Hi All-

Was just curious... Does anyone own a right-hand driver version of the Mini here in the States? If so, did you encounter any problems ordering it etc.? Am a Lefty, and have always liked the idea of driving a right-hand version, as is the standard in the UK. (Although it would make going to drive up windows a bit difficult to maneuver through).

I asked about this, but my dealer said no way. I didn't pursue it too much more.

You can find classic Minis in righthand version over here ...

>>You can find classic Minis in righthand version over here ...
>>

..Was hoping to possibly order a brand new '03 or '04 MCS with RHD. Am a lefty...and would love to finally have a car that favored us leftys :smile: On a side note....spent my honeymoon 11 years ago in Bermuda and felt right at home there with RHD and it's it's associated rules of the road :smile:

kinda off topic,
are there a lot of left hand drive classic mini's in the USA?
i want to look into getting one when this car is paid off!

Interesting thread. If you're really interested in RHD, try the postal delivery line. Rural mail carriers can get RHD Jeep Cherokees from various dealers, and I believe their union helps members get other RHD vehicles. Check with your mailman if you live in the country. I'll bet she/he has a contact.

i really tried to order my MINI with right side drive
the dealer didn't want any part of it (my dealer seems not want any part of NOTHING but $$$)
and wheen i looked into in further, it looked like it was gonna cost me alot $$$$ and time
........it seemed that i would have to have it delieved in Canada?
and deal with alot of BS

>>Interesting thread. If you're really interested in RHD, try the postal delivery line. Rural mail carriers can get RHD Jeep Cherokees from various dealers, and I believe their union helps members get other RHD vehicles. Check with your mailman if you live in the country. I'll bet she/he has a contact. <<

And Ford Escorts, too! Now THERE'S a pimping vehicle.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but an important fact in your enjoyment of a RHD drive car in Bermuda is that everyone drives on the left side of the road there! Cars there are supposed to be RHD. A RHD drive car in the US would be looking for trouble. You'd have to retrain yourself in terms of which way to look when pulling out into intersections, you'd hamper your ability to pass, etc.

If you want evidence of how tricky this can be, take a look at the rental car lot the next time you happen to be in St. Croix or St. Thomas (USVI). There, people drive on the left but have standard-US LHD cars. (the analog of what you're asking for) Each time I'm there I see 2 or 3 totaled rental cars with demolished right sides. Drivers are making the very simple mistake of looking the wrong way before pulling out into an intersection. Yechhhhh. (pedestrians are also getting hit in crosswalks all of the time too)

Point is, if you HAD to have a RHD drive car in the US, so be it....but to get one for fun, well, I think the MINI is fun enough without this hassle.

Oh, btw, I'm a lefty too. But I got over the special lefty stuff and "lefty rights" thing a long time ago...about the time I figured in elementary school that lefty scissors never worked.

I wish I did! That would be sweet!

There was a couple folks at a car meet that I attended recently that had RHD Skylines. Boy were they sweet. :smile:

I have no trouble with RHD cars in England, but I drove a LHD car around English for a couple of weeks once (a US-spec Volvo coming back here under the European Delivery program) and it was really scary and disorienting. It's much hard to judge the car's dimensions, and view upcoming intersections, when you're sitting away from the road's centerline. I like RHD but I wouldn't do it in the States.

i had a RHD crx 1991 SiR..it was a powerful pocket rocket. it had 160 hp, DOHC matter, and a glass top (similar to the mini)

got a lot of attention wtih that car, it was awesome.

bought it for 1800 and sold it for 9700 dollars

i miss it

I have a RHD classic Mini.
I don't have any problems driving it on the road (when she is running)!
Shifting gears is the same just different hand; picked it up immediately.

where did you buy it? how much?

I bought her from New Zealand.
approx $3K

>>I bought her from New Zealand. :smile:

Not really consider him a "Hook-up," just some guy who runs a car sales shop. I'll see if I can find his email address for you; if you are interested PM me.

>>i really tried to order my MINI with right side drive
>>the dealer didn't want any part of it (my dealer seems not want any part of NOTHING but $$$)
>>and wheen i looked into in further, it looked like it was gonna cost me alot $$$$ and time
>>........it seemed that i would have to have it delieved in Canada?
>>and deal with alot of BS
>>

Yeah...here's what I was told. Well-

Heard back from one of the folks at the local Mini dealer here in Sterling re. my question. Was told that the only way one can purchase or have a RHD legally here in the States is to be a diplomat with A1 (?) status. Was also told that under such circumstances, there's a predefined time limit as to how long the car can be here in the U.S. before being sent back overseas. Has anyone else heard this?

Hmmmm....

MiniLuvr, what I think your dealer was talking about is basic US law related to "importing" a non-US-spec car for personal or professional use. This is the mechanism through which you sometimes see things like Swatch cars and various euro-spec cars here in the US. It's also how manufacturers bring in cars for testing or publicity. The hitch (as you were told) is that the car cannot stay in the country for more than a year without being modified, exported, or destroyed. Yes, that last option does happen.

BUT, as a technicality, I don't think that this would apply to a RHD MINI, since a regular Cooper or MCS is engine-wise and safety-wise the same car in England and Japan (two RHD markets) as its LHD US-spec version. So, if you could get one, you probably could keep it and register it without too much hassle. But as you've already discovered, the real problem is that BMW/MINI doesn't want to sell you one for US import. So, either way, it's kind of moot. Oh well.

>>>>I bought her from New Zealand. :smile:

There are lots of places to get a Mini online. Most are sourced in the UK, converted to LHD and brought here. You could just tell them to skip the converting to LHD. The one place I remember off hand is Go Mini (they also import ginettas!)

I know of some more but the URLs are on my PC at home...

BTW with the intoduction of the MINI, Minis are going at a premium right now...wait if you can.



Happy hunting!

_________________
2003 MCS, Indi Blue, Black Roof

>>Heard back from one of the folks at the local Mini dealer here in Sterling re. my question. Was told that the only way one can purchase or have a RHD legally here in the States is to be a diplomat with A1 (?) status. Was also told that under such circumstances, there's a predefined time limit as to how long the car can be here in the U.S. before being sent back overseas. Has anyone else heard this?


There are importation restrictions on non US-compliant vehicles. They can be imported temporarily (12 month max. I think) and then MUST be exported. Under no conditions will they permit modification without export (grey market is a no,no). The US Postal carriers however do have some sort of deal that lets their membership get RHD vehicles. Check with a rural mail carrier. Really. Maybe they can get a British/Japanese market MINI.

>>kinda off topic,
>>are there a lot of left hand drive classic mini's in the USA?
>>i want to look into getting one when this car is paid off!

nfo, yes there are a lot of right hand classic mini's in the U.S. If you go to the original MINI club in Colorado MOTR and go to the newsletter section. Download a newsletter and on the last page is a listing of classic MINI's for sale. They have 2 sources for the ads.

Ok, sorry to be the reviver of this thread… But here are my findings about export. MGCMAN I'm sure can lend a hand in this? May be a bit long…

Regarding the rhd vs. lhd, I drove a Holden Monaro (rhd) around some highways and streets in the area. I can be quite honest, it isn't fun. While going down the road is ok, changing lanes is tricky, turns feel strange, and you tend to favor the wrong side of the lane. All in all, I would not advise it. Now on a smaller car, it probably is a bit better, IMHO.

For import into the U.S. from Europe, were little whiny babies here about that (DOT). I seriously considered bringing an Opel Speedster turbo into the U.S, as I could get a GM discount on it :smile: The car wasn't too expensive, but the process was a pain in D azz. I managed to find a grey-market importer that would get it thru with the existing bumpers.
The windshield glass wasn't spec. (ie. replace), also, the headlamps would need re-aiming, a catalyst needed to be added, as did MPH gauges (ie. english ECU + cluster). A a few other things needed to be done as well. All in all, was looking at around $3000 w/shipping.

Going the other way (U.S. to Europe), however, has it's challenges too. For one, the display needs to be in KM/H (sometimes U can eeek by with the default cluster), rear fogs are required, adjustable headlamps, side turn markers, front plate mount (no biggie), folding mirrors. I know at least in Belgium, a fire extinguisher and first aid kit are also required. A co-worker wanted to take his 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII (why, I don't know) and he was looking at around $1000
in mods. Tho, I must admit, it would be different!

Now, according to several I've talked to, taking a Mini INTO Europe isn't a huge deal, going the other way is a pain, tho...

I am applying for a transfer to Terneuzen, NL (would live in Gent, Belgium). Who knows whether I will get it, but hey, anything's possible… Can an MCS ECU be switched to display in Celcius/KM? I assume the speedo could also be swapped?

caio,

-Matt

us law as drafted does not allow cars younger than 25 yrs to be legally imported into the us. however the clinton administration has modified the law somewhat and allowed them in the us under extraordinary circumstances, the deal is that you cannot have more than 2000 miles a year on it. :evil:

or you can move to a rhd country and establish residence and bring one back for maximum of one year...or be part of their diplomatic corp.

i had a '61 mini and it was a blast to drive. sold it awhile back and regreted it ever since.

you can try http://www.minimania.com if you're interested in older minis.