Hi, NAM people.

I've been reading NAM for over five years, but this is my first post. I just joined today.

Two days ago, I took delivery of my second MCS. He's a nearly immaculate 2007 with only 16K miles, obviously garaged and obviously someone's second or third car. He's stock with no mods, but pretty much loaded with factory options. He's lightning blue metallic, with a white roof and stripes. His name is Winston, named after both Mr. Churchill and the cigarettte.

My previous MCS was an electric blue 2003 with white roof and stripes. His name was Nigel, and he was totaled in the massive storm that hit the South on April 27 (the one that leveled Tuscaloosa, Alabama, among other places). I was driving him through the most terrifying hail storm I've ever seen, and by the time I found shelter, he was a total loss. The insurance adjuster told me he stopped tallying the damage once it exceeded $12,000.

I was sad, but I found Nigel's replacement quickly.

The 2007 has some quirks and oddities my 2003 didn't have, and I still haven't mastered all of the configuration options in the menus. I'm kind of digging the Convenient Access package, which I thought was kind of superfluous when I first got the car. Being able to open and start it with the fob in my pocket has turned out to be more useful than I thought it would be.

Compared to the 2003, the instrumentation and controls make me a little stabby. They're not well designed.

I'm experiencing the notorious torque steer problem when punching the accelerator off the line, which I'm going to ask the dealer to fix.

I'm also thinking about the Alta AccessPort ECU tune. Winston is quick enough as is, but that mod is awfully tempting.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank all of you for the wealth of valuable information and insight I've gained from this site over the years. I'm happy to finally voice my gratitude.

 

I am sorry to hear about your Electric Blue.

But congratulations on the new MINI.

 

I forgot to mention another annoyance with the 2007: the seat belt chime starts dinging away when I have nothing more than two six-packs of beer in the passenger seat. Does MINI not realize how often I have two six-packs in the passenger seat? This is a critical function of the car, and I do not need an electronic harpy screeching at me because it thinks I have an unrestrained child in the front seat or something.

I mean.

So, I bought one of those Chimex fake buckle things to quieten it, thanks to you people.

And ofioliti, thanks for your reply.