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#1

The Lounge / Re: How's the Weather Today?

Last post by Dan Moffet - March 11, 2026, 11:15:48 AM

We've had balmy weather too the last few days. Much of the snow has disappeared and the roads are bare and dry, if pretty rough from frost heave, potholes etc. They were even free of salt dust! I actually was thinking about reactivating Mini insurance too.

BUT! Today we have freezing rain, for the next couple of days. Orange freezing rain warning - better than the yellow snow warning a couple of weeks ago. So the salt trucks will be out again in force, if the City has any salt left. (sigh).

#2

The Lounge / Re: How's the Weather Today?

Last post by ADRay - March 11, 2026, 03:26:53 AM

after being bombed with snow and below normal temperatures in Southern Maine, we had two "spring preview" days Monday and Tuesday. Activated the Mini's insurance Sunday evening, and commuted (14 miles each way) to work. Ran like a champ!

#3

The Lounge / Re: How's the Weather Today?

Last post by MiniDave - March 10, 2026, 08:32:21 AM

84* and muggy today, tomorrow's high will be 48!

Sunday night it's supposed to get down to 18*....and I already took the heater out of the bird bath.....oh well, it will warm up later in the day.

I'm leaving for Phoenix today, I think the last time I flew was 2004 when I went to my mom's funeral in California. I'm not afraid to fly, it's just such a miserable experience that I usually just drive, even across the country like this. I can do Phoenix in 2 days each way. Going to see my daughter in North Carolina is 14 hours or one 8 hour and one 6 hour day - no biggy. Today I leave KC at 2:50 and arrive Phoenix at 3:30 -  No motels, no lousy junk food all day and looking for a decent place to eat that night....it's like time travel!

Going to be mid 90's in Phoenix - don't know if I'm ready for that!

#4

The Lounge / Re: The Cost of Ownership

Last post by MiniDave - March 09, 2026, 07:18:11 PM

Yes, and how exactly do I make sure they got it wrong, when they don't know themselves?

And I have to say, the two things you posted read like AI, and I've found AI to be mostly wrong in some of the details they regurgitate. I am NOT an AI fan in any respect.

Don keeps throwing chatgtp at me when he's asking me questions on which parts he should get for one of his cars - and I usually find while there may be nuggets of truth in there, you only know that if you already know your shit. So for someone who doesn't know their shit, it's very easy to be misled. A current example, chatgtp insisted that he had an oil cooler mounted behind the front bumper on his 2006 JCW......another, chatgtp insisted that his MG had a vacuum retard device on his dizzy - it doesn't.

So, IMHO, AI can kiss my ass when it comes to finding out the truth....about pretty much anything.

#5

The Lounge / Re: F1 2026

Last post by MiniDave - March 09, 2026, 06:18:52 PM

I'll try the Sky coverage for the China race, just for comparison. I'll be back home that Sunday night from my trip to Phoenix, so it will be a good time to sit down and be a potato.

#6

The Lounge / Re: F1 2026

Last post by BruceK - March 09, 2026, 05:26:06 PM

Wow, I did not notice that they had these done up in the team colors and livery!

Wonder if the local Moke club got some free paint jobs out of that deal?

#7

The Lounge / Re: The Cost of Ownership

Last post by 94touring - March 09, 2026, 05:24:02 PM

Make sure they actually got it wrong I guess.

#8

The Lounge / Re: The Cost of Ownership

Last post by BruceK - March 09, 2026, 04:56:08 PM

Tire Rack and Discount Tire are owned by the same company now. But obviously they are different entities and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. I have enjoyed Discount Tire's lower in-house mounting services with tires that I "bought" online from Tire Rack and that I carried into the local DT store. Just sayin'


That $150 charge by FedEx to dispute a tariff calculation is highway robbery. Resolving customer issues should never be a profit center.  As we can all see that gives them carte blanche to do what the hell they want because they're gonna make money either way. 

I would hope that MiniSpares and MiniSport are behaving professionally enough to include the correct HTS codes on their invoices necessary for tariff calculations AND providing their information to their shipping courier companies.

#9

The Lounge / Re: The Cost of Ownership

Last post by 94touring - March 09, 2026, 04:51:35 PM

25% but appears that is reduced with the exemption. 

#10

The Lounge / Re: The Cost of Ownership

Last post by MiniDave - March 09, 2026, 02:57:50 PM

I'm really struggling with this today, as I need to order a fairly expensive bunch of parts from England for my Mini (tyres, suspension cones, shocks and other bits) and I'm really not anxious to get hit with thousands in tariffs because the shipper can't figure out how much to charge me because the damn rules keep changing. First all the tariffs were struck down and the next day the 10% on everything was increased to 15% added to the original 2.5%, unless it's car parts which are still at 25%.......or are they? who knows?

Last shipment I got from Sport over a month ago was more than $600 in stuff and a month later I still haven't been billed any tariff money for it. Yet I read and hear all sorts of stories of people getting outrageous bills for even small items under $50.

At the same time I read that FedEx is now charging up to $150 "dispute fee" on tariffs that even if you win you don't get back.

On top of that, it seems the tyre stores have also lost their minds - it used to cost $25 a tire for mount and balance, today more than 5 stores contacted claim $60 ea or more for carry in tires. Discount says $25 if you buy the tires from them, but they don't carry any that will fit my Mini - of any brand, otherwise $60 ea. WalMart has some sketchy brands in 13", but still nothing that fits my Mini (50 series).

I was debating between the Yoko A539 that I have on the car now and really like, and tho they have plenty of tread left they are going on 11 years old. I don't know if I can trust them on a 3K mile trip this summer. Sport and Spares also carry the Nankang brand in the right size that are 1/2 the cost of the Yokos.....I'm not nearly as aggressive a driver as I used to be and I wonder if those wouldn't do just fine from now on?

Analysis paralysis is killing me!