Hello NAM,
I am a new member and soon to be a new proud owner of a 2012 MCS. I have been obsessed with Minis lately! Watching videos on youtube, reading this forum, and I even rented The Italian Job the other day just to see some Minis driving fast! I haven't been this excited about a car in a while. I am ashamed to admit though that the Mini Cooper never crossed my mind as a possible car because of my previous, small hatch ignorance.
I have always considered myself as sort of a car guy. I have had a subscription to Car and Driver for the last 16 years (since I was 15) and I have always been a fan of cars that are fun to drive. I've had a lot of cars in the past but to make this story shorter I'll start with my 2000 BMW 323. I loved that car. I owned it for 5 years and loved it until the day I sold it to buy my next fun car, a 2006 Nissan 350Z. I bought the Z over the phone without test driving it and it was love at first drive! I thought I would keep the car forever. I took it to Zdayz at the Dragon two years in a row. Then came the day I had to make one of the hardest decisions I've had to make after only owning it for 18 months. I got a job in Germany and I had to decide what car to take with me. My 350Z or my wife's 2006 Acura TSX.
Well, the answer was neither. I was going to Germany on a 2-5 year contract so my wife and I decided we could have a child while we were there so she could be a stay at home mom for the first few years. That of course meant no Z. The Acura wasn't going to work either because it was a lease. So, we sucked it up and bought a 2007 SAAB 9-3. While I really didn't like the car at first, it has really grown on me the last 5 years. It was also my first ever Turbo car and I got hooked on that mid-range torque.
So, fast forward to April 2012 and I'm at the Nurburgring for the weekend with some friends. I left the Saab at home because it's just a family car and rode up with my friends in their GTI and STI. This is the weekend that opened my eyes to the fun small hatchback cars. While riding in my friends's cars was a blast, I decided that I would hate myself forever if I didn't drive on the 'ring myself. So I rented a mildly modded Suzuki Swift Sport and had the most fun I've had in a car since the Tail of the Dragon in my Z. Maybe even more fun.
Now I'm going back to the US at the end of the year and I knew I was going to need a second car once we got back so I started looking for something fun that also has a back seat, because of my 3 year old son. I was looking at the Fiat 500 Abarth, the Focus ST, and the MCS. Well, I took the plunge and put my deposit down on a Chilli Red/black roof MCS with HIDs, Armrest, HK radio, black bonnet strips, and the JCW package! It is being built this month! I also bought this car over the phone without ever driving one but I did get a chance to finally test drive one the other day and I have no regrets.
I am a new member and soon to be a new proud owner of a 2012 MCS. I have been obsessed with Minis lately! Watching videos on youtube, reading this forum, and I even rented The Italian Job the other day just to see some Minis driving fast! I haven't been this excited about a car in a while. I am ashamed to admit though that the Mini Cooper never crossed my mind as a possible car because of my previous, small hatch ignorance.
I have always considered myself as sort of a car guy. I have had a subscription to Car and Driver for the last 16 years (since I was 15) and I have always been a fan of cars that are fun to drive. I've had a lot of cars in the past but to make this story shorter I'll start with my 2000 BMW 323. I loved that car. I owned it for 5 years and loved it until the day I sold it to buy my next fun car, a 2006 Nissan 350Z. I bought the Z over the phone without test driving it and it was love at first drive! I thought I would keep the car forever. I took it to Zdayz at the Dragon two years in a row. Then came the day I had to make one of the hardest decisions I've had to make after only owning it for 18 months. I got a job in Germany and I had to decide what car to take with me. My 350Z or my wife's 2006 Acura TSX.
Well, the answer was neither. I was going to Germany on a 2-5 year contract so my wife and I decided we could have a child while we were there so she could be a stay at home mom for the first few years. That of course meant no Z. The Acura wasn't going to work either because it was a lease. So, we sucked it up and bought a 2007 SAAB 9-3. While I really didn't like the car at first, it has really grown on me the last 5 years. It was also my first ever Turbo car and I got hooked on that mid-range torque.
So, fast forward to April 2012 and I'm at the Nurburgring for the weekend with some friends. I left the Saab at home because it's just a family car and rode up with my friends in their GTI and STI. This is the weekend that opened my eyes to the fun small hatchback cars. While riding in my friends's cars was a blast, I decided that I would hate myself forever if I didn't drive on the 'ring myself. So I rented a mildly modded Suzuki Swift Sport and had the most fun I've had in a car since the Tail of the Dragon in my Z. Maybe even more fun.
Now I'm going back to the US at the end of the year and I knew I was going to need a second car once we got back so I started looking for something fun that also has a back seat, because of my 3 year old son. I was looking at the Fiat 500 Abarth, the Focus ST, and the MCS. Well, I took the plunge and put my deposit down on a Chilli Red/black roof MCS with HIDs, Armrest, HK radio, black bonnet strips, and the JCW package! It is being built this month! I also bought this car over the phone without ever driving one but I did get a chance to finally test drive one the other day and I have no regrets.
6th Gear
Congratulations on your purchase. You WILL love it. Also rest assured that no one has actually died because of the wait, but it can be painful. Large doses of NAM help.
Thanks! I thought a photo would be nice. I'll take some actual pictures when I pick the car up. This is from MINIUSA.
6th Gear
My suggestion is don't track it every inch of the way even though you can pretty much - let the call from the dealer be a surprise. It just gets frustrating otherwise.
Spend your time instead researching window tint, oil changing and tire changing tools, ordering PIAA super silicane curved wiper blades or CoCo mats etc.
http://www.cocomats.com/
Spend your time instead researching window tint, oil changing and tire changing tools, ordering PIAA super silicane curved wiper blades or CoCo mats etc.
http://www.cocomats.com/
Cool mats! Thanks for the link. I actually have to wait until October to pick up my car so I'll have a lot of time to look for things to do to it. I ordered my car and am having it demo'd for three months. It's a long story but it saves me a lot of money doing it that way. I bought it using BMW/Mini's Diplomatic sales program and unlike the Military sales program, if you register it in Germany for less than two years, you have to pay the 19% VAT. By having it demo'd for three months and using an export tag to ship it back home I won't need to register it here.
Here's a picture of my Mini. It just got to the dealership. Now I just have to wait until October to pick it up.
