The Faust is going to be headed to Texas after dropping my car off in GA the 21st. I was considering taking a "Mini Roadie" to go see it (and let them re-bond a bit) in Galveston, snap a couple pics of them together, whatnot, until I remembered that there is no way I will have my car by the 25th.

 

I know the feeling. Porgy unloaded MiniCrazy09's and my cars today at Los Angeles - those cars will be trucked 1,100 miles to Tacoma Washington after going thru the VDC. Meanwhile, Porgy is en route to Tacoma and will be there on September 22nd - about a week before we will get our MINIs.

What they need is a Ro-Ro ship that can do all the testing and prep work on the 3-week journey to the west coast!

 

RayRatt, Y2K Falcon,...

I have never looked at the interior of the Mini. I know you guys have looked at it closely when you went to the dealer to order your car. How is the build quality? How about the quality of the materials? What are your overall impressions?

 

My delivered time says: 18-09-2009 15:30:00. It must be a generic time for the whole load.

 

I found out my '10 S is on the Faust and scheduled for off-loading at Galveston, TX. I live in Hawaii. Does anyone know how my MINI will get from TX to HI? Will it get inspected at the VDC in TX or trucked to Port Hueneme for loading onto a ship to HI? Seems like a lot more chances for it to be damaged with all the overland shipping. How long will it take to go from TX to CA before shipping to HI?
Any info would be appreciated...thanks!

 

Bananastand- when are you getting your MINI? Do you have it already? PHOTOS!

 

Blouise

How come you didn't tell us Peppo was in your Gallery?

I was looking at the recent uploads yesterday and saw your car. Your car looks really nice.

 

Sorry.. I am computer inept at times... I don't know even how to find my gallery, I don't think!

This morning I am looking for an attractive and functional way to cover my seats for the winter to keep puppy dog prints and dirt off of my seats. Everything I see looks so trashy compared to my car. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate them! So far, Bailey hasn't been allowed in the car. Maybe this morning....

Out shopping for cleaning supplies today to give Peppo her first bath and clean up from the drive home. She is SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! I love it!

 

My little guy is officially at the dealer and will be ready Mon/Tues. Probably looking to pick him up on Friday.

And Blouise, also interested in good seat covers, but my motivation is messy toddlers not a dog.

 

This I can tell you so far from having my MINI for just a few days: Shutting the door is an absolute delight (not quite "interior" yet....). It has such weight to it! It shuts and then the window tucks itself quickly up for an airtight seal. The window must unroll itself just a tinch before shutting, so that the door shuts against the air pressure. It's so fun, I want to open and shut, open and shut.

I admit I had some concerns about the headliner when I test drove my MINI. One car's liner was sagging around the dome light. The next one I drove was perfect. Mine seems just fine, thankfully.

I just got back from driving to get car cleaning products and a brand new bucket for Peppo's first bath. The fuses are at the passenger's feet on the right. The door popped open with no seeming instigation... it closed again and we got to see all the fuses, but hopefully it won't keep coming open.

My dash and seats are wonderful! It's a bit awkward with my armrest to tilt my seat back, and I finally figured out that one lever on the lower left of my seat actually pumps the seat up and down and doesn't control a lumbar support. When I accidentally had it pumped all the way up, I couldn't see any of the stop lights that I was at. Pumped down, I feel as tiny as tiny can be. It's so much better down there!

I hear someone outside admiring my car- I have to run and gloat!

 

Blouise

Thank you for your input. I really appreciate it. I can just see you grinning from ear to ear as you enjoy Peppo.

Like you, my friend, Lynn, also ordered bonnet stripes for her car. I hear they can fade or develop blemishes over time. What do you plan or suggest to protect them?

 

The dealer offers a protection package for the entire exterior and interior that is supposed to protect everything for some number of years.... Frankly, I had given them the check and I wanted to just get into my car and drive! I am seriously thinking of purchasing the extended maintenance warranty for 100,000 miles that will continue to cover all brake replacements, wipers, oils, etc. for $1600 or so. They say that the brakes will need to be replaced before the first warranty is up- costing $1200 or so at today's prices. I don't need to buy the extension until the original is almost over, but still may do it. If you don't use the extended warranty before the warranty is up, they say they give you the money back. Show me the fine print... I have NEVER bought an extended warranty on anything.

So.... I'd want to look at the exterior/interior protection plan that I think covers that type of fading and chipping, etc. on the outside of the car. One can always replace the stripes I suppose when they fade out.

I just finished washing Peppo for the first time. She looks like brand new again! Waiting for her tires to dry before adding a shine. I have to laugh.... although we have a 2006 car, the one that I was driving was a 1993 Honda Accord that I had purchased brand new. It has been so long since I handwashed that car, I couldn't even remember what to do first when washing a car!!! read the directions and everything has turned out fine.

 

I was impressed with the quality, but I realize we all have different expectations.

My biggest concern is the layout of the instrument panel - while I realize the goal was to keep the retro look (with the speedometer in the center ), the row of toggle switches below it are going to be tough on old folks like me with bifocals . The switches are poorly marked, so until I get them memorized I suspect I will be turning lights on when I really want to roll a window up. But, like all new cars, we must get used to the dashboard layout. I am willing to give it a try!

I chose the cloth sport seats because we have no dog and our son is grown up. Otherwise, I would have gone with the vinyl or leather seats. We have leather in our other cars, but I like cloth... especially on hot days

My only complaint about the interior was with the sunroof - I was surprised that there was no way to pull a solid shade over it. After my test drive with the "mosquito net" pulled, I realized the sun glare that still came through was going to be too annoying, and so I decided to order a car without the sunroof (virtually all the dealer-ordered MINIs I saw came with sunroofs - probably because they have a big profit margin ). After reading on other threads, I realize I am not the only person who thinks there should be a solid shade - I see where someone is selling an aftermarket shade with suction cups that can be installed on the inside of the sunroof, between it and the mosquito screen (that add-on shade also helps keep the inside of the cars cooler on hot days). That is probably more important in places where the sun shines (not so important here in western Washington ).

All-in-all, I really think BMW did a good job re-inventing the MINI and I am looking forward to learning to appreciate Twiggy's idiosyncrasies! This coming week is going to be tough, but from the comments of the lucky Week 34 folks who already have their MINI, the wait will be well worth it.

 

I asked my MA if he had a way to check on Twiggy to see if (when) she is discharged from the VDC and loaded on a truck. His reply didn't tell me much more than we have been able to find out on our own...

"I checked the status of your MINI yesterday [Friday September 18th] and it had been processed/checked into the VDC, so that is a very good sign. We got a bulletin from MINI yesterday saying our tracking system was going to be down this weekend, I was hoping to check the status of your car this morning but it was already down. I am guessing it has or will be put on a truck today [Saturday September 19th] and heading this way!"

I hope he is right.

P.S. The MINI Owner's Lounge still shows Twiggy is "en route to Vehicle Distribution Center." I'll call the live-desk on Monday and see if they know if she is on a truck or not.

 

http://www.aestheticreations.net/vin...icstickers.htm


Check out these toggle switch labels. If you can't read them anyway, might as well have some fun with them!

 

(make sure you roll down to see the toggle switch labels)

 

Mine said 'en route to VDC' for a long time. It even said it when I knew it was en route to the dealer. In fact it still says 'en route to VDC' even though my dealer emailed me this morning and said they have it.

Don't put too much stock in the Owner's Lounge. You're at the mercy of your MA once you're off the ship.

 

Yeah - I might just do that. I already ordered a Euro-style "TWIGGY" license plate.

 

Blouise
Those toggle labels are hilarious.
$1,200 for a brake job--holy cow! I will discuss purchasing the extended warranty with Lynn at the end of her original warranty.

RayRatt
I am glad you are impressed with the quality. What are those silver things on the center console made of? Looking at pictures, they look like cheap plastic.
Originally, Lynn wanted the moonroof because her current car, a fully loaded 2007 Mazda 3 Grand Touring, has one. However, after noticing how the moonroof shade is made of mesh, she decided against ordering the moonroof. The sun is strong in Los Angeles. It will heat up the interior of her car and make her leather seats unbearable to touch. During one summer day, I rode around LA in her Mazda with the moonroof open. The sun was so hot it felt like someone lit my head on fire. We Asians have black hair making our heads a heat magnet.

 

I really don't remember. But, seeing as how almost everything is made of plastic these days, I suspect you are right.

 

Well, at least you have some hair on top to keep from getting sunburned!

 

I believe it is plastic but you could have, and still can, order chrome rings for many spots around the interior. The numerous accessories sites (outmotoring, minimania) sell them as well as dealers.

 

Yeah that price is nuts and I do believe it is a 'normal' price to expect. Overall brakes aren't that hard to do but is obviously challenging to the less DIY inclined.

If you can't do brakes yourself, or don't know somebody who will do it for you for a case of beer, go for whatever you can get. As far as brakes go the OEMs put out some crazy brake dust and make wheels pretty dirty quickly. Many enthusiasts change their brakes pretty early as the brake dust is a pain to keep up with from a cleaning perspective.

 

I officially have my car!!!!!!!! I put 100 miles on it today getting it home and then driving around trying to find any twisty roads in the city. I love the car and am quite excited how it turned out. I was reconsidering the black roof and stripes and thinking I should have gone white, but seeing it in person I know I made a great choice!!! I'll post pics tommorow once I find the cable for my camera!

 

Yeah, I told my friend, Lynn, she needs to realize what she is getting into when buying a Mini. I told her she is in essence buying a BMW. With a BMW comes BMW pricing for service.

She is going to go crazy trying to keep her wheels clean from the brake dust. She is passionate about her cars and likes to keep them clean at all times.

She wanted a Mini since 2005 but thought the car was too small. With the introduction of the Clubman by Mini, she can own the car of her dreams.