Well i have put 140 miles on it so far (if you look at oahu its a small island and hard to run up the miles fast.

Won't post much about how much fun it is, but I did have someone asking me questions about it while doing 5mph on the freeway in rush hour traffic think they were driving an Echo or some such car.

Anyway off to wash it and then time to go put another 100+ on it by circling this here little island.

Hope everyone that is still waiting gets theres soon and has as much fun in it as i have

 

Midwifey --- Did you get your car today???

Cadbury --- Let me know when you come out to SF and I'll happily take you for a spin in Sportty!

I put about 50 miles on her today driving down to Half Moon Bay for lunch on the beach. It was so much fun to drive ... and no fewer than 20 people honked, waved or said "cute car". The MCSC definitely draws a lot of attention!

Also I had no idea Mini drives wave to each other when then pass ... almost ever Mini I saw waved "Hi" ... and there are a LOT of Minis out here!

This is fun!

 

Midwifey-- did u get the car? Nice birthday, eh? Have a happy one, Jimbo

 

Alright, I called my dealership again, and my MINI is there! Arrived Saturday, and I'm picking her up late Sunday, from the dealership in Sacramento. Very exciting, and also distressing. (Will everything turn out ok?)

My ex-wife bailed on driving me from Reno to Sacramento for the big event, but a longtime friend will drive me instead. My 10 year old daughter is coming along (she helped pick out the options, and it'll be her College car), and I'm hoping it'll be a nice, uneventful trip. (Except for the BIG event of the day! ) I was worried that the dealer couldn't have the car ready by Sunday, or that my MA wouldn't be available, but all those fears turned out to be groundless. I'll be so happy just to finally be out of the rental car I've been driving the last 2 1/2 weeks. (It's ok, a Chrysler Sebring Limited, but it does NOTHING for me.)

Now, after all this time, I find myself quite unprepared for it all. My financial situation is not the best, and I never did bother to look for good financing online somewhere. My down payment will be by way of credit card! I never bothered to get anything like the glove box organizer, or any number of other after market options that I could have had already to go for the new baby.

That might be for the best, as I may decide against all that stuff after my first drive. Yep, I've never even test driven one of these babies, though I did...er...sit in one once.

I'll bring my digital camera along for the trip, and post some pics, as well as a review of the buying process, and my first driving impressions of a CVT MC hard top, as soon as I get a chance. Wish me luck, eh? :smile:

I've had nightmares about me driving off the lot right after signing the paperwork, and being sideswiped by oncoming traffic, totalling the new MINI in the process. Terrible thing to have in one's head, eh? I think that's just a result of all the stress involved in carefully picking out a model, color, and options, and then having to wait all this time, wondering if I can manage the extra costs of this luxury in my life. I keep telling myself that it's only $100 more a month than my old car, but there is more cost to it than that, at least in the short run. New car costs that I've not had to pay in a long time, since my last car buy 5 years ago. Back then, I was just recently seperated, and I was worried about the money too. But, this time, the car is a whole other animal, and I can't seem to compare the two situations easily. Obviously, the MINI means a great deal to me, for many reasons, and I guess that's why I just can't help stressing over it.

I think a lot of the stress just has to do with not being able to see the car until now, knowing I've no practical, easy, way of backing out IF things go wrong. I have heard of things going wrong, as I'm sure you all have, so it's not an unrealistic fear. Or, is it? (Let's hope it's unrealistic.)

Anyway, I have to sleep now, so I can wake up in time to make this trip, and do this deal. How I'll sleep, I've no idea, but I'll try anyway! :smile:

I know there are many of you West Coast folks that have been waiting for the Hojin to dock and unload. I wish you all well, now that our days are finally arriving. Happy Motoring!

 

Hi guys!
Sequence and Sportty...It's Mini - wifey, Not Mid-wifey. I'm not into delivering babies.

Well, I spent the first half of my birthday cruising through vineyards and along the coast. What a Beautiful day!
Here is a link to my gallery.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ry.php?cat=543

I hope that works!.
The car is awesome! I can't push it as much as I might like, because of the break in period. But, so far so good. Astro black is beautiful. In certain light, it is indeed almost a deep deep blue. It's very quiet with the top up. (Only did that last night on the way back from the dealer, cause we were freezing out butts off!) I need to get the wind-screen, but they aren't in yet.
I will post more soon, but I have two tests for school coming up, so I have to study. :smile:
I hope you are all enjoying your new Mini's! Or, getting ready to soon!

 

Our Cooper (Monty) is to finally arrive at the dealer tomorrow! We will finally get to pick it up Friday when we will drive to Classic Motors in Ohio. We can't wait!

Ordered August 6th (filed cancelation slot)
Built August 26th
Sailed around September 3rd
Arrived at VPC around September 11th
Left VPC September 24th (very, very frustrating delay - seemed much longer than it was)
At dealer September 27th
Will pickup October 1st

 

So, I've got a EDD of 10/1, but according to the OL, I'm still en route.
Should I expect to wait past the first???
My MA doesn't seem to be real knowledgable about where it is.
Ask Mini said it left port 8/21 or it could've been 8/26.
I see many have been receiving their cars within the last week that have
similar build dates.
Anyone have any encouragement for me????

 

Ahhh...I finally picked her up. The trip to Sacramento was terrible, horrible traffic over the Sierra Pass on I-80. So bad, we almost didn't get there in time to sign for the car. (I would've been crushed if that happened.)

Signing didn't take too long, and I ended up buying a 6 year/100,000 mile extended warranty/free scheduled maintenence plan. Which was a decent deal, though not incredibly great. I would've liked to have taken a pass on that kind of thing, but I saw my MINI there on the lot (I could hardly believe my eyes), she looked great, and I just felt compelled to do what I could to protect my...er..."investment".

I didn't do a guided tour through the car until after the signing. When I got in the car, I realized that they had given me the Silver Space Cloth/Panther Black Cloth combo interior, as opposed to the Black Octagon Cloth I'd ordered! Geez, what a let down! Very disappointing, but the color combo doesn't look half bad with the interior chrome trim package. It doesn't work all that well with the anthracite headliner, but at least they got the headliner right, eh? I'm hoping they can do something about the wrong cloth interior, but I've no idea what they can do...that they'd be WILLING to do. (They could order new seats, and change 'em out, but do YOU think that'll happen?) (Gosh, I sure hope so! The Silver is just...TOO much Silver!)

So far, no other serious problems with the car, other than a MFSW with stereo volume controls that don't work (the reduce volume button), which I discovered after driving 157 miles home. (I miss the old S-Style MFSW, but there seems nothing that can be done about that. ) I'm assuming the MFSW can be fixed the next time I get to the dealer, so I'm not going to be too upset about that. At least, not YET. *sigh*

As to driving experience, well...I'm still getting used to seeing how everything works (or doesn't work, as the case may be). So, I can't really give a good impression yet of the vehicles overall performance. I can say that she seems pretty tightly built, that her ride (with standard sport suspension) is very good, and that I'm (despite the interior cloth SNAFU) very pleased with the car's appearance. The interior/exterior chrome package (even WITH the chrome mirror caps) looks good, as well as the Xenon headlights. (I was worried SICK about how THEY'D look.) The Xenons worked very well, and for the entire evening trip back home I didn't use my high beams once, even though I normally would on that trip, in another car, multiple times.

Cornering and road hugging abilities were good enough that I didn't even realize HOW good until I was going down a tight curvy freeway, without white-knuckling, at 95 MPH! Yes, even the CVT MC (with a sunroof!) likes to really move at speed! In fact, keeping the speed DOWN required me to use SD steptronic mode. I avoiding using "SD" mode to get up to speed, as the car tended to want to go over 4500 RPM's very easily when doing so, and I am TRYING to break her in properly. The dealer even recommended I NOT use cruise control for those first 1400 miles, so as to help avoid going over 4500 RPM's. I think that is likely a good recommendation, as I've already broken the 4500 mark 3 or 4 times, without even trying. (Not redlining her, mind you, not even close, but it's almost scary how quickly she wants to get up there.)

The CVT works well, but certainly takes some getting used to. It just feels...different, almost like it were a stick-shift at low end torque. That sounds weird, but that's just the way it felt to me, and it's the only way I can even begin to describe it. This, combined with a steering wheel that hardly needed to be moved at all, unless making a 90 degree turn, made for a somewhat stiff feeling ride, from a feedback point of view. For awhile, and even now, that made me feel a little "constrained" in how I manuevered the car, but the feeling is passing, and I'm realizing that this car can do a lot, without hardly even trying. :smile:

Acceleration from a standing stop is not "knock you back in your seat" fast, but it's quite decent, even with the A/C on. And that's just when using standard "D" mode. As I said before, in "SD" mode the car builds up higher RPM's quicker, and I found I had to let off the gas fast (not even half-way depressed to the floor), or I would otherwise be breaking my current 4500 RPM limit. After the break-in period, this car will take off from a stop light very strongly, and not leave you feeling embarassed at all. Even now, below 4500 RPM's, she is strong. Needs some build-up, yes, but not much. Going over the mountains, even with A/C on, was no problem at all. I had to be careful NOT to go TOO fast, and yet still found myself doing so anyway! (Luckily, the brakes are excellent.) Passing, uphill, when required, was simply not a problem issue, unless you want to go uphill at 115 MPH!

It's hard to vary the RPM's greatly, for break-in purposes, with the CVT. The car wants to hang around 3000 RPM, for the most part, at a variety of freeway driving speeds, unless I REALLY work hard to slow her down and speed her up significantly, which then ends up upsetting other drivers. Low speed driving, like in a parking lot, felt a bit weird, almost like you've got the car in too low a gear somehow, but the weirdness of that is just something you get used to, and is also something I think you can learn to take advantage of.

Automatic Climate Control seems overly complicated at first look, and even at second look, but it's not all that counter-intuitive. It certainly does work, and you can play with it's settings quite a bit without messing anything up. I tend to work with it like a completely manual design. But, even then, it's doing a pretty good job (despite me!) in keeping the cabin a comfortable place to exist. It looks great too, so I guess I'm happy with it. :smile: The interior lighting for this car is the best, and coolest, I've EVER seen. Mind you, I've not driven THAT MANY cars, but it's still pretty darn cool anyway. Driving this car at night is a real pleasure, just based on the way the dash gauges light up!

One thing I had a problem with was getting myself in a good, comfortable driving position. The sport seats, which are very nice in themselves, have many adjustments to help you get in a good seating position. Despite that, the driver footwell seems to be bit of a cramped area, with the brake and gas pedals being ALMOST too close. I found it hard to get in a position where both my legs were happy at the same time, and it's a minor problem I'm still working on, even though I'm just an average sized fella. I think I'll get it right, eventually, but it's still bothering me for now. Rear seating, on the other hand, still surprises me in how comfortable it seems for the limited foot space that's back there. If you like to move your legs around a lot on a long drive, as a passenger, I can see how the back seats would start to become a problem. Despite that, they are still pretty darn comfortable.

Man, I wasn't going to talk much about the car, but here I am, going on and on about it. So much so, I want to jump back in tonight, and take her for a little drive. In fact, I'm going to do just THAT! So, I'll chat with you later friends. Good luck with all your options. I'm going to TRY to learn to like this damn Silver/Black Cloth combo, even if it kills me!

 

Aw, shucks, I forgot to mention the sunroof working well, and not being too noisy, and...

Oh, never mind, I'll get back to you later on all of that.

 

I had an EDD of 9/11 until today when it changed to 9/27. The wait time at the VPC seems to be completely unpredictable by the MAs. My MA (who is awesome and far more knowledgeable than any other that I've talked to) was able to pull up that my car was at sea when AskMini and the OL said that it was still waiting transport. She also told me that the car was at the VPC a week before the OL and more than 2 weeks before AskMini (I think it still says awaiting transport and the car will be at the dealer today). On Friday, my MA emailed me to let me know that the car was on a truck to the dealer now and would arrive not later than today. So, I guess what I'm saying is: your not alone in your frustration, be patient it's coming, and your MA is the only one that seems to be able to get any useful information. Good luck.

 

Monty has arrived at Classic Mini! Here's the first pic sent by Julie:

 

Get this...

I call my MA all morning to get things set up for delivery of the car. He never returns my messages. Finally call his manager - he tells me there was a mixup IT'S NOT MY CAR!!!!! I'M STILL AT THE VDC!!!!!!!!!

Update:
Just heard from my MA on why the delay. He spoke to the regional manager and it was an issue with oil. They ran out of the appropriate oil for the cars and so they started stacking them on the lot. When the oil arrived, so many cars had come, that those arriving first were buried at the back of the group. Mine is now on a truck heading to MINI of St. Louis.
EDD is 9/28 in OL

 

Which VDC, Charleston? I wonder if all 3 were affected by the "wrong oil" issue?

Good news tho 05dsmcs-- U should have it mid-week. Mine's on a truck to CO, should have it for the weekend. Soon, soon :smile:

 

BillyB, you sure are chatty... but I understand.... I've come to realize that this MINI thing is an acquired taste, when you've got it, you've got it BAD, and when you don't... you're mildly interested... What I mean is that of the people I've shown it to, only 1, 2, were REALLY interested... so I find myself just wanting to talk to other MINI people about it... so I understand your long email!!

I agree with some of your observations -
After 3000 it just wants to GO!!! I've also been over 4500 a couple times when going from 1st to 2nd 'cause I'm looking at the road and not the tac.
I also have been listening to music REALLY loud (conventional stereo - but didn't have a CD in my last car) and so can't really hear the engine for changing.

I think we are all going to be very appreciative when that break-in is over!! The 95mph thing I can handle... but the rev's - WAY too hard!!

 

Thanks for not thinking me too terribly lame for rattling on so much about my MINI (and MINI's in general). :smile:

As long as I don't look at my incorrect seats, I'm enjoying my CVT MC very much. I've gotten pretty good reactions from folks at work, all the way from, "Hey, that your new car? Looks nice.", to "Oh my GOD, I love your car! I want your car! I've gotta have that car!"

It's been fun, so far, with only my previously posted concerns to complain about. There are many things I'm loving about this car, and I'm learning about new things to appreciate about her everyday. For example, I'm only just learning that this car doesn't bottom out scrape easily. This is more good news, for me, as that'd been a slight concern when I first considered buying such a car.

I'd read some posts on early '05's mentioning that the headliner mounted interior lighting unit was sort of flimsily attached, and that it could easliy be nudged about with the slightest of touch, but that's not been an issue on my MINI. All that stuff is quite solid, and I'm heartily pleased by that. Hopefully, folks out there with that problem can get it corrected, as well they (or actually MINI) should.

I've also discovered that my MINI has more cargo flexibility than I'd origionally assumed, which has been a pleasant surprise. I also love the look of LY/B, and it's chrome trim as well. More and more every day. So, of course, that now means I'm getting kind of panicky about the first time I wash her, which I've not done yet. I'm almost afraid to wash her, when the time comes (soon, so soon) for fear of making unintended little scratches in her pristine finish. Yeah, I know, completely **** of me, but she's my baby (despite her silly siver interior), and I can't help wanting to take the very best of care of her. That's not nutty...is it? :smile:

By golly, if it is nuts...so be it!

 

It was at the SC VDC. I still have to have mine shipped from the dealer to Utah, so I am hoping it will be here before Monday of next week, but that probably won't happen. I'm just glad it is finally on its way.

 

I think you're going to be a Zaino person www.zainobros.com

 

I think everyone got hit by the "incorrect fluid" issue. My MA said it was the transmission fluid. It seems every car going through the VDCs in Sept were hit ... and the early ones were "fixed" at the dealer, but the later ones were "fixed" at the VDC (creating the HUGE backlog of orders). It's also now causing slow-downs at the trucking side and dealer side. My dealer received 3 weeks worth of cars over a 2 day period!

Good news is, the problem hopefully is corrected and the rest should now be getting on a regular schedule.

 

Yeah, my MA was dealing with deliveries all day yesterday.

 

I ordered by '05 MCS (black/black, gauge package, driving lamps) on 9/2, it was shipped on the "Independence" 9/25. It's scheduled to be at my VA dealership sometime around 10/18.

That's relatively fast, considering some of the horror stories I've heard about delays, etc.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays on this fast track.

Cheers!

 

OK, back on track. My MA called me this afternoon to let me know that my MINI is coming in tonight. He is fedexing me the paperwork tomorrow, and it should be ready to ship in the next day or two. I could have my car as early as this coming Sunday.

 

Well the MINI is all paid for and the dealer is dropping the car off at my parents' house on Saturday while I'm visiting them.

Patrick

 

Officially at the dealer now. Getting the paperwork signed tomorrow and the car will be shipped on Friday. Looks like I will have my car on the 5th of October.

 

Did you go through Mini of Murray? My mini is expected into that dealer today. Did your MA say that they have received a truck today? Which MA are you going through? My MA is Karen. All I am having installed is bonnet stripes and an alarm. Hopefully I will be able to sign the papers on in time to do some motoring this weekend.

 

I went through MINI of St. Louis to avoid the 7 month waiting list they had at MINI of Murray. Once I receive my car, the entire order to delivery time will be less than 90 days.