I just joined the site since I'm picking up my 2010 Clubman tomorrow.

My son and I are taking the train from NC to Richmond, and the guys from Crown Mini of Richmond will be picking us up.

This is the car:


It is Horizon Blue w/ Silver, 39K miles and has the Premium and Cold Weather packages adn USB/iPod/Bluetooth. It is a MiniNext car, and I'm especially pleased that it has the maintenance plan on it until this time 2015 (or 100K miles, which isn't likely).

I'm excited to join the Mini world! I'll be scouting the site, but any good Clubman/Mini info is appreciated!

 

Cool. Good luck and enjoy your drive with your son. You will have long lasting memories having some father son time. Motor on and be safe.

 

You're gonna love the car! Congrats and have a safe trip to and from!

 

How neat for your son to take the train with you for the pick up and be met by MINI reps to pick you up. Good luck and happy motoring!

 

Congrats and welcome.

Things I asked/looked for before we left the lot:
* print out of service history
* 2nd key
* owner's manual
* floor mats
* tool kit

Have a safe and fun trip.

 

Have a fun time, you'll love it!

Some other options you have on that Clubman:
Rear Fog Lamp
White direction indicators
16" wheels

 

Cool! Knew about the wheels, but nice to hear about the rear fog lamp.

Wish it had HK sound and/or Xenon lamps, but I'm excited about it.

Looking forward to the mini-adventure tomorrow (I didn't intend that to be a pun, but I guess it fits!).

 

OK - we're back and had a great time on the train ride up and the drive back!

Paul and Young at Mini of Richmond were really excellent to work with - I'm really pleased with them and the car!

It's late, so here's the best I can do for now:

 

I just traded my Clubman 2010 in Nightfire Red with them at Richmond (you might have seen it there) for my new 2013 Hardtop.....great to deal with. When I saw your post I thought you might have picked up my trade (until I saw pic) Have fun...CROWN have always been great with me.

 

Congrats on your new Clubman. Welcome to the fun!

 

Glad you are back save. How was the bonding time with your son? Looks good also.

 

I did see it! It looked to be in very nice shape! That is a very nice color, and I'm not normally a red-guy.

Thanks - We had a great time! The train was fun, super convenient and very close to the dealership. He can be a little high-strung (like any 10-year old), but was really terrific through the whole thing. My time at the dealership lasted longer than I expected (I asked that some rock chips be addressed and their guy was on the other side of town with another client) and my son took it all in stride. They gave us a Countryman and we got some sushi .

Any excuse for an adventure with your kids is a good one, and this was a great one - pretty sure we'll both always remember it as a fun day together.

 

My son and I did a similar trip when I found mine. I live in Milford PA and we drove to Milford Ct to buy Christine. The dealership took a long time to get her prepped and all the paperwork signed. My son was 9 at the time. He was as excited as I was. When we were all done the delaership complimented him numerous times and then they gave him a remote control Range Rover for behaving as well as he did. He and I still look back at our trip and out long drive home, as we now have some great memories.

Anyway, good luck.

 

A slightly better photo:

 

Very nice! Barn doors rule!

 

That's a pretty great statement.
Congratulations on the car too

 

Ooooh, very nice; love the Union Jack side scuttles.

It sounds like you had a great trip with your son! That's completely awesome. My daughter is 3 and I've been thinking that after she turns 4 this summer I might try taking her autocrossing with me.

You mentioned wishing for the HK stereo. Here are some links I've collected on exactly that topic:

• MINI Audio 101: Specs, Details, and Upgrades (START HERE!) — written by a vendor who makes probably the best (and most expensive) upgrade kit, but despite that has a ton of useful and unbiased information.
  
• MCCS Front/Rear Speaker upgrade - non HiFi — a "how to" with photos, excellent reference. Doing a speaker-only upgrade is very cost effective.
  
• R56 speaker replacement how-to — another step-by-step "how to", no photos, still a good reference.
  
• NewMiniStuff: 2nd gen Mini & clubman - Audio upgrades — Complete DIY kits, including amp, wiring, sound deadening, instructions, and email/phone support. (I suggest just the email; phone calls to the UK remain pricey )
  
• HK amp retrofit… good idea, bad idea? — I spotted a HK amp on eBay and wondered about retrofitting into my car, so I asked for advice. Got a lot of good replies and links!
  
• Retrofit Kit For MINI HIFI / Alpine System — the official MINI retrofit kit to upgrade the base or "hifi" stereo with a custom Alpine system. You'll also need to purchase the front A-pillars with speaker pods.

Hope this helps. I still haven't pulled the trigger on an audio upgrade — I've decided that I want to improve the suspension first. Your mileage may vary

 

I'm sure she'd have fun, though at 4 she might or might not understand what is going on.

I like the scuttles - I'm a BMW guy, but I'm embracing the British side of things...

Thanks very much! Going to have to let things settle in before I start tweaking anything, but I really appreciate the information!

 

Great photos. I just ordered the same scuttles on my Coupe.

And the top advantage of buying a pre-owned MINI...NO BREAK-IN PERIOD!