BMW has publicly stated that a car made anywhere in their system is as good as one made in Germany....so they all get German vin#. You can pull it apart....the story developed over many years....but just know the vin# on any BMW telks you ZERO about the production location without you going to BMW to decode it. My English built MINI from 2005 (I watched it being built) had a GERMAN VIN#. Your car is NOT German built. Sorry. MINI cars are built elsewhere....usually England, but with other contract factories as previously noted....so often a non English MINI is not even BUILT BY BMW OR MINI, but under contract by a 3rd party. Might explain the trim falling off...jk there...they all seem to be of similar quality.
I love my German built MINI :cornut: Also, another reason to dislike BMW if it is in fact true. They know folks will avoid american made bimmers so they pull some bs move like that. That tells you right away that they're full of ****, if the cars were of the same quality they wouldn't want to hide their country of manufacture. And I didn't pull anything apart. I copied and pasted the comments added by the companies in control of VIN protocol when they were questioned about bmw's claims/statements/illegal actions.
Not denying, just wishful thinking After my research not only did I discover that I've been lied too and paid to be lied to, but also that there will be MINI's built in Germany, They spoke of it on one of the plant websites. So eventually... I'll be right. Oxford btw. It's Oxford. Mein Opa würde sich im Grab umdrehen.....
Regardless of where it was assembled - What did you do with your MINI today? (Lets get this back on track) For me, nothing! Left it in the barn. Maybe I will see if the wifey wants to go for ice cream cone tonight and take it for a spin.
I don't know, but it seems to be all the rage. Then again, I'm pretty much always out of step with the cool people. :frown2: CD
Is it cool enough there to go eat ice cream at a drive-in? Down here, I'd have to sit in the car with the windows up and the AC running, and that just isn't the same. CD
Nothing has changed sense this morning, I still have not done anything with my MINI! It still sits in the airport parking lot waiting on my return. But at 1am............. its patients will be rewarded. I will fire up the engine and hit the interstate like a man possessed, taping the rev limiter with the sweet sound of a screaming supercharger. We will pass cars like they are fence post standing still. Screaming through sleeping neighborhoods like a nightmare come to life as dogs howl in answer to the scream of the supercharger. Rounding corners with tires at the edge of grip. Behind us the night grows quiet agin, leaving behind the uneasy question of what screaming aberration broke the silence of the night and will it return? Man and machine reacting as one, nothing in the night dares to give chase. And as the sun comes up the people of the town will wake wondering if the creature of the night will return agin to shatter the silence of their mundane lives. But somewhere, in a quiet cove will sit a R53 its reward an oil change and bath as plans for the next run are made.
Will be filling up the MINI with some good Shell V-Power 93, checking all the fluids and heading out this morning with my better half for a nice leisurely back road trip... Today will be a trip to the Moyer Restaurant & Winery, located along the beautiful Ohio river.... Will be having some delicious food and nectar, supplied by the Greek god Dionysus....:drool See ya......
Working on a couple rust areas on my 2003 Cooper: - About 1/4 to 1/2 inch around the driver windshield washer nozzle - Under the door weather seal in a couple places on both sides. and also a several inch stripe at the rear quarterpanel just under and below the trim and a few small spots on the front of the hood of my wife's 2001 VW Cabrio. It's a nice dry warm-enough weekend to do it. Don't know that there will be many more as the season progresses. Masked off the areas, got down to metal and good paint and am using grey POR-15 to seal it, after washing the areas with their Marine Cleaner, wash and dry, and applying their zinc phosphate Metal Ready binder, wash and dry for prep as directed. After a couple coats, will sand (1000 then 2000 grit), primer, sand, touch up paint x 2, sand, then clear coat. With my skills, it will probably be easy to see where it was done, but I figure it should look good enough for a 13.5 year old car (and my wife's 15 year old one).
Whoever said the f56 justa's were faster than a stock R56 S is sadly mistaken. It's not even close. Fun jaunt into work this AM
Well, this happened Sat. but I just getting around to posting. Went to my local flea market in my MINI and there, on a blanket, was a new Bently manual thru 2006, and a book titled MINI cooper, Diagnosis Without Guesswork. I am embarrassed to say how little I paid for them. Sometimes the MINI Gods smile on you.
I watched the debate last night, so I was obviously a bit hungover this morning. :frown2: :biggrin5: But, I got up anyway, and drove the MINI to get some coffee. It was 61 degrees and low humidity. Neither candidate can take credit for that. Sooooo, I turned off the AC, and let the turbo suck up that cool autumn air. It is amazing what air can do when it is not 101 degrees. People spend thousands of dollars on mods, and it turns out the best mod is a cold front, which is free. It'll be back in the 80s tomorrow, so no more free horsepower until the next front, which may not be until christmas. :frown2: CD
Went into the configurator (MINI Canada) to check out pricing on a Clubman. So let's see. I want Chili red. Price = 0.00 So I selected it, and a window pops up saying I can only select red if I accept the following manditory packages totalling over $10,000. :eek6: So I backed out of that. So I decided I want the LED headlights. $1150. So I select on it. I get "This is only available with the Essentials Package "$1300". I guess the idea of configuring my MINI the way I want is no longer allowed. Too bad. My next car is looking less and less likely to be a MINI. I'll have to hang on to my R53 forever.
LOL, I feel for you. But, that is not just a MINI thing, so you are probably going to see it no matter what you shop for. That seems to be very common on "configurators." They claim to let you customize your car the way you want it, but in reality, they offer 20-times more options than you can actually get, a-la-carte. With the exception of option packages that provide two options you want, and ten that you don't want, for thousands of dollars, you are not likely to find any configurators that actually let you pick and choose the build of your car. CD
Got the final color coat on, but rain is forecast for the next 4-5 days. Next week will clean again, do a light 2000 sand and do the clear coat. The transition is definitely noticable at this point, but not too bad for a curbside job by an amateur.