[ar75]

I am going to pick up my new Mini tomorrow. After reading others' bad experience posted in the Forum, I feel a little bit uncomfortable. Could anybody give me some advice on points to which more attention should be paid?

[hachomini]

Hi! What color and options do you have for your mini? Is your mini in HK?

Congrats and post some pics when they come available!

[Spectra]

Congrats & enjoy your new Mini. Just some tips as u pick your Mini:
- perform the basic tests (test the following: a/c, radio, power locks/windows, and so on, etc...)
- bring your own tire gauge & check PSI of all tires. All my tires were fine when I picked the car up. But several has posted that they tend to be overinflated;
- constantly check your coolant level the first few days/weeks. Many has posted that it needs frequent replenishment. I've had my Mini for almost a week now with about 250 miles. So far so good. Must be that VPC is doing a better job testing, checking, & "training" the Minis.

[ar75]

Thank you guys. Yes, I am in Hong Kong. My Mini Cooper CVT is chili red with white roof (w/o sunroof) and equipped with multi-function leather steering wheel, black cloth/leather upholstery, 16" 195/50 R16 Datona alloy wheels (tyre specification unknown) and (should have been) lot of happiness. The dealer said that mine would be the first chili red Mini Cooper in Hong Kong but I would not take it serious. However, I am unhappy now. I have just called the dealer to confirm the delivery time and, you know, I have dressed up a little bit also. They told me that they had lost the keys and were going to find me a new set. What a mess!

[hachomini]

I hope everything gets sorted out soon.

I am also from HK and will be there this summer. Are there many Mini Coopers there now? What colors do you see most?

GOod luck and keep us posted on your new MINI

[Morty]

mmmm Hong Kong .... What a joy

Good luck with your MINI mate...

[ar75]

Finally I get my Mini at about 6:30 p.m.. The dealer requested me to sign a letter stating the recognition of the lost spare key before I could collect my Mini. They will change a new lock set for my Mini next week. That means I shall drive my Mini back to the dealer the other day and pick it up on the next. What about my time cost?

According to to materisl of the dealer, my Mini will be equipped with "Multi-function leather steering wheel with steptronic control thumb switches" and "Alloy wheels-Datona 16" 195/50 R16". However, I only find audio and cruise control switches on the steering wheel and 4 16" 195/55 tyres. What do you guys think? Also, my Mini was registered on May 17 and the warrnanty started on the same day, but I just collected it this aftrernoon with a milage of 46 km. I think there may be something wrong and will ask for an explanation from the dealer.

Anyway, driving my Mini is full of fun, superb handling and excellent conering excite me so much.

According to the June edition of "Automobile", a local car magazine, BMW intends to supply 250 Mini to HK, there are over 100 orders for Cooper S as at mid-May and the dealer expects 600 Mini will be delivered before the end of 2002.

Since Mini is not as popular as Toyota and Honda, it is hard to tell which colour can be find the most. The fact is that I live in a housing estate comprising of about 400 apartments and 3 Mini Cooper CVT, yellow with black roof, silver with black roof and my chili red with white roof, are found.

[indimini]

ar75,

Congrats on getting the MINI! I was wondering what tires they put on your car. Are the 195/55-16's run-flats? In the states, 16" tires on the Cooper are run-flat, so there is no need for a spare.

[ar75]

Tyres are the model equipped with run -flat function and the model is Goodsyear Eagle NST 5. Is it the same in the States? Since there is no spare tyre behind me, it sounds strange to me.

[indimini]

I believe that the Eagle NCT 5's are also what they are using for vehicles in the States. My car should be here in the next week, so I'll know for certain only when I see it. I was honestly hoping that they had switched to the Dunlop SP 9000.

[ar75]

indimini,

I think Eagle NCT 5 is a little bit noisy for driving here because highways are always paved with concrete cement with tiny scratches made by sweeping a broom over. As a result, considerable noise is produced by tyres and highways. Hope that it would be better in the States. Please let the forum know about your new Mini.

I've got some problems with my Mini: slight pull to the left, troublesome in resuming front seats to their original position after somebodies squeeze into the backseat and in openning the tailgate and malfunction in driver seat height adjustment.

[indimini]

ar75,

Thanks for the info. on the NCT's. I had original NCT tires on a BMW 325 years ago and was not very happy with the tires on anything but perfectly dry pavement. Sounds like they may have fixed some traction issues, but at the expense of some road noise. I wonder if that's due to the firmer sidewall of the run flats transmitting sounds into the car. Unfortunately, roads in the US can be pretty bad, especially in our Nation's Capital, so road noise is a concern.

Sorry to hear that there are some problems with the car. Hope your dealer gets them sorted out for you quickly. I'll keep the MINI2 crew informed of my upcoming arrival. The car was to have been unloaded from her ship today. She should be safe and warm in my garage by the middle of June!

[lawgee]

i m also from hk too~~ but live in vancouver
can i ask you your order date? and how long have u been waiting for the car to arrive?
i have order my car last week and the dealer said that the car wont be in until beginning of Sept!!! long wait for me~~~

[ar75]

I placed my order on 24 April and collected my Mini on 30 May. However, the dealer said that the only option I could make was to take it or not because the "spare" chili red Mini was on its way to HK. If I insist on Mini with red/black upholstery, I had to wait until August.

[KarmanS]

Congrats AR75 on your recent MINI purchase. Hope the various niggles won't bother you too much affecting your overall experience of MINI ownership. The dealer should be able to sort those out. IMO, the MINI is the perfect car to own in the HK with its tight parking spaces and surely you'll get to enjoy its handling on the twisties (such as those found at Magazine Gap Rd. running all the way to the peak and back the other way towards deep water bay. Those are the roads I usually go on a leisurely drive whenever I am back in HK) Hope you are enjoying your car to its fullest.

[ar75]

KarmanS,

I've been stuck on the World Cup these days. Exciting andunexpected results. What do you think?

I usually ride on my MINI in Sai Kung adn Ting Kok because roads there are narrow and full of twisties. Though my MINI is a CVT and is driven by front wheels (I used to own an Alfa Romeo 75 Twin Spark - front engine, rear gear box and rear wheel driven), I still love the performance of MINI.

[KarmanS]

Hi AR75, I am stuck on the world cup as well. Being in NY at the moment, you can imagine I am not getting much sleep watching those games which are full of surprises. Who do you think will take the cup? I don't want to predict because the results might be surprising as well!

Back to topic, Sai kung has some nice roads to stretch the MINI's legs. So how many miles do you have on it now? Unfortunately, I will not be returning to HK until later this year or next. Or else I would love to meet you. Glad you are enjoying your car.

[ar75]

Look at the flag you choose, it is easy to tell which one do you prefer. Don't you remember the 1998World Cup? I am sure that Brazil will lose when sufficient bets and chips are put onto theri yellow (golden?) jersey.

My MINI is now at 1,000km. I feel that it is powerful enough to be here in HK. However, I found that the I could not adjust the angle of teh backrest of the passenger seat. I just cannot believe it. By the way, have you got your MINI yet? Please let me know>

[KarmanS]

Hoping UK will win over Brazil, and that's without the chips on them or against them.

adjusting the backrest was a problem for me as well when I was trying out a cooper on the showroom floor at a local dealership.

I've on the waitlist since October here in the states. The MCS is expected in 2-3 months, but at this point I don't know if I will get the car since I am still in the midst of looking for a job in NY Hopefully something comes up soon so I can take delivery of such a wonderful car

[jerjermy]

I am new to the forum and is really happy to see that HKG already established a presence in this community.

Ordered a Cooper (brg/w), roof, MT due to arrive mid next month. Would love to upgrade with Cooper Works (read from other threads this might be coming soon)

I share the view wt rgds to the inability of the Mini sales....!! Hope we share more views in the future.

Regards
Jeremy