Good morning everyone - my name is Eric, my wife is Pam, and my little boy is Eoghan (****. "Owen")- his nickname is "the Ubb." Anyway our Mini story started in 05 when we ordered a fully loaded Pepper White Coupe with the Cooper Works. We watched the build progress on the Mini website, and couldn't wait to get her home. It was worth the wait. What an amazing little car. We drove the wheels off her. When the Ubb was born, we quickly found out how difficult a car seat was going to be. In 08 we traded the Mini in for a Subaru wagon.

Subaru makes a nice product, as do many of the other Japanese car manufacturers, but in my humble opinion, Japanese cars, as well as Japanese motor cycles, are rather soulless machines. Just can't develop an almost organic attachment to them like you can to another car, like our Mini.

I was surfing eBay and found our Mini for sale in Harrisburg, PA. I checked the carfax, and new immediately that it was ours. I scraped our money together, and bought it for my wife for Valentines Day.

Even though I knew rationally that it had to be our car, when I saw it in the parking lot of the bank where we did the deal, a tear almost came to my eye. My heart was pounding when I put the extra key that we had just found in a junk drawer in the lock, and it worked.

Now, my wife takes the Mini everywhere, as long as there is no car seat. When we got the Mini, she called it the "Cutie Patootie." We got a personal tag that read "QTY P2T." When we traded it in we swapped the plate on to the new car. All we had to do was swap it back, and it settled right back in.

After years of fooling around with American Muscle cars, as well as hot rods, I decided to sell them off, and I'm looking to get my own Mini. I'd like to apply the traditional hot rodding approaches to the Mini. I have had a chance to look at some of the members rides, and I am stoked. Beautiful work.

I can't wait to get involved. Thanks.

E.

 

Great story. Keep motoring.

 

Thanks so much for that wonderful story! I've been driving an accord for nine years and it's a great car but I agree Japanese cars are soulless. I am anxiously waiting for my mini to make its way across the pond. After reading one post after another about problems people have with their minis, I was beginning to wonder if I had made a huge, expensive mistake. Knowing you loved your mini so much you repurchased it gives me comfort that I made the right decision.

 

DITTO! Great story and a true testiment to how certain cars can deliver and others can't. The Mini definitely D-E-L-I-V-E-R-S with it's full heart and soul.

 

That is so awesome. Congrats.