Just bought my MINI Wednesday - 2010 MINI Clubman S, pure silver metallic, black roof, black mirrors, premium package, cold weather package, white turn signals, iPhone/iPod adaptor, piano black trim, bonnet stripes. Only 2440 miles! GREAT CAR! This is my first new car since my Toyota 4-Runner in 1998. It's so much fun to drive.

The car actually belongs to my greyhound and retired racer, Mingo. We adopted Mingo in June 2010 and I'm actively involved in Queen City Greyhound Rescue. She's curious about the car, but hasn't been in it yet.

Any advice for the new MINI owners? I'm having the windows tinted Thursday, any advice as to what I ought to get? They were tinted, the dealer's GM decided he didn't like window tint and had it removed.

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome to NAM and congratulations! Major props for the puppy rescue too

Concerning ascetic mods, I'm kind of a leave it like it left the factory kind of guy...

 

Mingo's Clubman! Nice Great story, congrats. Love tinted windows to keep the heat down...I prefer the same tint % all the way around (in my state you can have the rear's darker but I always thought it looked odd).

 

Oh man I hope the greyhound love the car. I know you will and welcome

 

Welcome! The only thing I can think of that Mingo might want is a seat cover or a cargo liner. I hear the Pooch Style liners are great, and plan on ordering one. I have the MINI cargo liner, but it is such a PITA and my dogs would prefer the seats to be upright. (Pooch Style makes different types of liners if Mingo prefers the seats down)

Advice for you... hmmm... find some curvy roads, join an active local club if you can, and carry windshield cleaner in the buggy months And if the sun coming through the sunroof bothers you, consider roof stripes or get some Zipee shades. I planned on getting the shades, but my roof stripes work surprisingly well to cut down on the sun. Beyond that, it really depends on your driving style. I know I plan on getting a sway bar and a torque arm insert as soon as I can. You might want to get a K&N drop in air filter too, I ordered one online for about $20 less than the local auto parts stores wanted.

 

Wait the mini doesn't come with a shade thing to slide over the sunroof like other sunroof cars have?

 

It does, but it is mesh.

 

So it doesn't work that well?

 

It helps, but of course some sun still comes through the tiny holes. It mainly just makes it so the sun isn't glaring at you, sort of like the sunroofs that have the mesh print actually on the glass. I happen to have a couple photos taken with my phone from when my stripes were installed. Here you can see what it looks like with and without the mesh shade.

 

Nice thanks for the pics.. Deff might look into a shade now and are there other pictures in the stripes of those pics. I was starring at it trying to figure out wut they were. Looks like on is the mini door

 

P.s. Is that the default headliner color?

 

Yes, it seems to be.

 

Heh, yeah it kind of creates a mirror from the inside. I am not sure if that happens with all stripes, or if it is just because my stripes are reflective and have a shiny silver backing. So I don't fill up the thread with off topic photos, here is a link to the Flickr account I use to share photos here. I definitely like having the stripes there, especially when the sun is high. Some people add roof graphics, or graphics just on their sunroof. Other people have perforated vinyl to match their roof color. I have heard others adding really dark tinting, but there was some debate on whether or not that would trap heat and cause other issues such as exploding glass.

 

Thanks for the nice welcome! I'm really happy with the MINI so far; it's a blast to drive. I was going to buy the MINI cargo liner for the Clubman, but the Poochstyle is better? I'll check the website.

I emailed the dealer I got the car from regarding my tint choices - since they took it off, they're paying to put it back on and said it would run around $595 - after reading some other threads, I think they're pulling my leg or it's going to be one spectacular tint job! I'm contemplating asking them to send me a check for $595 and find my own vendor.

We do have a club in the city - Queen City Coopers - which the dealer, MINI Cincinnati, started. I've already filled out an application to mail in to join. The first thing I'll probably do is their scavenger hunt/road rally in March. Sounds like a nice group of people.

I hate "normal." To me, normal equates with boring. That may be part of the reason Mingo and I decided on the MINI. It's hardly a normal car and not at all boring. I figure I'll make lots of new "non boring" friends. I'm also a cyclist, have a couple of road bikes, so I'll probably either put a rack on the MINI or continue to haul the bike around on the 4-Runner. 4-Runner has been a great car, has 116,000 miles on it and I've done very few repairs. I'm keeping it because it's worth more to me than what I'd sell it for. Plus it has 4-wheel drive.

Any of you guys live in Cincinnati or nearby?

 

I have heard others speak highly of the Pooch Style covers, making me wish I had bought that instead. The MINI "bootspace protective cover" is truly a pain to use, and there is exposed velcro that collects dog fur. Plus you can't really toss it in the washing machine. Also, the suction cups don't stay up well, but that might be the same with all of them. The thing comes in two sections so that it can be used in just the boot, or velcro'ed to the larger piece with the seats down. This means you end up crawling around inside the car tugging and cinching things. It definitely covers things well and seems durable, but that is about all the good I can say for it. I seriously considered trying to return it, but I guess I will keep it around in case I want to haul yard stuff or something.

We did a scavenger hunt in October, it was a lot of fun! The things I learned from that were to take snacks (it was 10a-2p) and a clipboard. I also wished I had highlighters so I could organize which things were in the same area.

For your bike rack, look into the Mini Do More hitch if you don't want a roof rack. It is concealed when you aren't using it, and you can install it yourself if you aren't afraid to remove your own bumper. I think the hitch is $190 without the wiring harness.

 

Whe did you get the stripes and who installed them?

 

http://www.motoringdesigns.com/

They are in Winston-Salem, NC. The company is pretty much just two guys, the founder of our local club (TarHeelMinis.org) and another club member. So you know you will get people who love MINIs and want to do a great job I think they can do just about anything you want. There are some examples on their site, but it doesn't cover all their work.

 

That would be a good drive from dc. Do they do full body paint jobs also?

 

As far as I know they only do vinyl. The good thing about vinyl though, is it is removable You can change your mind and do something new at any time.

 

Nice how long did it take to do your stripes.. I might take the trip for a whole car remodel

 

I think it was about 4.5 hours for my MCCS and the boot stripe on the MCS. The bonnet and roof were pretty fast; it was the scoop that took a long time, and the bumper was also a little time consuming. I think the MCS boot only took about 30 minutes of that time. And my rear wipers were kind of a pain to remove, so being cautious with that (not knowing if the 2011 had changed) ate some more time. If you want to have them do your stripes, cancel that silver stripe in your signature so you don't waste the money!

 

Congrats on the MINI.

 

Yay for the MINI and Yay for dog rescue!

 

they are throwing in my silver stripes for free at the dealer. i was thinking about getting my whole car vinyled matte black and red pinstripes