I put this int he mellow yellow club thread but figured other might have heard of this...

my my/b...Press Vehicle...
I got my car may 29th it was the only car on the lot with miles, but it was the only one that was $23000 also... the only S i could afford, that was from the factory with 700 miles on it....The rest were properly fitted with pricey options...$30k+

(and i didn't have to wait 16 weeks)(plus i made the dealer take off 750 off the price for the wear on the car I tried to get more off but they wouldn't budge)

It only options it had was the sport package, plus the rear fog, and anthracite liner

Here is the fine print. The car was never owned when i bought it. This was a press vehicle. It was loaned to the press for 1-2 weeks while they evaluated it.

I have had no qualms with it i love it to death, but wonder how it was treated before i owned it.

Also....it might be one of the earliest production weeks... my/b around...

Thanks for your input...

 

Sorry, but whats the question? By the way bmbleB07 I sent you a PM.

 

if anyone has bought a press car or ever heard of them..

 

 

No I have not. Buy I know a guy at Consumer Reports here in the CT test track facility, and he bought a Mellow Yellow MCS (one thats been in their magazine) from a local Dealer and they test it etc then they sell it. I assume they disclose it was tested etc.

 

My father won the use of an Audi Coupe Quatro one year after that car had been a "press" car. I don't recall the millage on it but it was pretty much beaten to hell. Maybe not too many reviewers got a hold of your car. Does it look/feel new? Could be a good find.

However, and sorry to say this, but if you were writing a review of a car and you only had that car a day or two (a week maybe?) how would you drive it?

But you have the original warranty right? So don't worry about it for a few years.

 

the condition of the car is exactly the same as the new ones with no miles.
The warranty is still in place, and the engine runs great. but i guess i will have to wait a few years to see if the engine had a thorough beating before the engine was correctly broken in.

 

Here is an article from San Jose.

 

I beat the hell out of a yellow mini S without many options at the IMPA event at poconos last year. I think it had black rims though. Yours have black rims......with flat spots on the rear tires?

Whatever car you have I'm sure it was driven very hard....but I'm sure it also has full warranty so I wouldn't worry about it.

No worries...motor on and enjoy the smile.

 

Gabe was driving a Mellow Yellow press car at the Dragon this year, (first week of May,) How many miles did you say it had when you got it? He drove it from Chicago but I think he did drive it home backwards.

He put his wheels on for the trip.

 

That's awfully low miles for a press car but that's a good thing. Basically when a car goes into the press pool it stays for X amount of miles at which point it goes back to the manf. They'll inspect it and replace things as necessary. Normally tires, brakes and clutch. While in the press pool the vehicles are maintained to a pretty high standard although they do take more abuse than most other cars.

With only 700 miles it sounds like your car was possibly used at auto shows although with the option spec that isn't really likely since those cars are usually optioned pretty heavily.
Mike

 

It was probably treated like a press car. Think of it as having been a rental... where the renters have the job of finding out the farthests limits of the car. I'm sure they whipped it silly (wouldn't you?).

That said, if you have no qualms with it... and it has a full factory warranty... enjoy. All kidding aside (I was kidding a bit up above, you see), it's like the car has a few track days under it's beltline. No worries IMO. They're pretty solid little rigs.

 

Funny thing is, that no longer works. You must remember the old days, pre-electronics!

I would think it would have been driven hard. I remember when the MAs were sent to Arizona to test the then-new R56. I remember reading about clutches burning out, etc.

At least you'd have the warranty.

 

Funny, it didn't work for Ferris Bueller either

 

Mini of Peabody recently had a GP that was a "Press Car"... (with about 2k on the od if memory serves)

 

I've been sitting here and thinking about all the smiles your Mini has brought into the world. Congrats on your pick up.

 

Nooooooooooooo !!
I just learned something HORRIBLE !
This was one of the points I've been looking forward to so much, after years of hot-rodding micro-suzuki cars with their ****-poor Japanese transaxles and the standard Japanese weak 2nd gear synchro's, I've been fantasizing about a real German gearbox.
I've been telling myself the complaints were just standard first year of production issues
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=96638
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=106704
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=114524

 

Sort-of true... the facts of the matter, though:

6-speed auto trannys = Aisin = Japan

6-speed manual boxes = Getrag = Germany

 

Nice Ferris Bueller reference!

 

Hooray Getrag!!!

 

We had a demo car that we had used for quite a while, almost 1600 miles on the DEMO. Again, people either don't know how to drive manual cars or they drive the **** out of them, along with the MA's. Well, I have to admit, though it lived a hard life, it loved every second of it. We auto-x'd it and everything. It had to be the strongest pulling MINI i've ever seen. We put it up against one of our MA's personal Mini's, 07MCS, who ahd Alta intake and custom exhaust at the time with front mount and in a third gear pull they were identical. Though we put it against other stock cars and the were decimated by this Demo. It was def a Wednesday car. So, it might be a good thing that the press drove it, probably taught that Mini a thing or two

 

I'd ask to take it to a mechanic of my choosing for a day or two to have it thoroughly checked out. I personally have a hard time believing that a car can be "ruined" in 700 miles. Granted, it's still in it's breakin period, but even there, there is a lot of differing opinions.

I remember a thread here a while back and one poster talked about cars driven hard during break in actually are stronger than those that are babied.

Again, go have it checked out by a pro and go from there.

BTW, my mini was basically stock plus a premium package. 17 miles on it and I paid $23,500. I have since been modding the snookers out of it, however. So there are deals out there if you have the patience and time to look. My only regret is not having LSD and Xenons (as there are many deer in my neighborhood!)

 

Diff ppl have diff ideas about how engines should be broke in. I am one to believe, drive the **** out of it in the beginning, and it will respect you the rest of its life. If I would have owned the car from the beginning i probably would have driven it this way!! Im not too worried about it. I'll probably get a new one in a year of two anyway

 

That's a damn good price you got.

As others have said, it was most likely driven very aggressively. Perhaps that's a good thing, perhaps it's not, perhaps it makes no difference at all! You have your warranty. Not to mention most problems regarding 'improper' break-in tend to surface a good ways down the line. So if you only plan on keeping it for a year or two (curious as to why ) I wouldn't be worried in the least.

 

Don't worry about aggresive driving when new. One vehicle I bought new I had it at redline within a mile from the dealership after buying it. Sold that vehicle at 170,000 with the original engine and clutch. Second owner now has over 200,000 miles on it with no major work.