When it comes to cars, I tend to be pretty practical. I need to get to work, do whatever needs to be done, and I know very well, sooner or later all cars end up in the junkyard or Mexico I really have little patience for "quirks" and have already made one too many trips to dealers for warranty type work (a handful is one too many).

I had my aftermarket fogs professionally installed (also little time for DIY ... 20 years ago yes, now, no). Yesterday, my wife was washing the car (she is very good about that ... she calls me at work to say the fogs lights came on. Huh? How can the fogs come on without the car on?

Well, I know the relay is wired to the parking light circuit and the fuse before the ignition switch so the ignition switch doesn't have to be on but this is weird. The relay has to be telling the circuit the parking lights are "on". So I tell her to start the engine, turn on the parking lights, shut off the fogs with the switch. She does that and they go off. Phew ... no dead battery.

I come home, take the car to the local independent shop (BMW, Benz, german car place) who does work for me. Owner quickly comes out (he loves seeing the red MINI) ... asks if I want an oil change Uh no ... just had a free one, told him the story and he quickly says it sounds like the relay is fried. He pops the bonnets, shows me where the fuse is (good to know), pulls the relay ... wet and fried .... WET??? Its under the bonnet tucked up under the wiper area and there is water in the area. Huh? Car has survived countless torrential thunderstorms, she washes it maybe at a funny angle with the hose and water gets up there. So... I leave him the car overnight and since he also installed by rear sway bar, tell him to go ahead and regrease it.

So now its like 2 AM and I'm up (if your an middle-aged or older guy, you know why ). Sometimes I will walk to another upstairs bedroom window and look down and ... sigh I see no black and white checkerboard roof staring at me ... just concrete driveway ..... thats so weird.

All day today I realized I MISSED MY CAR. WTH??? I've owned many, many sportscars including two porsches and never once have I ever missed seeing a car that was in the shop overnight. Never. Anyway, I come home, pick up the wife, we pick up the car ... it looked so alone and so small all by itself outside the shop ... Boy, these cars are SMALL! The wife followed me home and I thought WTH is that strange looking, tiny thing following me??? (How often do you see your own car following you?)

All is well, I am out the cost of a new relay, some rerouting of wire, and some grease. But my itty-bitty MINI that I missed so much the last 24 hours is tucked safely away for the night so I can get up and look at it as the remnants of Ernesto come our way.

I can't believe I actually experienced this. I am actually attached to this car You don't know what you got until it ain't there

 

Ah, Chowsie gets sentimental.

 

Chowsie an Mini sitting in a tree....

remember the ryme?

I think someone is in love....

Matt

 

I know what you mean tho. I had mine in the shop to get a rim replaced, (Bent it at MITM). And As soon as I saw the tech pull my car out front, I was waiting at the window for my tech to drop off my paper work and key. I could see my key on his desk. BUT WHERE WAS HE?!? Yeah, I annoyed the heck out of him I think, and the cute sales gal. But I was so happy to have Bean back.

 

It is odd...I'd go to MINI meets and, as cars arrive, I'd catch a glimpse in the distance across the parking lot thinking, "man, that is a really small car...what is it?!?" As it comes into focus..."OMG, it's a MINI!!!!" I guess I don't notice it so much because I still see relatively few MINIs and I'm usually driving mine. I forget how small it is!

I went for about two months w/o my MINI once and I actually kinda forgot what MINI motoring felt like. Well, you know what they say about absence...getting it back was almost like taking delivery all over again!!!

 

I started reading the thread under the impression you had sold the MINI, wheew thats not true, I love that thing.

BTW, Poor chowsie.

 

You guys are making me sad. My MINI is at home today (he's afraid of the work parking lot) and my heart aches a little from reading this thread. I want to leave work immediately and go play with MINI.

Chows - glad to hear your car is home and safe

 

I had to go in for a 3 day training seminar in northern Virginia at the beginning of the week and I actually missed seeing it too.

Every time I have to go on a trip and I can't take the MINI a little part of me dies.

 

A few weeks ago I left my MINI up in PA so that my Dad could take it in for its initial inspection. He brought it back the next day, but I really had a hard time leaving it, even for just 24 hours...

 

Zane just turned 80 k. I've had him since July 30th 2002. He's had his problems(7 windscreens just for a starter) any other car I would have dumped long ago.Heck I've had over 40 cars in my life and the 4 honda civics logged over half a million miles by themselves.So two weeks ago I came out of the grocery store and some bonehead had left a full length scratch down the drivers side, right down to the metal. Not bad enough that I have JUST had the front end repainted and autobahned for close to $2100 ....3 weeks ago .No note (of course) and I call the insurance company and last monday put him back in the shop. Enterprise brings a brand new black cadillac CTS for me to drive... so not me, but a novelty just the same.Supposed to be a 2 day fix , but on day 2 my autobody guy says the appraiser totally blew the estimate and he'll have to replace the door. More time. I too miss my car.And I too look out the bathroom window just to sneak a peek at what a cool color DS is by moonlight. Hey chowsie, try some saw palmetto.........it really works.LOL. Jock

 

btw, why Mexico?

 

I'll bite ,why?

 

Thanks all for the comments. I never get sentimental and found it ... odd

Ken ... Huh? You don't know that is where Salma comes from?

Seriously, here is why ...

Some 20 years ago, most stolen cars came from the East Coast ... NYC, Boston, DC, Miami, etc. Those not stripped for parts were sold to clients looking for a particular car.

Now most stolen cars come from ... CA. and what I have read, end up in Mexico.

Most interestingly ... many Toyotas (in particular) and some Hondas ... particulary the SUVs will stay in a US owners hands for maybe 100K miles easily. Its hard to find a low mileage Toyota or Honda SUV. However, after that ... most US owners want a new car or just don't want to live with a car with over 100K miles so they trade them in or whatever. Very hard to resell a car with over 100K miles so many of them end up .... in Mexico or other Latin American countries where they really dont get broken in until over 200K miles (as they say ... Toyota engines are workhorses). So many of the SUVs you see in Latin American countries are US cars over 100K miles and they keep them running ... well until whenever

I read this all somewhere, can't remember where.

 

The National Insurance Crime Bureau estimates close to 200,000 stolen U.S. vehicles are shipped to foreign countries annually.

There was a furor a few years back over some government officials in Mexico who were performing their civic duties while driving stolen American large luxury SUVs, which were easily identifiable because they hadn't even bothered to remove the stolen U.S. license plates.

Your tax dollars at work to prevent this: http://www.policetalk.com/customs.html Apparently it is not necessary for the thieves to even change the plate for the drive into Mexico.

 

I lost mine for a couple of weeks when I swapped cars with an old college buddy. He and his wife live took the car and got a new set of tires for me. Even though I had his car, a new Diesel Bug (the only small car other than a MINI that I consider to be worth owning); I really really missed my car. I was almost as happy to get my MINI back as I was to get it in the first place.

Rawhyde

 

Ditto...
I was ready to pull out a flame thrower and torch Chows!

A bit off topic, but I sometimes just sit in the garage and look at my Mini--or worse yet, I'll sit in the car, parked in the garage (sometimes the driveway) and return phone calls while sitting in the most comfortable "room" in my house.

Can't imagine not having one.

 

I sold my MINI over a month ago....I miss it every day I walk into the garage........

 

Nah ... not going to happen. I dont have a garage and Ernesto is dumping rain so its tucked under its red cover for the night/day! (No flames about car covers ... they work for me although I know they are really to keep the sun off)

 

:( now you know how i feel going 5 MONTHS without mine!! i hated leaving mine anywhere, ever. I put 40k miles on it in a year! That's love, baby.

I'm jsut glad you got yours back. The day after i realized mine was gone was gut wrenching. Amazing what that car can do to you.

 

I've been driving my wife's SUV for the past day or so... working on the trade-in for her new car. I haven't felt right when I got home and I realized that I missed Jango! She drove in the driveway and I could hear the bass rumble from the MINI's exhaust and I smiled instinctively.

A few years ago I would have told you that I would never 'love' a car. I would have been wrong!

 

Every Tuesday - Thursday, I have carpool at the highschool (kids are only sophmores and can't get a parking space until at least they are juniors) and I am forced to drive my SUV, I get all excited again on Fridays when I can drive the mini again. My husband last night was messing with me (note the mini was bought for him to have a run around car, he even sacrificed a motorcycle, and now he has to tell me not to take his car ) and told me that I couldn't drive the mini , after I pouted around for about 15 min, he let me off the hook. I have never been into a car so much, I didn't even like mini's until I rode in one, then after I drove one, that was all she wrote. We are on our 2nd mini in 16 months, to say the least, we are miniacs