mil76 - the OL and W&W are notoriously slow to update, especially after your car is unloaded! This is the time to call you MA, since they'll get detailed status from the VPC onward.

I finally got my EDD, it's 10/24, which is unlikely, since it's being unloaded from the ship today. I'll expect 10/27 or so.

enough for now,
Best of luck to everyone, and Happy Motoring to those lucky ones!
Ryan

 

Ryan,, where r u getting your mcs?

 

DOK; I'm currently the only 2-time customer of Motor City MINI

 

RYAN... This is my second mini also, my first was a 1964 Morris Mini !... I am going to Oregon to pick mine up on the 30th.. Going to drive it from Portland to LA along the coast of CA.. Will post pictures.. take care..

 

LOL Ryan, only because you totalled the first!

 

Has anyone taken delivery of their car off the Don Quijote that docked in Port Hueneme on Tuesday?

 

I leave tonite in a rental car, one way, to chigago. We are staying there the nite and then 9:30 saturday I pick my mini up and motor on home. I kept thinking about it last nite so i cant imagine how i will be tonite, can u sleep while smiling?

 

Try to sleep, you wont get much, but try to, you'll be able to drive a MINI for a whole day on just one hours sleep, if I can do it you can too!

 

>>mil76 - the OL and W&W are notoriously slow to update, especially after your car is unloaded! This is the time to call you MA, since they'll get detailed status from the VPC onward.
>>
>>I finally got my EDD, it's 10/24, which is unlikely, since it's being unloaded from the ship today. I'll expect 10/27 or so.
>>
>>enough for now,
>>Best of luck to everyone, and Happy Motoring to those lucky ones!
>>Ryan

Thanks Ryan, I guess I was spoiled by the updates I was getting that seemed like real-time while the car was on the other side of the pond. Once it hit the Panama Canal there's been not a single update anywhere. And the EDD of 10/15 that has been there for the past three weeks doesn't help things.

I thought I was being patient, but it's so close now I can smell it. I bought my MGB 17 years ago, and ever since then I've dreamed of owning a brand-new British car that hasn't been flogged by a bunch of previous owners. Now it's just a matter of days...

I guess a stop by the dealership is in order on the way home from work today.

 

I really am enjoying the mini!! , but have only gone through one tank of gas. I averaged about 22 mpg, not too bad for 1st fill-up. I just installed the pair of diodes for the brake lite mod last nite also, what an improvement. I used radio shack #276-1142 @ 1.29 for 2.
Still no problems to report, but i gotta look funny driving around with that dang silly grin on my face, just luv this car hope everone is having as much fun as i am, enjoy. Tim

 

On my way home to change the oil and wash him real good, it's a sad obsession isnt it, will post pics on sunday night.

 

>>Has anyone taken delivery of their car off the Don Quijote that docked in Port Hueneme on Tuesday?

Got the phone call from Long Beach Mini..our MCS is at the port and will be at the dealership next week.Yahoo

 

>>Has anyone taken delivery of their car off the Don Quijote that docked in Port Hueneme on Tuesday?

Got the phone call from Long Beach Mini..our MCS is at the port and will be at the dealership next week.Yahoo

 

>>Has anyone taken delivery of their car off the Don Quijote that docked in Port Hueneme on Tuesday?

Got the phone call from Long Beach Mini..our MCS is at the port and will be at the dealership next week.Yahoo

 

My MINI: One Week Later

Odometer at delivery: 16 miles
Odometer one week later: 636 miles

After one week of driving my IB/W MINI Cooper CVT, all I can say is that I absolutely love this car. After several years of using a car to get from point A to point B, I again simply love driving for the sake of driving. I don't remember the last time I took off, came to an intersection, and flipped a coin to see which way I would go. It's fun.

Everybody else seems to really like it too. It's gotten compliments from the girl at the Taco Bell drive thru, a neighbor from across the street from my parents, one of the other tenants in my building (who apparently had never seen one), and a couple of young asian kids who were in awe of it. They just stood there looking in the window until I finally drove off. It seems kids love the MINI. Every time I pass one I see them point and their faces light up. As I said, it's fun.

I've let three other people drive it so far:

My Dad: I busted on him for driving too damn slow.
My Brother: He was the first to get air.
A Coworker: He was the first to use Manual Mode. (I made sure he kept it below 4500 RPMs.)

All three seemed to enjoy the way it rode and handled.

It is a very "zippy" car for it's size. I was driving on the highway today and before I knew it, I was going 80. It didn't even feel like it. I can't wait until the breakin period is done, and I can really test it.

OPTIONS REVIEW:

PREMIUM PACKAGE:
Sunroof: I love it. I never had a car with a sunroof and this one is so big. With the windows down and the sunroof open, it's almost a convertible.

On-Board Computer: Neat. Not really necessary but a cool frill. The only other thing I wish it had was a digital compass. It would be a nice addition especially for a car built for motoring.

Auto-AC: Didn't really get to use it, but it seems like it will be fine. The past couple days I set it to 70 degrees and haven't really touched it at all.

Multifunction steering wheel: Love the radio controls. Haven't used cruise control.


COLD WEATHER PACKAGE:
Heated Mirrors and Washer Jets: Haven't used.

Heated Seats: Tested them. Toasty! :evil:


DEALERSHIP:
I bought my MINI from "Otto's MINI" in West Chester, PA. I have no complaints at all. The transaction was smooth, the MA's kind and professional, and it's 5 minutes from where I work. I will give them a positive review in the dealer rating system.

Although, the one thing I noticed about MA's is that they don't seem to pay attention to sites such as this. I seemed to know about things that the MA didn't, which I got from this site. Oh well.

COMPLAINTS:
Right now I only have three complaints:
1) Jerkiness under 5 MPH.
2) Left hand speaker rattle.
3) Right hand door rattle.

I hope the dealership will fix at least 2 and 3.

OVERALL GRADE ON WEEK ONE TEST:

A-

I will give it an A+ if my minor complaints are fixed.

I think that's all for now. Time to go out and motor!

Peace,

Raj

 

I got a call from my MA on Wednesday, "Can you come over today?", he asked. "Why", I asked, but I immediately knew why he had called. It's here!

It's all gone well--very well. My car had 8 miles on the odo when I picked it up--it now has 50. I really haven't had much of a chance to drive, between work and family life. Tomorrow, I'll install my BBS RGRs and have an hour or two to enjoy the road. No complaints, no rattles, no stumble.

The hardest thing has been to find the right seating position: one in which I'm close enough to the pedals, but without my right knee hitting the steering column. The greatest tactile pleasure is shifting the car: the throws are just the right length, IMHO, and MINI has worked to get this cable shifter to feel as if it's directly connected to a gated tranny. I planned on buying a Whalen, but am I wrong in thinking that the top of the MSC shift **** is metal? It remains cold like metal, it dings like metal, etc.

This car was definately worth the wait.

I'll post some photos at the beginning of next week. I've gotta head downstairs now so I can wax the last of my wheels so I can install them tomorrow.

 

everyone is getting their MINI now. oops, i should say that many people have already got their MINI now!
whatever!
After 10 days of ownership, i have many many tings about my mini to talk about.
I know there are too much comments, so i make this short!

--------My H/K do not show the speed option like it say in the manual. the option which the volumn go up with speed.
--------My Leatherett does not have the lumbar support. it is a shame that they dont.
--------i can not turn my key sometime, this is a big issue, i can feel something is coming. it seems like the key is not the right key sometime.only sometime!

everything else has been good. except the engine sound is a bit louder than i thought. Sounds like a SPORTS CAR, (the excuse i use to cover this).

I love the car very much, have not got a lot of day time driving, most at night. since the day gets shorter and gotta work during day time. too bad. the only day off so far is raining. haha keep waiting the nice day coming for more pictures.

BK_MCS, i like your car a lot, i almost ordered the same body color. enjoy.

 

I just got back from a 10 mile midnight drive because my mom took Andre to Daytona today and now he has 1270 miles! Jeez, we need to slow down a bit. He's horribly dirty too, I'll be giving him a good bath and sweeping (mom got grandpa some krispy kreme donuts and got the glaze flakes all over!) tomorrow. My mom went to get the oil filter today also and oil, and the tech started in on her about how the new cars dont have problems with metal left over from the manufaturing process, now she might not let me do it, even though she bought all the stuff.

Thanks for the compliment chris. I am enjoying it, even though I barely get any time with it.

Chrwilliams, I want to see those BBS RGR pics asap! congrats!

 

Hi Chris,
let me see if I can help you out here....

>>--------My H/K do not show the speed option like it say in the manual. the option which the volumn go up with speed.
It is not supposed to. With H/K, speed option is always on. It is done with equalization. I have noticed that I haven't really touched the volume **** at all. I know I had to change the volume all the time in my BMW, so speed compensation is definitely working. The manual is not 100% correct. (It is already much better than my 1994 3 series manual. That manual contains more mistakes than correct information. They even listed the wrong types of light bulbs for the car)

>>--------My Leatherett does not have the lumbar support. it is a shame that they dont.
yeah, I agree. I almost wanted to spend the $1300 for lumbar support, but decided that it wasn't worth it.

>>--------i can not turn my key sometime, this is a big issue, i can feel something is coming. it seems like the key is not the right key sometime.only sometime!
I would call this a BMW "feature". Next time when your key doesn't want to turn, don't force it. Turn your steering wheel a bit to take it off the steering lock, then turn your key. That way hopefully you won't mess up your ignition cylinder. My BMW, after 9 years, is pretty hard to turn. I call it the anti-theft feature because none of my friends could turn the ignition. Even the mechanics had a hard time turning my key over.

Hope this helps!

 

>>>>--------i can not turn my key sometime, this is a big issue, i can feel something is coming. it seems like the key is not the right key sometime.only sometime!
>>I would call this a BMW "feature". Next time when your key doesn't want to turn, don't force it. Turn your steering wheel a bit to take it off the steering lock, then turn your key. That way hopefully you won't mess up your ignition cylinder. My BMW, after 9 years, is pretty hard to turn. I call it the anti-theft feature because none of my friends could turn the ignition. Even the mechanics had a hard time turning my key over.
>>
>>Hope this helps!

Had the same issue with my 2000 Miata. In fact, I think most of my cars had this issue. Usually when I have "locked" the steering wheel before I got out of the car. If the key doesn't turn upon trying to turn the ignition, I just instinctively turn the wheel slightly with my left hand which sits on top of the wheel while my right hand turns the key. I believe this is intentional, to prevent (mostly) a small child from being able to start the car. But I THINK it only works when the driver engages the steering wheel lock (just turn the wheel till it locks after turning off the car).

Michael

BTW, I got my CR/B MCS yesterday. Woo Hoo!!! Loving it!

 

[b]Yay! I finally updated the CWFOC webpage! It should have one pic from everyone that's posted shots of their MINI, plus all the OWLA's I've seen to date. :smile:

Cheers,
Ryan

 

congrat's Ryan does this mean you are no longer a member of the Novermber club?

 

thanks to all for the comments on my questions.

BUT!! The H/K speed feature NEVER worked in my car. should i go to see the dealer??

 

One Week Later...

Delivered miles - 14
Current Miles - 498 (I know, not very many, but I live across the street from work...lol)

Overall Assessment - The best car I've ever owned BY FAR! So far I only have two issues with the car.

First, the gear selector **** is loose, and has actually come off once. Does anyone else with a CVT have this problem?

Second, as raj1975 pointed out about his CVT MC, I notice some jerkiness at parking-lot speeds. Annoying, but all the more reason to just lay into the throttle...lol

Plusses...where do I start? I've never had a car that handles so well. The steering is almost surgically accurate, and the absence of body roll is nothing short of amazing. The curves on the road behind where I work have taken on a whole new meaning. :smile:

I've only heard one negative comment, from a co-worker who thinks it's ugly. (What does she know, she drives a well-used Grand Cherokee...lol) I continue to get compliments and approving smiles from complete strangers, some of who only know the car as "that car from 'The Italian Job'".

And, most of all, I get a huge, dopey grin on my face when I drive it. To quote Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice."

And now, new pics!!!




Mr. Teeny in his nitey-nite jammies...



One more, a fellow How Wheels collector / MINI owner sent this to me...

 

woohoo, i havent been on today cause i was motoring. i put 415 miles on today!!! we picked it up this morning in chicago and drive back and then went out with friends for hours. i think i have a hint of the stumble but its not that bad. its kinda a annoying to know its not right. otherwise all is perfect!!! we had 5 ppl in it for a short trip and that wasnt very comfortable. everyone was impressed.