Just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself: I'm a longtime Honda Civic owner(four CRXs, an '88DX and '90Si hatch, a '00 CX hatch and an '02 Si hatch) who has recently decided that ever-increasing insurance costs are outweighing in the performance/enjoyment vs. cost argument, and went to my local MINI dealer to take one for a spin. Within four days of my test drive I'v already sold my 2002 Civic Si, and I have the 2000 Civic CX sold, but not delivered yet. Once this is complete I will be placing an order for my own '05 MCS!! My main reason for the MCS over anything else is that I want to smile more when I go for a drive of any distance, and not question my decision for buying the car when it comes time to make my payment every month. I'm also a 24y/o male who enjoys autocrossing and wanted something more competetive than my Civic Si. I hope to meet some interesting new people in the MINI community and look forward to being a MINI owner.


....By the way, I'm ordering an '05 MCS in Liquid Yellow with a Black top/miirrors, 16" web wheels, cold weather package, front and rear fogs, LSD, cloth interior, body-color dash, auto A/C, and possibly the on-board computer. I can't wait!!

 

Welcome! I am also a convert from the Honda/Toyota world. That yellow dash sounds pretty intense! Good luck with your order! It's great to see a new member who already knows what color they want. Chris

 

Welcome to NAM! Decided to get out of the street racer crowd, eh?

Enjoy your stay, the spec looks nice!

 

Congrats on your decision.. you will not be disappointed. I had an 03 Si and traded it for my 04 Cooper S and never looked back. The MINI is just so dialed in from the box.

Were you on EPHatch.com? I still am and attend events in this area with the group. I was just at the SAKI run in MD if you were on and saw that post.

Craig

 

Well, I'm replying to my own post under a different username(I didn't like the first one I came up with), but it's to say.....my MINI is ordered!! I decided not to do the liquid yellow, and instead went with the dark silver with a black roof and mirrors, and the anthracite dash and door trim. I also ordered the following: On board comp., cold weather pkg., auto A/C, black/grey space cloth, LSD,and front and rear fogs. Current status is 'scheduled for production'. I was told to expect May delivery. How do I determine the ship that it is on when it gets to that point? Anyway, I can't wait!!

 

Your accounts have been merged. If anyone else has this issue, please PM me rather than re-registering. It saves us a little bit of hassle.

Welcome to NAM :smile:

 

I am most interested in hearing a comparison between your Civic Si Hatch and the MCS. The Civic Hatch is my second choice car. Can't go out and test drive at the moment unfortunately.

 

Thanks for the merge; I didn't know if that was a possibility-I do now! A comparo on the Civic Si vs. Cooper S. Lets see, I think it will depend on what your main intentions are. For me, I owned two cars: an '02 Civic Si hatch and a '00 Civic CX hatch. I wanted to be able to do some fairly competetive autocrossing while still enjoying the 30-mile one-way commute to work and, most importantly, still have some cash at the end of the month to help support a house I just bought and an upcoming marriage to my wonderful fiance. Including these cars, I've had 8 Hondas, including some of the funnest of all, the CRX(had 4), so I definetaly have an 'H-badge' bias. For one, the CX modded would have been in either FSP or SM for autocrossing, both of which would have been outgunned. Same thing for the Si; I would have ran it in either STS or GS(the class the Cooper S is in), and would have been outgunned. The Si is a very well built car with great potential when modded, but basically I wanted something I could hop in, turn the key and go. I got tired of having to spend lots of money to build a car that was still going to dissapoint, and even more so, not having the money in the first place after I finish paying for 2 payments and full-coverage on 2 cars(the Cooper S was cheaper to insure, for me anyway, than my Si!). After test driving the Cooper S, and the fact that the LSD is legal for G Stock, the choice was obvious: buy the car, some sticky tires and a helmet, and go racing. If you like to or plan on/have the money to modifiy the Si to great extent(forced induction, full suspension redux, engine management, better tires, etc.), then by all means go ahead because they are cool that way; they just dissapoint stock. On a brighter note, some Honda dealers can't give Si's away, so you could probably strike a pretty good deal.














Happy hunting...........sorry, I meant happy motoring

 

I guess I could have been a bit more specific on the Stock Si vs. Stock Cooper S comparo. Here goes: Steering: The Si is an entirely electric power rack and pinion; no hydraulics involved at all. This means smooth steering with a numb feeling at the limits of cornering, not being helped by the M+S Michelins that are stock-spec. Shifter: Typical Honda; smooth, Tight, and accurate. Motor/tranny: pulls linearly to it's nearly 7k redline with good bottom-end and close gearing that feels like it needs 6th on the highway. Stock open-differential spins rock-hard stock tires when even minute throttle is applied in tight-radius corners. If you like the Honda 'VTEC growl' you won't like this motor because it's not there; It has a simpler version on board. Fit and finish is of course typical Honda and very good. Cooper S: Steering: has a hydro-electric steering using an electric motor rather than belts on the motor to power the hydraulic pump. The steering has great feel and communication with what the tires are doing. This also has to do with the fact that the steering rack is not isolated from the body with bushings; it's metal-to-metal contact with the subframe. The wheel also has more of a weighty-feel to it, much like a 3-series BMW. The powerband is linear, and the tranny is very accurate and solid, maybe better than the Si. The LSD is the cure-all for wheelspin, so no complaints there. Tires? The stock tires are never good enough. Sorry to write so much, but there's the straight-skinny direct from the mind of an extremely picky auto enthusiast

 

Welcome aboard.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you order from?
Your wait time for a MCS is pretty short compared to the few dealerships
that I've talked to, 10-12 month wait time.
Thanks

 

Mine was ordered through MINI of St. Louis MO, also known as Autohaus of Clayton. The also sell BMW(go figure). I placed the order on March 28, and he seemed confident that I should expect mid-to end of May delivery, and checking status online shows it has already moved to scheduled status. Hopefully I'll be motoring soon; I'm driving a '92 Dodge Caravan that belong to my future in-laws until my car comes in!

 

Welcome aboard GStock...sounds like a sweet MCS you've got ordered...and the wait is not that long apparently...good deal.

NoLimit...did you mean 10-12 weeks, or really 10-12 months? That's a little too long to wait for a MINI...I mean, I know that getting it up to Alaska might take a couple weeks longer...but I really hope you meant 10-12 weeks

Dave.

 

I'm very familiar with Autohaus of Clayton...my wife was born and raised in St. Louis, and we met about 15 years ago when we were both going to Kirkwood High (both graduated from there)...I'm not originally from STL, but lived there for about 5 years...

Dave.

 

Welcome, Gstockmini.

heh heh...you even know the class you'll be racing in.

I understand MCS usually eats its competititon and spits them out in this class. You're going to have a ball.

 

Hey, if you're in the area, you should join the st louis mini club.

 

Northwest MINI Rassmusen and Ralph Schomp all said about 10+ months for a Cooper S.
Other places that would have been sooner all want Dealer mark-up on ordered cars.

 

Welcome aboard! I myself came from Honda/Acura. I've owned other cars also but when it came to something I "wanted" it was Honda Civic and Acura Integra. They were good cars also but not as much fun to drive as the Mini. The Mini was also supposed to be an M3, but the wife liked the Mini so much that we purchased it first. I still want an M3 but the Mini will keep me happy until I get one.

 

Congrats. I orderded my mcs/blk/blk/prempkg/armrest/dealer installed chrome grill (didn't want chrome mirrors) on March 12 and expecting wk/Apr18.

Goto www.gbmini.net . That's where I learned how to track my MINI from factory to boatride. Ian's site has great links and tons of MINI info...a real newbie tutorial.

I seriously considerd an si. Was coming off a 2000 Jetta VR6 that had turned into a money bucket. So I wanted something with the same punch but with dependability.The si handled ok but fell short in the torque dept. Rememberd a friend who worked for BMW who told me about the MINI back in '02. He said it was a hoot to drive. So I test drove it a few times along with RSXs, Mazda 6, 3,even GTI 6 & turbo, but nothing felt or fit me like the MINI S.

So here I sit, counting the days. Can't wait! Good luck to you.
hs

 

I've been building honda track cars for the past 12 years so I know your history My love has been the 4th gen hatchbacks, I think I've had 8 total in those 12 years. I had looked at the new Si but was hugely dissapointed with the power of the de-tuned K series they threw in there. If they would have the CTR here in the states it would be on order rather than the Mini, but Honda hasen't seemed to understand if they brought it here it would sell.

Welcome to the board!!

 

Hey, tygirwulf, are you in Cape Girardeau? Is that what the SEMO, CG stands for? I'm only about 30 mins away in Anna, IL! I work in Carbondale, but occasionally make a drive to Cape. As a matter of fact, I sold both of my Civics to guys that work at the Honda dealer over there! Send me a PM, maybe we'll meet up sometime and grab a bite! Also, what's the site for STL MINIs?

 

Just out of curiosity, when did you talk to Schomp? I called them to get on the list Saturday, and they told me 3 months until order day, and three months to build/ship - 6 months total for either an MCS or MCSa. If it's gonna be longer than that, I might need to increase my meds!!!

 

About 2 months ago. I was told about 4-5 months on the "wait list" then the build time after that about 4 months

 

They must have revised their estimates. Looks like we'll be ordering a car like yours - MCSa in CR/B - unless there's a silver top option on the '06 models, then we might have to wait. . .