[tburt]

I might be moving to Calgary this summer and I was wondering if there are any organized MINI clubs out there.

Cheers

[miniman marshall]

Im from Calgary, but havent seen or heard of any yet... quite a few MINIs cruisin around though

[Tone]

Was there staying with relatives recently.
Bloomin' nice place.
Get a club going and why not take the MINIS down the ski slope and bobsleigh run at the Winter Olympic Park?
Yeesssssss.

[Jag Jag]

It would probably be better for now to do an Alberta Club, to include Edmonton and other Albertans, as there are not that many potential members right now. I vaguely recall that someone in May had put a note out in the Western Canadian Roll Call thread seeking interest in whether we could hold an Alberta meet, but I think no one really replied. I certianly would be interested if one of you Calgary owners wanted to take the initiative.

BTW, I took the Cooper in for service at Crowfoot a few days ago and saw a Red/Black Cooper decked out with "Go Flames go". I thought this was a dealer inspired thing but the car is featured on teh MINI.ca website. It is apparenlty travelling to Toronto during the Cup playoffs.

I would be interested in making an Alberta/Calgary club. I will start a thread about a gathering, and see how many ppl we can get. Check out www.mini.ca for more pics of the "flames" mini.

[tntomek]

All for the Calgry club...

Anyone else interested?

Just went to the 2004 Mini Meet in Edmonton in june ...38 Mini's in all... only 4 new ones...There must be 100 New MINI's in Calgary...

Anything further on this? Lets get a calgary mini club rolling before summer is over.

-R

[rhogg]

Don't know what I'd use the club for, but i'm always up for an ice cream run Problem is My Favorutie Ice Cream Store is only about 6 blocks away.

[luVlee]

I LIVE IN CALGARY TOO!!! OH MANG ITS LIKE MEETING RELATIVES ON VACATION DUDES!!! COOOOL! but club? in Calgary? Lots of OLD folks own minis in calgary and I bet it will turn pretty slabby. So i donno. lol

[miniman marshall]

im in if we can get somethin started!

[rhogg]

I guess I'm old because i don't know what slabby means Uh Oh its past my bed time

So when/where can we meet, and who's in?

rhogg, how's the new BRG MCS treating you....?

[rhogg]

What more can I say. Its flawless! Well other than the Stumble and the YoYo and premature tire wear (well OK thats my fault) and a bit of a nightmare with the roof rack installation.

I've added a Mini circuit and the Radio Shack rear light mod. Have not added rear fogs as intended, as i haven't been able to source the full bank of toggle switches even after 2 attempts.

They say true love is enjoying the flaws. This car has great "character" and I love driving it.

Shopping for winter tires, and pondering what performance upgrades would open my tightly clasped wallet.

DId you see The Mini Hill Climb on Fifth Gear? I think a first event could be timed runs up the Norquay access road. Well No I guess that might be illegal. I'd be up for just a simple meet to see what other s have on their cars. Maybe the "kid" could give an old man a ride in his "Works" and possibly answer my pondering which is undoubtedly a slabby thing to be doing...

Quote: Originally Posted by rhogg

What more can I say. Its flawless! Well other than the Stumble and the YoYo and premature tire wear (well OK thats my fault) and a bit of a nightmare with the roof rack installation.

Any chance you were heading up highway 93 a week or so ago. There was a BRG MCS that waved at me going in the opposite direction.

-R

[rhogg]

Quite possibly - We were out to Lake Ohara a couple of Sunday's ago Is that 93? We had a full car.

Sort of a funny story as to why wew were out there. We were out to spread some ashes My wife tells me that we all need to keep Sunday free as her Dad is going to spread his dad's, named Pres, ashes at the great divide. Well the kid cancels work, we book the day. Its all a little weird since Pres died about 6 years ago. But hey whose going to question a son's decision on his father's ashes.

Well we park - hike up to the great divide. I'm pretty impressed because no one is very emotional. My father in law asks if I will take a picture of his family as he spreads the ashes. So I jump across the stream. I can't help but think as the ashes are being dumped into the water that a life doesn't amount to much. I mean lieterally there were not a lot of ashes!

About 20 minutes later I'm walking back to the car with my son and he says to me. "Whose ashes were those?"

"Your great grandfather Pres" I replied.
" Are you sure" he says, "because the box says TESS." I start to chuckle.
"I can't believe I skipped work to bury a cat!" he says. Yes indeed Tess was Pres's cat and outlived him by about 5 1/2 years.

Needless to say we all earned major brownie points that day. My wife for turning out her whole family for a cat, and the rest us for my Wife's mistake.

Quote: Originally Posted by rhogg

Quite possibly - We were out to Lake Ohara a couple of Sunday's ago Is that 93? .

haha, funny story.
Not sure where Lake Ohara is, but hwy 93 is the one heading up to Radium/Invermere/Fairmont just past Banff...

[rhogg]

Thats the road. Must have been us.

[bighead411]

i live in calgary too, i'm planning to own one, my concern is as below!!

Hi everyone, i'm new to here. i'm planning to get a Cooper's(hopefully 05). and i just start doing some homework before i go pay the deposit. i think the price is very reasonable. my main concern right now is duration(i know warranty cover), what i mean is i'm planning to keep it for a long time like 10-15 yrs. i don't wanna get the car in the dealership and doing services and maintaince all the time until i broke.(i've bad experience with Bimmer, that's why although i like the New 330, but i won't buy it). especially the electronic component.

can u guys name out the Cooper S common problem, and special care. i'm not planning to do serious performance upgrade(just basic thing like intake, wires and exhaust) your help will be appreciate. thank you

[rhogg]

The MCS has some characteristics as opposed to problems:

It can stumble or hesitate on launch from a srandstill unless you rev ( Mine does)
It tends to have some uneven fuel feed between 2 and 3 KM RPM commonly known as the YOYO go see the Yoyo chronicles on NAM (Mine is minor just a litlle burble)
Tire choice is personal. You might have a choice of 16" or 17" and each have their devotees. I have 16" which are lighter adn have a better ride.
The auto climate control has had some reported difficutlies.( I dont have this)
The Sunroof presubaly rattles on some cars. ( I dontl have this either!)
Some people have found the leather on the leather seats loose (I have leatherette).

Buld quality was questionable in the early years and many of the problems you hear about stem from ealier builds. My Feb 04 MCS has been excellent.

Other than that I dont think there is anything else tahth is current. Oh yes the windshiled have been prone to cracking but mine OK and this seems to have been a problem with eth front defrosters and appears to have been corrected.

Some other minor suff and the usual weird stories of the occaisionl lemon or odd failure but basically this is a solid well received, high satisfaction car.

The biggest problem is you will drive much fster than you used to. and you still get stared at a lot.

My sense after all of 5000kms is that it is a solid little car that should last a long time

The 2004 MC, and MCS both got "EXCELLENT" or "GOOD BET" ratings by consumer reports as well.
Previous years has the "not recommended rating".

I have 13,500 HARD kms on my MCS, and have yet to have any problems. Other than the door locks freezing at -30.

I have NEVER experienced the stumble, or yo-yo I have heard about from others. Mine is VERY smooth. I have 17" tires, the ride is what I would call "solid" but not harsh. Way better ride than my previous car, (Dodge Stealth TT on 18" rims). No problems with sunroof, or climate control. I also chose leatherette, since I have had wear/tear problems with leather on previous cars. The leatherette is great.. BMW has made excellent progress on fixing the build concerns of previous years. My only complaints....don't have enough time to drive it, and the roof is right in my line of site when I'm trying to view traffic lights. Oh, also replace the stock tires, they really suck.

I had the same concerns as you did when I bought mine, since I was just selling a car I had spent over 8 grand in maintenance on. I researched the MCS for nearly 8 months before buying...

I will be buying a 2nd MCS as soon as possible....still can't decide on colour?

My advice to you is to try and get a discount on a left over '04 once the '05's arrive.