Good news! Got my Archos G'mini working with the USB connection. Can navigate easily, shows the artist, album and tracks on the hifi display and resumes where I left off when I leave the car. Sounds great too!

Very happy!

There really wasn't anything special to do it just needed time to load before I could navigate.

 

Steaming, you think (or know) that it wasn't filled with 91 when you picked it up? Is that standard? Seems wierd for a car company to tell you to use premium but then to not fill it up with it when they give you the car!

Tony

 

Minibella my zen dosent seem to work, but when i plug it into the computer it acts like a portable HD or Flash drive, i went into the properties and it said the disk is formatted as a "Generic Hierarchical" what ever that is. so i guess im gona to have to buy a 8 or 16 gig flash or just use the aux cable.

 

I finally got some photos.

 

They fill it up at the factory in Oxford, that's 95 octane, but using a different measurement method. (So I've no idea how it compares.)

 

The cars that arrive at Mini of Mountain View are on fumes, and the dealer takes them across the street to the Chevron to fill them, or so says Jeff, one of the seasoned M.A.'s there. I would think the car-carriers wouldn't want the cars full from a weight and safety standpoint.

I assumed they used 91 octane and didn't ask Jeff if it indeed was.. There's one way for us to find out though, and that's if enough of us generate the question on Mini's website so that it is added to their F.A.Q.

We could word it something like "Is it Corporate policy to require Mini dealers to provide 91 octane or higher rated fuel in autos for delivery to customers?".

If enough of us ask, Mini will have to address it.

Here's my guess though, It's probably left to the dealer to decide, and I would hope that the gas station's knowledge of the dealers practice would be enough to keep them on the high road. With the present trends in corporate practices regarding cost cutting however, it's anyone's guess.

I say we all ask Mini!

Bill in P.G.

 

Hey Bill-
No roof decal yet!
The dealer didn't have it installed at our (delayed) pick up date. The decals arrive this morning so I drop the car off. They call me 5 hours later saying that the clubman roofs are "from hell" when it comes to the decal installation. The two guys woring on it had to waste the decal as they ran into a problem midway through. They were going to order another decal and set an appointment for me when it arrives.
Oh, and the CLUBMAN floor mats were not in stock. Had to order those as well.
Oh, Oh, then the MA tells me that the spare wheel is like $100 and the tire is an additional $100. Hey! shouldn't I get ~something~ for having to make four trips to the dealer to get the complete car that I ordered?

 

hey remember when i said technology will be the end of us? well go back a few post and you might see it, but maybe i was wrong, for now...i wasnt content with just taking this ticket for something i really didnt deserve so this is what i did: i did some research this morning after getting the idea to use google earth and street view to go back over the bridge and take a second look at what happened and this is what i found: on the bridge before the tolls the speed limit is 45, as you approch the tolls its 15, after you go through the tolls there are no signs posted, thus you may resume back up to the 45-ish range right? because the next sign (ahem - the only sign, the cop said there were 3 of them) states "reduce speed 30 mph" so how do you reduce from 15 to 30? cant because you can get back up to the 45ish range, and coupled with the 5mph buffer to the limit of 45 allowing me to do 50. as they set up speed trap they got me about a couple hundred feet after the sign basicly really giving me not alot of time to slow down. and really who slows down to 30 right at the sign, so i feel as if they stopped me for a paltry 7mph infraction. they want to call it a 27mph infraction i see other wise. So f*** you police im going to fight this and win. see i wasnt speeding, and i was totally singled out because of my car not the speed. that makes me feel alot better.

 

That sounds like what happened to me a couple times in the same town! I think the cops abuse the system when they set speed traps immediately before a speed limit change. Sorry that happened to you Peter. Good luck with the judge!

Regarding your Zen... Do you know if it uses the MTP protocol? If so you will want to check your settings and switch it to Hard Drive rather then Windows or MTP.

 

btwyx... nice photos of the new MINI there. hope you're having a blast.

and in regards to the gas, i've always heard that the gas they put in sold car will always be the lowest octane (cheapest) possibly UNLESS you request it. but i didn't even think i was getting a full tank of gas for free since it was established i wouldn't even get free floormats.

in any case, the chevron 91 i put in made a difference (in my opinion).

i can't wait to try out the USB port. i just need to buy a angle cable first to make the setup neater. i'm glad its working for some of you so far...

 

Steve,

I guess the dealer ordering more than one set of decals to begin with would be pretty advanced thinking.. I feel your pain.

SFOMini,

Sorry, I hadn't gotten back to you, somehow I missed your thread, It was clear as a bell in the S.C. mountains, the fire was pretty far south of that area, and under control by Wednesday. Katy was off, so Jeff handled me. I didn't get any swag at all, not even a hat. I bought the rubber mats, and though expensive, well worth it since I get in and out allot every day. I like that they fully cover the floor area.

I still have the tire indicator and triangle. I haven't done the reset yet, been busy selling my truck. I am anxious to fill up with Cheveron 91, as I too am suspect of the fuel we got.. I would imagine the triangle is pointing to the tire indication, and I figure it will go away with the reset. Unfortunately I've been too bloody busy to even go enjoy my new ride, much less address these issues. I'm off next week, so it will be Q-time with my baby!

Bill in P.G.

 

quick question, is it bad to mix simmilar grades of fuel? im going to assume that Mini put 91 in, but at this point i've put 93 in the tank twice, once the second day and just $10 worth, and yesterday $17 worth, so about half a tank. my mantra is to never let it get less than half a tank so i'll either fill it at half to full or just toss in like the last two times $10-$15.

 

oh forgot to mention, bit of a short story tonight, went down to walmart with my mom and little brother tonight and we ended up picking up like $100 worth of stuff (and that can be a lot of stuff at walmat we know) belive it or not it all fit in the "trunk" with both the back seats up and still with a good amount to spare. i have to admit tho, i did put some stuff in the tool box i picked up for my cleaning kit for the Mini. but i was still suprised and very pleased with this being one of the first times i've had to actually put the car to use oh and i had my big tripod and my small detail kit(red box on left side under gatorade) in the trunk too. pics below, just great to know the car is still very useable for its size. but i really got it as a two person car because then you could fit say enough for a cross country trip in the back for two man i love this car and yes i know it was $100 worth of junk food and crap, hahaha

 

it just not enough of a difference to justify the price.
but its a completely different story if it was 91 & 100...

you're cool, peter. in fact, your habit of not letting the tank get more than half empty prevents your fuel pump from breaking.

just don't fill up if you see a tanker replenishing the reserves at a station. wait about 20-30 mins after its gone. or find a different place.

 

nice.

but be careful with the mitt. some friends of mine use them and it fell on the ground at some point and they didn't know, so when they were washing the car with it, it started scratching the surface of the car. my dad has a mitt, but when he's done with it after cleaning it, it goes straight into a ziploc freezer bag.

same thing with microfibers too.

in case you didn't know. wouldn't want you to scratch up your pretty MINI.

 

thanks for the advice S79, imma go grab some ziplock bags now. and good to know about the fuel, but why no go about the tanker filling up the station though?

 

an acquaintance of mine works as a dispatcher for the chevron trucks in norcal. she says that its recommended that you let the trucks do their business and wait a bit to let the old & new gas mix. that way you don't get left with the crap sitting around on the bottom.

whether there is any validity to this statement or not, she has no reason to joke around with me when it comes to this stuff. there's always another gas station seconds away if i choose not to use a particular one at the moment.

 

ahhh makes sense, i thought it had something to so with mixing of the old and new, thanks again.

 

no prob.

 

i know this is a stupid question...

but when you're idle, the engine ticking sound is normal. correct?

 

yes that is normal. dont worry about it

 

thanks for the assurance. last nite was the first time i drove with the windows down and roof open. so i was more aware of the sounds of the engine.

but when the window and roof are closed, its soooo quiet inside. unless i'm going fast...then i'll hear the low growl of the turbo engine.

 

I just got home from picking up my new Clubman! It is too cool! I was really surprised at the increase in power and improved handling compared to my '04. Just an amazing car. I LOVE the bluetooth and iPod interface!!!!

Northwest MINI rocks! They didn't drill holes in my front bumper for the plate.

Here are some shots. The yellow MINI is my '04. We're now a 2 MINI family.

 

Not as much driving this weekend as I had hoped, but I'm still up to approx 750 miles. Two more weekends and I will be past break-in, I think.

I did drive up to skyline (santa cruz mtns) on Saturday am but it was foggy up there and the roads were slick so that caused me to go a little slower than I otherwise would have, still it was a nice ride.

Last night a good friend asked me if the new car had noticeably more power than my old car (97 Accord). Oh yeah, I said (understatement of the year). She said "but it's only four cylinders". Until you drive it, you just can't understand.

 

congrats on the pick up of the new clubman, altruego! looks like a winner.
and i love the shot of the family. very nice indeed...




EAST coasters Group A // INTEGRITY // DEPARTED 04/19/08 // ARRIVED 04/27/08:
-cutters68
-filet0fish
-jkling17
-majorbill11
-MBX5
-peter314
-rockhouse
-ShaggyMike
-subdude

EAST coasters Group B // ELEKTRA // DEPARTED 04/23/08 // ARRIVED 05/02/08:
-fenwayscout (Honorary 16'er)
-sottili

EAST coasters Group C // WESTERN HIGHWAY // DEPARTED 04/21/08 // ARRIVED 05/01/08:
-JLL319

MIDWESTERN & SOUTH CENTRAL coasters // INDEPENDENCE II // DEPARTED 04/26/08 // ARRIVED 05/11/08:
-badzboy11
-chaoticx6
-danhen
-Doogs
-kevnallen
-lenhart05
-MiniBella

WEST coasters Group A // ABOARD TURANDOT // DEPARTED 04/28/08 // ARRIVED 05/19/08:
-Altruego
-bd_stance
-Btwyx
-dlaw255
-eron
-hcubed (Honorary 16'er)
-Magpie
-paradigm_crash
-Satsloader
-SeattleMini
-sfomini
-steaming79
-SteveJ
-wendybryn

WEST coasters Group B // ABOARD FALSTAFF // DEPARTED 05/09/08 // ARRIVED 05/28/08:
-booyun