MINI's Day Out

[RallyEX]

Warning! The following post contains pics of more MINIs than you can shake a stick at...

When we bought the MINI, it had around 51K, and at 57K or so the car requires maintenance. Inspection 1 is every 30K and is just a general checkup, but Inspection 2 takes place around every 55-60K and seems to have a 200 point inspection as well as belt replacements and whatnot.

I did a bunch of calling a while back to see who had the best deal on service, and Pittsburgh MINI was the most reasonably priced. After checking the popular forums, I decided that MINI of Pittsburgh had a good reputation and we could trust taking our service to them.

We scheduled Inspection 2 for yesterday, and around 9AM we hit the road and trekked to downtown Pittsburgh. We didn't see a single other MINI on the way there, but within 3 blocks of the dealership you could tell you were close. MINIs were popping up, circling the blocks like bees swarming around the nest. Kinda weird.

We arrived at the dealer and signed in for service.
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/miniservice.jpg

We walked into the service area and there were more MINIs in and around the shop that I had ever seen in one place before.

We had arranged for a loaner car, which they so graciously provided us with a 2006 Cooper S Convertible. Cool!
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/convertible-s.jpg
So we grabbed the keys and motored over to the Apple store to kill some time.


I found the cover for the buttons that operate the convertible top somewhat amusing.
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/miniconvertiblebuttoncover.jpg

Hey! Wonder how much one of these cost?
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/convertibleprice.jpg
Yikes! Guess I'll have to be careful with this thing.

Let's take a look around:
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/bimmers.jpg
Also a BMW dealership, so a few of them laying around.

http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis1.jpg
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis2.jpg
That's ours on the right getting a clean bill of health from the service technician.

http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis3.jpg
Good thing these cars are so small... space here is obviously at a premium. They've got em stacked five deep and two high.

http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis4.jpg
One of my favorite color combos... British Racing Green with the white top. Now if I could just find one with the brown brit-style leather, I'd be set.

http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis5.jpg
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis6.jpg
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis7.jpg
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/minis8.jpg
http://donbarber.net/~grubbt/movfast/miniservice/s-underneath.jpg
The underbelly of a Cooper S.

We got back around 8:30PM last evening after doing some shopping. A long day for us and the MINI, but necessary service and a clean bill of health for the car.. Only a misaligned washer nozzle and a loose shift knob were of real concern to the service tech. A misaligned washer nozzle. This was seriously one of the bajillion checkmarks on his list. Wow.

Just thought I'd share the trip and pics of some cool MINI's. Enjoy!

Thank you, drive through.

[m pwrd 3]

Looks like a fun trip!

And that is lots of minis I might have to shake a stick at them.

[Davis Silver Sti]

I want a mini

[evilnissan]

They do seem like a very fun car, lots of personality.

[RallyEX]

They are fun cars and have a personality all their own. Such a blast to drive, but driving on the interstate feels like such a waste of their potential.

The Cooper S Convertible definitely had a much softer suspension that ours does.. When Jason V. purchased the car originally, he had the Sports Suspension Plus package added, which has since been revised and softened due to complaints about the harsh ride I guess. Apparently the people who bought street legal go-karts didn't expect it to ride like a go-kart. Bah.

The convertible was fun, especially as an S which I've never driven before. The softer suspension made for a nice smooth ride in-town, but it was an automatic with a slapstick which took some getting used to. The MINI convertible is fun, but not really practical for us, so I doubt we'd ever own one. And at a hefty price tag of almost 29k and worse gas mileage, I think we'll stick to our Cooper just the way it is. Although the british racing green S in the showroom sure made it seem appealing for us to double up.

[s10ryan]

awesome....ive really thought about getting a mini lately because they are like a gocart.
ive just never had a chance to drive one yet

[MnAiXsImMoA]

neat place

just a fund fact today is exactly one year from the big mini wreck

[Chadwick]

I can see of bunch MINI swarming for the inspection! :D

[daveb91]

The convertables look aweful!! So much like an afterthought kind of like the vert PTs. Just doesnt look right.