So yesterday we set out at 9am to go look at what the seller call an "excellent" condition 05 mini JCW. I was stoked, the 2+ hour drive took so long but we finally got there, It was light blue with the black strips and premium gray wheels, looked awesome!.....untill we started it up and popped the hood. There was alot of oil leaking from what i thought to be the supercharger, and a loud knocking in the motor. I was very upset with the quality that he said it was in. So not wanting to be let down I got out my list of minis that i was also intrested in and started calling one after another.
After looking at 2 others in the nearby area we decided to call the newest and most expensive on one the list. It was an 07 MCS for 14k and hoped they would come down on the price. By this time it was almost 3 in the afternoon and we were in the tampa area. They agreed to come down to 12700 but we would have to go all the way up to Jacksonville, an additional 4+ hours. We knew we couldnt get there before the bank closed but decided to make the drive to see it.
My sister lives along the way so we stopped and had dinner with her which was a great relief from all the driving we had done, we were still 2.5 hours out of jacksonville thought. So off we went. We finally got there around 11pm where they agreed to meet us. As soon as the car pulled in I fell in love with it! I looked it over and couldnt find a single thing wrong with it other than the tiny bit of moisture under the door sill, which every mini Ive seen has it. It was too late to do any deal so we had to wait untill morning for the banks to open.
Finding a hotel on jax beach that wasnt booked from spring breakers was not an easy task. 120$ later we were able to get a nice room at the hilton.
one expense I was not expecting.
We got up early this morning to get all the paperwork done as soon as possible and get back on the road. I was soooo excited at this point. With 6 hours of nothing but me and my mini, i couldnt be happier. It was by far the most ive driven in 2 days time and my butt was sore.
She is now in my garage instead of my fiancee's car, she was soo made they both cant fit in there right now. And for the first 2 hours Ive been cleaning the bugs off it, rain-xing the windshield, and dusting off the motor and the rims. Im soo happy to be a mini owner!

Here she is my 2007 MCS Gray with all black interior, sport pkg and prem pkg

 

Looks great! Congrats!

 

Congrats! And Welcome!

Great color combo. You don't see much of the Dark Silver w/ White Roof/Mirrors.

Anyway, sounds like you live in FL, and if so, you should definitely check out the "Sunshine MINIs" forum. It's the statewide FL MINI club.

 

Ahh good to know, would be nice to meet up with some fellow mini's in the area.

And yeah i love this look, at first I thought the blue but im glad I went with this choice

Do you think I got a "good" deal? I felt like i did but not sure what the market is like elsewhere.

 

Congrats, it looks good

 

nice find

 

Yeah, there are different "chapters" of Sunshine MINIs depending on what area of FL you're in, but yeah, it's nice to get together with other local MINI owners.

A good deal? Well, just for fun, I checked the local MINI dealer's inventory. They've got an '08 MCS for $22k

 

Welcome, congratulations and thanks for a good story with a happy ending . Good luck with your new baby. It looks great

 

Well I got a little photo happy so here are just a couple that I took.

 

Oh wow!

 

First of all congrats, awesome deal, and ^ happy endings are always nice

 

Great story and great pics !

 

thanks so much guys,
im still not in reality about owning a mini but im sure when the first payment comes around it will hit me lol
1-Ive never had a mini or a turbo car and was sondering a little more about the sport button and what it does? better or worse MPG?
2-Also been wondering about the turbo, i know it doesnt use a BOV but instead a recirculation valve. may not the right term but what noise should i hear? a little whine from the turbo spooling up? or how to tell if you have a boosr leak?
3-Is there any way to have the coolant temp diplayed anywhere?
4-can i customize the display to have digital speed on the top and mpg on the bottem?
5-Gas says to put in 91, so Im going to put in 93.... is this good or am i just spending more for nothing or should i try and find an ethanol free gas in 91 or 93? would eth free 91 be better than reg 93?

 

Welcome and congrats on a sharp looking MINI!
The sport button adjusts the fuel and steering, resulting in better handling, the burble and less efficient MPG. (although I haven't noticed a huge difference).
I'm about to go get a software upgrade done on my car, here is a list from Helix of what they can do.
Vehicle Coding:
Open/Close windows with Key Fob
Turn off seat belt chimes
One Touch Sunroof open/close
No A/c engagement when you press the Auto button
Digital speedo always shown
Auto Unlock when key removed
Remove Legal Disclaimers
Remove bulb erros (including those from Bi-xenon HID kits)
Double flash hazards

I put 93 in my car 90% of the time, occasionally I have to put in 89, but have been told that is not a problem.

Since you are enjoying motoring so much, you should come up to the Dragon and get a few mods done while there .


Annette

 

Great looking MINI!

The turbo is going to make noises, but the engineers designed the cabin to be insulated enough from it that unless you change things under the hood, you will not hear it. The turbo does get HOT so it will have a humm coming from it after you park as it tries to cool down.

Premium gas is best. 93 octane is great. The ethanol added to gas is about impossible to avoid at FL gas pumps. It does not hurt horsepower, but it reduces MPG a little.

Sport button on will adjust the computer's response to your turning the wheel and pressing the accelerator to be faster and generally less thrifty on gas.

The coolant temperature is contantly monitored by the computer and it will put up a warning if it doesnt like what it sees. These engines are technical marvels and I understand that a pretty wide range of temperatue is often prescribed by the computer depending on conditions. The easiest way for you to monitor this is getting a scan gauge to plug into the OBD port and mount it on the dash. There are several different options costing $80 or so.

Hope this helps!

Marc

 

Thanks again guys, I dont hear the turbo sound unless im driving near a wall or semi and i have the windows down, definately not when the cabin is sealed

Also where is "the dragon" I live in SW FL and just got the car from Jacksonville so i dont know if im up for any long drives really soon.....
but how much is that software upgrade to do and do you need anything special for it?
And the burble noise is the exhust??

 

oo nice color! Nice job and congrats

 

http://www.minisonthedragon.com/

Annette

 

and now to even MORE important things...

Congratulations on your impending nuptials!

2 bits from an old married man -- when your wife says things like "You spend more time with that car than you do with me!" it is time to act.

Options:
1. wash HER car
2. put something she likes into YOUR car - personalize it for her
3. remind her that she is your life, your treasure, your hope, and that the car is just a car (better if delivered with a straight face)
4. do your daily fun drive at a point where she is not home and waiting for the chores to be done (I find sunrise to be a good solution to this one)

Kind regards,

Charlie

 

Wow, how did I miss this over the weekend. Welcome and congratz. I live in Fort Myers too and would love to check the car out as well as show you a couple of the neat features. PM me and we can meet up. Also, check out SWFL MINIs on facebook. My wife and I both drive MINIs and now have one more person to wave to.

 

Ah in my former street bike life we were familier with this famous stretch of road, never been but would hope to as it seems incredable

I just washed her car last night! that is soo true, i will definately have to remember those. She has been riding in it so much she said she is thinking about getting one! I just dont know if she is ready for a stick shift and she sure as hell aint learning to drive stick in my mini!

Will definately hit you up sometime soon, would like to know of other mini motorist in the area, and by the way do mini drivers wave at each other, like motorcycle riders and jeep owners do? and is it just S to S or to "justa" owners as well?