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1st GearNew members: make an initial post and introduce yourself as you shift from Neutral to First Gear. Current members: meet some of the new members.
From: Portland, OR *currently in a temporary email address
New Member: Phoenix, AZ!!!
Hello!
My name is Stephan and I go to ASU. My last car (2007 Ford Focus) had some prohibitively expensive transmission issues and my boss offered to sell me his 2003 MCS to help me out!
It originally lived in New Orleans, but got stored in a great environment for 4 years when its owner went to the military. I don't know why, but it ended up being sold at an auction. My boss' friend bought the car in 2009 and drove it for a year before selling it to my boss (who paid $12,000 in 2010), who drove it 50,000 miles in his 6 years of ownership.
107,000mi into its life, with 3 previous owners, a clean title, and a small array of issues (leaky brake master cylinder and oil pan, broken glove box/driver window/exterior molding/motor mount broken), this particular Mini ended up in my nineteen-year-old hands! I'd love to meet and cruise with anyone in the greater Phoenix area! Looking forward to being a part of the community and learning as much as I can about this beautifully quirky car!
Here's a photo of her on our first shakedown run at Tortilla Flats (one of the best driving roads near Phoenix IMHO). Definitely gonna need to reinforce the strut towers to deal with potential mushrooming immediately, the bumpy road was so unsettling to drive over. I love how easily the car loosens up in the back end when you trailbrake, how you can just "reset" the ECU to learn mods and my driving style, and the supercharger just sounds so damn good on pulls! Speaking of which, I almost set the left rear caliper on fire on the way down the plateau, any ideas why the smoke was isolated to the left rear caliper? All four rotors & pads were replaced less than 10,000 miles ago (albeit with low dust/low noise/high fade pads).
My name is Stephan and I go to ASU. My last car (2007 Ford Focus) had some prohibitively expensive transmission issues and my boss offered to sell me his 2003 MCS to help me out!
It originally lived in New Orleans, but got stored in a great environment for 4 years when its owner went to the military. I don't know why, but it ended up being sold at an auction. My boss' friend bought the car in 2009 and drove it for a year before selling it to my boss (who paid $12,000 in 2010), who drove it 50,000 miles in his 6 years of ownership.
107,000mi into its life, with 3 previous owners, a clean title, and a small array of issues (leaky brake master cylinder and oil pan, broken glove box/driver window/exterior molding/motor mount broken), this particular Mini ended up in my nineteen-year-old hands! I'd love to meet and cruise with anyone in the greater Phoenix area! Looking forward to being a part of the community and learning as much as I can about this beautifully quirky car!
Here's a photo of her on our first shakedown run at Tortilla Flats (one of the best driving roads near Phoenix IMHO). Definitely gonna need to reinforce the strut towers to deal with potential mushrooming immediately, the bumpy road was so unsettling to drive over. I love how easily the car loosens up in the back end when you trailbrake, how you can just "reset" the ECU to learn mods and my driving style, and the supercharger just sounds so damn good on pulls! Speaking of which, I almost set the left rear caliper on fire on the way down the plateau, any ideas why the smoke was isolated to the left rear caliper? All four rotors & pads were replaced less than 10,000 miles ago (albeit with low dust/low noise/high fade pads).
removed pic
2003 MCS at Tortilla Flats, AZ
(Psst: I only paid $2100)
Welcome. Great pic. I have yet to get mine out on the road out to Tortilla Flats. Looks like you got a great deal!
Got my 2014 Mini from Mini of Tempe back in Sept. Live in Mesa. Have not been to Tortilla Flats yet, but cannot believe you took your Mini on the gravel road to the dam. Last time I was on it was all wash boarding. Been a few years ago though. Welcome to this site. Look around and you will find a Mini club to join here in Phoenix. Pretty active group of which I am a member but not active as yet.
Welcome! Love that shot. I had some nice drives from the Valley of the Sun up toward Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. You're lucky to be in such a beautiful area.
Classic Mini, the most fun one on the road today and a really nice area to explore out there. Great combination. I took a lot of interesting and scenic drives while I lived out there for 4 years. Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and the mountains and coast in California... lots of possibilities. Ok, maybe I should say the entire intermountain region west of the continental divide to the west coast.
Welcome to NAM, Stephan! I went to ASU for a year. Freshman year and I stayed in PV main dorm. What a fun time. Make sure your caliper isn't sticking. May be a good idea to get in there with a pressure washer and clean out any debris that may be in there. Keep your eye on it and if it happens again let us know. If you ever need anything be sure to give me a shout!
