Hey there Cooper fans,

Just dropping in to introduce myself, I'm Paul. My wife and I just recently purchased a 2009 MCS Clubman in Astral Black Metallic with 26k miles. I still have new car buzz and incredibly excited to be getting better gas mileage than my former Toyota SUV.

Now, other than the excitement of driving my new MINI and joining the Motoring MINI Culture; I've been getting an eye full reading about MINI's catching fire and various mechanical issues as I've been reading about. Uh, just so I haven't made a bad financial decision in my purchase please tell me they don't all break down and spontaneously burst into flames. BTW - I have already contacted the dealership in Tempe, AZ and had one of the service advisors look up my car and thankfully the original owner had the recall work performed. I hoping that keeps me safe...

Anyway...HI!

 

Welcome aboard P.S.! What I have learned is that Minis have a "quirky personality". If you can put up with all of their quirks and deal with them as they pop up they are a blast to have in your rolling stock. My wife WILL NOT put up with the smallest squeak or rattle in our Mercedes but absolutely LOVES our Mini with its many rattles and pops. I am slowly getting rid of them one by one. We too are fairly new to the Mini scene. My wife is already planning a trip overseas to participate in one of the "Italian Job" Rally/Runs.

 

Welcome. If you frequent any specific car forum you will see an disproportionate number of "problem" posts. Just human nature to question, complain, etc, when something goes wrong. There are even thread titles on here that read something like, "The Nothing Went Wrong With My Car Today Thread." While these cars do not lead the automotive world in reliability they are not as bad as you might think after having read the typical litany of complaints on NAM. Now if it were possible to measure the "smiles per miles" then the MINI would rate at or near the top. Besides, even the most reliable car makes have their share of "lemons".

My advice, drive the car, pay attention to maintenance, take care of any problems while they are small and enjoy!

 

I'm a member of another online forum for bass players and I'm familiar with the countless threads of complaints whether gear, band, or technique related.

- Thanks Ace I can do that

 

P.S., welcome aboard!!! I lived in Tucson for one year about five years ago. I seriously wish that I would have had a MINI to go up and down Mt Lemon!!! Hell, that is probably the only thing I would do with my weekends!

 

Hello fellow Arizonian! and welcome!

 

Welcome aboard! I purchased new and have had no problems the fun factor is absolutely out of this world. Enjoy the ride!

 

Melangell - the Mt. Lemmon highway is definitely one of the first road trips that the wife and I will be doing soon especially during the hot Summer temps.

Thanks matey and DesertDog

I've attached a pic...more to come.

 

Was wondering about a couple of things as I'm still learning to navigate may way around the forums.

First, how do NAM members become members of clubs; for example "Astral Black Metallic" Owners Club) and second for you Arizonans - are there MINI car clubs in Arizona?

 

You joined the club when you became an owner of that color!
As for clubs in AZ, I haven't searched out yet, but was told by dealer in Tempe that there is a very active club in Phoenix area. I hope to find one in Tucson.

 

Ha! - Sorry, I wasn't being specific enough...what I meant to ask was how do NAM users get the "Astral Black Metallic Owners Club" signatures? Is it as easy as copy and pasting the image or are they assigned to users individually etc. ?

 

Hello and welcome to the site. Please send me Eegees! (it's a Tucson thing)

 

As for the signature, I asked the the same question, nobody gave me a real answer. So I made my own. Cut. paste, Photoshop, however you want to do it.

 

I found it Desert Dog - under General Talk, there's a sticky thread that says something about "Signature Badging". Although my exact color (Astral Black Metallic) isn't listed I went with the Astro Black Badge (good enough).

Thanks MiniCoastie...Eegee's flavor of the Month is Fruit Splash I'll send it your way. Or you could take a roadtrip??

 

Truthfully, one post at a time I will get the signature thing figured out...but this might take a minute.

 

Welcome. NO problem with my minins. I just copied to my signature