I'm starting this thread because I want tips, and we can all learn from others' experiences. I know there is lots of info on the main boards, It's like fishing for a minnow in the Pacific Ocean sometimes!

1. My first tip would be that if you suspect you might need something replaced under warranty, call ahead and ask Todd to go ahead and order the needed parts. Otherwise you're going to make 2 trips, one for diagnostics, the other to get the issue fixed. They don't stock a lot of parts, and return them if unused after 3 months.

2. SHOP AROUND, SHOP AROUND I was offered the bumper protector for $100 at Roadshow (50 plus 50 install), I bought it at Morristown Mini for $35 and will install myself. Today I found a clear one, which I prefer over black, somewhere else online for $29.

3. when you first buy your car get protection! I have scratches around my door handles, but there are clear 'cups' you can buy to prevent it.. I'll have to get my scratches removed first but then I'll put them in. Venture shield it!! I'll provide a name and number for the guy that did mine $600 including mirror cap covers. Expensive but an investment I think. I'm always cleaning marks off the shield that surely would have been scratches on the car !

 

My biggest tip would be to make sure you're getting exactly what you want. Back in November, I was impatient and settled for a car off the lot that didn't meet my exact specifications. Two months later, I traded that car in because of all the little things that began nagging at me. If at all possible, drive both the MC and the MCS, with and without xenons, with and without the cold weather package, with and without auto a/c, etc etc etc. I know that's probably asking a lot of the good folks at Roadshow, but if you're serious about getting a car, I'm sure they would be accomodating. If you start with getting the exact car you want, there will be no regrets later!

 

I agree. I have no regrets, and I think I got pretty much what I wanted within my budget, but I should have driven a few others anyway. For christ's sake I drove off the lot without even looking under the hood! LOL, not that it would make any difference. All the engine stuff is all 'greek' to me anyway, but it's just something you should do isn't it? LOL


You're like me with the comment "I know that's probably asking a lot of the good folks at Roadshow". I tend to not want to be any trouble, but logically that is silly. Those good folks at Roadshow make a nice living off of MINIs, we shouldn't hesitate to do what we need to do in order to get the right car for us.. and of course for them to make the right sale and have a satisfied customer. I'm not saying they're not genuinely nice folks, but it is in their best interest to sell the most expensive car possible! Which is why, come to think of it, I was actually a little surprised that Carl didn't encourage me to drive any of the more expensive models he had on the lot. There was an awesome Cabrio parked out front that day that I would have taken in a flat second.. if it didn't have a 36k price tag!

So you're on your 3rd MINI in one year? We need to talk on Saturday.

 

Hah, no, Nic II is just my second MINI. Nic I, the SS/SS MC, was the first that I got in Nov. Mark's NFR/NFR is his own, and it's not going anywhere according to him!

 

If you do any mods under the bonnet, don't be afraid to ask questions. We broke 2 pulley pullers and were sweating the results...until I called Alta and was reassured that it was ok to dremel the pulley off.

 

Ok, I guess when you said 'back in November' I was thinking Nov 06... I knew Mark's was his own.

If he's like me, my car is MINE, don't touch it; and sit, don't plop down, in the seat, don't put things on the roof, don't lean on the armrest, don't start pushing buttons, don't knock the gas pump around when fueling up to get that last drop, don't dribble gas down the side, wipe your feet before you get in (would putting a doormat outside the doors be too crazy? ), don't close the door by pushing or pulling on the window... etc etc

Ok, I've vented. Maybe I need advice on how to say these things to people without sounding obsessed.. or should I even care what they think?

 

Ok, here's a lesson learned, stupid really. Many of you probably know this.

I finally found the time to go downtown to the revenue office to pick up my El Toro tags (which I woudn't have even ordered if I'd know about the chrome letters back then) I had to return my other tags to get the new ones, so I go into the 'tool kit' in the boot, thinking surely there would be a phillips in there. All I could find was a flat head. So, I use it and when I get to the last screw the handle falls off, and what do you know.. the other end of the flat head is a phillips!! Ingenious!

Tess

 

My auto-dimming rearview mirror option was a lot more useful before I tinted my windows.
If I'd had more foresight, I would have spent the mirror money somewhere else.