[scottwkurth]

Picked up my new MCS today - it has been a wild day! I received some requests earlier to post pics once it arrived. I had the dealer fit the all chrome grill from the Cooper to it and aero-kit side-skirts only. So, here they are:

[droideka]

I could not picture how good it can be! Bravo! Do you have to pay extra to do that, and how could he just sell the side skirt without the whole package? I also wanted a chrome grille than a colour matched one, I think I like the grille in the aero kit but not black, I will try to custom make one with the stainless mesh like a Bentley.

[plaztik]

Hey!

I like the setup! It's similar to what I am considering.

Can you show more of the side skirts? I want just the skirts also, but I can't figure out how they need to be painted. (Isn't there some black on either end to match the wheel well?)

I've also considered sanding and painting all the black plastic (wheel arches and bumpers). It'd be black and smooth like the rest of the body. Again, I can't figure out how the pieces need to be painted. Any pics you have would help. Thanks!

Anyway...Very nice car! Bravo!

- plaztik

[scottwkurth]

Quote:

Originally posted by droideka
Do you have to pay extra to do that, and how could he just sell the side skirt without the whole package?

At least in the U.S., the aero kit is available piece-by-piece with no problems.

Quote:

Originally posted by plaztik
Can you show more of the side skirts? I want just the skirts also, but I can't figure out how they need to be painted. (Isn't there some black on either end to match the wheel well?)

I'll gladly take more pictures of the side skirts. Weather was overcast and snowy today; I'll do it as soon as we get a little bit of sun. Without the sun, it is difficult to make-out the Indi Blue / Black parts of the skirt.

Quote:

Originally posted by plaztik
I've also considered sanding and painting all the black plastic (wheel arches and bumpers). It'd be black and smooth like the rest of the body. Again, I can't figure out how the pieces need to be painted. Any pics you have would help. Thanks!

I had considered that myself. My sales advisor had been asked about that many times and the one car that he had seen looked great from a distance, but not so good up close due to the differences in texture between the plastic bits and the rest of the car. He said that the body shop had been quoting outrageous numbers for that due to the amount of fine sanding work required. He also said that a few people had opted to do the sanding themselves and then sent the parts to the body shop for painting only. Since the texture difference was the one piece that I wasn't sure about, that made up my mind not to do it. I'd love to hear from someone who has actually had the wheel arches and bumpers painted to see how they felt about the finished product. Me? Now that I have it, I wouldn't change a thing...

Quote:

Originally posted by MINIwannahave
I'll be ordering my MCS next month and I talked to my dealership about putting in the chrome grill. They said they could do it and it would cost $90.93 for the part and labor. However, this did not include the bottom slat. They didn't seem to want to do that. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost you to get the entire grill changed.

The parts for the install (upper and lower slats plus adhesive for the lower slat) were $110 USD. Labor is much more difficult to determine. They did all of my mods / prep at the same time and billed me for the total number of clock hours worked instead of charging the labor for each piece of work. It ended up taking longer to get the car, but it saved me money this way. That having been said, my dealer was reluctant to attack the bottom slat as well, but my sales advisor pushed for me (thanks!!! ). It ended up that they needed to remove the whole front bumper to change out the lower slat.

Quote:

Originally posted by MINIwannahave
Also, what dealership did you get it from?

I went with Patrick MINI in Schaumburg and worked with both Chuck and Peter at different times. They both were excellent to work with and I would strongly recommend the dealership to anyone within Chicagoland or the midwest. I haven't had a chance to sample the service department, but I have heard excellent things from my boss (who takes his 740 there).

[CoopeR]

This should give you an idea.

I hope you dont mind me using your car !

BTW I like the chrome grill. It really makes it.

[Milquetoast]

Looks great! Did you get the chrome license plate frame for the rear? Is this even possible? Seems like it's the same size for both the Cooper and S, so I'd think it would be interchangeable.

Interesting how people with Coopers want S stuff and people with Ss want Cooper stuff .

[rich]

Car looks great Scott

[erichui]

this car looks great.
and thw wheels match it too.
but i think that i depends on the colour of the car,
this car looks nice with chrome grills tho

[MINImalist]

Scott, that is a BEAUTIFUL car !!
Are those the dealer-optional wheels? I loved the look of them, but GEEZ my dealer wants a pile of cash for them!
Anyway, I just love the way yours turned out

[scottwkurth]

Quote:

Originally posted by MINImalist
Scott, that is a BEAUTIFUL car !!
Are those the dealer-optional wheels? I loved the look of them, but GEEZ my dealer wants a pile of cash for them!
Anyway, I just love the way yours turned out

Yeah - those are the R90's from the dealer. Beautiful, but pricey! I couldn't resist though. Thanks for the nice compliments - I just looked outside, and it is blushing.

[scottwkurth]

Quote:

Originally posted by plaztik
Can you show more of the side skirts? Any pics you have would help. Thanks!

Well, we had a nice sunny day today, so I took another shot of just the skirts to give you an idea of what is body color vs. black. Note the dirt and road grime indicating a happy, heavily-driven MINI over the last few days.

[Wynn]

un-FREAKING-believably gorgeous.

[noahe]

Quote:

The parts for the install (upper and lower slats plus adhesive for the lower slat) were $110 USD.

I really like it. This is the first solid evidence I have seen of the lower slat being changed.

Is it a replacement slat, or is it a cover glued on top?

Do you know if they sell the 3 slat grill in chrome, or three individual slats to convert a S grill to chrome, or is the 4 slat Cooper grill on yours the only solution?

Looks great.

[scottwkurth]

Quote:

Originally posted by noahe

Is it a replacement slat, or is it a cover glued on top?

Do you know if they sell the 3 slat grill in chrome, or three individual slats to convert a S grill to chrome, or is the 4 slat Cooper grill on yours the only solution?

Both the grills are stock parts off of the Cooper. The only other solutions that I have heard about are to purchase a "chroming" spray (search for this, I can't remember the name) or there are supposedly some sort of chrome stickers that can be put over the body-colored slats.

[Jon]

nice choice!

here's mine:

[Smurfn]

That looks excellent, the chrome really tops off the Indi Blue.

[azimmerm]

very nice! i am glad to hear that the chrome grille fits as i am considering doing this myself. A couple of questions... did you get to keep the original grille? is it possible to swap them back out if you so desired or is it permanent since the bottom slat is glued on?

[Redleg13]

pretty! enjoy...

[scottwkurth]

Quote:

Originally posted by azimmerm
very nice! i am glad to hear that the chrome grille fits as i am considering doing this myself. A couple of questions... did you get to keep the original grille? is it possible to swap them back out if you so desired or is it permanent since the bottom slat is glued on?

I did get to keep the original grill parts, but swapping them involves removing the bumper for the bottom slat. I saved them in case I ever decide to part with my MINI (not likely)and want to pass them along to a new owner.

Scott

[kidcharlemagne59]

Absolutely magnificent car - you should rightly be very proud.

STEVE