I love reading threads of new MINI owners,takes me back to those days as a new owner.But as I get close to 2 years of motoring in Poco,I wonder how the longer term owners feel.

I'll start.
I get to motor 100 miles 5 days a week,and more or less 50 miles,the other 2 days.
I have had some issues with this car,but none that have left me stranded.
Doing back roads is great fun
Using 2nd gear in traffic,not bothering to up shift to 3rd before the next red light is how this car should be driven
More comfy than the seat I sit in to post on NAM.
Hard to do,but I keep Poco clean at -30F
I feel safe:smile:
And NAM lets me tell you this.Besides the MINI,NAM is the greatest thing since toast

 

Scooter was THE most fun car we've ever owned - hands down...

When she met her terrible fate last week, she had 62K fantastic motoring miles and smiles. Funny how you can get so attached to a CAR - LOL!! But I can't say she was always clean...

Donna

 

I can't but feel bad for your lose
I work hard at keeping Poco clean,but I work harder at motoring him

I still love just looking at Poco,the sun making the greens change,and then just going for another motor

 

I've been driving my car around since august 2002....loved every minute of it...and looking forward to plenty more

 

June 2002 reporting in.

29,000 miles the first year
18,000 miles the second year
8,000 miles in the first 8 months of the third year.

I'm noticing a downward trend there in mileage , but I'm still driving it every day as my only car, so maybe my world is just getting smaller and smaller, and slowly closing in on me.

FWIW, photography has helped me to rekindle my desire to just get out and drive my MINI for not much of a good reason with no real errand or destination in mind. :smile:

 

I've only had my 05 MCS since Oct 27, 2004 and all I can say is:

http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ead.php?t=7355
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ead.php?t=7431 (pictures - http://www.metroplexmini.org/gallery...s.php?album=37)
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ead.php?t=8046

I'm over 6500 miles now, and still feel as pumped about the car as I did after posting about my first 2000 miles and I'm hoping that there'll be no end to the fun that I've had so far. Being part of the local MINI club has been great -- being actively involved even better!

The car itself has been great. No complaints, no issues that won't be taken care of when I take it in for my first service -- a couple of rattles, the logo in the MFSW is coming off at the edge, nothing major.

It's been fun modding the car and trying to decide what's next -- performance mods (I'm considering the Dinan S2) or beautification mods (wheels, I'm partial to the polished R99s).

 

Since I’ve only had my JCW/MCS for a year, I’m not really a long term owner.

On the day that I took delivery my new baby quit running 67 miles into the 68 mile trip home from the dealership. It was flatbedded back to the dealer and I was given an ‘03 MC as a loaner which I drove really hard for over 1,000 miles in the week that it took them to restore my MCS to good health. The MC with about 8,000 miles on the clock put a lot of smiles on my face, but I didn’t really know what smiling was until I got my car back and got through the break-in miles - - about 25 hours of driving the SoCal roads in three days.

Since then the car has been trouble free except for the battery dieing about a month ago. It was replace under warranty without any problems.

Until early January I drove 3-4 days a week in the local twisties, but since the SoCal rains started all of my favorite roads have been closed due to mud slides. Now I have to drive about 50 freeway miles to get to the nearest good twisty, so it’s only once or twice a week. For those in SoCal it’s the 28 miles of State 243 between Banning and Mountain Center. Good road surface, few side roads or driveways, and fairly light traffic on weekdays.

After a year of driving I’m still very pleased with the car - - it still puts a big smile on my face every time I get in the driver’s seat. It’s a keeper for sure!

 

I got 19,150 miles on an island 40 miles wide.
That's about 100 times around the island- gotta cheat because there is no road that goes "all the way around".

Inside and out I think my MINI looks pretty clean and new.
No -30 degree weather, just some rain and more rain.

After 2 years of driving and one year of autocross I think I'm starting to get a good feel for what my MINI can do. But I also think there is so much more potential. That's kind of a scary thought.

As an old timer I'm not as obsessive about cleaning my MINI "all the time".
I've cut back wiping down the mufflers to about once a week.
I'm slipping in my old age.

 

Your Mini is shinnier than most of ours on this island.Ryan

 

This month will mark my MINI's 2 year anniversary. It is a Mar o3 build. I picker her up on April 11th 2003. Up until last August, I was piling the miles on. A little over 36k at that point. Since then, I have only put on about 3,000 miles. I moved closer to work and we drive my wife's Jetta primarily since my son was born in October.

I still have a lot of love for this vehicle. It has only let me down once, as a result of a defective door handle. Otherwise, most problems could be referred to as annoyances. Sadly, I think my days are limited with my car, but there is a silver lining to this story. If and when MINI offers Pepper White in the convertible, we will be trading in for that. I still have a hard time seeing myself without one of these cars in my garage.

For anyone wondering, here is a list of my "problems"

• Sagging sun shade- replaced
• lost pixels on radio display- replaced head unit
• squealing brakes- replaced rear caliper
• Kazoo sound in motor- replace PCV hose
• frozen door handle causing inside lights to stay on- replaced door handle (same day!!)

 

Just curious - have you ever gotten it out of third gear?








Okay, just kiddin'




Actually, I'm an old phart, too. :smile:


And my commute is ~120 miles daily.

 

July 2002

I have been motoring more than most. 122,000+ miles at this time. I drive 140 miles round trip to work and home. Been thru 3 windshields 4 sets of tires many auto crosses and still want to drive more. This car is fun to drive. You tell this to others who do not own a MINI and they look at you like you nuts. Then I take them for a ride. Now I say you know what I mean by fun to drive.

Currently president of the 100,000 mile club and only member that I know of in the world. Please join me as soon.

 

20 months and about to hit 50K miles. So long warrantee!

Getting a new ignition tomorrow morning - sometimes the car doesn't shut off even when I remove the key.

On my 4th windshield - they claim this one is a stronger version. We'll see.

Tough to get motivated to keep it clean in the winter when the next morning it will just get mucked up again.

 

Motoring since September, 2002......that's 30 months + 26,000 miles.
The first year was a blast with everyone wanting to know what the heck kind of car it was......also a bit frustrating due to the dreaded.....stumble. I have learned all about the cleaning products I need to keep it looking great and performance upgrades have made it so much more fun to drive. Despite
some on and off interior squeaks that have been eliminated in newer models,
I'm still glad I have one of the originals.

 

I've had my 2002 LY/LY MC since April of 2003, so it's almost been two years. I have just over 35K on it, and I still love the car. I like it today probably more than the day I got it. I'm still excited to drive it every day, and have a lot of fun with it.

I can't wait to see what else the days (and other mods) will bring!

 

I would if they'd hurry up and deliver my car ('05 MCSC)!