Hey all! I'm looking at purchasing a new-to-me Mini. Currently drive an e36 BMW.

Going to look at a Space Blue MCS tonight.



Been reading through some of the threads about what to look for. I've never even driven one before, any words of advice? Other than "don't do it!"

 

Welcome to NAM, NikatKimber and best of luck on your search for the perfect MINI.

 

Go drive one, then you won't be needing any advice, you will just buy one! BMWs are nice, MINIs are a blast! Good luck and keep us informed. Welcome to the world of MINI.

 

Thanks!

Hey, was checking out your garage. First, that interior is AWESOME! Second, on your time with top up/down, does the OBC automatically compute that for you? Or did you just log it on your own?

 

Well that didn't happen! The car I looked at had a bunch of issues.

Just for laughs, here goes:

-front bumper was loose. By "loose" I mean it was almost floppy, and from a cursory inspection, looked like the lower mounting points weren't mounted; so I could pull the bottom 2-3 inches from the car effortlessly.
-rear bumper was loose. Not as bad, but still not correct. It had the full aero kit, so either they previous owner drug it over curbs constantly, or installed it (poorly) himself.
-parking lot ding that had a couple dents right above where the pass side rear flare meets the bumper, and the flare was broken loose at that point.
-rear hatch. Water was getting inside the rear hatch, then when opened it would pour into the interior of the car.
-A/C. Car was advertised as having AC, but in the 10-15 minutes I had it running, it never blew cold. It was just recirculating. Don't know if it needed recharged, or a new compressor.
-Drivers int door handle bezel was falling off.
-Center armrest sliding part didn't latch foward at all. It kept sliding back under my arm when shifting.
-Driving lights wouldn't turn on.

I think that was everything I noticed. It drove fine, but I didn't get under the car at all to check for leaks of any kind. Mostly because when I mentioned the issues to the sales guy, he was like "it's a used car, that's the price, as is." The car was listed at almost clean retail.

 

Glad you approve of my AWESOME Roadster, NikatKimber. Regarding the TDD mathematics, the onboard computer give you three piece of information you need to calculate this the old fashion way. The TDD (top down driving) is figured by taking the total milage and dividing it by your average driving speed number shown on your onboard display. This figure will give you the total number of hours driven based on your average speed. The average speed also includes any time that you're standing still. Subtract your top down time from the total hours driven, which give your TDD (top down driving) and TUD (top up driving) times. Hope that helped.

Sorry your MINI search didn't work out. There will be more, I'm sure. Good luck.

 

So you still have to keep track of mileage with top down to figure it? I think I'm missing a step somewhere.

Funny thing, a customer service manager from the dealer just called me about that car. Apparently they were concerned I wasn't happy with the experience. He asked if they fixed the major things (bumpers, leaking hatch, and AC) if I would reconsider. We'll see what happens.

 

No,no, no, NikatKimber, the onboard computer keeps a record of your TDD. This should display each and every time you close the top. It is also available when scrolling through the different bits of information on your speedo.

Shouldn't those issued have been their fist priority when prepping the vehicle for sale? I would run away.

 

Gotcha. Figured I was missing something.

Yes. And that's what the CS guy said. It hadn't been detailed either, so I figure it had JUST been taken in on trade, and some doofus listed it before they'd had a chance to,run it through the inspection process.

I'm kinda willing to screw with them at this point. I'll see what all they'll do, but unless they offer a deal too sweet to turn down, I'm a little distrustful of the car and the dealership at this point.