Congrats Red, Rocket and Minisail.

Minisail, great pictures. The answer to you wheel dust problem is in the back seat. Nice looking bunch of kids. Give them a towel and pay them a quarter a week to keep the wheels clean. My dad used to pay me every saturday to tighten the headliner screws in the family station wagon. He would give me a screwdriver, a nickel and put me to work. I was happy thinking I was making a ton of money and helping out Dad, and he was happy because I was out of his way. Took me quite a while to figure out screws didn't need tightening every week.

Andy

 

Chefrichie:

Mine arrived in SC on 4/7 and the MINI site has me with a delivery date of 4/19 which has also been confirmed by my dealer. Go to the MINI Tracking page and then select Review Order Detail and hopefully there will be a Expected Delivery Date (EDD). Good Luck.

_________________
<IMG SRC="https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...humb.jpg"

 

Somewhere on this massive thread someone posted a link to site that tracked a vessel progress once that vessel left port. Anyone remember that link and could post it again? Thanks in advance. :smile:

 

I don't even know where to start.

Is the MINI great? Yes. Is the MINI gorgeous? Yes. Is the MINI everything I expected it to be? No.

It's more!

My delivery time was set for 5 yesterday, so the fiance and I took a cab to the dealers. We arrived about thirty minutes early, this afforded us time to play around on the lot. I got some shots of a gold/black, and generally ran about and squealed a great deal. My companion was embarrassed, but after going through the whole ordering process with me, I must say he was very understanding.

Then Daniel arrived. They drove him up to the front of the dealership, and I stood there chewing on my finger and trying not to jump up and down. All of the sales guys came out to look at him, and were suitably impressed. (They told me that out of 200+ sales, they've only ever sold 3 Peppers.) An offer was made to move Daniel inside so that I could drive him out of the showroom, but I was too excited. I wanted my run-through right then so I could start motoring.

Those of you who have taken delivery know the drill from here; we sat inside the car going over all of the features, pushing all of the buttons. Having just come off of a low-end BMW, the cockpit controls had a very similiar feel. Everything is intuitive.

Then I kicked my MA out of the car and we took off! The fiance drove the distance between the dealers and our house, as it was interstate rush-hour traffic, and that probably would have made me cry. When we got into safer climes, I took control. Excepting a 45 minute break for dinner, I drove from 6 to almost 10. It just felt so good...I'm going out again in a few minutes.

So, the moral of our story is? Life is sweet when you're in the MINI driver's seat. (Or something like that. )

I'll post pictures of Daniel later, he needs his decals and fun bits. He also needs a bath, I got him dirty.

Love it!
Meghan

 

On the South Carolina process. It can be painfully slow. Daniel arrived there on March 31, and didn't get to the distribution center until sometime around April 8. Then he didn't get to the Texas dealer until April 13. I'm told most through SC are quicker than that, but there seems to be a slowdown over there right now.

Meghan

 

This is the site that helps you to track your MINI at sea.

http://members.iglou.com/worldwidewebb/where.htm

The first thing you need to do is find out your ship's call sign. (They can be located in this thread, and in others. Do a search for call sign.) If you can't find it on the boards, use the Coast Guard site listed on the page above, and plug in ship names to narrow down the possibilities.

Next, you want to use the Accuweather site to find out the latitude and longitude of your ship. This will just give you numbers, and requires both that you have the call sign, and that the ship has called in recently.

Once you get the lat/lon, you should use the Stellwagen mapping site (if the ship is out to sea) or the Penn State site (if the ship is near the coast of the US, or a docking port.)

It's really not as complicated as it sounds, and it helps kill some of the "not knowing" time. If you need help, PM me.

Meghan

 

gr8brit said:
>>
>>Mine arrived in SC on 4/7 and the MINI site has me with a delivery date of 4/19 which has also been confirmed by my dealer. Go to the MINI Tracking page and then select Review Order Detail and hopefully there will be a Expected Delivery Date (EDD). Good Luck.

Meghan said:

On the South Carolina process. It can be painfully slow. Daniel arrived there on March 31, and didn't get to the distribution center until sometime around April 8. Then he didn't get to the Texas dealer until April 13. I'm told most through SC are quicker than that, but there seems to be a slowdown over there right now.

Chef says:

I have received an EDD on 4/23, I guess that sounds about average timewise...That would put me on track to pick up on Sat 4/26 and spend the rest of the weekend motoring, but that's still 11 days away What part of TX are you in...I'm in Austin and hoping to find/join a CenTex MINI Club if I can find one...

Cheers y'all,

chef

 

Congrats Meghan. Looking forward to seing pics of Daniel.

I would also like to see your pic of the gold Mini.

Have fun motoring.

Andy

 

CONGRATS Rocketpop and TziholMeg! :smile:

Have a great day everyone! ..and Oh yea, my H-Sport springs have arrived

 

Greetings everyone. Well, my pictures are a bit delayed. I took delivery of the car put 200 miles on it, and parked it in the rain on Sunday night. Monday morning there was a puddle on my back leather seat!!! So i called the dealer and got my car into the shop this morning. There were a few other knick naks to fix, such as both of the seatbelt adjusters on the front two seats were broken, and one panel of the HK tweeter on the passanger door was loose. So I left it with them to fix. They said everything was under warranty and shouldn't be a problem to fix. I'm pissed though that such a leak could be overlooked! They were not sure if it was the sun roof or the ski rack that I have. I'll keep you all updated. I should have the car back tomorrow or Thursday. Sorry to keep you all waiting. But the car is a blast to drive. I was absolutly blown away by the HK sound system as well. It sounds as if there are subs in the back of the MINI! Congrats to all the other grads. Hopefully none of you beat me to the shop on day 2

Bryan

 

Ok, after having an opportunity to get a few more miles on the car, I'm ready to share. As others have already touched on - Yes, Yes, Yes...Styling, Handling, Performance. I still get a big grin when I get in it. Got home late last night and took the time to move my truck and my wifes van to clear a path for the MINI to the garage. And of course, before I left for work this morning, a quick wipe down of the white wheels. That may just become part of my routine, either before I head out, or maybe when I get back. I'm sure it'll be easier to keep them clean if I stay on top of it. And I love the suggestion of using my rug-rats to keep them clean, just not sure if I trust them to do it "right".

I had originally ordered the MCS, and later changed to an MC - wanted better mileage, lower cost, and less temptation for speeding tickets. I'm not disappointed at all. The MC performs just fine for this old father of four. I'm still gonna have to watch myself with this one, so as not to get pulled over.

I had to REALLY bite my tongue this morning. I'm a consultant, and I got to my client this morning, and several people there were as excited as I was. A short time later, the Director of IS that I report to walks in and says "I see you got the car. Why would you want to drive something so ugly?" Well, here is where I bit my tongue (and probably saved my job) because the first words that popped into my head were "I don't know, why would want to marry someone so ugly?" :lo: (He just recently got married). Fortunately, I know he's an *** and I just grinned, knowing that I got the better end of the deal.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll keep gathering thoughts and have a OWLA in 6 days!

MOTOR ON!!

ps - Looking for a new name and new license plate ideas. 'Grover' just doesn't seem to fit or roll off the tongue right. Also, as I still haven't sold the truck, I couldn't transfer plates, so I'm looking for something MINI and/or nautical related.

 

I have a question for those of you who have there mini's. When ever I open my driver's side door, the window drops about 1/4 of an inch. I assumed that when I shut the door again, the window went back up. But now I have noticed that after every 4 or 5 door openings I do, when I shut the door again the window has about a 1/8 inch gap from the top of the sill. In other words, I think my window continues to drop further and further down with every door opening. This has happened about 4 times to me now. All I have to do to fix it, is roll the window up again. But it concerns me that I might not notice that the window has the gap in it when I get home and park the car for the night. Also, I don't think that this is happening on the passenger side door.

Has anybody heard of this or had it happen to them?

 

>> A short time later, the Director of IS that I report to walks in and says "I see you got the car. Why would you want to drive something so ugly?" Well, here is where I bit my tongue (and probably saved my job) because the first words that popped into my head were "I don't know, why would want to marry someone so ugly?" :lo: (He just recently got married). Fortunately, I know he's an *** and I just grinned, knowing that I got the better end of the deal.
>>

Minisail I'm dying!!!!!


He sounds like one of those really insecure guys that has to put down your car in order to feel better about himself. Only in this case, he knows there's nothing to put down about your car, so he insult's the first thing he can think of, which of course would be the car's appearance.

 

Congrats all new MINI acquirers! I just picked DeMini up from the sign shop. I LOVE the bonnet stripes!! I feel like such a bad-a**! They have a couple of bubbles but he said it's from liquid he used to smooth them out over the curves and if the bubbles dont go away he'll fix it. Sounded fair to me. I will take some pics tonight. Although I don't have any scenic backdrops around here, so you'll have to bear with me.

Kudos to DaveinDenver for his help!

:smile:

 

>>I have a question for those of you who have there mini's. When ever I open my driver's side door, the window drops about 1/4 of an inch. I assumed that when I shut the door again, the window went back up. But now I have noticed that after every 4 or 5 door openings I do, when I shut the door again the window has about a 1/8 inch gap from the top of the sill. In other words, I think my window continues to drop further and further down with every door opening. This has happened about 4 times to me now. All I have to do to fix it, is roll the window up again. But it concerns me that I might not notice that the window has the gap in it when I get home and park the car for the night. Also, I don't think that this is happening on the passenger side door.
>>
>>Has anybody heard of this or had it happen to them?



As I recall you can reset the windows by closinfg them then holding up on the close switch for ten seconds. Release and all should be fine. If not, a trip to the dealer is probably in order. Good luck Katie.
On a side note MINIJAMIE is now getting 2nd gear scratch

For a gal who couldn't drive a stick last August she is having a blast now (wants to go to a driving school

 

On the window-dropping...

If you'll notice, your MINI actually has frameless windows. These windows "close" creating a vacuum seal. You get a slight window droppage when you unlock/open the doors because the "seal" that keeps your frameless windows in place must be broken, elsewise you'd get flying glass and/or a non-functioning door. At least, that's the company line...

If you're getting funny droppage though, yes I would definitely take the car in to be checked out. They may tell you the same thing I did, but there may also be a problem. Think of it this way, you're under warranty, right? So if something is messed up, you don't have to pay to have it fixed if you take it in. If something isn't messed up, you still don't have to pay to have it fixed if you take it in.

Meghan

 

well.. I still haven't gotten any phone calls or emails telling me that I can't get my car tomorrow because something's been forgotten. I might actually get it!

I'm a bit disappointed that my MA was reluctant to have any pre-programmed options changed (right now the DRLs are active, as are the auto-locks... neither of which I want). He insisted that I should just get them changed at my local dealership. He also didn't really want to look into the aux-in adaptor for the car. :/

But... I also signed up for a track day in June. Wooohoo! Great experience to learn how to handle the car. Great people and a great track - can't wait!

 

It is so cool that everyone is getting their cars after the long wait. I am off to pick up my car in an hour........I am too excited. I could barely sleep last night and took today off work. It is my birthday so I am in for a great day. I'll fill you in with pictures.

Cheers,

Colin

 

>>
>>Chef, remember that Katie's MINI was I think 2 weeks late on its' EDD! Mine was also a few days late, but Clover's Wicked Wanda was major early, she's a lucky one anyway
>>
OMG, now you're scaring me...two weeks late would put me in the May club and they just don't ROCK like y'all do. I could deal with a few days past EDD, but not 2 weeks!!!!!
Everybody think positive thoughts, breathe deep and chant with the chef:

"MINI soon, MINI soon, MINI soon, MINI soon, MINI soon,..."



Thanks for your help!

chef

 

Took my friend to pick up his car at the local Goodyear dealer, and I asked the owner (who I know for 20 years) if there are any problems fixing runflats. None whatsover was his reply.

Then I could not pull this Suburban driving man away from the MINI. He could not get over it. He then called all the mechanics out to look, and they swarmed over the car for quite awhile. They were very impressed.

The intercooler and supercharger was quite a hit.

Then I had to tell him, that except for a flat, he would not be maintaining the MINI!

Regards,
Red

 

Elegant - "refined and tasteful in appearance or behavior or style"

Picked up my impressive, yellow MCS just yesterday. The word 'elegant' jumps to mind to express my brief experience - she is refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, and style - beyond my original expectations. The MINI Cooper S is just an elegant machine and driving experience. And I have a pretty high standard since my other car is a 2000 S-class Mercedes. And, yes, I think the MINI is a more elegant product - especially considering the price difference.

A few brief thoughts:
* the new San Antonio dealer along with MINIUSA did a fine job in the buying experience which made the waiting time almost fun. The car was well prepped and ready to go when I arrived - and no pressure to buy extra stuff or tricky financing.
* the fit and finish is really good especially for a $23M car. The Petina dash does look a pretty cheap, however. Anthracite would have been a better choice.
* everything worked - an experience I've had only with Lexus so far
* she was anxious to hit the road and wanted to run fast. I was surprised at how easy it was to exceed the speed limit. Good, not great, acceleration. Great, not good, cornering. Fine high-speed manners. Surprisingly good ride.
* I was most pleasantly surprised at the high speed stability and performance – this is a very good cruising vehicle. I expected the go-cart cornering stuff, but not the highway stability in the Texas winds.
* the 17” runflats are just fine – I don’t find the rough ride that so many whine about in these threads.
* the space cloth seats are as good as advertised. They look good too – the photos don’t do them justice.
* the sunroof is very cool – it is noisy, but just roll the windows down and it’s as good as a convertible.

The kids think the car is cool. The insurance agent thought a MINI Cooper was a minivan. This car was the wife’s idea – another “I told you so” – she was right again. The neighbors say “what is that?”. My British friends are envious – one who drives a Carrera said he was trading for a Cooper S. I think she is elegant.

 

CONGRATS James and Colinarm! :smile:

Yo Katie, I got a call from MINIUSA today for a phone survey, same as what you had a few days ago. Since my purchase experience was flawless, it was all 5's for them, well except I gave my M.A. a 4 for "knowledge of the car". Hey, he said I knew more about it than he did, so that would make me a 5, tee hee!

I found out today that I can take Friday off work, since it's a quasi-hoilday. YESSSS! I'll be in the garage swapping springs

Also, I have my first MINI meet tomorrow, the Michigan MINI Motor club has monthly meets, and this will be Mr. Motor's first appearance. He's excited, but asked that I clean his wheels before showing up.

Cheers,
Ryan
[sprays some mysterious voo-doo stuff for Chef's MINI to get here quicker!]

 

Wow James, sounds like you picked a winner, can't wait to get our cars together for a mini MINI meet...thanks to the Ryephile voodoo goo I will undoubtedly slip right through the VDC and on to San Antonio, I can't wait to drive the last leg of shadowfax' journey home through the beautiful hill country and home to Austin (drive back on the interstate, shudder, I think not), its back roads and twisties for me!

Par4, where are you dude!
Have you heard anything from your dealer about delivery time, what's your EDD?

The Jingu crew is looking to be the last gasp of April deliveries and as great as its been to hear about everybody's cars, I WANT MINE!!!!

Next time I order a MINI I think I'll time it to arrive at the beginning of the month so I, like wags, can be the envy of my CWF club.

Later,

chef

_________________



CR/B MCS - HK, premium & sport...Gandalf on dash...

born 3/20...Jingu Maru has landed! @ VDC 4/14, EDD 4/23...come on home, baby!

 

Sold my VW today. It was a faithful servant.

Now what to do with the money I am putting towards Pyro. I need to do some work on the mustang, but I will have about $800 for the Mini. I already have an intake and exhaust.

What should I get next?

Brake pads?

Madness sway bar?

Springs? Looking forward to Ryans report on his.

Pyro saying goodbye to unamed VW.

 

Time to head to bed, but not without mentioning that with one full day of the car Ok, 1 minutes to pop the covers and access the plugs, 8 minutes exploring the paper clip route, 17 minutes taking the plugs apart and looking at hooking in a jumper wire between them, 3 minutes to say screw it and crimp on inline splices, and 1 minute to put it back together. I don't think so!

G'nite all! Sweet MINI dreams.