First off the bad (so I end on a good note)...

*yes, I do have the horrible sunroof rattle
*first gear take offs bogg badly unless you ride clutch (bad for break in)
*got a few other creaks and pops here and there
*looked under the hood last night to find a small rock sitting on the intercooler
*brakes are not as good as I thought and break dust is abundant
*someone mistook the car for a 2003 pt cruiser (*******)

ahhh, not too bad huh?
now the good

*this car is a BLAST TO DRIVE
*handling is out of this world (and i use to drive an integra type R)
*the car has a tight, rough (which I like), stuck to the ground ride
*tires seem to stick very well and are great in heavy rain
*leather is soft and comfortable
*exhaust note is perfect for me
*I can't go anywhere in this city (Baton Rouge, which is filled with SUVs and Pickups) without someone stopping to ask me about the car

On a side note, I drove the car last night in the middle of the tropical storm (heavy, heavy ran and wind) and the car did great. I opened the hood when I got home to find the rock (mentioned earlier) and the intercooler was rain soaked along with most of the front of the motor (hood scoop does not have a water trap for heavy rain).

If you haven't already ordered one... do it
enjoy...

IU

 

I too have had my MCS for about a week (week and a half, actually), and I agree with most of what Invaliduser says. The only thing that I'd subtract from his "bad" column is about the brakes. I think the brakes are great. Sure, dust is bad, but I've had this problem with all of the cars I've owned in the past 5 years. I think that this is a factor of modern pad composition. BUT, the brakes are a lot better than the Volvo V70 and the Nissan SE-R I recently owned, so they're good by me.

Oh, and no one has mistaken my car (yet) for a PT Cruiser. Although I did receive a weird comment once along the lines of "Oh, you're the first GUY I've seen driving one of these things." Well, when you only see one MINI every couple of days (and that's being generous, I've only seen ONE other one in the week-and-a-half I've owned mine), it wouldn't be possible to create any meaningful generalizations about the gender of the drivers.

 

I, for one, think it is just not right to subject a MCS to a tropical storm!!!

 

No, it's perfect!

What a great Rescue Vehicle!

In Montreal (or maybe Quebec City) the local constabulary has spent $60,000 Cdn. configuring an MCS as a cop car!!

 

>>No, it's perfect!
>>
>>What a great Rescue Vehicle!
>>
>>In Montreal (or maybe Quebec City) the local constabulary has spent $60,000 Cdn. configuring an MCS as a cop car!!



>>That would make the first happy cop in canada!!!! I wouldn't mind the job of driving a round with that and get paid at the same time?!
miniac91

 

Have had my MINI for 2 weeks. 4 days after I ran it all around it stalled and wouldn't start again. Went to the the Service Dept. and found the Accelerator Motor needed to be replaced. They replaced it and now it needs another part yet still runs better than any car I have ever driven.

I also get the dust from the brakes but none of the other problems.

The car is amazing.

 

1 month of ownership, and 1 major problem with fuel pump disengagement. Left me stranded for 4 hours!!! waiting for roadside assistance.

Other than that- this car is heavenly.

I will forgive the minor headaches, and inconveniences for this dynamite ride.

I've developed a guilty pleasure. During rain, I love driving her hard up hills- watching the DSC warning light blink while driving almost straight as a razor, rowing the gears just before 4500 rpm. Faster, faster, faster. Its orgasmic.

 

.
>>
>>I've developed a guilty pleasure. During rain, I love driving her hard up hills- watching the DSC warning light blink while driving almost straight as a razor, rowing the gears just before 4500 rpm. Faster, faster, faster. Its orgasmic.
>>

We love to push it tell the light flashes also what fun. Best to have a co-pilot during these indulgences!!!

 

>>
>>I also get the dust from the brakes but none of the other problems.
>>
>>The car is amazing.
>>


BRAKE PADS! As I mentioned before, the dust can be cut back by 50-80% by replacing your pads with "MINTEX" brake pads. I've used them now for over 10 years on Porsche's, BMW's, and Golf's. PLUS, they dramatically improved the brake "feel" (at least, on the Golf).

And, they're relatively inexpensive... last I checked, about $30 per axle (ie, about $60-70 for the entire car).

That's the first thing I intend to do to my MCS!

 

I just got back from the dealer. I picked mine (Drk silver/black S) up today. How long did it take to get the roof rattle? Mine is as tight as a drum but so is a yugo after 25 miles. I have been spoiled by the interior quality of a mercedes but the quirky fun of the MINI is good. My only disappiontment so far is that the dealer did not have the cd's for the nav system. I should have them in about a week. meantime, I have a lot to play with and learn. I love the steering! The car is too new to jump on the brakes and throttle yet, but that will be soon enough.

I think I wiil be very happy with the MINI


S.D.

 

Sunroof rattle started on my second day with the car. It goes away when I tilt the roof up. (mine is also DS/B) I do like the roof, just not the rattle.

Today, on the way home from work, I noticed my driver side window drags (makes a loud squeel too) when its on its way up. I'm hoping its just cause of the rain and humid weather the tropical storm brought with it.

I'm looking foward to giving my MCS her first bath tomorrow after work. Gotta get her shine on for the weekend motoring to the football stadium. I can't wait to pull her up next to an SUV and start tailgaiting before the game. Go tigers :smile:

 

>>My only disappiontment so far is that the dealer did not have the cd's for the nav system. I should have them in about a week. meantime, I have a lot to play with and learn.
>>
>>S.D.


David-
Do you have enough info on your Nav system to know how many "states" they can get on a CD? I understand that the new DVD's can fit the entire US, but since I'll spend most of my time in the West coast states (Ca, Oregon, Wash...), is this likely to be 1 (or 2 or 3?) CDROM's? (My car's "build" will be between Dec '02 & Mar '03... so I don't know which Nav system I'll get; probably CDROM).

Enjoy your MINI!

 

Hi rygold,

Me being from the Province of Quebec, I was quite intrigued by your post about the MCS cop car. Do you have pics or a link to an article about this?

Thanks and happy motoring to you guys (since my MINI is still only my dream car and is not ordered yet)

FreddyBoy

 

>>I just got back from the dealer. I picked mine (Drk silver/black S) up today. How long did it take to get the roof rattle? Mine is as tight as a drum but so is a yugo after 25 miles. [clip]

My sunroof -- I have an EB/W S -- started rattling after the first couple hundred miles, which in my case was the second day or so (I had a lot of driving to do for work, and thus have already hit 1800 miles after only 10 days).

As has been covered elsewhere on this forum -- this is a super-common problem that MINI really ought to address/acknowledge -- the rattle generally starts between 2500 and 3000 rpm and seems loudest in those lower RPMs (although, it may be louder at higher rpms, but you just can't hear it as well then). It goes away if you open the sunroof a bit. Sometimes, I can get temporary relief by opening and closing the roof a couple of times. But it always comes back fairly quickly.

ALSO, I've started to notice the first gear bog thing. There's another thread about this. I'm currently experimenting to see if it's better or un-affected by my turning OFF the DSC. But this is definitely a software thing, and ought to be something that the dealer can address...assuming they're told to by MINI/BMW (otherwise, I'm afraid it'll be a "huh, WE didn't notice that..." kind of thing as is so typical).

Still, I'm basically quite happy with the car...just getting a little irritated that I'm (and all of us) performing too much of MINI's quality control after-the-fact at my/our expense. :???:

 

>>SNIP
>>and the intercooler was rain soaked along with most of the front of the motor (hood scoop does not have a water trap for heavy rain).
>>

This is fine. The air that goes through the scoop is not the air that goes into the engine. I'n fact as it is wet you will get moist body evaporation which will cool the intercooler down more, giving you better performance! The air that goes into the engine is sucked in from the rear of the engine compartment through that box that the '+ battery' trminal is attached to.

Pebble.
:smile:

 

>>SNIP
that box that the '+ battery' trminal is attached to.
>>

Look at the how to's cold air intake upgrade.

Pebble.

:smile: