Late 2019 I developed a sudden itch to own a Mini, initially I was looking for a good R56 version but was twitched, rightly or wrongly, with stories of poor reliability. In any event I couldn't find one that I liked, they all looked generally unloved with dubious service histories.
So, the budget was stretched and the hunt started for a 3 door Cooper S. Eventually found a nicely specced one a dealer in Perth (non-franchised) that I thought would suit.
A little disappointed to find it was an Auto when it was described as a manual. Nevertheless, I had a test drive and came away more than a little impressed with it's performance, the auto really did feel good. A bit of of friendly negotiation and a price was agreed as was the list of remedial cosmetic work - two wheels to be refurbed, a mark on a front wing to be repaired and the two new chinese ditchfinder tyres they had fitted to the front to be changed for a pair of Dunlop Sports to match the rears. They also got the local BMW dealer to update the SatNav.
Car was collected a couple of days after Christmas...I decided to give it to my wife as a Christmas present. Dealer did a good surprise job on her which had her in tears, she thought she was going with here sister to view a car she'd wanted to buy! So, it's "our" car (but mostly mine!) To be honest, I think she much prefers driving her Smart car to this and she has a couple or three other cars to use anyway.
Car didn't get a whole lot of use during the winter and then Covid came along and we didn't go anywhere much. It did provide any opportunity to get the Mini looking good and to do some preventative maintenance. Brakes especially the front looked grotty, so as a small project I picked up a set of used calipers and had then de-rusted and painted gold , new discs and pads all round and the view behind the wheels looks much more presentable.
As detailing is my new found retirement hobby, a machine polish all over and some ceramic coating in really does look lovely now. The inside got an equally thorough going over and treatment with various potions 'n lotions.
In a year it's covered less than a thousand miles - bit of a shame, but they were fun which is what I expected Mini ownership to be about. Next year will hopefully see more use and get to some meets.
I'll see if I can work out how to get some pictures up later.
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