I think it was very helpful to have this forum when I was Mini-shopping. It was nice to be able to surf all the Q&A's while I was on the fence about committing to ordering a car from England after only a 10-minute test drive.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't have ordered the car anyway, but it was a boost to have all the info available on here...

 

I had made up my mind about the Mini long before I came here. But once I walked in and spotted an empty hook for the coat and hat, I figured I might hang around fer a bit.

No one has asked me to leave yet. Although the shower facilities lack a lot to be desired, I have persevered.

 

Once you make it to the 6th Gear Lounge in the OT, you'll be mightily impressed with the spa facilities.

I ordered my MINI before I became a member of NAM in 2002, but I have held the hand of many folks, helping them through the long wait.

 

So thst is where they keep they keep the good stuff. OT forums have always worried me a bit. Sort of like swimming with Great White sharks. It can look benign enough, but you just have to wonder how long it will be before you lose a limb or three.

 

My decision to get a MINI was pretty much made before I joined. I had been just lurking around and browsing a couple of sites. My passion for the car began when it first showed up in this country (U.S.). I knew I wanted one when I saw it. However, I have a difficult time making decisions, and I went back and forth many times. I made the decision and couldn't be happier. NAM certainly enriches the experience, but the MINIs sell themselves.

 

I think it convinced me a lot sooner than I would have without.Lots of good info and ideas.

 

NAM was invaluable in helping me spec my MINIs (both my old '05 and my upcoming '07 R56).

dave.

 

Unfortunately, NAM was not around when we got our first MINI in May of 02'. But we're sure glad we found it afterwards!!!

Donna

 

Having the forum around helped me make my decision. I am a big fan of researching cars/motorcycles before buying. I spent a year hear lurking to gather info before buying. I give this place a .

 

I had already decided I wanted a MINI. These forums (and others) helped me choose options. They also helped in my decision to order a R56 (as opposed to the earlier models) when I had the funds to make the purchase. It's nice to know others are in the same boat (literally and figuratively).

 

Didn't help in deciding on mini, but did help with options.

 

I was 90% sure about ordering a Mini. Once I discovered NAM it encouraged me to suck it up and order the darn thing.

I knew right away that I wanted to be a part of this community. There is such a wealth of knowledge here, and it helped to know I could reference it when/if anything happens.

 

My brother has a MINI and loves it. I'd heard bad things about reliability so had pretty much decided on something else. Then I found this site... Pretty much sealed the decision.

Working on the MINI!

 

I joined the month after I took delivery.
I had joined the other forum after I ordered but before delivery (mini2).

 

+1

 

My story is a little different. I'm a car enthusiast and the Mini was going to be my small, in-town, runabout. Then I got on the "Mini2" forum, since I was told many of the locals in my area hung out there. After my experience there and realizing the type of fanatical Mini zealots there, I decided NOT to buy a Mini afterall. I like the social aspects of owning a particular type of "specialty" car. I dreaded the idea of ever hanging out with the 2 main idiots who own Minis in my city and who would always show up at meets.
PS. One of them is a Mini salesman (who's motives are purely selfish) and the other is so up the salesman's *** (lack of maturity and life experiences), that he'll believe virtually anything that's told to him. I love enthusiasts, but I stay as far away from fanatics as I possibly can. I'll spend my money on a motorcycle, thank you very much. If Hitler showed up at all the Beetle meets, I wouldn't own one of them either.

 

No, not at all. Honestly, I had only visited NAM a handful of times before I bought my car. My decision was based purely on the fact that I love the MINI and have wanted one for years, then when they announced it would be turbo charged it sealed the deal for me.

 

I had already ordered my MINI. It may have been a matter of bad timing, but, honestly, if I hadn't already ordered it, I probably would have gone for a GTI or Mazdaspeed3. Why? Because the forums were overrun with threads where people traded barbs about the R50/53 vs. the R56, which would lead an innocent to believe both were P'sOS.. Fortunately, that has seemed to run it's course of late and, since then, I have learned a lot of useful information and have learned who and what to ignore.

 

No, we already had one, and I was determined to get another car, and kept circling back to the MINI. I didn't consider other in-class cars like the Mazda 3 directly, though, I was considering all sorts of stuff. Other small hatchbacks seem like, well, small hatchbacks. The MINI I don't see that way for some reason.

I set a MPG lower limit so I could have some justification for switching from a perfectly good, no-problems, great condition 4Runner with a sound system I still miss.

Then, being tall, I figured in headroom and legroom which narrowed things down more.

Then I filtered out cars with poor acceleration.

Then I started going by looks and fun factor.

You'd be surprised how many otherwise enjoyable cars get wiped out utterly by insufficient headroom and legroom. I know other tallfolk that suffer for their choice of car, and I can't love any car enough to suffer while driving it.

 

No, Had one in the 60's. needed another one for my old age. Used NAM for info/ support. !! Great Site.!!

 

No. I was told about this site by the Manager of the MINI dealership as he handed me my keys

I wanted a new car, I wanted a MINI, went to the dealership, drove 06 MC and MCS and 07 MCS. Left with my car 4 hours later. Next day checked out this site and have learned ALOT!! Thanks everyone.

 

I joined as soon as I ordered. There is an aweful lot of good information here that one cannot get elsewhere. I am very happy that I joined and grasteful to NAm for the invaluable service it provides to the Mini community.

 

I bought a MINI because I'd wanted one ever since they were a Mini--used to watch them race back in the 60's and 70's.

I joined NAM two days after I ordered, back in December.

 

No way. I knew I wanted a MINI since driving an S back in 2003. When the new Turbo was announce, I knew I REALLY wanted a MINI. Way back when I was putting a deposit down (August 2006!), the tone on NAM towards the R56 was at best reserved. Granted things have changed quite a bit over the past few months. As the car has recieved more and more positive press... new owners have taken delivery... and new and existing MINI owners have more experience with the car. But back then, it was not very encouraging. If I would have taken everything here on NAM to heart, there's no way I would have ordered an R56.

 

Yeah, even the early days of ownership in Europe was kind of dicey with problems popping up in the forums on MINI2. I've had to remind myself on many occasions that most new cars do real well and they're a lot better today than cars I've owned in the past. Still, I've been bugging the wife about getting one since I read they were coming (back) to America. That was about 2001 I think.