CaptainJack Kidd: I have to say-your JCW is so cool!

 

That is my one regret...that I didn't have the boot area wrapped. I didn't even think about it and they didn't suggest it. Oh, well. Live and learn.

 

My MA checked with the paint/body department, and they said they had no issue with my adding ClearBra immediately after delivery. They say they run through an accelerated curing process after applying the paint. When I toured their shop last week I did notice the large car sized bays with lights on all surrounding surfaces that I assumed were for that purpose.

I checked with the shop that applies the ClearBra. They said that some shops don't have that sophistication, so they needed the extra cure time, but if the Mini service is accelerating the cure that is sufficient. Of course they have a vested interest in my getting the ClearBra done.

Ultimately I think I'll try to talk directly to the guys that do the painting. If I feel confident about their process I'm just going to go for the immediate ClearBra and move on to stripes and other fun stuff.

Thanks for everyone's comments/advice!

 

thanks wpbmini… I'm super excited to be joining the Clubbie Family.

 

Update: I tracked down the service manager in charge of the paint repair. He says they recommend waiting another 2 weeks. Just FYI in case anyone else runs into a similar situation!

 

azOrange: sorry to hear you have to wait 2 weeks. I can imagine how frustrated you must be. But your car will be worth the wait. . . good luck and keep us posted!!

 

I was originally told I could pick it up today or tomorrow. It's been pushed to Monday. The whole thing is actually stressing me out at this point as it's tough to plan my work/family schedule, especially since we are down to 1 car.

Anyhow, thanks for the encouragement wbp mini!

 

Well I hope there are no more delays, you really have suffered, good luck.

 

1 car for the family? Ouch! I really feel your pain. I have 2 kids and it is a real PITA when your car gets stuck at the dealer, leaving the family down to 1. Maybe you could ask the dealer to foot the bill for a rental since their screw up has caused all this hassle for you? It would be the least they could do. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

That's an awesome idea ... I wish I had thought of it when I was there last weekend! My dealer is so far from me that at this point I'll just wait until Monday. If I face any more delays I'm definitely playing the loaner card though. I have 2 kids too so yes, there is pain in only having one car.

Thanks for the great idea!

 

Delivery was delayed yet again. I was told that the paint fix did not pass quality control, and now part of it has to be redone. The latest date I was given was next Wednesday. I've gone from being really excited about my Mini to being quite apprehensive about it.

On the bright side I did take wbp mini's advice and asked for a loaner. They brought it over to my office. It's a bare bones cooper, but at least I have some wheels.

 

Damn, sorry to hear. Glad they're working with you. You'll be so happy when you take delivery.

 

OMG, I would want to strangle someone over there. I really do feel your pain. Barely 2 weeks after I took delivery of my Clubby, I noticed about 2 inches worth of stitching had come completely out of the drivers' seat where the red leather trim attaches to the black fabric on my rooster red seats. I was ready to spit nails. I was really apprehensive after finding that also, because I started to wonder what else would go wrong with a brand new car. . Well, I was able to get my stitching fixed by the dealer easily enough and my confidence has been restored. Nothing else has gone wrong (knock on wood). I am so so sorry to hear about all of this. I am so glad they gave you the loaner so at least you can get around. And I will keep crossing my fingers for you until you get your MINI back, new and shiny.

 

So, the next delivery date came, and again, I was given a delay. I had already wired my money over ... the full amount as I was not financing. That morning, my MA gives me another cryptic message about another delay. The worst part was that it was to replace a JCW gauge that I had installed at port, and told the MA about 1.5 weeks before. It irritated me to no end, so I asked my MA to have me money wired back immediately. I just didn't want for the dealer to be holding my cash indefinitely. My MA completely blew off my message, so I called and finally got in touch with a manager. He pressed the issue, and had my Mini delivered that night.

I need to go back to replace the scratched gauge, but I'm fine with that. The next day I had ClearBra & Tint installed, and the day after that had stripes & blackout performed by Aesthetic Creations.

Due to the issues, I pushed for a significant discount on an extended warranty, which I had already been considering. I have to wait another 1.5 weeks to have the ClearBra installed on the bumpers due to the bumper repainting, but am otherwise very happy with the car. Here are some pics before the stripes and blackout. Thanks for the support here !

 

and after stripes & blackout ...

 

azOrange,

Your MINI with the blackout looks killer!

 

Looks awesome, now just do the beltline.

 

that beautiful car was worth the wait! Thanks for keeping us informed. Now go have fun driving!

 

I decided to stay off the beltline since I have the steel rings around the outer edge of my rims, and on the interior pieces of the headlights. One of those personal preference things I guess...

 

You're correct on the paint from the factory, but he's referring to a re-spray from the dealer to fix damage at delivery.

 

That is just one of the most bad-a$% MINI's I've ever seen.

 

Glad your wait is over.

Quick question - did you install the stripes over the clear bra, or is the bra only on the bumper and not on the hood area?

 

I went with the stripes over the ClearBra. Since I have matte stripes you definitely see the edge where the stripes meet and go over the ClearBra, but putting ClearBra on top of the stripes would have changed the sheen in the area, which I have to believe would have been much more obvious.

If you install glossy stripes I'm guessing it would be less obvious if you tried ClearBra over stripes.

 

azOrange, glad to see your car issues were resolved and you finally got your MINI. I've had CaptainJack for a week now, his nicks were fixed and I'm happy. I went with the 3M Scotchguard Paint Protection film on the front, rear, headlights, and door handles. Could be overkill.

After looking at your photos, I have a question. Did the dealer or VDC install your driving lights?

I'm still on hold with driving lights for my JCW Clubbie… the issue appears to be the mounting brackets. But you got them.

 

I'm still waiting to ClearBra the bumpers, thanks to them being repainted. I did part of the hood, door guards & door cups in the meantime. I also did the side mirrors, which I'm not sure I like. They only do a small circle on the front of them, and you can see the edge against the nice & shiny gloss black.

I had the driving lights installed at my dealer. I was told the same thing about the grill/brackets being on backorder. Someone on the '2011 support group posted that outmotoring had a few. Sure enough they had a couple. I bought one and had it shipped directly to my dealer. They discounted the price from the total that they were charging me for the lights+install.

Check out post #853 here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-group-35.html

Good luck!