These guys have been putting invisishield on Cadillacs, Lexus' Infinitis', Jaguars and Volvo's for several years, so they should know what they are doing, I hope.

 

it's finally at my dealership. i'm picking up my MCS tomorrow noon!

very stoke!

 

Ccc that's awesome!!!!!

 

I may have already mentioned this but I posted my install notes for my concealed hitch to the forum. Anyone thinking about adding one, works great for 2011...

 

Hi All. I just ordered my second MINI today. I got a BRGII/BLK Clubman. I was pretty excited about the negotiations with the dealer but now I am seeing all kinds of incentives that I will not be able to take advantage of because of the settled price. And some dealers are doing 0% financing! I am not sure what to do. I am the type of person who will stress over this for hours.... My previous MINI was purchased in a different market and I paid MSRP. I used that 'history' to guide this purchase and I think I should have looked into things more before I pulled the trigger. I have been spending all my time on NAM in the clubman specific threads.
So, it seems that people are not paying MSRP anymore. Are the discounts heavy off MSRP?
Hope I get it this year!

 

kook, this is just a slow sales season for cars in general. there are deals to be had if you know the 411s and are a good negotiator. this is also contingent on how many dealers are in your area. there are more competition now - the fiat 500 and ford fiesta.

i'm pretty sure the 0.9% will continue onto Dec and chances are good you will pay way less than msrp. you will get better deals with MINI on the lot vs order.

 

That is fantastic news! Congrats!!! Let us know how the delivery goes and then some pics too!

 

Cccplus is out driving around trying not to let it go over 4000 rpm
Ha

 

hehe, yeah i was out trying to get some mileage into the breakin process. had one of the friendliest time at the dealer picking up my mcs - sales process was very smooth. i felt like a kid at a toy store, all giddy and excited

without even going to the dealer and ordering my mcs blindly, the actual midnight black mcs i picked up exceeded my expectation. what a beauty!

okay, i will try to take post up some nice pictures later.

ciao

 

I have no frame of reference on the stereo because I just went for HK right out of the gate, but it sounds great for stock. At least for me, not yet ready to plunge into an aftermarket upgrade just yet wi all the baby costs and such. A few times the car has started up and the sound was off, requiring a restart. Let me know if you experience this. Sounds like a bug. So to speak.

Looking forward to photos! Enjoy!!!

 

It's funny--when I first got the car, I thought the HK sounded like crap (I've since come around, but let me explain): I love music and have a decent collection at a relatively high bitrate on an old 60 GB ipod. My last car had an ipod adapter integrated into the head unit which produced pretty decent results. My ipod, however, is so old that the 2011 MCS doesn't recognize it as an ipod, so it being a 2011 and including free sat radio, I started listening to XM. But it turns out XM radio is pretty darn compressed (some channels more than others) and sounds like crap, at least to me. It really does sound like listening to internet radio over dial-up. When I finally popped a CD in it was like night and day--everything was clearer and sounding much more like I would've expected from a premium system! I've borrowed my wife's ipod (2 or 3 years old) and it works perfectly and sounds brilliant. So my lesson was don't judge a sound system by an unknown audio source. Well, that and don't trust Apple/MINI to maintain old standards. So now I'm enjoying CD's and saving for a new ipod...

 

I've had the same problem a few times. I turn the car on and the stereo looks like it on, but no audio source makes any kind of noise. So I just restart the car and it works fine. Twice I've also heard a very VERY loud pop coming from the speakers when this has happened. Hopefully the radio doesn't die like it did in my brand new chevy colorado back in '05 (don't get me started on how much of a POS that truck was.)

 

I've read a few others noting this also. Next week I'll mention it to the dealership, get it recorded. Most likely a bug. They'll work it out. Most important part: restart fixes it at least...

 

Things have been quiet in this thread this week...

I still have no idea what ship my Clubman is on, but my dealer says all is well and I'll have it in my hands before the end of the month. Holy smokes, that means next week Friday I might have her! Fantastic!!

Does anyone have any last minute advice for closing on the car and taking delivery? I have already have the "things to check out list" from 5 or so pages back in this thread. Has anyone gotten any freebies that I should be inquiring about?

It's a good thing that my parents are coming into town for Thanksgiving week - that will be a good distraction from playing the "waiting for the new car" game.

 

I honestly didn't use that massive checklist. I did a walk around and an interior check, and made sure everything was working, but that's about it. I would say make sure to let the MA walk you through all the features because it can jog your memory about questions to ask, and illuminate you about things you might otherwise forget for weeks until you sit down with the manual. Also, you got the integration kit I did, so I would say, get it set up right then and there. On my first MCS I had to jury rig Bluetooth from imported equipment and harness and all this business, and the iPod integration via a Dice module was spotty at best. This time it was like, pardon the comparison, but like a new Apple experience: sat in the car, plugged iPod into the kit and boom, songs and everything were up on the system and ready to go. Paired the iPhone and boom, address book was in and we made test calls from it and voice activated dialing. These are both little comfort details that people can get frustrated wi at home, and while I had no problems in that set up, might as well just do it there, you know?

Oh, familiarize yourself with gap insurance if financing. They will offer it. You can find out if your third party financier offers it first and compare. Also they will try to sell you extended maintenance. No need to pull the trigger yet.

 

hey Squonk, I live in Canton and commute to Vinings....you probably see me on 575 sometimes....did you order from Global Imports?

 

thirdraildesignlab

Hey guy, me too. I hit most of what was on that list, but truthfully, the MA hit most of the other stuff, like what was suppose to be on the car as options. How everything worked, the fit and finish. I, only had them do an easy hand wash of the car, not deep detailing, as I wanted to do that myself. Also, no waxing or power buffing as most dealers do. So far, no complaints, other than the squeal in the brakes when backing up. I've done a mild waxing of him, with Zaino products and that Midnight Black really comes out, same with the Chili Red on the roof. I bit the bullet on the 3M type invisiable bra set. There were lots of pieces with that kit, from the outside mirrors, to fog light area and the brake duct area. Even that small painted piece under the lower grille. The local new Mini dealer installed it, it took over 8 hours to finish, and I feel did a great job. Not excited about the seam area on the fenders/hood, but I can live with it.

 

Hey Peanut! Good to meet a fellow MINI person in Cherokee county!! I have a very easy commute - I go down Canton and Chastain Roads - no daily freeways for me - I'm very blessed! Actually, I ordered my car at MINI of Knoxville. Global said they would not discount and the ballpark they gave me for my trade (2004 Civic SI) was not wonderful so I looked around. If all goes well in Knoxville, I'll be happy with my deal!

Perhaps I'll see you around on the weekends. Are you active in AtlantaMINIs?

 

thirdraildesignlab - That is excellent advice to connect up the iPod and pair my iPhone while I am there and make sure I know how to place and answer calls!! Good point on the gap insurance - I won't be needing it with my trade and some cash down.

hemisedan - I think I'm going to review that big checklist and boil it down to a dozen or two things that I'm likely to forget and make sure that I don't forget them. I'm not much of a wax and detail kind of guy which is why I went with the silver as I'm hoping it will be somewhat forgiving... I do need to get better about that now that I have such a nice car. That invisible bra sure makes a lot of sense! Hmmm.

 

Mini seems to be the only car available (in the US) that has the combination of good performance AND decent mileage. Ordered my Clubman S as soon as mini connected was available. Currently in production (week 42) with expected birth date of 11/24. Hoping this will arrive before Christmas as the dealer has led me to believe. Unbearable waiting as I have never owned a car that I actually picked out and wanted - feels like waiting for Christmas when I was a kid. I drove a Geo/Chevy Metro for 15 years until it was slain by an inattentive Mercedes driver.

On the plus side, my garage is finally getting cleaned out so the mini will have a suitable abode. I've already checked out the shipping and it looks like it should make US port between 12/7 and 12/10 depending on which ship it sails. Then it only has to get halfway across the country to the dealer.

I also downloaded and read the entire owner's manual for the 2008 mini! Running out of things to do while I wait . . .

 

Bojammer - welcome to NAM and the waiting game! I've been waiting for my '11 Clubman for about 5 weeks now - I'm finally in the home stretch as I hope to pick it up on Black Friday - whew!!

I have also read that 08 MINI manual.

Try not to think about it too much - save your sanity!