Got a call back from my MA, Jeff. Beau, we should expect our cars to arrive at the dealer possibly by Friday, but more likely Monday or Tuesday. I. Can't. Wait.


it is even harder since I'm not supposed to know.

 

That's great creseida. He called me also and pretty much said the same thing. He did say they would be able to turn it around pretty quickly once it's there at the dealership. It won't be long now.

 

You picked a great time to join - everybody is expecting their cars soon!!! And it looks like you'll be getting yours first. Sweet!

Beauregard and creseida - the three of us might be picking ours up at about the same time. My MA told me yesterday that they tend to get their cars from NY about 5-7 days from docking. That puts my car arriving at the dealership between Friday and Monday. They'll have it for a couple days, and then I'll be able to get it. So I'm looking at a mid-to-late next week pick-up. I can't freakin' wait!!!!!

 

well gang, I'm envous, having your minis built in july and having them home in the same month. I have to wait untill the first week of August now, man living on the west coast stinks when it comes to this, three weeks on the boat, this is worse than having the football pulled away at the last second.

 

WOW. Awesome.

 

LUCKY!!

 

I LOVE your Charlie Brown joke! Maybe you should name your MINI Lucy!

And yes, I too am jealous. The west coaster must wait. Ahhh...but the reward will be SWEEEEEET!!!!

 

Hey Gang-
Man, I go away for a little bit, and things go nuts! Congrats to all you east coasters just a few more days away from being able to MOTOR!

I'm guessing my mini is on the "AUTO BANNER" (man, what a lame name for a ship!) with Jake and Firecracker - I haven't bugged my MA yet about the bill of lading info, but since it was at the port a day or two before Jake, it ought to be on there too.

Thanks to Red Scooter for putting together the cool PW27SG badge - as you can see I prefer the one with the letters all smunched together.

Crischun- one correction for the spreadsheet - I ordered it through the dealership in Utah (Mini of Murray), not NW Mini, as NW Mini seems to have already sold out their allotment of MCS's for the next year, and I couldn't wait that long.

And I wanted to run a name for my mini by you guys - since it has blue skin, black hair, and goes fast, I'm thinking of naming it after my favorite superhero from the comics I read when I was a teenager:
"Nightcrawler"
My other current option is related to it in a mini kind of way:
"BAMF!"
(a box of oreos goes to the first to figure out the train of thought that led from Nightcrawler to BAMF! But right now I'm leaning towards Nightcrawler because explaining the BAMF! name will take too long...)

 

tethernaut! Where have you been??? Glad you are back. How cool you are on the lame-name Auto Banner, too!

I like Nightcrawler! And BAMF (the sound of teleporting) is a lot to explain...the history, X-Men, comics, blah-blah...PLUS it's hard to say.

Anyway, glad you are back on the radar. Btw, the Bill of Lading # won't do you much good. No tracking is available with NYK.

May I have my box of Oreos please? Or do I need to explain more?

 

Question for tethernaut and anathema, where did you get the "not quite" owners club badge!

I need one with "enroute" on it.

And someone might as well make an "NYK Auto Banner Club" badge also!

Thanks!

Paul

 

Now this is weird. Just checked aislive.com and the Trinidad triangle popped up near Halifax--it's just about to dock. I guess it is a day late and firstnynj.com is correct in posting an estimated arrival date in NY for 7/21 and not 7/20.


07/19/06 05:50 EDT

I wonder if we can catch a glimpse of the vessel here: http://www.halifaxwebcam.ca/live/ind...1&SET_CAM=cam1


LOL. I loved the way you referred to your MINI as having "blue skin, black hair, and goes fast." Nightcrawler sounds awesome!

Mine has "pepper white skin and black hair": Inverted Storm?

 

Port of Halifax now shows the Trinidad with an ETD of 16:30 today. Oh well, one day behind isn't going to kill me

 

So, are any of you getting a clear bra? Why or why not?

Pros? Cons?

Have been thinking about this mod for a little while.

 

Clear bra...hell yes. I drive 80 miles per day, all highway. I don't have a clear bra on my Matrix, and the hood has hundreds of stone chips, as does my bumper and ground effects. I'm not so worried about the plastic parts, but the hood will rust if not protected. I intend to get at least partial hood protection for the MINI, along with a custom piece for the leading edge of the roof (another problem spot for me). We have hood protection on my wife's Scion tC and it's great. Definitely worth the expense. The only thing I'm concerned about on the MINI is the hood stripes and how well the plastic will lay over them.

 

OK but how do you REALLY feel about it?

I am concerned about the bonnet stripes, too. I've heard that you can have them cut around for future replacement, removal, change, etc. But the mod seems like a good investment.

My dealership has the Invisishield kit - Upper (bonnet/mirror) $140, Lower (bumper) $100. Don't know if that includes installation or not. From the pics I've seen all around it's barely visible.

Thanks for the input. Let me know what you think about the cost.

 

That price definitely isn't including installation....which usually runs $200+. Last time I talked to my dealer, they didn't have an installer for the clear bra. There is an installer local to me, but I'd rather have the dealer do it. I'll call my MA later to see if the situation has changed.

 

Check the prices before you defualt to the dealer. In St. Louis the dealer wants $650 for full clear bra install, premium prices. Local installer give MINI club members a discount and has it for $200 less then MINI dealership. Dealers can do good job but not at any reduced pricing.

I would recommend the invisishield very much. My first MCS had lots of hits on paint in front in just 4.5 months before he got hit and totaled, I'm not making that mistake this time when my new MCS comes in first week of Aug. They are virtually invisible and do a good job of protecting your MINI.

 

Mine is probably on the Auto Banner too going to Murray MINI as well. What was the avg transit time to Cali, 2 weeks?

 

I am ABSOLUTELY getting ClearBra. Called the contracting company the dealer uses and got a slight discount, and will be bringing the MINI over to them immediately after delivery (still $625, but that's a full front end, lights, and mirror backs, with an Aero Kit). I drive a lot of miles, even with the MINI being a 2nd car (I anticipate choosing it more often than the Honda!), and have to travel regularly on I-95 in VA (unfortunately). Anyway, our brand new 2006 Civic already has stone chips with rust on the front end.

I think anyone that really cares about their car's finish should get this product. Just make sure you're getting the 8 mil stuff instead of 4 mil, like some independent shops install. They cost almost the same but I've heard that stones will go right through the 4 mil sheet. I looked exclusively for 8 mil 3M product before setting an appointment. Just my $.02 ....

 

Sorry to double post, but can I take a poll on some license plate ideas? I'm not especially creative, so maybe they all suck, but this is what I have so far:

QUIK TOY
QUIK MNI
EXPRSS S
LTL RCKT
MOR TRBL (my old plate)

????

 

Hands down is LTL RCKT! That's a GREAT MINI plate!!

 

I am not getting a clearbra... I completely hate the look of it, and yes, you can tell.

I like LTL RCKT too!

 

I am also not getting a clear bra. Honestly, the prices they charge are ridiculous to install what is a very cheap to produce material. I do a ton of highway driving, roughly 30k a year, but I'm still not getting it done. I would rather have control over the finish on the front of my car and if it ever gets to the point that it looks really bad, then I will just have it repainted.

On another note, I stopped by and spoke to the sales manager today about making sure I get priority in delivery time. :-P I am planning on going to a friends wedding in FL on the 5th, so I asked to take delivery the evening of the 3rd if at all possible. They are estimating that it will be ready the 3rd-5th. Hopefully they can get it ready for me. :-)

Drew

 

Hmmm...well, there doesn't seem to be any gray area relative to the clear bra. Thanks all for your thoughts and input. I will have to see one IRL before I decide AND find out what the installation costs are.

Drew - Really hope you get your MINI for your trip to FL. I'm hoping to get mine for a weekend up north and maybe even for "MINI Takes the States". The "tour" is coming through Northern AZ on the 23rd. My MINI should be at the dealership about the 21st and the dealership wants a couple days prep. My MA seems to think no prob for the weekend but MTTS is questionable. I'll be VERY happy if I can MOTOR up north!

 

We can only have 7 characters in AZ but this is what it would look like on a plate here.