hey Did, i noticed you have like 5 different sets of rims... lol.... what do you do wit all of them? do u switch them all after different time periods?? i would love to buy those R90's off you!!! maybe we can make a deal!

 

DiD- I do not think the silver trim would fare better. Our 02 MC came with the standard silver, and within 3 days it started peeling from the center supports as well as the door pulls. They were replaced in December. Now the replacements are starting to peel. The car has only 7300 miles.

The Anthracite on our 03 seems to be holding up better. We do not drive it as much, it only has 3000 miles.

 

Yeah, I kind of went through the MINI catalog of wheels.

 

Oh, I would choose the silver finish because I like the looks, not because i believe it is any more durable. The silver finish just wasn't available at the time. I haven't had any problems with any of the interior parts with the alloy finish on them.

 

I had the silver interior in my first MINI, and have the anthracite in Wanda. Maybe it's just my imagination, but the anthracite seems a bit tougher than the silver. I really like it with the all Jet Black S!!

Thanks again for your great report! Hope to see you sometime this summer!

Cheers!
Clover

 

Clover,

Thanks for the kind words. :smile:

I tried pretty hard to present as complete as possibile a picture of what my first year of MINI ownership has brought. MINI has definitely been responsive to problems that have crept up in other areas, which is why it puzzles me why they haven't already taken steps to address the windshields. I am far from the only MINI owner to have to replace multiple windshields due to stress cracks. In the three years I owned my Saturn and 4 years I owned my Jetta, I have replaced only one windshield. It is very frustrating, covered under the warranty or not, to see the glass repair truck sitting in the parking lot of my office so much.

Dave

 

06.04.2003 I noticed tonight that on my drive home from work the black plastic A-pillar trim piece flew off somewhere. Maybe it had been removed, replaced, and reused too many times from having the windshield in and out of the car so much.

 

Dave, you have been a tremendous help. Kudos to you and your Colorado perspective. Those pictures make me miss home :evil: ) and the typical CO weather of icy / snow in the morning followed by 60 degree afternoons combined for a number of chips and sudden "lightning-strike like" windshield boo boos.

Beyond the Subaru, my 1986 Blazer went through three windshields in two years for the same reasons though I was in and around Boulder (GO CU! ) on 36 and 92 mostly.

Since leaving CO for GA, no windshield problems and I have been commuting 35 - 45 miles (one way) in and around Athens / Atlanta. I think much of your windshield problems likely relate to the climate and conditions of where you live.

Best wishes and hopefully, in one year or less, I'll be joining the 5280 club.

 

>>My 2000 Subaru Forester went through four windshields in one year when I lived in downtown Denver (2000 - 2001). My 15 mile (each way) I-25 commute to work with all the semi's (rock chuckers! :evil: ) and the typical CO weather of icy / snow in the morning followed by 60 degree afternoons combined for a number of chips and sudden "lightning-strike like" windshield boo boos.
>>
>>Beyond the Subaru, my 1986 Blazer went through three windshields in two years for the same reasons though I was in and around Boulder (GO CU! ) on 36 and 92 mostly.
>>
>>Since leaving CO for GA, no windshield problems and I have been commuting 35 - 45 miles (one way) in and around Athens / Atlanta. I think much of your windshield problems likely relate to the climate and conditions of where you live.
>>
>>Best wishes and hopefully, in one year or less, I'll be joining the 5280 club.

One of my friends from Pittsburgh lives in Denver now and when I mentioned to him about the windshields he wasn't shocked at all. He said the use of sand on the roads is horrible.

That said, the topic comes up fairly regularly in the DC area Mini message board. I think Denver aggravates the problem but it still seems to be a problem that they should address.

 

I had two of my stress cracked windshields occur in the summer (7/2002 & 9/2002). There wasn't any gravel on the road then and the cold certainly wasn't a factor then either.

 

I'm just updating this thread to show my final mileage for the first year:

:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:

 

Nice job Dave.Keep up the good work.Jaydawg.

 

Dave...
Great write up and shots!
You've got to do the Tail of the Dragon '04 trip.
It'll make you crazy!!!

 

>>06.04.2003 I noticed tonight that on my drive home from work the black plastic A-pillar trim piece flew off somewhere. Maybe it had been removed, replaced, and reused too many times from having the windshield in and out of the car so much.

 

Thanks Dominic. I'm already proceeding along that path. :smile:

 

great account of your 1-year anniversary. tons of useful info for us all. and i wholeheartedly agree with the tires. unfortunately, i only found out too late about the negatives of getting the run flats, along with the heavy R83 16 x 6.5 five star wheels. now i gotta spend additional $500-$800 just to lighten up my wheels and then another $300-$500 for some better riding and handling tires. and this doesn't even include S&H - another $100-$200 or so.

if i had known about MCO before i even bought the mini, i could have planned ahead to save some $$$. hopefully, other potential buyers are learning about MCO before handing over the $$$.

 

Update after two years of ownership

Today marks two years of MINI ownership for me. (see page 1 for all the hassle year 1 gave me)



So here's the update for year 2:

Windshield #5 (the first 4 were from MINI, each lasted ~3 months. This most recent windshield is made by the good folks at PPG ) made it through an entire year without chipping or cracking.

04.12.2004 Beneath the Bonnet:: 45,000 mile Inspection II - $391

So happily, year 2 has been very uneventful. :smile:

 

so cool helps a lot

 

I passed 50,000 miles after 2 years and 1 week of ownership so I'm glad I'm not the only person getting their moneys worth out of the MINI.

The only unscheduled maintenence I've had was 1 stress crack in the windscreen, replaced under warranty. And an airbag light coming on, wiring harness replaced under warranty. They were very minor setbacks and didn't really impair my motoring at all.

So far my only maintenence expense out of pocket has been my first service that was not under the service plan. $125.

I don't even want to think about the money I've spent on stripes, tyres, lights and other gadgits.