Hey everyone. Picked up my new toy this morning, and I'm not sure what to do with myself. Haven't been this giddy since I was 6 and it was Christmas. Thought I'd say hello...Evanston here. Looking forward to talking with all of you!

Anyway, to the car - '07 PW/B MCS. Still unamed:

 

Another Evanston Owner! Nice to see for sure. Look for the waves if you take Golf road at any time in the morning.

Nice looking ride for sure.

 

Welcome to the family, you are in the MINI capitol of the MidWest, Evanston.
Look forward to meeting you at one of our events soon.

www.chicagominiclub.com

 

Wlecome!!! Great looking MINI! See you at an event!

 

Dashing car you've got there! Welcome!

 

welcome, I'm new here too, just got mine last week.....motor on

 

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys.

Any events comin' up?

 

A group is heading from Milwaukee to Gurnee Mills and slot car racing tomorrow (Sunday) morning

details are in this post

I'm leaving the Full Moon Cafe (Rt. 137 and Rt. 41, a bit north of Knauz) a little after 9am to join them at the Cracker Barrel for the drive back south. I'll be in the CR/W Cooper with offset stripes if you want to join in..

Next week the Chicago MINI Motoring Club will have a Radio Control Car racing event at Hawthorn Mall. Check out details here

 

Welcome and congrats on your new MINI! We'll catch you on the roads

unfortunately, no scheduled club driving events until Spring click my sig for a link to CMMC

 

Congratulations on your new MINI!

I was driving on Sheridan Rd. by Northwestern last Sunday and saw two MINIs heading southbound, around Emerson or Foster. Maybe one of them was you?

 

Welcome and enjoy!

 

Nope! Wasn't me. I just got her yesterday. However, now if you see a PW/B on Sheridan, it's probably me. I take Sheridan to and from work. It'll be obvious - I'll be waving/flashing

Thanks!

 

I live on Sheridan by Loyola so I'll see ya around

 

Welcome to the Mini family. If you see a BRG/BRG wave. It might be me! :-)

 

Welcome from an old timer... my car is a whole TWO weeks old

 

Hey, anyone have any advice on what to look for as far as picking up a used mini around the area? I am planning on trading my 2004 GTO in on one this weekend or next, I found a Silk Green 03 at a dealer in IL. I just don't know what I should look for in a pre-05 mini. I hear the transmissions are weak and I should just spring the extra cash for an 05+ with the getrag trans, is this true?I just like silk green so much hahaha

 

Hello ahardwicke, you are one of many GTO owners making the switch. Having helped a few people buy used MINI's the 1st thing I do is make sure the MINI is cold check under the MINI for oil. Pull the dip stick and smell the oil, your smelling for that burnt over heated smell, old VW owners know it well. The MINI oil change is not like most cars and if someone changed the oil and doesn't know about the "O" rings they often mess it up. If you don't see oil, start the MINI and let it idle for 10 mins and check for oil under the MINI again, no oil good, oil BAD.

Like any used car it could be good to go or beat like a rental. The nice thing about MINI's is up to half of them were/are 2nd or 3rd cars for the last owner and are for the most part well cared for, but always, buy beware.

If the MINI is going to be your only car I would go with an 05. You can search around the NAM threads for the debate.

Getting the Sport Package is also something a GTO owner would enjoy.

I know Dustin at Bill Jacobs has a really nice group of pre-driven MINI on hand.

I look forward to meeting you at an event soon.

 

Offtopic continued: My 04 GTO was traded in at Bill Jacobs, and they gave me a better price than Carmax. However, it sat on their lot for quite awhile, so they may not be as willing to get another one... Coming from the GTO and being spoiled by the available power, I found myself willing to spend more to get a Cooper S.

The local dealers will offer certified Minis with a warranty up to 100,000 miles in their used selection, so that can give you peace of mind when buying a used one.

Good luck with your search!

 

Great car... I just got my Laser Blue / Black MCS a couple months ago. Seeing your PW makes me really think I should have gotten a PW again. I would have, but we already have a PW MC so I thought it would be weird.

 

haha the odd part is I have had 2 vw gti's a golf and a jetta, as well as my gto
I know all about finicky cars, I am looking at a BRG/White 05 although it isn't at bill jacobs, I might stop by there just to see what they've got. I think I may just ebay my GTO then go shopping, or order an 08 MINI