Boondox
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
- Messages
- 3,871
- Location
- Craftsbury Common, Vermont
- Tractor
- Deere 4044R cab, Kubota KX-121-3S
I picked up Nugget on Wednesday at Keeler in Latham, NY and now that I'm forced to come back to work would like to share my impressions so far.
Dealer impressions: Keeler struck me as rather impersonal at first, but now that I've seen it through and got to know my MA and the staff I'd describe it more as "reserved and businesslike." Which was sort of cool when it all sugared off. My MA came in on his day off to be with me when I took delivery. He went over all the manuals, paperwork, etc, then spent nearly an hour with me going over the car -- both of us grinning happily! The car was immaculate, as was the entire facility. One thing that really cracked me us was just before I was ready to drive off, about 20 employees gathered around the car all smiling and shaking my hand. Then a very serious looking gentleman in a business suit walked up. Everybody parted to let him see Nugget. He studied the car from several angles, then snapped his finger and pointed to the license plate. Instantly a service tech ran up with a screwdriver and a level. A few seconds of work and the plate was properly leveled. Only then did the man smile.
I live in a small town (pop 7) in north central Vermont, so was a little intimidated by the city drivers. I took my time getting used to the car -- MUCH more responsive in every way than the Subaru Outback it replaced and the Chevy Silverado it will share the garage with -- but after a few miles of hilly stop and go traffic I had the feel of the car. I pointed the bow toward southern Vermont and followed a slow SUV up a LONG hill as it started to rain. At the top of the hill, though, the rain stopped, the SUV pulled off, and all I could see in front of me was miles of twisty downhill! Automotive nirvana!
It felt like I was flying, but the digital readout held steady at 55, so I zoomed around the curves having the time of my life! It was only toward the bottom of the hill that I realized the digital readout was the outside temp; the speedo said 80mph! Okay, dumb mistake number one: don't believe an instrument if your gut tells you something different. That would have been an expensive (and stupid!) ticket! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
But the fact that Nugget had handled those curves so effortlessly gave me a lot of confidence. It also saved my skin later in the trip at a four-way stop when the woman coming from my right failed to stop. In fact, she was looking at something in the passenger seat and never even looked up! So right away I exceeded the breakin limit and nearly redlined getting out of her way! But the power was there when I needed it, something I found extremely reassuring.
I drove home via Vermont Route 100, which is a particularly scenic, winding country road. It was a blast! Three hours behind the wheel and those wonderful sport seats felt great the entire trip. Love the exhaust note, the acceleration, the braking and most of all the road feel! Can't believe driving can be this much fun! Fuel efficiency was 33.4mpg, verified with my calculator, which was not bad for a brand new car in fairly aggressive driving. I probably could have hit 36mpg if I'd taken the Interstate, but what fun is that?
Spent yesterday washing and waxing. Later, someone told me new cars should not be waxed for the first month so the paint completely cures. Sure hope that was an old wives tale because the car looks great right now! There are a lot of little trouble spots when waxing, the difficult to get to places where it's hard to wax. Like the edges of the grill pieces, the gap between trim and body like where the bonnet meets the grill and headlights. No big deal; it just takes longer to get all those spots.
Then, after the car was sparkling, I pulled out and drove up Mount Mansfield, through Smuggler's Notch, and down the other side. It's our twistiest mountain road, and a great test of climbing and roadhandling. I needed to check out the claims made by some MCS drivers that the MC was gutless and could not do hills well. For the first time in my life I drove that route with no other cars on the road!!! It was so cool! Anyway, Nugget had power to spare, and the handling was superb! So much for the MCS claims!
On one of the Mini Cooper forums is a thread called 2005 Problems. All those nightmare stories had me concerned, even though logic told me the odds of my getting a lemon were astronomically thin. Knock on wood, but after 350 miles in two days I have found nothing wrong except for a very slight vibratory sound coming from the pillar behind my left ear. Oh, and the fact that bugs really seem to like the Liquid Yellow color! Several times in the late afternoon I've come out to find dozens of little gnats trying to mate with Nugget's fenders!
Oh, and I saw my first other Mini yesterday driving through the little town of Morrisville yesterday. It was a CR/CR with Quebec plates. I waved and they waved back enthusiastically! Very cool! Some pics attached. Gotta go pick up some Super UDT for the Kubota...which is as good an excuse for driving as I can find! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Dealer impressions: Keeler struck me as rather impersonal at first, but now that I've seen it through and got to know my MA and the staff I'd describe it more as "reserved and businesslike." Which was sort of cool when it all sugared off. My MA came in on his day off to be with me when I took delivery. He went over all the manuals, paperwork, etc, then spent nearly an hour with me going over the car -- both of us grinning happily! The car was immaculate, as was the entire facility. One thing that really cracked me us was just before I was ready to drive off, about 20 employees gathered around the car all smiling and shaking my hand. Then a very serious looking gentleman in a business suit walked up. Everybody parted to let him see Nugget. He studied the car from several angles, then snapped his finger and pointed to the license plate. Instantly a service tech ran up with a screwdriver and a level. A few seconds of work and the plate was properly leveled. Only then did the man smile.
I live in a small town (pop 7) in north central Vermont, so was a little intimidated by the city drivers. I took my time getting used to the car -- MUCH more responsive in every way than the Subaru Outback it replaced and the Chevy Silverado it will share the garage with -- but after a few miles of hilly stop and go traffic I had the feel of the car. I pointed the bow toward southern Vermont and followed a slow SUV up a LONG hill as it started to rain. At the top of the hill, though, the rain stopped, the SUV pulled off, and all I could see in front of me was miles of twisty downhill! Automotive nirvana!
It felt like I was flying, but the digital readout held steady at 55, so I zoomed around the curves having the time of my life! It was only toward the bottom of the hill that I realized the digital readout was the outside temp; the speedo said 80mph! Okay, dumb mistake number one: don't believe an instrument if your gut tells you something different. That would have been an expensive (and stupid!) ticket! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
But the fact that Nugget had handled those curves so effortlessly gave me a lot of confidence. It also saved my skin later in the trip at a four-way stop when the woman coming from my right failed to stop. In fact, she was looking at something in the passenger seat and never even looked up! So right away I exceeded the breakin limit and nearly redlined getting out of her way! But the power was there when I needed it, something I found extremely reassuring.
I drove home via Vermont Route 100, which is a particularly scenic, winding country road. It was a blast! Three hours behind the wheel and those wonderful sport seats felt great the entire trip. Love the exhaust note, the acceleration, the braking and most of all the road feel! Can't believe driving can be this much fun! Fuel efficiency was 33.4mpg, verified with my calculator, which was not bad for a brand new car in fairly aggressive driving. I probably could have hit 36mpg if I'd taken the Interstate, but what fun is that?
Spent yesterday washing and waxing. Later, someone told me new cars should not be waxed for the first month so the paint completely cures. Sure hope that was an old wives tale because the car looks great right now! There are a lot of little trouble spots when waxing, the difficult to get to places where it's hard to wax. Like the edges of the grill pieces, the gap between trim and body like where the bonnet meets the grill and headlights. No big deal; it just takes longer to get all those spots.
Then, after the car was sparkling, I pulled out and drove up Mount Mansfield, through Smuggler's Notch, and down the other side. It's our twistiest mountain road, and a great test of climbing and roadhandling. I needed to check out the claims made by some MCS drivers that the MC was gutless and could not do hills well. For the first time in my life I drove that route with no other cars on the road!!! It was so cool! Anyway, Nugget had power to spare, and the handling was superb! So much for the MCS claims!
On one of the Mini Cooper forums is a thread called 2005 Problems. All those nightmare stories had me concerned, even though logic told me the odds of my getting a lemon were astronomically thin. Knock on wood, but after 350 miles in two days I have found nothing wrong except for a very slight vibratory sound coming from the pillar behind my left ear. Oh, and the fact that bugs really seem to like the Liquid Yellow color! Several times in the late afternoon I've come out to find dozens of little gnats trying to mate with Nugget's fenders!
Oh, and I saw my first other Mini yesterday driving through the little town of Morrisville yesterday. It was a CR/CR with Quebec plates. I waved and they waved back enthusiastically! Very cool! Some pics attached. Gotta go pick up some Super UDT for the Kubota...which is as good an excuse for driving as I can find! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
