Newbie from Glasgow

[dezzyS]

Hi everyone :bigwave:

Just ordered a Mini Cooper in Midnight black from Harry Fairbairns in Glasgow. Got the Chili pack, white indicator lenses, anthracite roof lining, interior trim piano black, and 17" flame spoke alloys. Estimated delivery at the beginning of September. I tried Douglas Park and Harry Fairbairns, but Fairbairns did the better deal.

I've traded this in for the Mini:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/3666043234_b19f3d7251.jpg

I've been a Lotus owner for 3 years now. Had an Elise for a year and this Exige for 2 years now. My girlfriend has an Elise too, this one:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3588/3446101730_960b393bd6.jpg

We've decided it's getting a bit ridiculous being a 2 Lotus family in the current economic climate!!

I've been thinking about saving myself some money for a while and getting a more "normal" car again. It's been 3 great years of Lotus ownership and I've had loads of fun. I know I'll get one again, but decided to save a bit of money for a couple of years. Plus, I can still drive my girlfriend's Elise :D

We thought about getting a really really cheap little car, but decided to go half way there . . . We thought a Mini would be a great compromise as it saves us a fortune compared to the Exige, but it's still a great looking funky wee car and is still loads of fun to drive :D It's frightening what we're going to save compared to the Exige when you look at fuel usage, insurance, tax, servicing, tyres, brake pads, etc, etc. :eek:

Although I'm sad to see the Exige go, I'm really excited about picking the Mini Cooper up in a few weeks time. It's such a fun wee car and I'm looking forward to having BMW build quality instead of my Lotus falling apart every other week hehe :laugh:

We go on a lot of runs with the Lotus community and I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the Mini community too and coming along on some of your runs.

Cheers,
D

[AndyP & Lenore]

:welcome:

[Big Gordy]

:welcome:

[Gismo]

:welcome: plenty of runs to pick from and I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay here in mini land

[Crombers]

Welcome to NMSland :cool:

[Knox18]

:welcome:

you should have traded the gf's elise in for the mini

exige is just awesome :thumbs up:

[Craig]

:welcome: Dezzy. :thumbs up:

Hope you enjoy yourself. :yes nod:

[RyanK]

Welcome Mate! Nice selection of lotuses. Exige is pure porn!

Look forward to seeing your new motor. Midnight black is really nice

[Ally S]

welcome aboard. was looking at a nice elise in the supermarket car park 10 mins ago. nice machines but like you say the mini will be more of a normal car

[dezzyS]

welcome aboard. was looking at a nice elise in the supermarket car park 10 mins ago. nice machines but like you say the mini will be more of a normal car

Don't suppose it was Tesco Silverburn carpark? I was in the Exige there at lunchtime and saw a Mini similar to yours I'm sure.

[heds84]

:welcome:

you should have traded the gf's elise in for the mini



I don't think so! :smilewinkgrin:

I'm Dezzy's other half :bigwave: Looking forward to Mini ownership too :thumbs up:

[Ally S]

Don't suppose it was Tesco Silverburn carpark? I was in the Exige there at lunchtime and saw a Mini similar to yours I'm sure.

nah, it was Asda Bearsden.

[Ivano]

Hello and :welcome:

[Forbes]

Welcome both. You will enjoy the mini I'm sure. You will have to comment on how you find the Minis handling compared to the Lotus'.

[t18tav]

:welcome:

[t18tav]

Welcome both. You will enjoy the mini I'm sure. You will have to comment on how you find the Minis handling compared to the Lotus'.

Ben the MINI dose not even come close to the lotus not even a little bit.:frown:

[dezzyS]

Welcome both. You will enjoy the mini I'm sure. You will have to comment on how you find the Minis handling compared to the Lotus'.

Not fully tested the Mini handling yet as I didn't want to go too crazy in the test drive hehe :D I'll throw it around a few corners and roundabouts properly when we pick it up and compare how it feels.

I know it's not going to be quite the same as the Exige or the Elise, but just from the test drive and the one other time I drove a Mini, the handling was better than any other small hatchback car I'd ever driven. That was our main reason for going for a Mini - obviously not the same handling as the Exige, but still handles really well and is great fun to drive :thumbs up: I'm really looking forward to having fun driving it :D

[Forbes]

Ben the MINI dose not even come close to the lotus not even a little bit.:frown:

I knew it wouldn't but they are both supposed to be the best in their respective classes :popcorn:

[Bumble]

:welcome:

[Mini Ecosse]

Hi :welcome:

[shaunbhoy67]

welcome to the site :thumbs up:

[bry_mini]

hello!!:welcome:

[D3 JDA]

Welcome to nms:thumbs up::bigwave::clap:

[audrey]

Hi :bigwave:

Mini sounds smart :thumbs up:

[dezzyS]

Thanks for the warm welcome folks :D

[stoney]

:welcome:

[Colin]

:welcome:

[N16SHP]

Hey, sweet looking Exiege, there is a guy who parks next to me at home who has one in matt black and yellow, there amazing!

Good luck with your Mini, there awsome!

[dezzyS]

Hey, sweet looking Exiege, there is a guy who parks next to me at home who has one in matt black and yellow, there amazing!

Good luck with your Mini, there awsome!

Matt black? Wow! Never seen one in matt black before :cool:

Thanks for the good luck! :D

[Duncan Stewart]

:welcome:

[RS6driver]

Well well well Dezzy, the folk you meet on diferent fora!!

<--- GregR

What the feck are you doing trading the exige in agains a mini for?! I thought I was daft trading up to the 6!!

Seriously though, the mini is a great little car. I'm on here as the Mrs has a Cooper Convertible that I've driven a few times. The handling is surprisingly good, but the cabrio is a little lardy but I'm sure the coupe ( ;) ) will be great.

Cheers - best go introduce myself now :)

Greg

[dezzyS]

Hi Greg! Fancy meeting you here!!

Don't mention it on SE yet please . . . have told a few people but not announced it to the masses yet :D Will do so soon.

It was really just a money saving decision, and at least we've still got H's Elise to drive. I'm really looking forward to getting the Mini though :D

[RS6driver]

Hi Greg! Fancy meeting you here!!

Don't mention it on SE yet please . . . have told a few people but not announced it to the masses yet :D Will do so soon.

It was really just a money saving decision, and at least we've still got H's Elise to drive. I'm really looking forward to getting the Mini though :D

Your secret is safe with me mate :)

[Ally S]

Your secret is safe with me mate :)

but is it safe with everyone else? heheh only kiddin

[dezzyS]

but is it safe with everyone else? heheh only kiddin

:lol:

Going to "announce" it to the Scottish Elises lotus forum this weekend I think. Just holding off for a specific reason, but think I'll just tell them at the weekend :thumbs up: Think there's already a few other Mini owners on there anyway, just like Greg above.

[dezzyS]

Off to pick up the Mini this morning! Can't wait! :cool::D

I'll be spending most of the day removing transport wax and detailing but I'll get some pictures up as soon as possible. :thumbs up:

D

[Stewart]

Good luck as your near by, if I see a guy cleaning a Black Mini in the rain I’ll know its you.

Hope the pick up went well and get some pics up. :thumbs up:

[dezzyS]

Well, I picked up the Mini on Tuesday morning. Spent most of Tuesday detailing (I had instructed the dealer not to touch it - not to even remove the transport wax). Still got a bit more detailing to do, but obviously had to get out and enjoy driving the car :roll: :D

I'm having loads of fun in the Mini. After 3 years of Lotus ownership, it's really cool to have all the gadgets and stuff in the Mini . . . I love how we can personalise each key so that it remembers settings for me or H. Really like the interior - it's just so funky. I like the bluetooth phone thing and having all the numbers on the screen for the radio and being able to use the car to make/receive calls. The attention to detail inside is great and I'm finding new functions/gadgets/storage space all the time!

I'm really glad I went for all black as it looks great against all the chrome bits on the car. I love the wheels I chose too! 8)

In terms of driving, I'm not giving it full beans yet due to running in for the first 1000 miles or so, but it's so much fun. You can really throw it around the corners and roundabouts and it really does hug the road well. It's reasonably nippy in the lower gears, although not fully opened it up yet. In the wet, it was comfortably going round corners at a reasonable speed. Didn't feel any understeer. The steering feels good even though it's powered and I've been used to non-powered steering for 3 years. I'm getting used to this auto start/stop function and I like the technology behind it and how it only does it if it's built up enough energy to restart the engine from the battery that charges using brake energy. Oh, and my MPG has been fantastic so far!

Drove through to the East coast in the pouring rain on the M8 in rush hour yesterday morning and it was so much nicer than driving in that kind of weather in the Lotus.

So, overall, I'm very happy with my choice and it's a great wee day-to-day car but still fun to drive. It's obviously great to still have the Elise to drive at the weekends/etc but this was definitely the right decision and I'm looking forward to all the money I'm going to save with this wee car!

Couple of pics after a bit of detailing on Tuesday (not finished yet though!):

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs244.snc1/9123_272496065610_636875610_8903959_1849269_n.jpg

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs264.snc1/9123_272496085610_636875610_8903961_4454966_n.jpg

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs244.snc1/9123_272496060610_636875610_8903958_3218764_n.jpg

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs264.snc1/9123_272496075610_636875610_8903960_8158013_n.jpg

[Stewart]

Very nice, I’ve only got the Black on the roof and it’s a killer, but when its clean looks fantastic with the reflection, Silver just does not give you that kind of mirror image. Like the wheels also. Can I ask what settings are stored in your key Fob? Does it move the Mirrors etc? Mnid you it took me six months to find out the Cd player was a MP3 player as well.:blush:

Did you get the Sport Button? I thought this was a waste of space till I done the Mini runs this year and it makes such a difference, so much so that when you jump back in after the key has been removed and drive off after a few minutes your thinking hold on something is just not right. Then you remember you forgot to press the button on.


Oh and one last thing is it still Runflats on the 59s?

[dezzyS]

Thanks :D

It doesn't store mirror settings on the keyfob, unfortunately, but it stores preferences like whether or not the doors lock when you drive away, how many flicks of the indicator a tap of the stalk produces, interior light settings, aircon temp setting, etc.

Didn't get the sport button . .. maybe I'll wish I had when I go on my first NMS run at the end of September (the Fife Fryer one).

Yeah, it's still runflats on those wheels. Sounds like most people change them but I've also heard that they are pretty hard and last for ages, so looking forward to not having to replace them anytime soon!

Looking forward to meeting you all on the Fife Fryer run :D

D

[Stewart]

"whether or not the doors lock when you drive away, how many flicks of the indicator a tap of the stalk produces"

I need to read the book, I'd like to change from the three flicks of the indicator I always find it needs that one more...;)

[Ally S]

looking good. got your cleaning mitts ready? in this weather blue is bad enough.

[dezzyS]

looking good. got your cleaning mitts ready? in this weather blue is bad enough.

hehe . . . Yep. Just washed it again today and was hoping to get another coat of wax on but then the rain started :sad: Will need to finish off the full detailing job some other day. Still not had the chance to seal the wheels yet.

Sav, regarding the indicators, it's just one flick or 3 flicks you can choose I'm afraid.

D

[audrey]

Lovely car like the wheels :thumbs up:

[Jgourlay4]

Hey Dezzy! (And Heather and Greg R!) Jen from SE here!! Just about to post a newbie post and saw your name!

How are you finding the Mini now you've had it a few months? I dont know if you noticed but Im looking at joining the Elise/Mini group now too! Will sell the Clio first though! Let me know what you think of it!

Cheers!
Jen