Does being on line help

I've found it to be a huge help. I had the cold-start problem, and thru online self-education I was equiped with so much info that when I email my SA he agreed instantly to doing the full SIM110207 fix, without even trying to hear the noise. That was such a relief for me.

On smally DIY issues, especialy detailing, guys like you and Richard have been invaluable to me and others. A big thanks.

I'm not very technical and being online has helped me better understand how my MINI ticks and helps me be more aware of what to watch out for. With the recent HPFP recall notices, I'm going to take that info to MINI Canada and hound them as to why I don't have that notice yet.

 

I first looked at a MINi as a means to beat the rising fuel prices. After the test drive all that started to change. I tracked her from the UK to here and have been using the forums from then on. Evereything I needed to know has been there, but one needs to learn which posters know their stuff (advice can be trusted) and which ones just toss stuff out there (just to see it in print). I feel like part of the community and a fine community it is.

Jim

 

Being online is a great way to stay in touch with MINIacs you meet at all the gatherings. People from all over the country, even Canada, Lotsie, where lots of really good people come from to play

All the advice and ideas you get are very helpful. Everyone has been through something we need to know about and I don't know of a better forum to be on than M/A :idea:

Mark

 

Shortly after we got our first MINI my wife commented "I thought we bought a car. I didn't know we also bought a lifestyle"...

And she was right, thru the MINI community we've met some wonderful folks, taken lots of fun trips and seen and done so many things. My MINI is also responsible for getting me back on a racetrack - something I did last in the 70's!

The forums are an integral part of the whole MINI "thing" for me, I've learned and I hope I've helped others learn too. I've routinely held shop days at my garage and taken part in other's to help with their cars. Thru the forums I've learned about events in other regions (and attended a few) and have had fun and interesting "conversation" with people I haven't even met yet.

About the only thing I don't do is the detailing - and it shows, unfortunately. I'm too busy driving it to spend time polishing it!

It gets washed regularly at the drive thru carwash (*collective gasp*) and vacuumed and wiped down, but I'm afraid that's about it, since it lives outside year round.

So, any of you who are agast at my lack of detailing, I'd be happy to trade some maintenance work, oil changes,sway bar or suspension installs or whathaveyou for a good polish!

 

I'm right there with you Minidave.

 

I did it for glory and women. Instead I got infamy and Nate's IM and phone number. :confused5:

 

I was never great about keeping the car showroom clean. I would generally hand wash and give her some klasse twice a year, but as far as interior? Vacuum and wipe down and off to thenext thing. Now with a baby, I suspect it'll be everything I can do to keep the interior only minimally coated with milk and goop.
Love it all the same!

 

To answer your question absolutely

I came to MINIdom looking for a fun car that could get me decent gas mileage when gas spiked to $4/gal

Was kinda a detail guy but this car has taken me over the top to full blown OCDdom

I was never interested enough to really want to do any mechnical work yet I tackled and have done brake jobs, etc (with allot of help from MA and the DIY info)

I was never that interested in performance driving yet the MINI has motivated me to do HPDE's and generally terrorize the countryside

Met some really cool MINI people and some not so cool MINI people but thats par for the course

 

We joined the forums before we even got the MINI and it has been a great source of info and many friendships have been formed over the years. We bought RDNZL for the pure joy of driving, had nothing to do with saving fuel cost, because to be honest if you drive like me then your not looking for fuel ecconomy

Cheers
Mr. Jim

 

I bought the MINI because on CarMax cause it was the only thing listed within my price range that still has a sports car heart with a loud and unique style.

And I used to own a DSM (Diamond Star Motors Eclipse, Talon, Laser) which is a purely online community. I learned everything I know about cars from reading online. You're going to need a community online unless you have a good amount of money to pay a mechanic or you know someone who is mechanically inclined.

Yes, in short online will help tremendously. I even installed my new Turbo/BOV/Piping on my 97 Eclipse GS-T from a diagram done in MS Paint from dsmtuners.com.

 

I'm constantly surprised at the level of difficulty of the jobs people are willing to tackle on their MINI, with only an online step-by-step to guide them, and no real mechanical training or experience.

And good on them for trying too!

 

If you have instructions and a basic high school education, you should be able to perform ANYTHING on a car. It just takes patience, problem solving skills and more patience.

I love seeing someone fight through a fix for days, then say "Done." :cornut: It is a feeling like none other to be riding around on your own handy work!

 

I believe they call that feeling "fear".

 

I gotta say...nah...to that.

I have a little more than a HS education and when it comes to wrenching on a car I have issues. I can turn a phrase, not a wrench. We all have areas where we just don't "get it" while others point and laugh at us for how it those things come to them.

 

I'm sorry but I completely disagree with this - it should be so, but the reality is that it's not.

I have 4 brothers, 2 of which could probably do anything mechanical they were called upon to do. I have two other brothers, both with college educations and advanced degrees - neither should ever hold a screwdriver - in fact I doubt they know which end to hold!

Some people have that mechanical bent, others do not - that doesn't mean they're not smart, capable or educated, it just means they're smart in other ways.....

But they do not have the inherent sense, technical bent or even interest to do this kind of work. And they shouldn't.

I also do not think that your first attempt at a mechanical repair should be on something that if done wrong could end your or someone else's life. Start with the easy stuff, and let someone knowledgable look over your shoulder and guide you if you want to learn the more involved stuff. I think folks today are so accustomed to the plug and play world of computers that they think everything is so......it's not.

I used to work on cars for a living, and I can't tell you how many times I found new brake pads installed with the metal side turned towards the disc, or cross threaded wheel nuts or spark plugs. Or distributors timed backwards or 180* out, or oil filters not tightened, or engines restarted and driven with no oil or water in them and on and on......things that make complete sense to me to check or just to know, yet completely escape the occasional DIYer. No, this is not an indictment of all DIY or weekend warriors, but not everyone should work on their car.

 

I am with Minidave on this. I have a relative who I've seen screw up putting a light bulb in. A sharp object like a screwdriver is an accident waiting to happen. But he's owned a body shop for the past 18 year, or so. He just doesn't do any work himself, thank god.

 

The great thing about the MINI community is that we learn from each other. I wish I had Nathans skill with words and perhaps if I read enough of his post I will improve my word skills. I envy Dr Os electrical skills and learn from him. Octane and Lotsie have improved the eye appeal of my MINI immensely! And Khuevo mechanical knowledge is so wonderfully detailed.

There are so many others I could (and maybe should) list but you get my drift here.

 

I just went past 7 yrs of MINI forum life and I can't think of anything that has helped out with MINI ownership more than the folks I have met online. This is truly the first thing I check whenever I have an issue I want to address.

 

I'll wash, clay and wax your MINI if your give mine an oil change