Doogs,

Evie is GORGEOUS. What a combo. Didn't know your were getting the scoop bonnet "stripe". Very, very, nice. Love the silver and the Royal Grey...very, very classy. And with JCW brakes plus the English Leather Panther...yowza. Tres 'luxe! Congrats! The waiting is OVER!

 

Thanks, everyone! I am very happy with her so far!

To answer questions...

creseida - LOVE the seats. Soft, yet firm and supportive, all at the same time.

chuckt - I'll be back in San Antonio on August 19th (a Saturday) to get the tinting that the dealership didn't get to - if you haven't taken delivery by then let me know and I'll see if I can grab you a few pics while I'm there.

JDM - the sun was a worry for me, too. I got the sunshade, am getting tinting, and plan on getting the shades for the sunroofs to try to keep things cool. But...I took Evie out this morning and parked her in the sun for about an hour, and forgot about the sunshade. When I got back, she was cooler inside than my Mazda would have been, and cooled down real fast-like (those who complain about the gutless A/C must have been driving Zambonis).

So...so far at least...heat hasn't been an issue. I was more concerned with sweating all over the new seats (went jogging)!

 

Doogs -- Evie looks awesome! I will also say that I really really like the color combination and if I hadn't gotten Pi Rho Chili Red, I would have gone for something fitting for the silver U-shaped bonnet stripes! Fabulous pics too!! It is truly an amazing car to drive. I've had Pi Rho a week and can't get rid of the stupid smile on my face! Oh yeah... about the sunroof sunshades. I have them for my MINI that I got from stratmosphere.com and they work awesomely! You have to scrunch them a little to get them in place, but it is a perfect sized fit!

Only a couple more days for you West Coasters!!

When I get a chance, I'll post some pics of Pi Rho's adventures in Vermont!

 

Where did you go in Vermont Sheeb? I was out and about all day yesterday, but didn't see one other MINI.

 

Here's a better shot of the interior...would have posted one yesterday, but I wanted to get rid of that unsightly airbag warning sticker first...



I went with the silver trim expecting it to tie into the roof, stripes, etc. What I did not see coming was how well it would go with the piping on the English Panther seats!

 

Congrats, Doogs, Evie is a sweet looking ride. The interior is stunning, great contrast. How did you get the airbag sticker off?

And no matter how purty they look in the showroom, outside is best!

Greg S, you must be another Auto Banner refuge?

 

Outside is best...but finding it still in the garage after waking up in the morning...pretty good too!

 

I was up in Vermont Wednesday and Thursday. Drove up 91 straight to Derby/Newport on Wednesday and drove some meandering routes down to Stowe on Thursday. I like how the MINI can definitely hold its own on dirt paths.

You are in S. Burlington, yes? I didn't make it over on that side of VT... Have you joined MAMA and the Vermont MINI Club yet?

 

Doogs, great looking car. I love those brakes.

Turcicus, that's the last thing you need. Hope the "coverage" thing works out OK.

 

Here is my new MINI, I have some more pics on my gallery. Approaching 400 miles already. Motor on!

 

Yep, that's where I am. No, haven't joined MAMA or the VT MINI club yet. Seems that the MINI club do some autocrossing at a parking lot very close to me, so I'll have to check that out at some point.

 

Just finished cutting and installing a scoop grille for Basil. Originally I was going to paint it a different shade of silver, but now it's installed I like it just how it is. Very easy mod and I like the look a lot....

 

Hey guys, just got back from St. Petersburg about an hour ago. BLISS and I enjoyed a 12 hour drive there, and somehow made it home in 10 today, haha! I have 2,250 miles on BLISS already and every one is more fun than the last. Everyone loved him in Florida, even had people waiting in line for rides at one point!!! I'll admit I didn't follow the break in period perfectly, but was pretty close. After 1,250 though I found some side roads and let him rip. Love the LSD through the tight turns, you can feel it pulling you through. This has been such a great week, I can't wait to hear all of your stories.

Now I just need to read through all of the pages of posts I missed out on!!!

Drew

 

As far as the leather seats go, I've had leather in every car since 1986 and I've never had any problems with them. What I like best about leather is, unlike fabric which dry rots, and vinyl/pleather/leatherette that just splits and tears, you can clean and condition leather and keep it looking fantastic. I recommend cleaning leather seats regularly, especially if you sweat on them...salt is drying to leather.

For really hot days, a towel thrown on the seat helps the heat factor....or a sheepskin pad.

 

Hey Doogs,

Tried to reply earlier in the day and got involved in painting and hanging blinds. Arrggh...but finally done!

Love the silver interior...looks so awesome with the English Panther seats. That's cool when a decision turns into an unexpected smile. Esp. with us MINI folks and the very involved decision making process.

I went with the silver interior and have kind of wondered a bit. Your photo made me feel good about my decision!

Hey, here's another "unsightly sticker" fix. You know the "warning" stickers on the sun visors? Aesthicreations.net has an awsome solution: http://aestheticreations.net/graphic...ingsticker.jpg



$15 a pair and the have the JCW carbon look...I think. Long day!

 

A few more pictures in my gallery for everyone to see... I'll try to get some more of Vermont and of my kitty checkin' out Pi Rho soon!

Happy Motoring... or close to motoring!!

 

Nice krenzkes! I'm really liking the RGs in the group. If it weren't for CR...I just might be RG...or PW...

Can't believe some of you are past the break-in already. Jake is still on the AB floating along. Hope he's enjoying a pina colada or something.

Ah yes...but the time narrows until the crew of the Auto Banner can finally MOTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Red - glad I could help you reaffirm your pickins! I know I spent every day up until, oh, yesterday scouring the member galleries for images of various options, accessories, on and on.

Not too much longer for the Auto Banner. Besides, you westies are getting the cool MINIs, the ones showing up "fashionably late" and all!

 

I had an amazing, pleasant surprise today.

I've got a 1990 Integra with 265K miles on it, original owner, blah, blah, blah. Still runs and looks great, not perfect but great for 16 years.

So I made the car as purty as can be and went to CarMax on Saturday (yesterday) and they said they would buy it for $250! KBB is roughly $1800. So off to craigslist I go and post an add for $2000 obo. I got a response with in an hour. I got another inquiry today that said call. So I did and its a guy who really needs a car and is willing to give me full asking price. Only problem is that it could delay me picking up Firecracker since I want to apply that $ to the car. But the less I need to finance the better.

 

That's a nice surprise. I'm trading in a beast...an '02 Suzuki XL-7, 6 cyl, 4x4. Will do well to get $5K for it. Was thinking about craigslist. My MA pointed out, if I trade it in, I'll get a sales tax break. Wait a sec, if I sell it myself and put the add'l $$$ down, I'll STILL get a tax break right? :impatient

 

Craigslist is great for selling cars, it's why I'm driving the old Civic around, we posted our 03 Protege5 on there right after we put out deposit down on the MINI and had three calls on it the next day and it was sold that night for the full asking price, which was in line with KBB. So we've been earning interest on that money for the last month to help pay for more of the MINI. One of my coworkers did the same thing when he put an order in for a new Tundra, listed his T100 and it was sold the next day so he had to drive his Jeep for the next month while waiting for his car.

I have a great advantage for break-in, a wife who drives 120 miles to adn from work who'll be driving the car 3-4 days a week so it'll be broken in in 2-3 weeks no problem. Oh wait, that's not an advantage that's why i keep buying new cars all the time because of the milage.

 

OK...the discrepancy in the AB info is driving me crazy. Internet sources say 8/10 at Port Hueneme, my MA says 8/9 and astrochex's MA says 7th or 8th. Hmmm...any other MAs reporting any dates? :impatient

On a more fun and MOTORING note, my partner and I had/have a trip planned up to Payson, 8/26-8/27. I had planned to catch up to MINI Takes The States on Wed, 8/23 in Flagstaff. But we are now adding Thursday to our trip and are going to join the Flagstaff to Albuquerque Leg (#4) in Holbrook, AZ (about 1/3 into the leg) and head into Albuquerque for the night. What a hoot!

Not only will Jake be on his maiden voyage but it will be during a national MINI event AND I have a co-pilot!

I would have neve imagined this would come together. It is going to be killer fun, fun, fun. Btw, the road up to Holbrook is TWISTY for days! Waaaa-hooo!

Now just a few more days...daze...argggh...

 

Congrats, that's awesome astrochex!

I'll be craigslisting the Mazda later this week after it gets an inspection and a few quick things fixed (after taking it to CarMax and seeing what I could get for it the lazy way, that is...)

 

Wow! That's great to hear, since I'm going to be selling an '02 Protege5!

My only prior experience selling a car was my old Defender 90...and that was about as soul-sucking an experience as can be.

 

So last night after posting on here I went out to wash my windshield and noticed a couple of things.... :( First off, I have a small crack in my windshield right near the rearview mirror... but nothing hit it other than bugs for my whole drive. Also, my rear wiper seems to have leaked some of the fluid and it's messed with the paint around the emblem... I'm going to wash the car and then bring it for them to look at. I have a couple of issues with my seats also, mine won't adjust for height (it's at the perfect spot, but I want this fixed) and the passenger side had a section of stitching open when I got it... I consider most of these as small issues, but I'm not happy that I need a new windshield within the first week of ownership...

Drew

PS. I am still a totally satisfied customer though, and LOVE motoring!!!!