No name yet Scooter. Beau (the very spoiled Springer) would probably not understand having another Beau around. Mostly what he hears is "Blah blah blah Beau, blah blah blah." He would get confused if we were referring to the MINI. I'll keep working on the name.

 

That's sweet!! Too bad the shipping from the UK is 30 USD .

 

I ordered my MINI S (hyperblue, white roof, white bonnet stripes) June 27, so from glancing over the posts, and knowing when the miniusa.com site said my baby was in production, I guess week 27 must be it.

Glad to know I'm not the only one anxiously awaiting a new arrival. I've been scanning the Wallenius wilhelmsen website, trying to see if my Mini is on the Liberty or the Trianon.

Does anyone know where the Vehicle Distribution Center is on the East Coast?

 

Ohhhh...OK... ! Definitely DO NOT want to confuse the pooch!

 

OK Gang,

I am "this close" to going for dealer installed boot stripes for Jake. I've seen a few around town and really like the look. Kind of finishes the look.

My MA said their aboot $200. Don't know if that's good or bad. I may, at some point, be willing to do mods but putting boot stripes on my new MINI ain't one of 'em.

What do you guys think aboot adding the boot stripes? If yes, dealer installed or find a local yokel?

 

I am the wrong one to ask about stripes. I am anti-decal. I believe in subtlety, to avoid attracting attention from the local gendarmes. Hence the solid space blue with no chrome, no stripes, no flags, no contrasting roof. See, Mr. Police Occifer, this isn't one of them fancy tuner race cars. We're just a sedate little Mini puttering around these here parts. (hee hee)

I have about 140 miles on Buddha now. I have been reluctant to take him out too much as I am waiting for my bra to come in...they were out of them when I picked the car up, and I've already got bug parts on the car. (icko) Should be here Friday though.

I am looking forward to hitting Skyline Drive. Locally, I definitely know River Rd. and it is fun, but more often than not you get some slug in front of you. Blech.

I also like 612 behind Quantico. So far, this is the only one I've driven Buddha on.

522 from Culpeper north is nice, and 688 from Warrenton through Hume and Orlean to Front Royal (Markham, really) is fun, as are most of the roads back that way.

The road from 211 to Front Royal through Flint Hill and Chester Gap is also very nice (can't remember the route number).

231 west from 29 south of Madison to Stanardsville is also scenic with some twisties and lots of ups-n-downs. As you head down 29 to Charlottesville, there is a Sheetz on the corner and a Ford dealership on the other side of the road, along with a Tastee-Freez.

 

Well, creseida, ya got me on that one!

I, on the other hand, will be in a RED MINI with "racing" stripes for days.
You know "they" say red cars get the most tickets!

 

I'm an Astroblack/Silver Checkmate guy.

Can you go wrong with any color combination on a MINI?

Congrats to all the new Motorers!

The Auto Banner crowd cannot wait for our turn!

 

The day has come...I will be picking up Basil at 4pm today, have to work till Noon then drive the 3 hours to the dealer. Got my MP3 CD burned (because I won't be installing the AUX until the weekend). Hopefully everything goes smoothly, I've been working with my MA for some time to get my trade, rates etc all worked out ahead of time so I know what the numbers are before walking in the door. Pictures will be up ASAP

 

Those of you whose MINIs have been hanging out with my Evie on the Emden, rejoice! Our ship has come in!

Looks like it docked at 5:10 this morning, and began unloading about 40 minutes ago!

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait! :impatient

 

Awesome! Wish I could head out to pick up my MINI on a weekday...but I burned up all my vacation time on that road trip.

Looking forward to the pics!

 

Yay! What a great way to start my day, thanks Doogs! I'm still scheduled to take delivery on 8/2-3 and will be doing a 1500 mile road trip on 8/4-6. I guess I'll have to burn a few MP3s this weekend among other things.

Drew

 

Lucky you!

My MA is still hesitant to offer even a tentative delivery date, but I'm already eyeing 8/12 and 8/19.

 

How long is the VDC-Texas trip supposed to take? I would imagine it adds a couple of days, but shouldn't take too much longer. Another plus for me is that I am 25 miles from the dealership, and it is in my home town so I am there a lot anyway. I get off work from 3:30-4:30 too so evening delivery won't be an issue.

On a side note, I live in a new apartment complex and will have a new garage today or tomorrow. :-) My MINI won't have to camp out unless I am. Also, it's a 12x20 garage, so I'll have 6-8 feet of space behind the car, depending on how I park... plenty of room for parts, tools, and work space.

Drew

 

Good detective work! I'm also on the Emden. My MA said it could be as few as 3 days from unloading before my MINI arrives in Pennsylvania. I think he's being unrealistically optimistic. Don't things have to be done at the VDC before these babys are loaded on the trucks?

 

I think the key word there is "could".

My MA is kind of taking the opposite route. He has said it takes two or even three weeks for cars to reach the dealership (Mini Center in San Antonio)...AFTER they clear the VDC.

I know things get done over and above quality checks, but I can never keep track of what exactly they are. Bonnet stripes, maybe?

 

Very cool, Turcicus!

 

I'll be watching Evie's progress closely. I'm in week 29, on the Liberty, which is due to dock in NC on the 6th. Are you dealing with Faron at Mini Center SA? I guess I had the same questions for him as you've asked. I wonder if ASK-MINI knows when our cars leave the VDC? I don't want to bother my MA daily to find out when it's on the truck.

 

Excellent - I work at Quantico, so will check that out immediately!

 

This is the road that is back by the ranges and Gun Point 38. From 95, take 610 west, past the Onville Gate. 610 becomes 612 at Aquia Rd (about 9 miles from 95)...just keep going...and hope you don't get stuck behind someone. The best part is only 2-3 miles long, but if no one is in front of you, it can be a LOT of fun!

 

Has anyone seen these installed? I think they could look really great or just too much. Have found a great price on them but just wondering what they would really look like.

 

Usually I am not a fan of Diamond plate anything, but I actually think those look pretty nice. If I were to use that style I would want it to be an insert on a regular black carpet or something. I think it would look best if there were some kind of Diamond Plate accents elsewhere in/on the car though.

Drew

 

I've seen these in other types of cars at car shows, and I personally don't like the look - they're too much.

As far as your boot stripes, $200 sounds like a lot, especially if they're only installing the boot stripes. The sport boot stripes come with the sport bonnet stripes for a total price of about $84. Let's say the boot stripes by themselves are $42 - that means you're paying $160 for install!! I don't know about that...

 

NAM member dragonslayer has them on his site for $65.

http://www.aestheticreations.net/bootstripes.htm

The cool news is that he (Mike) lives HERE in Phoenix! I emailed him to ask about installation. In addition to likely being better install/quality and better price, he offers a 25% discount for members of the local MINI club. That's a story unto itself. The three AZ clubs have a "collective" club called the Dynamic MiNi Collective. I think they use upper and lower case on "MINI" to be inclusive of classic and new MINIs. Kinda cool, eh?

 

I don't think you can beat that deal - go for it!!