Hello, I am brand new to this site and I don't even own a Mini. My Girlfriend has a 2006 S and I have a couple questions about the car. Can the top be put down with the key? And what kind of gas does this car take? Thanks guys.

 

Welcome to NAM and congrats to your lady friend for her good taste in cars !

Now, since you posted these questions in the Coupe forum and not the Cabrio forum, I would imagine it'll be pretty tough to get that top down with OR without the use of the key. Okay, assuming you made a slight newbie error and she owns a MCSC (convertible), I'll leave that question for a cabrio owner to answer.

Second question: The car will run on any octane available. An on-board computer will adjust the settings in the engine to process the lower octane fuels. HOWEVER, there is a pretty large majority opinion on this board that t is better to pump Premium gas into them. For the pennies more per gallon you'll spend, the car will run better and get better MPGs. Me... I've been running premium since tank #2 and will never put anything but the good stuff in our MINIs again.

 

thanks a lot for the info, sorry, yea that was a newbie error, lol. my girlfriend is in texas right now and i did a small "pimp" of her ride to surprise her when she gets back, i got the bonnet stripes in the front and the checkered mirror covers....the only problem is, i wasted alot of her gas driving to and from the different shops...lol.

 

Nooooooooo problem ! I've been on the board nearly a year and I make mistakes that are alot bigger than that one.

Say, how about some pics of the lady's MINI and the pimp job you've done on it ?!?

 

Welcome to NAM, newbie! (maybe we could do like NCIS and call them 'probie'?) As a satisfied cabrio owner, you may put the top down with the key. You must press the section nearest the actual metal part of the key, (as in unlocking), and hold this button down. After the top moves to the partially open (sunroof) position, release the button and again, press and hold. You must press and hold the second time, pretty soon after the first release, and hold until the roof is nearly all the way open and stowed. The only downside to this (and it does impress passers-by) is that with the engine not running, you are tapping out the battery at a pretty good clip. Beware! Enjoy the motoring trip!

 

. . . and you can put the top up with the key by putting the key in the door lock and turning it clockwise and holding it like that (the doors lock and then the top and windows go up).

Congrats on the girlfirend's new car, and on starting down the long road of modifications.