Good Luck on installing the invisible bra. I determined that it was worth about $250 to have it professionally installed and if something goes wrong in the 5 year warranty, they will fix and or replace. The dealer rubbed on the piece on the scoop a little too hard to get a mark off and scratched it. So when I take mine in to be done he will replace the piece that he messed up on my wife's car. There are a lot of compound curves on the MINI hood. Our coverage goes almost half way up the hood. I also had her rear bumper covered by the boot opening, to prevent scrtching if something is dragged into the back, etc. My wife's checkered miror covers were not in so when I take mine in and hers is there to be fixed they will be covered at the same time.

I replaced my wife's Cooper S scuttles with the checkerd flag ones. After reading the instructions and looking at the pieces carefully, I believe that this part was designed by a Brit, not a German. It as actully a 2 minute job, once I understood what needed to be done.

Good Luck with your car and may you have many SMILES FOR THE MILES

 

Hi, Jeff.
I've previously installed 3m Invisishield on our '03 Cooper several years ago and on my MGB last year afer it was repainted, so I'm somewhat experienced at it. Our Mini dealer wanted $695 for the bonnet and bumper kits installed and I ordered the bonnet, bumper and light kits for approx. $270. The savings of $400 plus is worth the few hours of work.
The mail-order kits also have a five-year warranty if they become defective but I haven't had any problem with the one on the Cooper for the last five years so I'm hopeful the same will hold true for the new Clubman. I haven't seen a rear bumper Invisishield kit offered anywhere. I'll have to look for it.

Thanks and much good luck to you, too. The Cooper's given us lots and lots of smiles over its 118,000 miles. I expect even more of the same from the Clubman.

 

HerLBC,
We stopped at the dealership today to take a look at our car, and I looked for yours at the same time. Did you have the Union Jack mirror caps added to yours? If so, we saw it. We also saw that someone used ours to get a coffee and a sesame seed bagel, since they left the evidence all over the front seat.

 

Hi, Tim
No, no Union Jack mirror caps on ours, just the silver matching the roof color.
Your CM was at the back of a three-deep row when we were there, so it could have been driven to a coffee shop. Ours was in the middle row, one to the side of your's. But that was Friday morning and they've probably been moving them around and prepping them since then. More likely a busy service tech was multitasking, moving cars and having a coffee break.

There's a slim chance we can pick our's up tomorrow. If not, likely Wed. a.m. Are you sill good to go on Tuesday?

 

Nicki told me they won't have the "CO" until 2 or 3, so I'd guess you wouldn't be able to pick up your MINI until the evening. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get mine on Tuesday. I need to get the paperwork squared away with the bank, and my wife's schedule isn't flexible, so that might be an issue. I was expecting our current MINI to be sold by now, but the prospective buyer is having credit issues, so we still have it. The good thing is that we don't have to worry about renting a car or getting rides. I should know more tomorrow after I talk to the loan officer at the bank. It's a good thing you went through MINI financing and not Northeast.FCU. The left hand has no idea what the right is doing over at that place.

 

We got to the dealer at 10 a.m., filled out the paperwork, went over the car and had to wait only a few minutes before the paperwork arrived at 11:30.

Charlotte headed to work and I drove the Clubman home. It drives great, really smooth and tight, but I don't know how I got home alive. Between playing with all the buttons, the standard, Sport and manual modes of the auto trans, setting the radio stations and the different nav and on-board computer views, I barely saw the road.

Good luck with your loan. Ours was easy through Mini and at a very good rate.

 

Congrats Norm! We're set for tomorrow night! We close in Portsmouth at 4:45, then it's onto the dealer. I'm going to try not to play with too many buttons while I'm driving. I've got my ipod ready to go!

 

Great.
Charlotte can't drive her Clubman to work until she gets a parking sticker which she can't do until I get the permanent registration and license plates. That could take several days so I'll have to drive it until then.
So I'll have it at the shop, Brit Bits, in Rye, tomorrow.

Stop in and see us if you have a chance. We're on 1A, just a few minutes south of downtown Portsmouth. You can get directions or phone number at www.britbits.com.

 

Hey HerLBC & TIM781996,

Let me know how your pickup's go at Peabody. Mine is set to arrive there in a couple of days, but I leave tomorrow for an 11 day trip. So it looks like May 5th is my likely pickup date. Hrach is my MA also - I suspect he sells a few cars.......

My only dealer installed item is the Sport Stripe. We haven't discussed installation $$ yet. If you have a $ number, I would be interested in knowing it.

Other item is the time to process/deliver. I'm paying cash to them , so I'm hoping it is a quick get-away. I hate spending hours getting a car delivery.

Thanks.

 

Our delivery was easy. We spent about 10 minutes signing papers with our MA, Brig, which included the Mini financing docs, then about 45 minutes going over the car. Add time for coffee intake and output, general chit-chat and exchanging papers when the dealer's delivery truck hit our Toyota and we were in and out in an hour and an half or so. (Truck scratched the bumper cover and a taillight lens. So far they're eager to pay for the repair without involving insurance companies.)

I originally ordered the sport stripes and was quoted $395 installed. I decided to delete them and do it myself, saving cash and probably some days while the dealer had it done. Our car arrived there Thursday afternoon and I pushed to have it ready for this morning (Monday) as it was the easiest time this week for both of us to go get it.
I'm sorry you have to wait so long. I've been driving around doing errands and having a ball. If you have to wait, I hope at least your trip is a success.

 

Hey Copywrites, HerLBC just said $395, but I thought I heard Paul (the sales manager) say $300 at the Clubman launch party. I'm having them installed, but I'm not supposed to have to pay for them due to a mistake they made with my order. I'm expecting to be in and out since I've been emailing and calling Hrach and Nicki over the past few days.

Norm, I'll be sure to stop by the next time I'm headed that way. We were planning a trip down south to IKEA this Saturday, but my plans have been altered due to my grand-father's passing.

Does your wife work at the shipyard? You're lucky that your wife can't take the car right now. You'll never see it again after she gets it registered. My wife doesn't know how to drive standard yet, which we got on the Clubman. We haven't sold the other MINI, so I guess I'll get to drive the new car to work for a few days. Normally, we car pool or I bike.

Jeeze...long post. Sorry guys.

 

Charlotte's a professor at U-Lowell, so she has a long commute and is very happy to have me drive when we go places together while she knits, grades papers or does sudoko puzzles.
When she got home yesterday she asked if I'd figured everything out on her car for her. Since I'm the car guy, it's my job to digest and understand the manual, get everything set up for her and then show her how it works. That's all fun to me but a chore to her.
Let us know how much they would have charged for the stripes. I got an unexpected freebie -- After the truck hit the Toyota they didn't charge me the for oil and filter I got so I can change them at 1,000 miles.

 

That's a sweet classic MINI you have listed on your website. Some day, we hope to buy one.

 

This has been a day of highs and lows. They finally delivered my Clubman to Peabody this morning and we agreed on a delivery date. We also sorted out the dealer supplied items, floor mats, mud guards, chrome bonnet scoop, silver racing stripes, checkered roof and mirrors. Then I got a call asking if I wanted a black/white checkered roof or a black/silver checkered roof. (My roof, "C" pillars and mirrors are silver) Then I got a call saying they had checkered patterns of black/clear or white/clear. These worked fine for Minis where the only color options were white or black (or body), but they do not work for silver. And if I chose black/clear the resulting black/silver would look awful next to the black/white mirrors.
It was the appeal of the black/white checkered roof and mirrors that first appealed to me so I am very unhappy. The configurator shows a black/white roof with silver "C" pillars.
In the end I opted for no checkered roof or mirrors but now I'm wondering if I want the car at all. I did email Miniusa.com and have not received a reply.
Everyone's thoughts? Sorry for rambling on, it's been a long day.
Tim, you must have your car by now!

 

Don't despair - I'm sure you can get your choice of roof colour/pattern done aftermarket. I know that FastSigns usually has a vehicle wrap service - you might want to check w/them to see if they could handle it.

Let's hope that MiniUSA steps up first.

 

MunjoyMini,

You can buy a 2 color checkered roof from several different suppliers. But it is a special order. The standard flag is a single color and clear. And you can order the mirrors from a 3rd party. As long as you have a warm day, installing the roof should not be a big deal.

http://www.cooperflags.com/

Note: not sure if you can order the B/W or if you need to do a custom color.

Good luck.

 

I'm glad they found your car and I think you should get it. I'd sooner burn my finger on a hot exhaust manifold (which I did today) than wait six or eight weeks again.
If the dealer can do the checkered mirrors, great. Order the checkered roof you want from one of the vendors advertising here on NAM. If you can't find someone up your way to install it, I'll help you with it.

 

Well Munjoy, we heard your story from the MA before we read it here. We picked up our baby tonight (we decided to call him Lucky), and we love it. We saw your car, we think it's beautiful as is, very classy, and you can always add graphics later.

 

Oh, and here's Lucky!

 

Congrats, Tim.

 

Beautiful cah Tim. I'm sure you'll have many happy miles in it. Sorry to hear of your burned finger HerLBC! Ouch!
The ball is in Peabody's court right now. I'm waiting to hear but I'm not optimistic.
Tim, is Lucky in the local parking lot?

 

It'll be in our "gated" parking lot later today, so you'd have to get through our security department to get to it... or you just park your car outside the gate and just walk.

 

Tim, if it's behind a gate I think I'll pass on trying to see it. Thanks for letting me know though. I've decided to proceed with the purchase of the Clubbie. Friday at 10 a.m.

 

Good choice! You'll be very happy. I've had hordes of people asking me about mine. It's definitely an eye catcher.

 

MunjoyMini,

I was talking with Nicki (??) today at Peabody. She happened to mention a delivery problem they were having, but that the guy was much happier on the phone today. I asked..."was his problem the checkerboard roof graphic that wasn't going to match the checkerboard mirrors?"

She was floored. So I explained they had better treat everyone right because we all knew each other and compared notes.....

She also told me mine was in, but I'm out of town until April 4. So if you happen to see a pure silver/black with a rooster red trimline and punch leather interior, take a picture if you have a camera.