Hey, Crose, I know exactly where you're coming from. I lived in your Fair City for a couple of years, and I had a Miata, so parking was always a snap.

However, I would advise against taking up two spots. Remember Karma!

There is a silver lining, and I think you know what it is. One of the most frustrating things about trying to park in SF is when you think that you might see a space, but it turns out to be one of those 12 foot "tweener" spots (you know, that small section of curb between two driveways that always looks oh-so enticing but your Honda would never fit?). Well, the good news is that your MINI will fit into many of those spots now with, perhaps, the slightest overhang but w/o any blocking the driveway. When I visited my BIL last weekend, it was so cool to park in those tight little spots. It was a thing of beauty. :)

BTW, your ex-boyfriend must have had good taste and judgement to know such a highly skilled person as yourself! :cool:

Johnny L, I like your idea of getting philosophical about this dirty car matter . . . I do need to find some new ways of thinking. I mean for one, I'm kind of having a moral crisis over all this . . . I'll explain.

And I am also having an identity crisis. I am known in these parts, for my excellent parallel parking skills. Pre-MINI--when I'd be driving around with friends, I'd start to back into a spot, and often the friend would say--"Are you sure you can fit into that space--it's *really* small?" And I'd flash a big smile and say "No parking space is too small for [my first and last name]!!", then squeeze my way in without ever bumping the car in front or back of me.

And then there's the time my ex-boyfriend, when we 'd gotten back together after some months apart, said to me wistfully as I backed into one of my tiny parking spaces, "I missed your parallel parking . . . " So you see, this skillful/ethical parking, it's one of my trademarks, it's who I am. Now, as I guard my MINI at all costs, hogging spaces all over town with no regard for my fellow man, (okay, I've only done it once so far), I feel so, well . . . dirty. :eek: ;) :( :confused:

Hey, Crose, I know exactly where you're coming from. I lived in your Fair City for a couple of years, and I had a Miata, so parking was always a snap.

However, I would advise against taking up two spots. Remember Karma!

There is a silver lining, and I think you know what it is. One of the most frustrating things about trying to park in SF is when you think that you might see a space, but it turns out to be one of those 12 foot "tweener" spots (you know, that small section of curb between two driveways that always looks oh-so enticing but your Honda would never fit?). Well, the good news is that your MINI will fit into many of those spots now with, perhaps, the slightest overhang but w/o any blocking the driveway. When I visited my BIL last weekend, it was so cool to park in those tight little spots. It was a thing of beauty. :)

BTW, your ex-boyfriend must have had good taste and judgement to know such a highly skilled person as yourself! :cool:

Ah, yes, the "tweener" spots! I shall go in search of those . . . and shall mend my ways. :)

Kellzir--awesome car, sweet doggie, too. Congratulations!

I went on my first MINI run today with the MCSCa, so I thought I would share some of the pictures: Posted in this thread Following BJ (http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1677676#post1677676)

I got the MINI. Here are some photos. :D

In the 4th photo, you can see my plates and my new antenna :p

Kellzir - nice MINI! I see you went with the web spokes too - good choice! Your doggie is cute too. He looks like a doggie that we had until a few years ago.

Have fun motoring this weekend!

Debbie

Thank you everyone for the compliments. The MCSa is great. I decided to try the paddles after the break in. I am really glad I got the webspokes. Thay are nice, but needs cleaning quite frequently. Tomorrow I am getting tint for the car and trying to make an appoinment for clearguard this week. Kinda hard to motor with finals this week and next. Never thoguht I would have an urge to drive a car as much as I do. LOL

As for my dog, he is a year old now. I know he is a Lab mix, but any other ideas what he could be?

the Mr Clean car wash kit - the one that works right off the hose. It was actually recommended by some people I know. It seems that no matter what you touch a black car with will eventually cause swirls or worse.

Zip

I bought the aforementioned Mr Clean car wash kit and used it on Obie today.

It did a nice job. It's not perfect but it's a hell of lot better than I would have expected a black car to turn out with no hand drying.

The kit comes in two versions. The first one, at $18.99, includes the spray gun, the wash solution, and a filter. The $34.99 version includes the gun with an extra jet spray setting (not worth it), the wash solution, the filter, a quick release hose adapter, a wash mitt, and a carrying case.

The wash mitt is not a 100% cotton item, so, for $4.99, I bought a 100% cotton chenille one. I mainly wanted the case so I popped for the $35.

It worked well. Made it even easier to wash the car than with my old car brush on a stick, and it left no marks. I used my old wheel brush on the wheels, though.

Zip

I bought the aforementioned Mr Clean car wash kit and used it on Obie today.

It did a nice job. It's not perfect but it's a hell of lot better than I would have expected a black car to turn out with no hand drying.

The kit comes in two versions. The first one, at $18.99, includes the spray gun, the wash solution, and a filter. The $34.99 version includes the gun with an extra jet spray setting (not worth it), the wash solution, the filter, a quick release hose adapter, a wash mitt, and a carrying case.

The wash mitt is not a 100% cotton item, so, for $4.99, I bought a 100% cotton chenille one. I mainly wanted the case so I popped for the $35.

It worked well. Made it even easier to wash the car than with my old car brush on a stick, and it left no marks. I used my old wheel brush on the wheels, though.

Zip
Hey Zip, I bought that kit too and I had pretty darned good luck with it. (my Mini is CR though) I played around with it first on my car before I tried it on the Mini, but I found that it works best if a person REALLY rinses the soap off well, and keeps the car wet until the final step-the ionized water treatment. Even then, I didn't get more than a foot away from the paint and went over it thoroughly. It seemed to have come out perfectly spotless for us. (I had to use reflections to make sure-it was that clean) Maybe black is just harder, but for the money, I give it 3 thumbs up. :D

I found that it works best if a person REALLY rinses the soap off well, and keeps the car wet until the final step-the ionized water treatment. Even then, I didn't get more than a foot away from the paint and went over it thoroughly.

I rinsed the car very well on the normal water rinse setting, but I probably let some parts of the car dry a bit before using the filtered water setting. It probably would have come out better if the car was wet, like you said. At any rate, it worked well, and I'm happy with it. I'm going to buy some refill kits for it this week.

Zip

Hi Guys, thought I'd share the latest of my MINI photography. It's a parallel parking shot here in San Francisco. No, I'm not hogging the block ! :eek: I was the only car *on* the block until that red car arrived. I know I said parking is at a premium here. But this is Sunday in a sort of funky industrial neighborhood. It looks unsavory, I know, but actually it's sort of unsavory/trendy. I'm up in a loft style workspace, supervising my MINI from above. :) :cool: :)

(Hope this photo is big enough--still learning how to work the settings on my camera)

Nice pic! Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge in the background looks gorgeous. :)

That is near the old Navy facility which was closed back in the mid nineties.

Nice pic! Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge in the background looks gorgeous. :)

That is near the old Navy facility which was closed back in the mid nineties.

Glad you like it, AprilW! Yes, you've got the location !

All you Marchers still out there? Can anyone give me advice on selling my old car?
I'm incredibly naive about how it's done.

So you advertise your used car, people come over to look at it---well, then what?

Do you get in and ride with them while they test drive it? It feels a little weird getting into the cars of strangers, but I assume you don't just give them the keys and say, See ya?

What if the potential buyer wants to take the car to their mechanic to have it checked out? You hand them the keys and say, See ya? I'm thinking you copy down their driver's license number, address, anything else? Do you ask for some kind of collateral, some cash amount or---before you let them take the car? I'm honestly not sure how best to handle this.

Also, I expect to get about $1800 for my car. I'm assuming it's reasonable to ask for cash (no checks)?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I don't know . . . I'm starting to think that you photoshopped those spaces in there . . . :p

Hi Guys, thought I'd share the latest of my MINI photography. It's a parallel parking shot here in San Francisco. No, I'm not hogging the block ! :eek: I was the only car *on* the block until that red car arrived. I know I said parking is at a premium here. But this is Sunday in a sort of funky industrial neighborhood. It looks unsavory, I know, but actually it's sort of unsavory/trendy. I'm up in a loft style workspace, supervising my MINI from above. :) :cool: :)

(Hope this photo is big enough--still learning how to work the settings on my camera)

I don't know . . . I'm starting to think that you photoshopped those spaces in there . . . :p

Ah, if I only knew how to use photoshop . . . :confused: :)

Can anyone give me advice on selling my old car?
I'm incredibly naive about how it's done.

So you advertise your used car, people come over to look at it---well, then what?

Do you get in and ride with them while they test drive it? It feels a little weird getting into the cars of strangers, but I assume you don't just give them the keys and say, See ya?

What if the potential buyer wants to take the car to their mechanic to have it checked out? You hand them the keys and say, See ya? I'm thinking you copy down their driver's license number, address, anything else? Do you ask for some kind of collateral, some cash amount or---before you let them take the car? I'm honestly not sure how best to handle this.

Also, I expect to get about $1800 for my car. I'm assuming it's reasonable to ask for cash (no checks)?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Good picture. Almost looks fake.
As for selling the car, I can only tell you what I noticed my family did. They put an ad on craigslist. Those who were interested and wanted to see it got to look at it and test drive it. Now they only took it around the block. My parents never asked for collateral before test driving. The person that ended up buying the car arranged a way to come back with cash, incase a check bounced. then there are forms on DMVs site to complete when selling the vehicle.

Hope this helps.

Glad you like it, AprilW! Yes, you've got the location !

All you Marchers still out there? Can anyone give me advice on selling my old car?
I'm incredibly naive about how it's done.

So you advertise your used car, people come over to look at it---well, then what?

Do you get in and ride with them while they test drive it? It feels a little weird getting into the cars of strangers, but I assume you don't just give them the keys and say, See ya?

What if the potential buyer wants to take the car to their mechanic to have it checked out? You hand them the keys and say, See ya? I'm thinking you copy down their driver's license number, address, anything else? Do you ask for some kind of collateral, some cash amount or---before you let them take the car? I'm honestly not sure how best to handle this.

Also, I expect to get about $1800 for my car. I'm assuming it's reasonable to ask for cash (no checks)?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I sold my Beetle on Ebay. It was a great experience and that is what I would do again. But it was a turbo diesel, and I sold it at the heighth of the gas scare this spring, don't know if I would get as good a price again.

Thanks, Kellzir and AprilW. for your suggestions. I think I'm starting to getting clearer on the whole car selling process, and it's feeling a little less daunting.
Can't be any harder than buying a MINI. Now *that* really did feel daunting, at least in the beginning. By the end, though, I felt like an expert. :cool:

Thanks, Kellzir and AprilW. for your suggestions. I think I'm starting to getting clearer on the whole car selling process, and it's feeling a little less daunting.
Can't be any harder than buying a MINI. Now *that* really did feel daunting, at least in the beginning. By the end, though, I felt like an expert. :cool:

Never accept a personal check - cash or cashier's check only. Some even ask to make payments - that's a big no. Make sure to put on the Bill of Sale that you are selling the car as-is - no warranties. As for test drives, I like to go along. If you feel uncomfortable, take someone with you (a guy friend or something). I've never had anyone ask to have a mechanic check it out. Not sure what I would do in that case.

Hope that helps.

Debbie

Never accept a personal check - cash or cashier's check only. Some even ask to make payments - that's a big no. Make sure to put on the Bill of Sale that you are selling the car as-is - no warranties. As for test drives, I like to go along. If you feel uncomfortable, take someone with you (a guy friend or something). I've never had anyone ask to have a mechanic check it out. Not sure what I would do in that case.

Hope that helps.

Debbie

Thanks Debbie, really helpful. Yeah, the guy friend thing might be a good idea, at least in situations that don't feel completely comfortable. You would think with my stunning new MINI, I'd have found the perfect boyfriend by now to help out with these matters . . . well, maybe it will take a week or two more . . . :rolleyes: Hey, tonight, I was really getting the hang of driving. I felt such ease and confidence behind the wheel. Oh, I said to myself as I leaned into one of those curves, *this* is what it's all about! :) :) :)

Thanks Debbie, really helpful. Yeah, the guy friend thing might be a good idea, at least in situations that don't feel completely comfortable. You would think with my stunning new MINI, I'd have found the perfect boyfriend by now to help out with these matters . . . well, maybe it will take a week or two more . . . :rolleyes: Hey, tonight, I was really getting the hang of driving. I felt such ease and confidence behind the wheel. Oh, I said to myself as I leaned into one of those curves, *this* is what it's all about! :) :) :)

Isn't it a great feeling being behind the wheel of your MINI? Even after a month (today), I still can't get over it. I just love that little car, and every time I see it, it makes me smile! I think I appreciate it even more by not driving it every day. Of course, as soon as I sell the other car, I suppose I will be driving it a little more often. It will be rough at first :p , but I guess I will get used to it.

Good luck with the used car selling.

Hey - what's going on here. This is only the second message posted here today. We are supposed to be keeping the March Production Group thread alive! With all the excitement driving our MINIs, surely there are lots of stories to tell!

dp

Good to see that after a month you still love your car db! ;)

I've had mine one week today and we have put 2000 kilometres on it (1,200 miles). It's run in now and ready to 'scream' (just a little bit!)..

It's pretty high maintenance though. I've cleaned it three times already all around... I've done the wheels at least five times! :O

Good to see that after a month you still love your car db! ;)

I've had mine one week today and we have put 2000 kilometres on it (1,200 miles). It's run in now and ready to 'scream' (just a little bit!)..

It's pretty high maintenance though. I've cleaned it three times already all around... I've done the wheels at least five times! :O

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've only put 650 miles on mine so far (I'm pacing myself), but I've already washed it three times, and have had to clean the wheels a couple of times too. I hear the brake dust lessens after a while - I hope so! The part that seems to get dirty the fastest is the boot. It seems to attract dirt so fast!

dp

Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha! Apparently, you've never owned a Bimmer.

It NEVER lessens . . .

I'm sorry, but I still have tears in my eyes from laughing . . .

Hey, March Builders, can we just make a pact? Dirty wheels (fronts, especially) ought to be seen as a badge of honor; it's what MINI ownership is all about. It's what sets us apart from the rest. Let's just learn to appreciate it for what it is.

Wudda ya say?


I hear the brake dust lessens after a while - I hope so! The part that seems to get dirty the fastest is the boot. It seems to attract dirt so fast!

dp

surely there are lots of stories to tell!

dp

Okay, here's one that perhaps isn't very exciting, but I liked it, so here goes. :)

I was at the middle school yesterday at about 5:00 to vote on the school budget. I parked Obie and got out, and along comes another MINI, a black over PW 'S' with black bonnet stripes. The driver and I make eye contact and he gives me a thumb-up, which I return almost simultaneously. That made me smile.

Zip

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've only put 650 miles on mine so far

Hmm, I think I may be in the lead for least mileage in a new MINI. I got my car April 30th, and have just under 450 miles. :(

Zip

Break in is over!

Passed 1200 on my way to work this morning. :D

Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha! Apparently, you've never owned a Bimmer.

It NEVER lessens . . .

I'm sorry, but I still have tears in my eyes from laughing . . .

Hey, March Builders, can we just make a pact? Dirty wheels (fronts, especially) ought to be seen as a badge of honor; it's what MINI ownership is all about. It's what sets us apart from the rest. Let's just learn to appreciate it for what it is.

Wudda ya say?
Sorry dood, I'll stay on the side of cleaning the wheels (even though it's a PITA to do). I just can't take the sight of our MINI being all clean and then leaving the white wheels to look medium gray from the dust. As for the amount of brake dust, well...it's reducable by changing out to Green Stuff pads or better yet...ceramic pads which have virtually no dust at all (but cashy as hell). I'll be switching mine out to the Green Stuff pads in a few hundred miles (or less..almost to the 1250 mark now!) Also, I bought brake dust shields to try on the front wheels to see if that slows it down a little. (certainly can't hurt)
I figure..I bought the darned white wheels...I better clean em or change em. :rolleyes:

I finally got my Union Jack installed along with my Bonnet Stripes - it took a month to get this all worked out - looks great now!

I've also included a shot from the 34th floor of my building.

I think it goes faster now too :)

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/3954/61592_thumb.jpg (http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/3954/61592.jpg)

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/3954/61593_thumb.jpg (http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/3954/61593.jpg)

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/3954/61594_thumb.jpg (http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/3954/61594.jpg)

Break in is over!

Passed 1200 on my way to work this morning. :D
Does this mean the trip home will be slightly quicker than the ride to work?? :rolleyes:

Does this mean the trip home will be slightly quicker than the ride to work?? :rolleyes:

Actually, the trip to work was 9 miles, the trip home was 37. :D

Actually, the trip to work was 9 miles, the trip home was 37. :D
I bet it seemed quicker in terms of fun-per-minute, huh? :D

We are at 1037 right now and use any excuse in the world to just get out for a few minute drive. (like now..we are gonna go find a stretch of country road and look for deer. (we'll drive slow as to not meet one upclose and personal) I just like going out and seeing them as they amble out of the woods for feeding. Like I said..any ole' excuse works for us. :rolleyes:

EDIT: 1070 now. And we saw about 5 deer tonight. Pretty lil things.