On December 21, 2009, I picked "Moocher the MINI" off the lot at MINI of St. Louis. It was a funny feeling to leave my VW GTI at the dealer. I'd driven it for 12 years, and it had gotten pretty familiar. But the MINI was a revelation, and is still an adventure one year later. It still feels like a "new" car, but I guess that's not too surprising, considering my very short commute to work. We've only done about 5200 miles.

I've been very fortunate in the reliability department, with only a couple of minor glitches that corrected themselves. I changed the oil at 5K, and will continue that pattern during the remainder of my ownership.

I'm celebrating the first year with a set of white Sport Stripes, which are actually a Christmas present from the Mrs.

Many thanks to this forum, the MINI Club of St. Louis, and to MINI of St. Louis for their friendly help and service - and their excellent discounts for Club members!

Spridget