[KarmanS]

Welcome, Jeremy!

[yukclee]

Hey, AR75. I pick up my Cooper on about the same day in Hong Kong too. Mine one is a silver green with black top and CVT.
Just had my first oil change at 3000km. Picked up the oil filter from BMW and it is a very complicated thing as the filter won't just fit neatly.
Given there are not many mini's in this part of the world yet, shouldn't we stick closer and exchange experience in keeping the car fun?
Y.C. Lee

[ar75]

Hi, Jeremy and YC Lee,

I'm happy enough to see HK Mini owners in the forum. I saw a silver green / black Mini some days ago in Tai Po area. Is that your baby? If you had read the thread from the very beginning, you should have knew my experience of dealing with BMW. Finally I sent a email stating my view to D. Chau, the sales manager of BMW, last Tuesday, but ther is no response. Could you believe that? By the way, my Mini is 3,200 km now. I really want to know if there is any improvement in the performance of your Mini.

[ar75]

Hey KarmanS,

Havn't seen you around since the World Cup. Is everything going alright? What about your new Mini?

Best Regards,
ar75

[yukclee]

Yes, If you see the Silk Green black top in Tai Po area, that should be me. But lately just noted another one in Shatin area too.
I had an oil change done over the weekend. Used 4.7l redline though it costs me more than others. Noticed quite some improvement during the long drive to Fanling last night. It used to rattle a little bit when the car was just started. Now it disappeared. And the car runs smoother too. Seems to have a bit of extra power too but that one may be just out of my imagination. Anyway, the oil change is well worth the effort and money in my opinion.
So I will comfortably have my car run until the 11 months and let BMW has the service. Then I will terminate my relationship with BMW Hong Kong for their lousy service.
Y.C. Lee

[ar75]

In addition to more power, I'm sure that gas consumption will be improved also. It seems that you do the oil change yourself. If not, where do you go? I want to buy an oil filter from BMW and take it to Pitstop, a service centre under the brandname of Sime Darby, to have things done for me.

Hope to say hello to your baby along the "lousy" Tolo Harbour Highway.

[KarmanS]

Quote:

Originally posted by ar75
Hey KarmanS,

Havn't seen you around since the World Cup. Is everything going alright? What about your new Mini?

Best Regards,
ar75

Hi ar75,
Yes, it's been a while. How are you? Long story short, I cancelled my allocation for my MINI since I am still in the midst of my job search. Kind of sad considering I have been on the waitlist for 10 months Once I secure a job I will consider putting myself on the list again.

Apart from the dealings with BMW HK, hope you are enjoying your MINI thus far. Question to you along with other HK members, do you guys have pics to share? Would love to see your cars. Boardmember by the name of 'PureGo' is also from HK as well. Perhaps you guys could organize a MINI HK meet sometime in the near future.

Warm regards,
Karman S.

[yukclee]

The fuel economy may possibly be better but it's hard to tell whether it's due to the oil change or simply the run-in of the car. But just given the better feel, I heartily recommends the oil change.
I am starting to look for a suitable stress bar. The one produced by Blue Thunder looks nice. Have a look at it:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...threadid=12351
I am also thinking about a new air induction kit too. A friend who developed one for the HK Peugeot 206 club promised me to take a look at it and possibly develop one here locally.
I think our HK mini users should stick closer as I doubt the service provide by BMW HK very much. Given the sales service was so poor, we most likely have to find other means to maintain our cars.
If you drive along Tolo harbour, watch out for KN6566. That's me!
Y.C. Lee

[ar75]

**6566, I'll catch you some day along the Tolo Harbour or I'll caught by you when your baby is equipped with a stress bar and a high performance air induction kit. Watch out! I'm **9709. I have to stop here because I am going to Causeway Bay immediately. Long and nice drive.

[yukclee]

One word of caution from my experience of changing oil. The filter I got from BMW parts department costs me HK$90. But when the mechanic tried to replace the old one, the cylinder was 32mm and bigger and didn't fit the new filter. A little bit of force was required to fit it in. Frails has a thread that well described the process and here is another one too:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/maintenance-mini-care/8445-first-oil-change-when.html
The filter part number I got is 11 42 7 512 446
It is quite a stupid process as at first you stuck up and the part doesn't fit. And not many people in Hong Kong has that experience.
Y.C. Lee

[kbgnat]

Yuclee, i think i saw your car in Tai Po too. Although i was born here in the UK, my parents are both HK citizens. And every year we go back to spend the summer months in Hong Kong. We have a holiday home in Tai Wai, and thats were I think i saw your mini this summer. We often go on these vacations for several months, therefore you can understand how much i miss my mini. There aren't many mini owners in Hong Kong, so when i saw your mini fly past us, i was very homesick. Glad to be back now though. During our entire stay, i think i saw four minis, your silk green, a liquid yellow, a silver with black roof and stripes, and the classic red and white. All looked ace!!

[yukclee]

Thank you, Kbgnat. There are not too many Mini's in Hong Kong yet. So it is easy to spot each other. I hope you will be with your Mini soon. After 3000km of running, it is getting better and better. And it is so much fun in taking it to roads with lots of twistings.
And it is glad to see most of the Minis in here are kept in very good condition.
Y.C. Lee

[yukclee]

Hey, ar75. Saw your Chili Red on Saturday at Tai Mei Tok. I arrived pretty late at about 6:30PM for dinner and parked on the other lane. Probably you didn't see me.
Nice car!
YCLee

[ar75]

yukclee,

What a pity! I brought my golden retreiver to have a walk along the Plover Cove that day. I got there at about 5pm and leaft at about 7:30pm. If I had seen your car, we might have a chane to share our grievance over the dealer. Hope to see you again.

[yukclee]

Hi, ar75. There is always the next chance. I drove along Taipo and Sai Kung area a lot so we will meet each other some other day. By the way, love golden retriever a lot. But my wife has 2 cats. So that kinda inhibit me to have any dog.
Y.C. Lee

[ar75]

yukclee,

It's typhoon signal no.8 now. Cheer up. I'm sure that you're on your way home. Have fun. My wife loves the adorable golden girl the most, the Chili Red the second, and ......what about me? However, she still conjures me to have a cat for the companion of the golden girl. Strange enough? Maybe my wife should have a good talk to yours.

[yukclee]

The unexpected typhoon makes yesterday a miserable one. I didn't get home until 4pm. So it is not much a gain but then I have to catch up all the work today.
With the typhoon and no insurance coverage, it was a rest day for the "Big Eye Boy" - as my wife called the Mini.
Occasionally dogs do get well with cats. But my cats are very proactive. I have more worries about the dog than the cats.
Y.C. Lee