Well I'll tell you what, the Performance Mods section is overrun currently by flame fueled asses. That was my favorite area of this site. And as such, I don't feel happy when I come here anymore. Kinda like L's experiencing.

And when you've had...

-3 coolant overflow tanks
-1 replaced windshield
-bad cold start issues
-boot latch problems
-silver downtubes losing paint
-driver's airbag replaced
-countless visits for rattles
-many visits for ECU stumble programming updates

...in the past 11 months of ownership, it gets so old that even the smallest bit of crap sets you off. I find it hard to believe sometimes that I'm driving a NEW car! My 14 year old SAAB has been more reliable. Sad, eh?

But it is/was a fun car and I don't regret buying it. I'll be able to sell and walk away easily, something MANY other new car owners can do due to financials. I mean, this car is worth as much as when I bought it. Can't say that for too many other rides out there. So it has it's pluses.

Thank you all for your support of my decision. And Lauren, I PM'd you my email for in the future.

And Mike/Donna, is it a Silverstone/Red, a Spa Yellow/Black or a Suzuka Blue/Blue? Those are the colors combos I'm considering. Great price/shape means I'll buy from anywhere and have it shipped out. PM me if it one of those color combos. Oh, and sorry Mark, I don't want a black interior unless it's yellow on the outside.

R


_________________

 

Hey Ryan,

Bummer. I'm sitting here somewhat in shock. You've been my "rock" here on MCO and I've loved your posts, especially when you get particularlly heated on an issue. I've also been the happy recipient of much good advice on taking care of my MC. I've appreciated all of it.

I don't blame you, though, for wanting to bug out of here and PDX Mini Cooper Club. I'm president of my local professional association and can't seem to get any help or someone else to take my position and it's been 5 years!!! So, I understand how you feel there. I'm just sorry to see you go.

You've got the nicest DS MCS I've ever seen, and I may know of someone who might want to buy it.

Thanks for everything, Ryan. You will be missed.

Barb

 

>>You know what? DavBret...you have the right idea. This will be my last post for awhile. I can't take some people's crap anymore. This site has gone completely out of control. There are alot of you here that I love so much.....but the bad is outweighing the good. If you guys want to get ahold of me....send PMs, I will continue to check them, but I just won't be posting.
>>
>>Unless something changes here I have totally had it. I will still continue to drive my MINI and love it as much as I already do, but there are way too many ignorant jerks on here.
>>
I'm with you L. Too much bashing of the corporation that had the guts to bring us our MINIs, and to often, threads that get out of control because someone has to be an *** and criticize someone else's mods or position on an issue. Sometimes I read threads and think that people must have WAY too much time on their hands and not enough tack to think before they type.

 

sorry to see you go davbret, it was great to know you, you were on the coolest on the forums! mayb u can reconsider..... but anyways, i might be interested in ur system... lol

 

I appreciate the work that you have done for MCO and your frustrating but enthusiastic time spent with the MINI. Best of luck with the S2000, they are super cars. I understand how you feel about convertibles, as I own two now, and have had others (inc. a Miata) in the past. A sunroof, no matter how large, just ain't the same thing.

 

and possibly even those sweet rims, still we will all miss you

 

>>You know what? DavBret...you have the right idea. This will be my last post for awhile. I can't take some people's crap anymore. This site has gone completely out of control. There are alot of you here that I love so much.....but the bad is outweighing the good. If you guys want to get ahold of me....send PMs, I will continue to check them, but I just won't be posting.
>>
>>Unless something changes here I have totally had it. I will still continue to drive my MINI and love it as much as I already do, but there are way too many ignorant jerks on here.
>>
Wow, lots of sad news on this thread

 

I'll second that!

 

Oh well, gotta do what you gotta do.

Since your getting an S2000 (more than likely anyways) I'd like to suggest some tuners/web sites to you. Spoon Sports (good JDM tuner). Inline Four (spoons amr distributer). Mugen (King Motorsports is their amr distributer) is another good tuner. Both of those are Japan based and they are more expensive than your average AEM American stuff, but they are the best of the best when it comes to Hondas. Hope you buy some of their stuff and post it on here when you do!

Good Luck!
Bryan Nettles

 

>>...in the past 11 months of ownership, it gets so old that even the smallest bit of crap sets you off. I find it hard to believe sometimes that I'm driving a NEW car! My 14 year old SAAB has been more reliable. Sad, eh?

I'm selling my 95 Saab too, Dave. It sounds like you had a great Saab. One of my older friends who is my car guru had two Saab 99s. One car was the best he ever had, the other was the worst (and this guy had a Fiat too!). Mini's being schizo might be the best that we can hope for. Maybe you got you a great Saab and a snake bitten Mini. Karma has a way of balancing out like that.

I remember after having two Hondas and putting a combined 190k miles on them and taking a Kia (don't ask) in for service being so pissed off because I never had been in for unscheduled service before.

 

S'long Davbret.

And Lauren too.

Too bad. Big loss for MCO.

Drop in every now and then.

 

Well, I wish you the best of luck and want to say thanks for all your contributions!
One good thing about growing older or at least reaching 50 is that you have had a great deal of cars by the 5th decade and never get so wrapped up in them that they get in the way of what's important.
Again, all the best!

 

I’m just waiting for my ordered ’04 BMW M3 coupe. The MCS is a fun car to drive, I even find myself looking for places to go. A simple trip to a Costco or a motorcycle shop or shopping center is an easy 115+ mile round trip on some great two lane twisty mountain highways. But the fit and finish on the MINI has much to be desired. I’m tired of new rattles cropping up and trim coming loose requiring roadside repairs and a marginal at best A/C. It has been pointed out in this thread that the problems just seem to set you off. My brother was going to sell his wife’s ’01 BMW 330i convertible and a get a MCS. My experiences have changed his mind. BMW better get a handle on the very issues discussed openly here on MCO in regards to the MINI’s short comings. My problems have been minor, no windshield, stumble or overflow tank issues, but I must say the car has been a disappointment. And a 250 mile round trip for a simple dealer visit, 70 dealers is not enough coverage to give satisfactory service. A blast to drive on twisty roads but it has been a frustrating bitter sweet relationship. At age 55 I’m not ready for a Buick Regal yet, I look forward to the M3.

 

Ah ownership woes....

Actually, I would not recommend anyone Buy DavBret's Mini... look at all the problems it has! Just kidding.. or am I?

And ownign a laod of cars by the time your 50... YIKES! I'm not 50 yet... but I know what you mean...

The only other car I loved more than this mini was a 1994 Square Lensed Wrangler! Man was that fun. SO I know the drop top sensation...
The 1990 300ZX I had for 4 months before it was stolen by an asian gang was great too... T-Tops

As far as whoever it was that was considering new drop tops... check out the New TT SOOOOOWHEET! and of course the 350Z Drop Top is very hot too.


Too bad you're leaving...

Don't enjoy your next vehicle so much... buy a Chevy Trailblazer and accept what life deals ya, cuz your little MINI problems sounded like minor annoyances to me... but far from convincing me to sell the thing.

Good Luck out there in the Wilds of the Great NW.

 

I'll miss you. You have been a real asset to the community. Hopefully the overall quality of the MINI will improve. Other than a leaky coolant tank and a rock-cracked windshield, my MINI has been perfect for 13000 miles. I guess I just got lucky.

I was actually considering ordering a new 2004 MCS, but realized that I must have gotten a good one the first time and I better not take my chances on a new one.

Cheers! You are still invited to come to the Tail of the Dragon in your new ride this October!

 

Sorry to see you go. Good luck with your new ride.

As Far as 350z' go I think they have there inherent issues as well. I work in delearships everyday and there are plenty of issues with everynew car. From Corvettes to Z's to Audi' to Subaru's. They all got their problems. I have found that the best cars to own the one's your friends drive when they come to pick you up. :smile:

 

>>I’m just waiting for my ordered ’04 BMW M3 coupe. The MCS is a fun car to drive, I even find myself looking for places to go. A simple trip to a Costco or a motorcycle shop or shopping center is an easy 115+ mile round trip on some great two lane twisty mountain highways. But the fit and finish on the MINI has much to be desired. I’m tired of new rattles cropping up and trim coming loose requiring roadside repairs and a marginal at best A/C. It has been pointed out in this thread that the problems just seem to set you off. My brother was going to sell his wife’s ’01 BMW 330i convertible and a get a MCS. My experiences have changed his mind. BMW better get a handle on the very issues discussed openly here on MCO in regards to the MINI’s short comings. My problems have been minor, no windshield, stumble or overflow tank issues, but I must say the car has been a disappointment. And a 250 mile round trip for a simple dealer visit, 70 dealers is not enough coverage to give satisfactory service. A blast to drive on twisty roads but it has been a frustrating bitter sweet relationship. At age 55 I’m not ready for a Buick Regal yet, I look forward to the M3.


Your exactly right. Thats another huge problem. Not enough dealers. Driving across a state is ludicrous to fix a rattle.

 

take care davebret

 

Bye davebret
Charles

 

I totally get the car thing but not the assessment of the site. Seems fairly peaceful. Other than receiving a profane PM yesterday from a user who was unhappy because I didn't express positive interest in his new custom detailing, I have had no trouble on this site. It appears rather tame. In what forum are you all hanging out to come away with such a negative impression?

 

Toodles Davbret and good luck.
The S2000 rocks and I'd go with
the yellow. I almost did it myself
when I was looking for an '03.
Having had so many British cars
I'm kind of used to the hassles....
Let us know how you make out with the S2000
as I am sure there are a lot of people on
the board who have looked at them.

 

>>Toodles Davbret and good luck.
>>The S2000 rocks and I'd go with
>>the yellow. I almost did it myself
>>when I was looking for an '03.
>>Having had so many British cars
>>I'm kind of used to the hassles....
>>Let us know how you make out with the S2000
>>as I am sure there are a lot of people on
>>the board who have looked at them.

Its true, I mean I guess it does go with the territory of having a British car. The Jag and Rolls had a ton of problems too.

 

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I'm feeling a scam creeping up here.

Ryan, besides a certain frustation we've discussed in private, I'm not sure what the actual problem is. For example; if I was pissed at a forum, I wouldn't sell my car. Likewise, if my car had a rattle or two, I'd get off my butt and fix it, I don't trust some incompetent careless dealership to give two farts about it.

anyway, I think you should change your thread title to "It's sucked, but I was being irrational anyway"

Motor-less,
Ryan

 

>>I totally get the car thing but not the assessment of the site. Seems fairly peaceful. Other than receiving a profane PM yesterday from a user who was unhappy because I didn't express positive interest in his new custom detailing, I have had no trouble on this site. It appears rather tame. In what forum are you all hanging out to come away with such a negative impression?


Well the sad thing is that person ASKED for our opinions, and he deserved the comments he got. I too haven't got the faintest idea where the negative impression is coming from, but then again, maybe that's because I hang our more at MINI2.com.

But one things for sure, the more I read about these unhappy people, the more I gotta say that to each is own. We come here to hang out and talk. Once the experience of coming here turns sour, then it's definitely time to move on and maybe Motor some more?

Peace!

Richard

 

Take care, Davbret. You do whatever you need to in order to be happy. The S2000 is pretty damn good start - wish I had the resources for one myself.

Best of luck to you.