UKPylot’s MINI Blog

Saw this cutie whilst browsing the classifieds for MINIs:

You can check out more pictures and details of it at thecarfactory.net. Let me know if you buy it!

The MINI got a good blow-out of the cobwebs this weekend - a day-trip to Santa Maria. Total round trip mileage was 736, and about 12 hours travelling time including stops and stuff. Whilst the sport seats aren’t that uncomfortable I was certainly glad to get out of them when we stopped. Sarah performed well, averaged 29.5 mpg over the trip and was, as always, a lot of fun to drive, especially on the LA freeways where the speed limits don’t seem to apply. Only saw 3 other MINIs the whole trip, guess you were all sleeping in?

Thanks to a significant decline in the number of vehicles at the house (we’ve lost two of the four this month to accidents!) the MINI became the weekend workhorse and got a lot of town driving. I don’t know if I’ve read too many posts on NAM but I swear that my stumble is worse post-ECU upgrade. Also, yesterday whilst idling at a light, the engine got quite loud and I could even see the bonnet vibrating. A few revs cured it but I was a little alarmed, not seen that before. Now, it was approximately 110F so perhaps that had something to do with it. Anyway, more reason than ever to get a new one but until we know what is happening with the wife’s car I have to hold off on the order.

I love my Union Jack roof and obviously I won’t be able to have one on the convertible so I’ve been thinking about what I can do to anglicize it. I have a custom side decal in mind involving the English flag but don’t know how I would ever describe it to someone. CooperFlags make some cool stripes and I found this neat rear window decal for the convertible. It says they will do custom flags so they could do me the flag of St. George. Question is: how would it look on a dark silver car??

Subject to some, er, financial review this weekend, here is the spec of the new MINI I hope to order from MINI of Pittsburgh next week. They have quoted a 6 week delivery time and free delivery to my place in Brawley, can’t beat that!

Dark Silver/Black Top MCS/C
Body Colour Mirrors
Convenience Package
Front and Rear Fog Lights
Xenon Headlights
On-Board Computer
Security System

Pretty much what I have now bar the DSC, auto a/c and the 17″ wheels. Oh, and the roof, of course Feel free to tell me if I should have included something else, and why, in the comments.

I will add stripes once it arrives. I’ve even come up with a decent new vanity plate but shall keep it quiet lest one of you buggers orders it ahead of me

I called yesterday to rearrange my windscreen replacement and to my amazement they gave me a next-day appointment so Sarah is back at Brecht getting an oil change and a new windscreen (her third). I even got a BMW loaner, which is a first, though its an X3 SUV, very different from the MINI.

Whilst waiting for the X3 to come out I took a look around the lot. I didn’t see any MCS convertibles, only MC ones. Every car now had a $2400-$2700 markup so it looks like I won’t be getting my next MINI at Brecht. I did however see an MCS soft top waiting at the service dept that looked awesome: it was charcoal grey, blacktop and a black/silver stripe. That may be the combination I have to go for.

Got a flyer at the weekend announcing the opening of the new MINI showroom at Brecht. This weekend they are having a bit of a celebratory bash and claim to have over 60 MINIs on the lot. I think I’ll pop over and see what they have. Perhaps they’ll leave their markup off as part of their celebration??

Update: If this car wasn’t black I’d be all over it!

I was thinking about changing plates for the new vehicle, something that combines the MINI theme and my flying. Best I could come up with was MNIFLYER but it is already taken. Got any better ideas - please leave ‘em in the comments!