Hi NAM,

I've been cruising the posts here for a while, all the while burning with desire for the mini I can't have yet. You see I have some pesky life things to work out like trying to get into the Professional Flight Training program here at Purdue. Speaking of Purdue, do I have anyone in the area that owns a mini. I've seen a few around like the blue (can't distinguish the IB and HB yet) at Lafayette Aviation, a PW, a EB, and a DS during the school year. I also saw a CR/Blk on 80/94 a few weeks ago. Once I get my life settled down enough that I know where I'll be at least a couple of years in advance (not to mention the time to put together a good down payment), hopefully working on that degree here, I can order the mini I want so bad, and if all works out I should be ordering around April of next year in time for a nice mini road trip that summer.

I started off skeptical of the mini when my best friend said he bought one down in Florida over vacation. I was thinking the car was gonna be slow, dangerous, and cramped. A few months later he gotten the dangerous idea out of my head with much talking. Then one day we went out motoring and the idea of slow and cramped went out the window to. In the period of about a year he had SOLD me on a mini.

So here is where I'm at for my mini:
MCSa
HB/W (no bonnet stripes)
Chrome grille and mirrors
Stuck between body color dash or alloy patina...leaning toward the body color dash
chrono pack w/ engine inst. in dash
chrome interior
auto dimming mirror (how well does this work?)
audio input port for my mp3 player
curious about the black/grey interior, but will probably go standard
otherwise pretty standard...I mean I barely have enough for them mini as is but a lot of extras are both not needed and cost a bunch

a couple other questions:
How were your experiences at the Bill Jacob's Mini in Naperville and the Dreyer & Reinbold Mini in Indy?
What kind of mini activities are going on in my area? I know being stuck between two dealers is tough because there aren't many mini things going on out here but I'm willing to drive to get there.

 

Hey, welcome! Just to answer your questions about seats, I chose cloth because they aren't so hot during the summer.

 

One piece of advice, don't get the pleather seats. That was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. My BMW 325i had leather seats, and I thought that maybe the pleather would be a cheap but good alternative. Wrong! They are some of the cheapest feeling seats I've ever owned.

 

I'd say go for the body colored dash. It looks awesome. I've had mine for close to two years now and the paint has held up well. No scratches at all.

The auto-dimming mirror is fantastic. It works so well you forget it's even there.

 

I love the leatherette! I don't like the way leather feels after a few years of use, I don't like wear marks and wrinkles, or having to take care of them constantly. They also get ruined by salt water, and since I jetski and swim a lot, it takes it's toll on leather. The leatherette are also NOT hot in the summer! My car sits in the sun all day at work, and they are just warm to the touch, not hot at all (light grey/dark grey seats). My charcoal leather in my GTP get 3x as hot.

 

At the risk of turning this into another upholstery thread, I couldn't possibly disagree more. The leatherette is a high-quality material that I've had many compliments on. It doesn't show any wear, period, while the low-grade leather that MINI uses has generated many, many complaints on this site. I had the leatherette in my first MINI for 2.5 years, and I never even considered ordering anything else in my '05.

 

I'd also disagree with the leatherette hater. I have had great comments on my leatherette seats and the wife and I love them. They combine good looks with ease of care.

I can't comment on Bill Jacobs, but Dreyer & Reinbold in Indy have been great for us. Throughout the order process, and now in the maintenance area they have been outstanding. Everything has been upfront and handled well. I highly recommend them.

A_Sr.

 

Your specs look awesome!!! As far as interior body color, we've had both and I love the body color the best. It just seems to "do" something to jazz up the interior a bit. :smile: Personal choice.....

We've also had both the leatherette and the leather. The leatherette in our 02' held up very well. No issues at all. We decided to go with leather in both our 05's though - just because we wanted something other than grey or black. It's all a personal decision for you.....

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"
05' HB/W MCS "Gizmo"

 

I can't believe it took a year to convince you. I was hooked after my first test drive. I only took two test drives. One in a Cooper and one in an "S". I was sold right then. "Spike" is a loaded 05 MCS. I love it more every time I drive it.
Motor On.

 

for now, since you want one so bad, i'd see if your friend would let you drive his once in a while - just offer to wash it (carefully of course-see detailing threads) and maybe he'd let you drive it around every once in a while (that's assuming you can get him out of the driver's seat)

 

Hey thanks guys. As for the year to convince me, well you'll have to forgive me. I was turned on to the new MINI through phone calls that were no longer than 45 minutes. I had a lot of doubts to overcome and it took a lot longer to just to get a test drive so yeah it took a while. In the end I am quite addicted to this little monster.:smile: I'd bug him about driving his more but I don't for three reasons:
1) I live 2 and 1/2 hours away now in my college town so I don't get to see him much.
2) He's had a couple of track days under his belt so he can push his MINI to levels I can't yet.
3)With the way he treats his baby I would be awefully nervous to do anything to it.

Anyway, if I want to drive one that bad I can always go do a test drive down in Indy.

As far as seats go, I think I'll be going with the standard black configuration and with no sun roof in the car I don't think they will get much hotter than the seats in my current car, and I don't mind them that much.

Thanks again everyone.