[My MINI me and me]

Paint chips on the bonnet... yes you read it right, paint chips around the lefthand headlamp, probably done as the delivery wax was buffed off mechanically. Hardedned blobs of cream wax that cannot be removed around the righthand headlamp and rear lamp clusters.

A nice “oiled” footprint on one of the rear mats and scatches on the lower sections of the front dashhand and on the hand brake rubber, not the end of the world I know but still, come on this is a £17,000+ brand new vehicle! Generally poor standard of cleanliness inside and water marks on the outside despite MINI me being held in "dry storage".

Fuel Sender does not read full with the so called full tank of fuel.

I nearly rejected the car on the spot but my dealer ageed on the following:

MINI me is going back on Wednesday to have his bonnet swapped over with one from another car delivered in the same batch, better than a miss matching respray. MINI me will be cleaned properly hopefully. My tax disc will be replaced with one lasting 12 rather than 11 months (I picked him up on 30/03 but asked several times through out the buying process for a full years tax). The fuel gauge problem will be rectified. The user options door locking, headlamps etc will be tailored (for all your info these are now listed in the MINI user handbook). A small gesture will be made as compensation for the car being delivered in the state it was.


Right then enough of all this moaning. I think... this is the best car I have ever owned. It corners like it's on rails, I can fell the CVT box pulling him along with loads of power to spare but I am determine to run him in correctly. The MFW wheel is a dream, radio controls on the back out of view and cruise on the front. The Panther is real leather for all you doubters out there the sports seats and lumbar support are very comfy. The seat heaters are a little strange but I'm sure l'll apreciate them when the cold weather returns. Auto Air con fab, fab, fab. Everybody is drooling over it in my work car park including me. Will keep you all posted.