Have to agree about the MCSa, I love mine. :D
I remember you talking about it a long time ago and recall thinking "an automatic as much fun as a 5 spd? naaaaaa..couldn't be.."
Color me wrong :hmph:
If we truly consider an '07, my vote (less than 50% of the vote since it's her car) would be for the automatic. I saw no less fun in it than a clutch. At ALL. You know what may be the determining factor in a newer MINI? The color choices for '07. Sadly..the color we would kill for is only available on the converts. (the orange!) If they made that for an S..it would be a done deal tomorrow. No, I really love the look of the hardtop so (as does the wife) so we won't go the ragtop route.
BTW..even though this car is the wifes..*I* am the one who put the first noogie on it.:angry: I was trying to go around a (slow) person and got too close to the curb. I took off about 3 or 4 inches of white off of the right front wheel:frown: *sigh*
Anyhow..heres to hoping for an 07 MCSa, AW! Cheers:D

Taz - you probably can get the noogied wheel repaired. I had a nasty curb rash on our 1st MCS and a guy came, sat in our driveway, and got the wheels back to 99% of original for a very reasonable price. Check this site (http://www.mobilewheelrepair.com/) for information. No comment on the MCSa as I'm a stick driver from way back.

Hope you can make MOT.

Yes, hope you can make MoT :)

Taz, have you considered getting your own MINI? ;) Nothing wrong with a 2 MINI family, I have a MCSCa and the hubby has a MCSa. :)

Yes, hope you can make MoT :)

Taz, have you considered getting your own MINI? ;) Nothing wrong with a 2 MINI family, I have a MCSCa and the hubby has a MCSa. :)
Two things stop me from having 2 MINIs...
1) I need a truck to haul stuff since we constantly do work on the house, etc. (two kids in college also require that. LOL)
2) my wallet wouldn't like it either. :o
If I have more money than sense, I'd get one darned-near duplicate to the one we drove. Dark silver (dont remember the official color name) with light silver top, had leather seats but we still love our Leatherette.; chrono-pack was on it but we still love the speedo in the middle. (TOO unique to change!). Ahh..I can dream, can't I?
2.1) I'm too stingy to insure 3 vehicles for 2 drivers.:wink:
...But let me hit the Lottery and all those arguements go right out the window. :D
Taz

Taz - you probably can get the noogied wheel repaired. I had a nasty curb rash on our 1st MCS and a guy came, sat in our driveway, and got the wheels back to 99% of original for a very reasonable price. Check this site (http://www.mobilewheelrepair.com/) for information. No comment on the MCSa as I'm a stick driver from way back.

Hope you can make MOT.
That website is a gem of a find...thanks! As it turns out, they are in the Chicago area where my dealer is. I will be calling them here in the near future to see about fixing my noogie and then go catch a Cubs game. :)

You guys...what would I do with out all of ya, huh?
Taz O'minia (hey, it's St Pattys Day afterall)

Well, just to play temptress, did you know you can put a trailer hitch on a MINI? Fuzzy got one for his birthday and is installing it on his MCSa. :)

But we didn't get rid of the third vehicle that we use for heavy hauling. ;)

I've seen ads for that trailer hitch but I can't see myself doing that to CJ's car, and I like having my truck for haulin bigger things, so we'll have to tough it out and be a 1 MINI family. (wheres the lottery when I need it?)

Hey, on a totally unrelated note: anyone of our lil tribe here have a Sirius stereo in their MINIs? I have considered one but didn't like sticking anything on our roof but in another forum someone had their receiver up on the dash by the A post with no reception problems. Anyone else try that method? If that works, I may get one for the wife. (and get a second unit for my truck since the monthly fee is almost half for the second receiver)



...gettin' antsy to drive with the sunroof open...

I have a Sirius Starmate. I found some circular pieces of velcro and put a piece on the back of the antenna and the opposite side on the little rubber thingy where the sunlight sensor sits on cars with the auto A/C. There's space to run the wire between the dash and windshield, then down and over to wherever the radio is located (why does that wire have to be so non-flexible?). I have an aux input on the radio and an extra power point on the euro parcel shelf, so wiring things up is pretty easy.

Overall reception is fine, the signal is sometime lost for a couple of seconds after going under a bridge, etc, but small price to pay for not having the antenna on the roof.

http://www.carnutgarage.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10044/normal_Sirius%20antenna.jpg

That's niceee. That's what I was hoping for..subtle yet functional. You did your own wiring on that?
I didn't do the parcel shelf thing but I'm betting I can work around that. Like maybe getting the shelf now that we would have something to put on it? LOL
Anyhow, now that I know it can be done, it's time to run over to Best Buy and see what's cookin'!

Subtle, but functional, that's me.

I'm not sure what wiring you're referring to, but if you mean the extra power point, yes. It's a snap to install. If interested I'll post how to do it. Also, the parcel shelf is a very useful addition.

- dl

dl, I misspoke..not so much the wiring but *fishing* of that wire between the dash and the unit. Did you need to do much to fish that thru or was there ample room without removing stuff? (remember-I'm mechanically challenged here)

Just showed these posts to my son. The poor lad thinks he is getting the second sirius unit... He is gonna be crushed when he sees his mother and I with both of them. hehehe

oh, thanks again for that Alloy Wheel Specialist site dl . I bookmarked it so I can give 'em a call on our next trip up to Chicago. The pics on their site look like they do a remarkable job and quickly too.

Wanna know the main reason I never got one of those parcel shelves? (besides not really needing it at this point?) I have NEVER had good luck with something that just needs a good "tug" to remove. The results are usually not as intended if you get my drift...
However, if we go through with getting a Sirius, well..I guess I'll have to try and just pray to the MINI Gods that I don't FUBAR it. (think mechanically challenged again)

Hey guys! Long time no talk. How's everyone's MINI doing?
My MINI is getting near the 10k service mark. No problems. Just a few minor irritating noises since it got cold. I still haven't had time to do any runs, but someday soon I hope.

No problems. Just a few minor irritating noises since it got cold.

Hey Kellzir, glad to hear your MINI is good. What sorts of minor irritating noises have you had? I've got some creaks and rattles around the dash that the service people can't seem to fix. It's these horribly beat up Bay Area roads, I think, all the shaking and bouncing about.

dl, I misspoke..not so much the wiring but *fishing* of that wire between the dash and the unit. Did you need to do much to fish that thru or was there ample room without removing stuff? (remember-I'm mechanically challenged here)

Sorry for the delay in responding. No real fishing or removing anything required. There is a small gap between the edge of the dash and the windshield that the wire will slip into. The wire can then be stuffed into the seam at the end of the dash and then runs under the glovebox - lots of space under there. Easy peasy. From there on it's just a matter of running the wire through existing spaces and finding a way of securing it - the antenna wire is long.

I mounted the actual radio onto the cupholder using the windshield mount. Used a couple of strips of velcro to hold it in place. Not the most elegant and I've actually removed the cupholder and am trying to figure out another way of getting the radio installed. The cupholder intstall looks like this:

http://www.carnutgarage.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10044/Mount%20close.jpg


oh, thanks again for that Alloy Wheel Specialist site dl . I bookmarked it so I can give 'em a call on our next trip up to Chicago. The pics on their site look like they do a remarkable job and quickly too.

The guy who worked on the S-lites on our previous MINI did an excellent job. He repaired all the damaged alloys at the local car dealers. I think he was actually no longer officially associated with the company, but I was very impressed. He literally sat in our driveway and repaired the wheel without removing it from the car. Got to a point where he was almost finished and then was not satisfied and basically started over again.

Wanna know the main reason I never got one of those parcel shelves? (besides not really needing it at this point?) I have NEVER had good luck with something that just needs a good "tug" to remove. ...
If you install it you will realize how useful it is. I have a few things stuck in there that would otherwise be difficult to store. I've installed one on each MINI we've had and never had a problem removing the factory knee bolster. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath and tug. Pops right off. (it says here)

However, if we go through with getting a Sirius, well..I guess I'll have to try and just pray to the MINI Gods that I don't FUBAR it. (think mechanically challenged again)
A FUBAR on installing the antenna as I described would be difficult to achieve. Trust me. The real issue is where to install the radio. I'm not a fan of having the suction cup mount on the windshield so it becomes an issue of searching for a place where it can go and not have wires popping all over the place.

Good luck.

P.S. Any decision on MOT?

Hey dl, thanks for that lengthy reply! I do believe I'll pick up a parcel shelf now (and with faith) and try to pull off that bolster. The Sirius radio now looks like a combination fathers day/mothers day present to ourselves, since your description of where the wire runs eased our fears of installation problems. (remember now...I CAN screw something up rather easily so I'll keep you posted on that part)
As for MOT, come to find out it was already decided before it got going. The wife had already put her vacation schedule in over 2 months ago. (they need it completed right after the new year) so July is where our bulk of time off is. We'll hope some kind of MINI run is going on closer to home about then. Hopefully, some avid photographer *ahem* will take some good pics of the MOT so we can see them though!
BTW, I looked over some of the pics in your gallery of your BRG runner and showed the wife. She thought it was a really great looking MINI. It's one of the very few MINIs she likes with stripes on it. (the black with accent stripes on the green sold her) VERY nice, bud.
Thanks again for all the help, text and photos. I appreciate it!
Randy

I posted this in the Exterior forum, but thought I would share with my littermates:

Finally got my LY MCSCa decorated:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy010.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy010.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy009.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy009.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy008.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy008.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy007.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy007.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy006.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy006.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy005.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy005.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy004.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy004.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy003.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy003.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy002.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy002.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/th_Daisy001.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/AprilWhine/Daisy%20MINI/Daisy001.jpg)

Hey dl, thanks for that lengthy reply! I do believe I'll pick up a parcel shelf now (and with faith) and try to pull off that bolster.
Randy -

Glad to help.

Never fear, easy job. The biggest problem you'll likely encounter is getting one of the screws holding the right (i.e. near the center of the car) top tab of the shelf into the hole on the bottom of the dash. Problem is that the two holes sometimes don't allign as well as they could. It can be done, but you may need to be a little creative in gettting things started. Some folks have not had a problem, so you may be lucky.

The Sirius radio ..... fears of installation problems..., etc
Installing the radio is not difficult. One thing to think about is how the output from the Sirius unit will get to the radio so you can hear it. One option is to use the FM transmitter in the Sirius unit. Works OK but as you travel to different areas you will probably need to tell the Sirius system to transmit on different frequencies as the one you may be currently using may (will) be used by a local station. Ultimately this becomes a slight nusance. The second (and best) option is to use the Aux Imput on the MINI radio. Simply plug a stereo mini-phono plug into the Sirius and the Aux Imput, select AUX on the radio and you're listening to sattelite. If you don't have the aux imput you can install it yourself. It's a little more involved, requires drilling three holes, and plugging the cable into the rear of the radio (which does not have to be removed). MINI calls for the Aux imput to be installed in the glovebox, which is OK, but I installed the one I have on the ever useful parcel shelf (also installed a second power point in the shelf). I think my Gallery has pictures of the Aux input. If you decide to do this I'll be glad to provide remote assistance. By the way, it you have the upgraded HK radio you may not have an Aux imput, but I'm nowhere near certain if that's a correct statement. You'll need to check.

As for MOT, come to find out it was already decided before it got going.... July is where our bulk of time off is. We'll hope some kind of MINI run is going on closer to home about then. Hopefully, some avid photographer *ahem* will take some good pics of the MOT
Too bad, you'll miss an interesting time. I'll likely be taking a lot of pics as will a number of others. They (or at least links to them) ultimately get posted on the MOT web page.

BTW, I looked over some of the pics in your gallery of your BRG runner and showed the wife. .... It's one of the very few MINIs she likes with stripes on it. (the black with accent stripes on the green sold her) VERY nice, bud.
Thanks for the compliment. I originally was hesitant about the stripes but the MA mentioned that the few BRG MINIs with black stripes he had seen looked pretty good. Since the price was right, I optioned for them and lucked out. Plans are to put matching stripes on the trunk within the next few weeks.

Good luck with your MINI projects.

- David

Hey Kellzir, glad to hear your MINI is good. What sorts of minor irritating noises have you had? I've got some creaks and rattles around the dash that the service people can't seem to fix. It's these horribly beat up Bay Area roads, I think, all the shaking and bouncing about.

I have a rattle on the dash too, on the driver's left air vent. I also have a knocking noise coming from the hatch area, can't seem to quite figure out where it is coming from. The worst part is not knowing the reason why it is making noise.:p

The second (and best) option is to use the Aux Imput on the MINI radio. Simply plug a stereo mini-phono plug into the Sirius and the Aux Imput, select AUX on the radio and you're listening to sattelite. If you don't have the aux imput you can install it yourself. It's a little more involved, requires drilling three holes, and plugging the cable into the rear of the radio (which does not have to be removed). MINI calls for the Aux imput to be installed in the glovebox, which is OK, but I installed the one I have on the ever useful parcel shelf (also installed a second power point in the shelf). I think my Gallery has pictures of the Aux input.
- David
Gee, you mean like the one I bought from the dealer and told them I would install it because they wanted a hundred bucks to install? I have such an Aux input unit here. And it's still sitting in a box a year later... may be time in install while the bolster is gone, eh?
Hey, once the weather here lets me play with the MINI in the driveway (I hate working on cars outside when its cold), I do believe I'll give 'er a shot. I really really like the idea of that input being in that shelf. (my MP3s runneth over)
Randy

Taz / Randy:

When installing the Aux Input be careful that the portion that sticks out from behind the little plate that says 'Aux Input' does not get bent or is jammed between the shelf and a hard surface that can kink it up. If that happens then there is an excellent chance that the connections in there will be disrupted and the input may work sporatically or not at all (don't ask how I know).

I have a rattle on the dash too, on the driver's left air vent. I also have a knocking noise coming from the hatch area, can't seem to quite figure out where it is coming from. The worst part is not knowing the reason why it is making noise.:p


Kellzir, It's seems from reading this board that people have been able to successfully find and fix these rattles and creaks, by the service people I've dealt haven't been much help. They did apparently put in "anti-rattle" tape, but it didn't improve things. At the moment, I'm not worrying about the little noises. With the relentless rain we're having here--just trying to hold onto my umbrella.

It begins again...

The fuzzy hubby is getting the first GP at our dealer, which means we are some of the lucky few taking delivery of the first in the US at Monterey...

Hi, Dave, Randy, Kellzir, Crosebud, AprilWhine!

Hey, I have been running an XM Roady into my Aux input, and it works great, but for one problem. You need to run a ground loop isolator between the XM/Sirius receiver and the input, or the HK radio won't "recognize" the signal, causing it to cut off and switch over to the CD mode for no apparent reason. It's an easy fix from Radio Shack.

So, nice to hear from everybody. I'm just over 8k miles. I feel like I need to take a long trip so I can get to my first service quicker . . .

Randy -

The second (and best) option is to use the Aux Imput on the MINI radio. Simply plug a stereo mini-phono plug into the Sirius and the Aux Imput, select AUX on the radio and you're listening to sattelite. If you don't have the aux imput you can install it yourself. It's a little more involved, requires drilling three holes, and plugging the cable into the rear of the radio (which does not have to be removed). MINI calls for the Aux imput to be installed in the glovebox, which is OK, but I installed the one I have on the ever useful parcel shelf (also installed a second power point in the shelf). I think my Gallery has pictures of the Aux input. If you decide to do this I'll be glad to provide remote assistance. By the way, it you have the upgraded HK radio you may not have an Aux imput, but I'm nowhere near certain if that's a correct statement. You'll need to check.
- David

Hey JohnnyL! I just reached a little over 10k and feel like it is worth every mile. I still need to take it on a nice trip.

I have yet to put any mods on the inside of the car, mainly exterior, engine and suspension work. Someday I will get my Ipod connected to it.

Hi everyone!

I hadn't been on here in a while and thought I would log in and check to see where the March 2005 group was. I was surprised to see it still on the front page. Yippee! Go March 2005 Group!

I'm still loving my MINI. It has about 7300 miles now. I sold my other car in February, so it's now my main car. No major problems to report. Something a little odd though. Exactly on its birthday, my husband's MINI had the Service Engine Soon (or whatever it's called) come on while we were on a little mini road trip. We stopped and looked it up in the book. It said that it was a sensort. We happened to be about 30 minutes from Charlotte MINI, so we called and asked if we could stop in. It was a Saturday, but they took us right in and checked it out. It was a knock sensor. Our normal MINI dealer made an appointment for us and replaced it the next weekend.

Here's where it gets weird. My MINI celebrated his birthday in mid-April. About two weeks later, my light came on, too! Same thing. We stuck one of those car chips in to check it out and got the same error. Our MINI dealer thought it was very strange that it happened to both of them so close to their birthdays. It was really weird.

So, if your light comes on...dont' be alarmed, but they suggest getting it changed out. It takes about 3 hours for a Cooper S.

Take care March Group! I won't let it be so long before coming back. It's nice to see so many people still here!

Have a good evening,

Debbie

Hmmm.... The Check Engine light also came on on my MCS a couple of weeks back. A very frequent cause of this happening is that the gas cap is loose. Checking that, the cap appeared to be on properly, but I reseated it. The light went off after a few start / shutdown / start cycles of normal driving as it's supposed to do. The car is sue for it's first service any time now so I'll be sure to ask to have the codes checked. Thanks for this information.

- David

Hey guys!

I just got back from a writing seminar in St. Petersburg, Russia. Had the time of my life and thought of you all because the MINI is alive and well there. Here are some photos. Not sure exactly what the context was, but these MINIs were being showcased outside this hotel.

crosebud

Nice!

Hey crosebud, I'm over in your area in mid August! Fuzzy and I are picking up his new GP in Monterey. :)

Cool, AprilW.,

If you have time, maybe we could meet up for dinner or a drink or something. I'll send you my email address and phone number.

crosebud

Helloooo MPG '05ers.
It's been a while, hasn't it? Scrolling back, I saw some interesting reading! The "check engine soon" light? It happened to us a little after our first service. A call to the service guys and they told me if it didn't go away I could get it replaced but it shouldn't be a large problem. They were right. It happened for a few days and then...nothing. Nada, Zip, Zilch. They said they would replace it at next service (or sooner if I wanted to run it up to them).

On a totally unrelated note: I was browsing the web and found a great site that has a huge list of phrases in Latin. I found a few that I thought would be applicable to Minis and I thought I'd share them with the '05 bunch. Here goes:

Rara avis ----- A rare bird, i.e. extraordinary or unusual thing.
Maximus in minimis (gotta love that one) ----- Great in little things. (told ya)
Multum in parvo ----- Much in little (i.e. small but significant)

Until next time,
Pactum serva! (I'll let someone look that one up)
Randy :D