When my wife and I drove over to Portland to pick ours up (kids car - kid doesn't like to drive so it sits in the shop most of the time). She'd never seen one - we bought it over the phone - and when she looked inside her first comment was "I expected a dozen clowns to climb out of that thing." She found the big speedo especially funny.

I got it out this morning to drive to the doctors to have some stitches removed (bicycle accident), poor thing hadn't been driven in about 3 weeks. I put 1k miles on it a few weeks ago taking it over to Seattle for a catalytic converter replacement and oil change.

 

Never hit my head on it but now that you've said it I'm sure it will happen.

Ben, I'll take some interior shots this weekend if I can.

And to everyone else,.....thanks.

 

My condolences to your wife.
Why not a boxster?

 

She didn't want one.....and our track car is a Boxster.
Westwood Porsche still has an 08 Orange Box S at a great discount but she didn't take the bait.....damn!
And as much as a Kool-Aid addict as I am, I really like the Minis, and at half the cost who am I to say no?

 

My sympathy for your family but congratulations on another fun car!!!

 

I like it!

 

did you ever get it??? I am considering buying a Clubman S for my dogs...Just want to know your exeprinces so far with the MINI brand.

Thanks in advance,
Jen

 

After daily-driving my 997S for four years, I decided to take it out of "A rotation" and I bought a 2009 MINI Cooper S last fall.
It was a BMW Exec car, so it came fairly well loaded. With 8k miles on it, I was able to negotiate a nice deal on a well-equipped little bomber.
The car is a blast! I got the automatic transmission, which you can of course "paddle shift" if you prefer. Also, the technology in this car is impressive. Built-in Bluetooth, iPod connectivity, USB port...all stuff my 2006 Carrera doesn't have!
I put my entire iTunes library on a 4GB USB flashdrive and plugged it into the dash. Sweet. You'll love the MINI.
My only gripe, and it's a small one, is the run-flat tires are kinda harsh. I think when I wear 'em down, I'll replace the rubber with the non-run-flat variety. Should improve the ride a bit.
The 997 still gets out a lot. It just doesn't fight the traffic any more.

 

mini's are COOL, especially the s models

 

We've been very pleased with the Mini so far although my wife is hibernating the car a bit now in the colder months. Everything seems perfect with the car except the little clock that keeps track of how long the top has been down doesn't work. Or maybe it does as I haven't RTFM'd.

So,...everything is good so far!

 

Hi Dave,
Good choice as DD, she must love it. I had one on track at NHMS for 4 hours, completely bone stock, I destroyed the brakes and chuncked the tires badly. But did we have fun!! That little car is tossable and the SC really gives it a kick in the pants on the up-hill. Not quite as fast as Sams 968, but for a non-pcar it was great. Cost me $$ for new everything though:-), bring to the track this spring on a thurs open track days. I'll be doing several of these getting ready for the race season, I'm changing the FF to a new aero nose, we'll see if it pans out in lap times..

Take care,
Sincerely, Rob

 

OT: nice stable UNC911 !

 

Thanks

 

2007+ MY replaced the old superchager with turbo. the smaller brakes do start to fade and the runflats are not meant for the track at all... otherwise it is a pretty fun car to drive.

 

Minis are not without problems. Most common problems for recent model years include sunroof issues, transmission issues, and a cold start rattle that does have a remedy. A good resource for minis is available at www.northamericanmotoring.com

I'm actually getting rid of my '09 JCW Mini after reaching a settlement with BMW USA. They refused to buy back the car after 9 dealer visits in 12 months. We settled on a 6yr/100K transferrable extended warranty + cash payment from BMW USA. At 18K miles, I've already had my clutch and front brakes replaced. Prior to replacement, I never tracked or abused the car. I do drive it pretty fast, but they advertise "go kart handling". Even on my initial test drive, the salesman took some pretty hard turns to illustrate the car's handling capabilities. I was annoyed that upon my many trips back, they would always remind me "you know this is not a race car, the warranty does not cover blatant abuse of the car". This is after I told them that I did take the car out on Ortega hwy (canyon run in socal). Are you kidding me? I can't take the car out on a public road???