Hello North American motoring! I have finally made an account after years of using this awesome community to find guides, cool mods, and everything in between. My father bought his Mini Cooper brand new in 2009 from Mini of Chicago, flew out from STL for work, and drove home in his brand new justa Cooper. Ten years later, It's got ~120,000 miles on the odometer and is still running strong! It's now a garage queen, as he bought a new vehicle so I make sure it stays clean and in running order. While the interior and exterior have never been in a BAD condition, I took the liberty of detailing every inch inside and out of the car. I'm pleased with the results. I hope to contribute to the forum and help people just like NAM helped me! If anyone wants me to post photos, I can.

 

Hi and welcome to the NAM family, Jpk516!
We are glad you decided to join nd hope you will help others, as they have helped you!
Show us some pics of the Mini, when you can!

 

Welcome to the forum. Please share some pictures.

You sound like a great son taking care of your father's MINI for so long. While it sounds like he treated it right, I would bet that at least half of its current good condition is due to your care.

 

Thank you! I've attached some photos (albeit some are better than others) but I hope they do justice for just how clean and well-kept it is.

Yes, we had the front plate replaced with a GB Plate, that actually has the six letters/numbers on the normal Missouri plate. He's only been pulled over once in 10 years for it and he got off with a warning. (The plate isn't blank in real life. I just used PhotoShop to blur out the numbers for privacy)

Interior shot. Black on black.

Bad photo, but it's got the "Black Jack" rearview mirror cover.

It's an auto, but you know? It's still a mini.

Passenger and center gauge shot. To the observant eye, those floor mats ARE Cooper S mats. Mini of Chicago gave us the wrong mats and we never did anything about it.

128,168 Miles on the Odometer. The Brake light is because I need to go get the rear brakes serviced, the pads are badly overdue for a change. Oh, it's got the paddle shifters too. Definitely one of my favorite features.

Back seats, nothing too extraordinary

The Prince 1.6 in all of its glory. I detailed it a while ago, but I think it still looks pretty good.

 

Looks great. I have been thinking of replacing my red hood stripes with gray on my black R52. I like the way it looks.

 

Thank you! I can't remember where I picked up those grey stripes but I think they're a little more subtle than the OEM Mini Stripes. They were cheaper too!

 

Looks Good, Welcome