Hello!! I've been lurking around in the background for a week or so, which is about the length of time I have been interested in Minis! Seriously though, I don't know why I didn't notice how cool these are before, but I feel like I am making the transformation to Mini addict smoothly (and quick).

So the story goes... I was planning to get my wife a newer car as her lifted Jeep Wrangler has 200K on it. Unfortunately my wife is very stubborn and would have nothing to do talk of replacing her Jeep.

One of my shooting buddies works at a BMW dealership and owns a 2004 MC S model and recently bought a 2015, so his 2004 was up for sale. After looking around and thinking about the age/miles, it seemed like a better plan to find something newer. The good news was my wife was actually participating in the discussion and sounding like she might entertain the idea of driving something different.

I spent 15 minutes searching the net and saw a 2012 Mini Hardtop sitting at a local car dealership. Within 20 minutes I was there and taking a test drive. WOW- I like this car. Handles nice, has good power for a 4-banger, 34K miles is less than the avg of 12K per year, etc. Seems like it has potential.

Here's the pic I sent to my wife that afternoon:



2 days of ruthless negotiation and 2 times leaving the dealer to go think about it... we purchased the car. That was Wednesday and my wife is really happy!!

I'm already trying to figure out what kind of upgrades to do to it... but first we have a few minor items to take care of. I need to purchase a second key, as it only came with one. I also am thinking about buying the rear package tray thing, as that was missing too.

Here's my wife leaving for work this morning and still looks like she is happy with this car. Happy wife - Happy LIFE!!

 

Very nice! Looks like you got one of the rare colors to boot :D.
Can't wait to hear what mods you do.
Annette

 

Couple of years ago, I bought my wife a '12 MCS. Depending on it's build date, you might still have some warranty left. I'm still covered until November, if you don't know, you should check. When we bought it, had 16k miles on it. Now has 42k miles on it due to a couple of cross country trips. The only problem we've had with it was a bad VANOS solenoid, which caused limp mode but was never stranded. Have fun with it, seems to be a solid ride compared to the early gen 2 MCS's..

 

Hi Annette, I didn't realize it was rare but now that you mention it I do remember my friend saying something about that, and the fact that the R56 is the body style that is in the highest demand.

I just ordered a radar detector mount and a kit to hardwire the detector to the ignition- it is something I do on all of our cars and I can't imagine having it any other way. I will post the details when I get it installed.

Hi AZ, yes there are 11 months remaining on the factory warranty. The 36 months of service just ended last month. There is also a tire warranty on it until 2017 but I do not know if that is transferrable. I will ask at the local dealer when we take it in for it's first check up. Since we did not buy it from a mini dealer, there was a lot of misinformation and unanswered questions.

 

Congrats! Nice color

 

Welcome to NAM! Congratulations on your purchase! If you need any help and wanting to know how to DIY on some fixes or repairs with your new MINI let me know. We are adding lots of new content to our DIY tech articles here for your generation MINI. That is definitely not a very common color seen so good job on the purchase!

If you're wanting stuff for the rear to organize, you can check out the grocery bag holder here and we also have a nice little trunk organizer here. Otherwise, if you need any other help or have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

-Luccia

 

Great looking car! I hope you guys enjoy it!

 

Congrats, really like the Spice Orange, its was the second orange to come out since 2005 Hot Orange which only came in the Convertible.


" rear package tray thing, "


Think you are talking about this ? 51467151717

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51467151717/




Its easy to install , just line up the pegs and then hook the strings to the rear tabs on the hatch lid and gtg.