Our MINI.  Definitely the most uniquely styled car in the parking garage.  In a sea of bland colour choices.  Sedans and SUVs.  A car we specced out and had delivered from the UK to how we wanted it.

Tonight is it’s last night in our parking garage.  I’m saddened to see it go, yet I’m not sad to see it go.  I really do hope someone can love what is, for us, the most photographed car we’ve had.  A car that makes me smile every time I go into the garage.

But you know, the car issues really got to me with this one.

I think the trick to buying a MINI is, while it’s a car that should be a manual, the automatic is much more reliable.  Everyone I’ve asked who has one, who has said they’ve not had any issues, has had an automatic.

And then there were the space issues.  As amazing it is on space, it was definitely a downfall for us.  I’d have to keep to one side as Scott put his belt on.  In winter that’s compounded by big jackets.  Scott’s mum getting in the back a bit uncomfortably with her back.

If we had a need for a second car, I’d say, I would consider a MINI – an automatic.  I’d also consider a Toyota as well, maybe Honda too.

Two years and almost two months and 55580 km later.

I will be tracking the delivery of the new 2018 X3 once we know what the VIN is.  My guess is that it will take, surprisingly, longer for the vehicle to get here and I’m guessing that it will be mid-January before it gets here.  Why?

US Thanksgiving is this week.  We have a plant shutdown at Christmas for, at a minimum, a week.

Now, if we map it to the MINI.  When we ordered from MINI Oakville, it took:

• 6 days from ordering to get the VIN (October 16)
• 11 days from ordering and we had production day (October 21)
• Then it took 15 days from production  to get to Halifax from Oxford (November 5)
• It took 12 days to get from Halifax to Toronto (November 17)
• It took a week longer for the dealership to get the car ready to deliver (November 24)

The bonus of having an American-built car is that, it’s on the same continent!  Although, I wonder if the car ships by train or by car carrier into Canada?  I will have to find out.

So let’s map this –

• I ordered the car on November 16th
• Let’s assume it takes 6 days to get the VIN – That would be November 22nd
• Shutdown happens for two days on the 23rd and 24th
• I’m going to say that maybe, if we’re lucky, production would be in 13 days, bringing us to November 29th
• It takes time for all the import paperwork and all that, but I’d expect it to take less than 27 days.  Let’s say two weeks.  That means, we could have the car by December 18th.
• My gut feeling says January 8th or 15th.
• My dealer has an allocation.

Let’s see what a simple search says

• Two weeks from production
• They deliver by train
• How to track an X
• Production cycle started in August
• Ordered around the 14th, “Hopefully will get it by Christmas“

So we’ll see.  I’m tracking for January, given that’s what the dealer pretty much said.

I haven’t written much about our MINI Cooper 5-Door over the past year. This week is the 2nd anniversary of us picking up the car.  I’m very glad to have leased a MINI, more so because we will always wonder what it would have been liked.

It’s not been terrible, but I will say it hasn’t been as smooth as I would have expected from a subsidiary of BMW.

We replaced a rattle which had to do with the timing belt – The guide that holds it on was loose.

We then replaced a part that was causing a rattle of sorts.  That part was replaced but then another sound was heard which resulted in getting the Transmission replaced.

Some other noises fixed with a software update (which I do have to say is kind of cool).

Despite all this, MINI has been fantastic at the level of service they provide, although the three years/50,000km of oil changes has flown by.  Special thanks to driving back and forth to Kitchener-Waterloo although I also got mileage for that, so I shouldn’t complain. 🙂

That said, I would be concerned with all the work that was done on my car.  Is it going to be stable for another two years?  Am I going to have to sink a bunch of money into a car that shouldn’t have had the transmission replaced?  Honestly, it seems pretty ridiculous.

I wouldn’t say the MINI is a lemon – far from it, but I am concerned about the longevity of the car.

Beyond that, it’s pretty clear that while Scott and I love it, and it is funny to see two big guys getting out of a MINI and we’re kind of squished in it.  Betty, Scott’s Mum has a hard time getting in the back, our friends chuckle and have a mix of excitement and dread when getting in the car.

Taking Betty and Bev back to the airport when they left after their vacation in October, they both sat in the back and their bags spread between the boot and the front seat.

I concede, the car is too small.

That said, I would totally buy a MINI as a second car for Scott and I to drive, if we needed a second car.

In March of this year, Scott and I did test drives of a BMW 5-Series and an X1.  We loved the 5, enjoyed the X! and we sat in an X3.  Scott had his eyes on the X3, I had my eyes on the 5.

We also looked at the Clubman and the Countryman – The Clubman is really just an extended 5-Door and while it has much better room in the back, it’s cramped.  The Countryman is pretty fantastic but doesn’t leave much room for cargo.

Fast forward to this past week.  I had no idea I was going to jump at switching our car, yet I did exactly that.  It’s dangerous for me to walk into a dealership, see the launch of a new vehicle and fall in love with it.

That’s exactly what happened.  The 2018 X3 now has all the gizmos and gadgets I want (not necessarily need – no one NEEDS a BMW or a higher end car) from the 5 and 7.

We test drove it, and it was awesome.  There’s not much more to say.

We’re switching from the smallest car we’ve owned to the largest car we’ve ever owned.  The X3 is longer and taller than the last Prius we owned, although the Prius was wider.

This is, also, going to be the first vehicle we’ve ever owned.  Staying true to my word, I said we were going to own our next vehicle, and hopefully we can keep this going for 8-10 years.  The longer, the better.

This is also going to be the first American-made vehicle.  Yes, the X-series are not made anywhere other than BMW’s Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina.  From there, they ship to the rest of the world.  Here’s a tour. from BMW.  Alternatively, here is another tour with actual guides.

I have an affinity for South Carolina, having been all over the state, having implemented their Campground Reservation System – Which was my first project as a consultant in a Professional Services context.

While Performance Centre Delivery is an option for US customers, it looks like it’s not for Canadian customers. *pout*.  We’ll be taking delivery at the dealership.  We will, however, take a holiday in South Carolina and we will do a tour of the plant.

I’ve always wanted to own a BMW, and I sure as hell hope the reliability is better the MINI.  Please don’t fail me.  Otherwise I’m going straight back to Toyota.