Just thought I'd follow the NAM suggestion and post here for the first time. Joined a while ago and have been monitoring for even longer. Every symptom/oddity that my 02 MCS has had, with one exception, has come up in the forums. That includes the weak windshields (I have gone through 3), screeching clutch when first starting out, cracked strut mounts, etc. I would get ready to post to the appropriate thread and realize I never went to "1st Gear" so I would decide I would get to it soon. Needless to say soon never quite arrived until today.

By the way the one oddity that I have never seen mentioned in any of the forums was that when I installed the front and rear foglights, the front ones would not work until the dealer programmed them as well as the rear! I was expecting that for the rear ones but the install instructions for the front ones explicitly state "no programming is necessary". I spent a good 12hours on a Sunday rechecking every connection and wire 3 or 4 times. I figured I would go ahead and have the dealer activate the rear ones and low and behold I get it back with both working! The service advisor said the technician did it but couldn't tell me what or why? Very strange if you ask me

OK, last story for this post. A testament to the charms of the new MINI. When I told my wife this is the car I wanted more than any other (I had been driving a 79 BMW 528i with over 400,000 miles on it and it with no major repairs, and it finally died just before I was called up and sent to Iraq for 9 mos. So I definitely paid my dues to be able to pick the next vehicle), she said, "OK, but you know your going to be driving alone, they're to squat and ugly for me to be seen in it." As providence would have it I fell into an unbeatable deal on this 02 MCS and had it shipped to the house. She fell in love with it, and even named it Scooter! We take it every chance we get! Anyway, MINI has won over another convert.

Thanks for putting up with the long post. It was fun to talk about the MINI for a bit. Vivre le NAM!

 

Welcome to finally posting on NAM, TIJ! Glad to hear wifey fell in love with Scooter. That's my hubby's Corvette's name, too!


Clover

 

Welcome TIJ...great story on the missus being won over. Was her "conversion" gradual or instant? I mean "squat and ugly" is pretty cold...was it the performance that got her?

 

Thanks for the friendly welcomes.

jds- Actually she was won over pretty quickly. I think it turned out to be cuter in person than she expected, and the performance surely helped!