I just got an email from mom saying the amp was out in the MINI! Poo. Will get fixed in a week she says, not like I'll be driving it until thanksgiving anyways.

He's got something like 2300 miles on him.

 

Time for my 1 month update! (wow, time sure flies when you are having fun :smile:

I picked up my car with 17 miles on the odometer. Now I have 2050 miles.
The majority of the miles are from long trips, so my mileage would be on the high side. My OBD is showing over 29mpg, but it is reporting 10% high, so actual fuel mileage is about 26mpg. My other car is a 325i auto. For the same type of driving condition, MCS seems to be a bit more fuel efficient in the city, and a bit less fuel efficient on the highway. 325i is about 3200lbs, 189hp, auto transmission. EPA rating for the 3 is 20/28, and EPA rating for the MINI is 25/34, so yup, the EPA rating for the MINI is grossly overinflated, and MINI is not very fuel efficient.

I found the MINI much more tiring to drive on the highway than the 3 series. The 3 is extremely stable, tracks straight, and requires minimal attention. MINI on the other hand, with its short wheel base, quick steering, stiff suspension and runflat tires, is much more squirrely on the highway. The MCS is definitely a twisty car, not an interstate car.

The MINI seats are excellent for short drives, but it made me extremely sore on really long drives. The shape of the seat back seems to be the wrong shape for me.

I was interested in the JCW package at first, until they announced the price tag. My dealer doesn't price gouge, but it is still $5500 plus tax. Randy of Webb Motorsports scheduled a pulley party a couple of weekends ago, so I decided to go with his pulley/ECU package instead. In the end, I forked out a bit over $1000, for maybe 2/3 of the HP gain of the JCW package. I am extremely happy with it, and so is my wallet. (Let's not get into the discussion of factory warranty and how much it is worth) Flooring it in second merging onto the highway, I was able to get DSC to come on. I won't miss that last 10hp JCW provides.

I have discussed the headache issue earlier in this thread, so I won't repeat it here. It is not a big deal at all, and I trained my brain to get used to it very quickly.

Even though there are a ton of MINIs in my area, I've only waved at two other MINIs. One was in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, and another was a saleswoman giving a test drive in Princeton. I guess Boston drivers are just not that friendly.

I had the HK rattle; fixed it with a strip of cardboard. Otherwise no rattles at all. I do have a whistle that I am still trying to track down. Other than some initial adjustments, this car has been squawk free.

Projects for the upcoming month: 1) Zaino my car, 2) Find a set of OEM white wheels for snow tires. I had found a set, but the seller withdrew the wheels for sale in the end. If anyone has white 16" OEM wheels you don't need, drop me a line. 3) Install white clear taillights, 4) hardwire my V1, and finally, 5) DRIVE MORE!

Enjoy motoring everyone!

 

Disregard my last post, she meant AM radio.

I drove my MCS 650 miles after pickup, 500 were on the highway without stopping once but for gas of course. I didnt have any problems with comfort or staying awake, any other car I wouldnt have made it 100 miles. And the only place I've had trouble with the car being squirely on the highway is orlando, but you'll have trouble with any car on that piece of highway. It's odd that we're having totally different experiences, maybe you're wider (no offense) than me or something.

 

1,008 miles since picking up the car on 10/3/2003 and absolutely zero issues to report. The car is rock solid and getting better as the miles pile up. Getting closer to the magic 1,250 mile mark.

 

I am definitely wider than you, Bk_MCS, but my problem is with the shape of the backrest, especially the lumbar area. The lumbar support is big enough that it forces me to come off of the backrest. My shoulders are not supported at all. On my BMW, it didn't have any lumbar support at all, so it is basically flat from the shoulder down.

 

Oh yeah, totally forgot about the lumbar problems people are having, but again I'm not bothered, maybe it's just my youth (even though I'm lazy as hell and might not be in shape, but whatever), or maybe it's just the fact that I'm having too much fun driving.

 

I am heading for 1250 very quickly, less than 50 miles to go. I have no real complaints but only that in the rain the back of the car gets very dirty. the water swirls around in the wake of the car and the back glass gets wet and even from just a wet road. its ok tho, thats why we have a rear wiper. Its been hard keeping it clean now that the weather is turning bad.

still also getting a good response from people. two days ago we were in physics class the teacher asks which would u rather get hit by a semi truck or a mini cooper? my friends in the class just looked at me and the teacher didt know that i had one. she then asked ohh do u have a mini cause they are really cute? i dont like it to be cute!!! why is it always cute? its not cute its supercharged! so now they just make fun of me and my cute car. they keep saying "its so cute" with a lisp. look what she started.

 

I just had the B&M short shifter installed with my Whalen **** and I am so stoked, I think it is the perfect set up and makes the car even more fun to drive. I also got my windows tinted 5% back three (limo tint) and 35% front two (illegal) it looks so good with the tint but at night I can not see out the back, I will probably end up backing into something sooner or later.

I have 3 coats of Zaino on already and will add a couple this weekend and use the 303 Aerospace and the p21s I got yesterday from North American Mini Car Care.

Now I have my sights set on Exhaust, I want to hear the motor roar a litlle more, right now it is very quiet. I like UUC, but also consider Alta and Quicksilver.

 

I just got a confirmation pic from good ol Doug of my WSM, it's nice, I'll get a pic when he sends me one of the final, hopefully he does because I wont be able to get one myself till I go back home, which will probably be thanksgiving.

 

Ahhhhhhh! WTF!

My mom said she went in today to get the roadblock fixed (see my pics on imagestation, linked earlier in here and on my site) and the AM radio, which still doesnt work because they need another part. Anyways, my dad left his extremely expensive sunglasses (titanium, extremely light, comfortable, and cool) that he paid $90 for on ebay in the MINI when she went in, when she got the MINI back it was missing the sunglasses! Wow, absolutely f****** sad. We pay $25k for a car and cant even leave anything in the car for fear of theft. She said she's gonna ask about it when she goes back in to get the radio fixed but doesnt expect much, any suggestions.

 

I have had stuff stolen from my car while in service at the dealership as well.
In this case, it was my BMW, and all the coins I had in my car were stolen. It was not a large amount, but still I was not happy about it. I refuse to do business with that dealership now. This dealership is 5 minutes away from me, but I rather drive 45 minutes to go to MINI of Peabody. (You can figure out who that other dealership is if you know Boston)

Make sure the sunglasses weren't somewhere else first though. Then, bring it up to the service manager. If it is not resolved to your satisfaction, you still hold the trump card - BMW service surveys. But make sure the sunglasses weren't misplaced though.

 

Ya, I told her to make sure they were in the car and not lost somewhere else before she said anything, thanks for the advice.

 

BK_MCS
i went to the dealer last week to change a light bulb
late afternoon i found out that my glasses was broken, it seems like someone step on it.
it is sad, and no one told me about. i just gotta be carefull next time. lucky i have never wear that glasses since my eye gets better and dont need the lense anymore.
I will bring it up next week when i go there.

 

WE ARE BAAACKKK!!!! My family and I are back from our 6500 mile trek across the US to pick up Lemon Drop from Roadshow MINI in Tennessee. She is sooooooooooo much better than I could have imagined! She fits like an old glove. The last 5 months of not being able to drive melted away. Miraculously my (healing broken)foot seemed to get better the closer we got to Memphis..hmm go figure! LOL
I did get to drive her 200+ miles from Memphis to my in laws' house, then we put her on a trailer and pulled her all the way back home to Oregon. I know it would have been MORE fun to drive all the way, but we prefer to break her in easy. This just calls for ANOTHER road trip soon..right? We had a GREAT time seeing the country and catching the sights along the way.
I will post pics soon. So far..no problems. She is great, no stumble, no issues whatsoever.

Kim :smile:

 

I am only 20 miles away from completing the break in period!

Yesterday I received my free MINI mug in the mail.

Car is awesome! Having loads of fun!

 

MM2 is at about 660 miles now.
Other than my driver side headlight washer is broken (new part on the way, warranty) and the paint needed tons of work (scratches and blemishes, now fixed and has 3 coats of Zaino) it's all smiles. Engine still feels awesome and tranny feels great - and of course he still handles absolutly awesome (thanks to H-Sport)

--->Bk_MCS and Chrisfb1: really sucks about your dealership experiences! Heads must roll - they should at least comp you a rear fog light kit, the bastards.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

>>Ahhhhhhh! WTF!
>>
>>My mom said she went in today to get the roadblock fixed (see my pics on imagestation, linked earlier in here and on my site) and the AM radio, which still doesnt work because they need another part. Anyways, my dad left his extremely expensive sunglasses (titanium, extremely light, comfortable, and cool) that he paid $90 for on ebay in the MINI when she went in, when she got the MINI back it was missing the sunglasses! Wow, absolutely f****** sad. We pay $25k for a car and cant even leave anything in the car for fear of theft. She said she's gonna ask about it when she goes back in to get the radio fixed but doesnt expect much, any suggestions.


That is the sad reality of any dealer service dept, regardless of brand. Most dealer service departments have big signs posted in the customer car drop off area that read: "WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOSS OF ARTICLES LEFT INSIDE YOUR VEHICLE, PLEASE REMOVE ANY VALUABLES BEFORE DROPPING OFF THE VEHICLE".

Sorry, but it is common sense not to leave a $90 pair of Titanium frame glasses inside the car. Lots of people leave digital cameras, laptop computers, watches even cash inside their cars when dropping them off at the dealer, car wash or valet parking. Cars are not BANK SAFES! You can never expect a dealer porter or mechanic not to be tempted when seeing valuables inside the car they are working on and not taking the opportunity to put them in their pockets.

This is really sad behavior but it happens everywhere and your best line of defense is to never leave anything of value inside your car when handing the keys to strangers.

 

Ya, it's even sader when the glasses were in a case in the glovebox, they actually went snooping around for them, bastards!

 

from dad to me:
cracked front window on the mini. Is that covered under warranty?

to dad from me:
God damnit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did a rock hit it? Check for pitting by running your finger along the crack. If it wasnt a rock it will be warranty. There's been a big problem with lots of MINI windows cracking. People said that the A pillars have been beefed up for 04s to solve this prob but I guess not, unless a rock hit it. They'll probably give you it under warranty anyways since it's been such a problem. Dont say anything about rocks if it was a rock.

from dad to me:
No, wasn't a rock. Crack starts under the moulding on the lower passenger side.

to dad from me:
good, call scott and let him know, and tell him definately not a rock! and ask if he knows anything about reinforced a pillars.

I dont even know what to say.

 

1,270 miles and no windshield cracks.

 

sorry to hear about the Windshield BK_Mcs
I got a tiny tiny chip in the lower right side of window.

It will not enough to cause a crack but i just found out it was there i did not even notice.
But i will replace it next week since it is leaking.
Ohhh here is the tip for BK_MCS just tell them that your windshield is leaking from the top, if you have the rain sensor.
They know the issues about the leaks so they might replace it under warranty.

I will see what comes up about mine.

Good luck

 

No rain sensor, dad definately said it wasnt a rock chip and he called the dealer and they said they would replace it no problem.

 

The modiMobile
Official Car of the Design Crusaders

Here she is, ready to take on the world (only after 1250 miles of course).

Garnishes a lot of attention. Never had so much fun driving. It unfortunately has the yo-yo at about 3200 RPM in 2nd and 3rd gear. Hope version 36 can fix it. Still waiting on alarm system to come in. Other than that, it rides and drives like it was supposed to.

Ciao.

 

>>No rain sensor, dad definately said it wasnt a rock chip and he called the dealer and they said they would replace it no problem.


Did they replace your windshield? Do you have the rain sensor?

 

It has been a while since my last post in the CWFO thread and I am overdue for the 1-month report (although it seems that many are!). I'll try to make it brief, although it is hard when there are so many good things to talk about !!

The quick summary: The car is everything I hoped for. It is perfect.

The (very minor) problem: My 12v outlets don't work. I haven't even tried to check to see if it's simply the fuse, it may well be. But this is only thing wrong with the whole car.

The details: There are so many things, I am simply going to provide a random rambling of thoughts. Hopefully it's not too boring a read.

- The JCW kit is wonderful. The power is amazingly smooth and always there. Last weekend I was with 12 other MINIs, and coming out of every corner I would be on the bumber of the car in front of me waiting for them to get going. I am happy with this purchase. The exhaust is what I wanted, I nice little rumble, but not so loud as to annoy the driver, passengers, or anyone else in the area, just a nice little extra sound.

- The interior is holding up very well. I got the anthracite and I have not noticed any scuffing, scratches etc. Well, except for the chip in the shifter ring because of the stinking MINI-FINI cup holder that was improperly (at VPC) installed low.

- The headlights are really nice. I drive a lot of miles (see below), and a lot at night. The xenons are good, the brights are great. I also really like the driving lights when on the small country roads when little creatures may try to ambush my MINI (may be it's small enough to look like prey). Last weekend during a MINI run, we headed through some pretty thick fog and (since we had our radios) we did a little test to see how well the lights shine through. The MINI xenons were WAY better then typical car headlights....probably about 25% to 50% greater distance.

- The Goodyears run-flats are weaing pretty well. Despite some aggressive driving (especially last weekend) they are holding up. I had heard stories of some people changing out tires after 12K, but not these.

- The radio reception is very good for both AM and FM. The H/K was a good upgrade, especially for someone who doesn't want to mess with installing aftermarket. Several people last weekend had '02's and the H/K wasn't yet available when they purchased....they were jealous.
It could use a little volume at times.....I have a few CDs which just aren't that loud I guess. Owell.

- The looks and reactions from others has been fun. In Oklahoma and Arkansas there is some dislike for little cars and I have experienced a little of that. But, I have also had a few guys in their pick-ups give me a big thumbs-up as I drive by and I always return the sign of appreciation.

- The paint and windshield are holding up very well. There is one small nick in the white paint just above the windshield. It was a little pebble thrown up by another MINI last weekend. Windshield has been no problem, and I have taken a few pebbles/rocks that I thought for sure would put me in the "Another cracked windshield !!" post.

- The amazing news I saved for last (if anyones reads all this). This review is based on good number of miles. Since picking up my MINI on Oct 4th I have put on 7,000 miles That's right!!!!! I drive a lot!!!! Throw in an extra trip to Illinois (1,000 miles), the MINI weekend (another 1,000 miles), and lots of weekend runs on my own, and it adds up WAY TO FAST!!!!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their MINI's as much as I am. I feel like a little kid every time I get in my MINI, and considering how much I drive I didn't used to always feel that way even though I really liked my Mustang.

I should have some great new pictures to post this weekend from our MINI weekend in Eureka Springs. Hopefully they all turn out!