OK,

My OCD is acting up again. Long ago when I dated I made my girlfriends click the dirt off their heels before getting into my car. I have always been OCD about my cars! The car is infinitely more important than some date.

I am absolutely fascinated to read like minded people here on this forum.

Here are some concerns....

Made room in the garage for the new Mini. I worry anytime in the past when my car was in the garage and my daughter of wife stepped foot in the garage. Thinking my car would be safer in the garage with a car cover. Any pros and cons to using a car cover? They sell on for the Mini Coupe but you have to remove the radio antenna. This may sound rude, but how do you keep family away from your car? Like in the garage. I really lose it over finger prints!!!

BTW, wife is fine with me having my car and the family car. Just so long as I clean hers. She could care less about cars and lets me have my fantasy. Other guys she knows have affairs, mine is with my car. Always has been.

You saw from about my initial order from Griots. Yes, I plan to carry detailing supplies in the car. I have always carried a rag in the front seat too. I am new to Micro Fiber as they feel strange. But it seems the only way to go. What do you like to carry in your car for detailing? Any color or particular Micro Fiber rag? Products? I also carry a nice round brush small for dusting.

I have to drive the car to work everyday. Park in a deck but there is plenty of space and I can get a choice of end or slant spaces. In other words I can find a place to park where it will be damn hard for the doors to get dinged. Any advice about parking in decks? Your experience?

Vinyl Stripes. They look good but really worry me. Anything I should be aware of? I read and search here. Polish but don't wax. The DA or Orbital is fine or not fine. Be careful if you clay them. On and on.

I am embarrassed to say this but I ordered the car with the Leatherette Seats. The real leather worried me. Cracks and such. Was thinking they would be common and if needed I could easily have a seat replaced. Any special care? Treat or ignore? Still searching site for care of these types of seats.

Any thoughts about that little antenna the dealer has? Has anyone changed out the radio antenna? I ordered mine with the Nav and it was cheaper to get Sirus Radio and maybe I will like it? Cheaper and dealer mentioned might increase sales value? Was thinking a small fold over antenna would make putting a car cover on easier.

iPod. I have never used an iPhone. I use a cheap flip phone with Bluetooth. Salesman said he uses a flash drive for his music? I use iTunes at home and I use a iTouch. Like the iPhone but no phone. I guess I should request from the dealer the special cable for this to charge it and play music? Or get the new slim iPod Nano just for the car? Too bad you can't store and play it in the armrest. Any comments on what iPod to use in the Mini? Or how you do it with accessories. Would love to put it in there and hide it. Hate having to unhook when I leave the car.

OK, to be a little more transparent it is not OCD. I have Aspergers. Some would say OCD to the max. Perfectionism. Ability to focus intently on an issue. Memorize text that is interesting. It has its curse but mostly a blessing to me and my career. Think Temple Grandin or the movie A Beautiful Mind (John Nash).

Thanks in advance for all the advice.

 

Here is the car order in case you are wondering what options I choose. Not sure what I was thinking but too late to change it now. And mostly I am fine with it.

Feel free to comment good choice bad choice or stupid option. I won't take offense I promise.

For example Piano Black looks great but what am I really in for in terms of care?


Midnight Black Body Color
Anthracite Headliner
Contrasting Door Panel with Polar Beige Dash Surface in Piano Black
Leather Sport Steering Wheel w/Multifunction Polar Beige Color Line
Body Color Roof/Mirrors
Center Arm Rest
Leatherette: Carbon Black
Sport Seats
Standard Floor Mats
PACKAGES
Cold Weather Package Heated Front Seats
Premium Package 1 Alarm System
Auto Dimming Mirrors
Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror
Automatic Climate Control
Chrome Line Interior
Heated Powerfold Mirrors & Washer Jets
Rain Sensor and Auto Headlamps
Rear Park Distance Control
Sport Package
17" Black Star Bullet
Dynamic Traction Control
Silver Sport Stripes
White Turn Signals Xenon Headlamps
Technology Package
Comfort Access System Harman/Kardon Sound System MINI Connected Package
MINI Connected with Nav Package SIRIUSXM Satellite Radio
PERFORMANCE
6-Speed Automatic with Paddle Shifters Start/Stop Button
Turbocharged 16-Valve Alloy Engine
4 Airbags w/Side-Thorax Protection Dynamic Stability Control
Sport Button
Adaptive Light Control Front Fog Lamps
Rear Fog Lamp
Retractable Headlamp Washers
All-Season Tires
INSTRUMENTS
6-spkr AM/FM CD Player HD Radio
Rubber Floor Mat - MINI (front)


 

Lot of stuff to go over. One big thing, it's Ok to wax stripes, N0T polish them. Without a spare, I carry the tire repair kit with room for some detailing supplies, micro fiber cloths and an extra qt of oil. Griot's glass and Speed Shine wipes are great for road trips. They take up less room when kept in Zip lock bags. You also want to get the red micro fiber shop towels # 14875, they are perfect, no lint. We take our motoring music on our ipod nano and run it thru a 3 channel FM link. works great.

 

I really like the build, especially the black star bullets.

As for the piano black trim, don't worry about it. Since its a gloss finish mot folks here treat it like the exterior paint and will actually wax it to keep it shiny.

One of the things I really like for cleaning the interior is 1z einszett cockpit premium. Good stuff and it'll take out almost any surface markings that you may get on the a-pillars or color-line trim.

Like flyin brick, I got rid of the run flat tires and keep a spare repair kit in the trunk along with some basic cleaning items; quick detailer (for bird bombs), glass cleaner (for my 100 mile a day commute) and a leather cleaner/ conditioner (in case the pregnant wife brings something in the car she shouldn't and spills). I use a long nap microfiber for the quick detailer so that I pick up the dirt without dragging it along the paint surface and short ones for the glass and the leather cleaner just because they catch less and are easier to scrub with.

 

Thanks for the advice.

The towels, red micro fiber shop towels #14875 I really need to learn or memorize what color can be used for what. My mind is thinking how to organize and keep all the colors straight. I use cute stackable plastic containers and was thinking using some to indicate clean verses dirty.

Thanks also for the mention of the 1z einszett cockpit premium.

Run flat tires? Well, that one caught me like a deer in the headlights. Never occurred to me that there was no spare. Upset, no, deal breaker, no. And maybe like you all I won't like them and next go round can opt for alternatives. What I test drove seemed fine. But I don't drive crazy and I am 50. I worry more about others on the road and tailgaters.

100 mile commute? I won't feel so bad as mine is only 70 miles round trip. But slow with all the traffic. Expressway average speed is 28 mph in the mornings. About 1 1/2 hours in the car on the way to work and 50 minutes on the trip home.

Thanks

 

Griot's cloths:
Yellow(ish): For drying except 'Tim's Dirty Spot' towel which is appropriately gray. Great for around door jams and such.
Red: Shop cloths, washable, no lint and safe on painted surfaces.
Blue: Speed shine which is matching shade of blue
Dark Green: Interior
Green fluffy: Spray-On Car Wash which is a matching shade of green.
The polish and wax buffing cloths - I just keep them in the package they came in so's not to confuse them.

 

Coming from a small town, when we'd hit heavy traffic in or around the big city, Dad would always bemoan: "Why the he!! does everybody think they have to be in the same place at the same time?" I often feel the same way.

 

Thanks for the tip about the rag colors. Nice to have a system to keep them all straight. Looking forward to my order and so is my wife. She is actually getting into this too! Well, me cleaning her Mini.

I have tried an alternative route to work. No expressway. Through a few small towns, beautiful sites, joggers, park, winding roads, more winding roads and the miles is only an additional mile to work. Time in the car is about the same. Maybe an extra 15 minutes but less stressful of a drive. And much safer route for a Mini.

I might actually enjoy that Sport Mode?

Contemplating wash buckets today. Need something for the water and old bucket, well, is pretty bad. Watched more videos on car detailing. Hopefully the Griots book is good. Maybe will look for more books on the subject.

Thanks

 

For music, I just bought a Sandisk Cruzer 16mb USB memory stick. It is so small it barely sticks out of the USB port.


And since the antenna is only for AM radio, I am searching for a plug to remove it altogether so I can use a car cover at work.

 

You do know to use two buckets, right ? Guessing you've found that in all your reading so far.

And if you haven't read this yet, get Grit Guards for both of them.

Use one as your wash bucket, the other to rinse your wash mit before you stick it back in the wash bucket.

5 gallon buckets work great.

 

I use something like this by my bucket caddy that holds both buskets is all one solid unit, not like this one that is two caddy's connected. But you get the idea.

http://www.buyadamspolishes.com/adam...rd-bucket-kit/

 

I go with a simpler method on the microfiber towels. I have one color for the outside, one for the inside and one for the glass. I also like to use those dual length nap towels for the exterior. That way if I am using a quick detailer, the longer nap will trap dirt without dragging it across the paint and the short side is useful in wax or polish removal. It also keeps me from needing tons of sets of towels.

As they get old and worn, they become the towels that I'll use in door jambs, wheels and the engine bay. Just my $.02 but its an easy system.

And I should mention I only use the larger, waffle-weave microfiber towels to dry so they is no mix up.

Car covers aren't a bad idea, but from my experience they tend to do as much harm as good when they are used frequently. The typical cover has a soft interior lining that tends to trap dirt and some of the fall leaves or grass clippings. If you take the cover on and off a lot, you run the risk of putting lots of swirls into that black paint of yours. Not to say that there aren't some great covers out there, but I don't like the risk with black paint especially.

 

Used a California Car Cover for two years in my Jet Black MCS convertible and I'm as OCD as they come. Never had any more swirls or light scratches than I did in my garaged MINIs and nothing that was hard to get out with my semiannual detailing process.

Pros of using the cover far outweighed the cons.

 

OK then, the idea of finding the 'Road Less Traveled' has struck home. Outstanding! Here is what you need to expand you new horizons.
http://www.motorcycleroads.us/index.html
And here are two must read books for your garage library
"Blue highways: a journey into America" by William Least Heat Moon: Fawcett Crest, 1984
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values" by Robert M. Persig: William Morrow & Co., 1974
Motor on

 

Some great reading. I read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values" for my Masters Program. Very hard to describe in words. Not a difficult or boring read, just lots to think about.

Funny you mention motorcycles.

Before the Mini I toyed with the idea of getting a Scooter. They do make them that will go fast. That would give me the HOV lane access and shorten the commute.

Nice idea but they drive crazy here. I am not afraid to die but I don't want to die on a Scooter! And you don't necessarily want to commute in the rain on one. And they look like so much fun!

My past is odd. Studied to be a Roman Catholic Priest. Hence the Philosophy degree but left after three years. Went back to Accounting and work as a CPA, CGMA. Still read Philosophy and love Ayn Rand. And I hate church/religion. Sorry, don't mean to offend - still recovering from all the abuse.

Still enjoy waiting for the Mini. At the showroom the Mini's with the Mini bicycles are cute. I also have a Brompton! Brompton folding bikes are well, made in England too. Just Google Brompton Bikes. Worth a look as they have a history like Mini. I love the Brompton Tweed Run.

And yes, if you like bicycles a Brompton will fit into a Mini. The smallest folding bike and will take a rider 6' 5".

 

Here is a video of a Mini meets a Brompton Bike.