I picked up the car Friday afternoon so its technically only a day and a half.

You all know about the catastrophe with the paint and the dealership. When I started detailing it yesterday and got it out in the sunlight, it was worse than I thought. I think the detail guys in the service department used a rock to wash it with. I spent 3 hours carefully buffing out the swirls and scratches. So now my brand new virgin paint has already been mechanically buffed in some areas to remove scratches. :evil:

Anyways, it came out awesome and the 4 coats of Zaino have it looking like the paint is still wet. Black is such a pain to get right.

Anyways, as far as the car,

1) I have never had so many people wave at me, beep at me, stop to ask me questions, want to race me and just plain stare and ogle over a car.....and Ive had some bad *** cars. Man, people absolutely love this car. My girlfriends sister came over the house and I let her take it for a spin, I couldnt get the keys back from her.

2) It needs to be faster. Its suprisingly quick for a four cylinder but its still just a four cylinder. Oh well, Ive never kept anything stock for more than a week.

3) The Harman Kardan stereo upgrade sucks butt. Its way to bassy and blurry, even with the bass all the way down. Also, whats with the sound limit? You turn it up and it stops getting louder. I also have a blown tweeter in the drivers door. It squeals and crackles when you turn it up. I would have rather saved the $500 and done my own stereo. It was a waste of money.

4) This car sure gets a dirty butt real quick. I just finish detailing it, take it up to the store and when I get back theres sand, dirt and dust all over the boot.

5) When Im sitting in the drivers seat, dont even try to sit behind me. Absolutely no room between the front and rear seat when tall people sit up front.

6) Last but not least, its real fun to drive. Kinda like a shifter cart with air conditioning.

I think I'll keep her.

 

Good luck with your new Mini and enjoy! If you ever need additional car detailing information check this site out:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/index.html
Autotopia.com
The free detailing information on Autotopia is amazing and the chat room discussions are extremely informative.

 

Yes. Because the wheels are all the way at the rear, your boot and rear window will always be dirty. Oh well, it's the price to pay for great handling I guess. :smile:

 

Hey Punisher,

Sure would like to see you post a picuture or two of your new ride, I'm waiting for my new B/B MCS and enjoy seeing what others with the same color have done.

 

Punisher,

Sorry to hear about the paint. That's such a pain and let down when someone damages your paint. I can certainly relate.

You may have said in another post and I missed it, but how does your MCS run? Any issues with the stumble/hiccup in 1st gear?

See ya,
JS

 

Yeah, the boot is the first part to get dirty. It sucks. Sounds like you enjoy like all of do. Keep us posted on your mods...

 

Heres few pics. If it ever stops raining in Fort Lauderdale I'll take her outside and get some better ones.







Black is no doubt a tough color to keep nice. A lot of work. The key is to get it sealed and waxed real good right from the get go and keep it that way. Dirt and grime wash off easier and bird doodee and stuff doesnt hurt the paint as quickly when its protected.

If you stay on top of it, the black is the classiest and best looking in my opinion.


As far as the stumble, as I mentioned before, its more of a hicup than a stumble. When you release the clutch in first and try and accelerate hard, you get a blip in the throttle at around 4000 RPM. Nothing major, only lightly annoying and certainly nothing to sway your decision to get the car.

Im digging it.

 

Tell me about your interior. Doors look Cordoba Beige but seats look Beige and Blue. Must just be the photo? What other mods planned?

_________________
Ordered 8/29/03: '04MCS, B/B, Cordoba Beige, 1,2,3

 

interior is definitely the lapis blue

punisher..nice car and congrats..and i agree the HK is not worth the money to say it nicely..and on the door..it looks SO SO cheap

 

I'm thinking about putting a new head unit in my car, see if I can get more out of the HK speakers than what the stock one can do. One of my friends got a new head unit (and speakers, since he didn't have the HK), and it looks great... sounds fantastic, and its still hooked up to the MFSW... they even made the "dead" switch into a mute button. Very schway.

 

>>Tell me about your interior. Doors look Cordoba Beige but seats look Beige and Blue. Must just be the photo? What other mods planned?
He has magnesium door panels, anthracite dash/trim and blue lapis leather seats.

Punisher,
Thanks for your early and honest assessment.

Why am I not surprised the HK audio upgrade was too "little" for you? You strike me as a person with really high standards. If you've owned an aftermarket audio upgrade of over $1000 then the HK isn't going to cut it. But there is hope. Go to the audio forum and do some searching for solutions with and without HK. Yes, there is life after HK. Sorry you ordered it or got it with your great looking MCS. Did you get a chance to listen to the HK before you bought your MINI?

Black cars rule. I have a black sedan but it isn't as easy to keep clean all the time. The paint finish on the MINIs is very soft. Gotta be careful about everything that touches the car. Nobody touches my MINI.

HP Upgrades?- Pulley (with colder spark plugs) and ECU, Exhaust Header, cold intake (alta?), UUC exhaust/shifter **** with short shifter kit. The car will fly- you'll need some suspension mods and lightweight wheel upgrades to keep up with all the added HP and torque.

Stumble? What stumble. If you don't hit it much then pass right over it. Don't forget to break in the car- that will be a challenge.

The boot does get dirty. That's OK , that is what the wax is for. To make it easy to clean up after having fun.
Be safe. Motor On.

 

Minihune, the lapis blue seats and door panels are easy to spot. How the heck did you pick up on the anthracite trim?

Good eye.

Thanks for the info on the HK. I'll check out the forum and see whats up.

 

Punisher,

Your MCS looks great. I wish mine was here already - Oct/Nov is the estimate.

I saw another thread where you discussed break in. In addition, the Motoman website strongly advocates: No synthetic oil; and how important the first 20 miles are.

My understanding is that the MCS comes with synth oil, so what did you do? Drive with it until you got to your garage, find the nearest gas station, or dump it on the dealers lot? How bad would it be to take my new one home (about 30 miles) and then change the synth out?

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.