Red

[MiniDave]

This one followed me home yesterday.....

2006 Cooper S, 6 speed auto with flappy paddles, sunroof, leather interior, all the bells and whistles, 87K

Taking it for VIN inspection today (Missouri title and I'm in Kansas) and tomorrow (hopefully) to get it titled and plated. Our DMV works on an appointment only basis, and to get in the queue you have to start calling when they open - at 7:30am. I've done it before and even calling at that time my time in line was 4:30 (they close at 4:00!) then they update you via text during the day, when you get within 30 min of your appointment you'd better be on your way to the office - it's a 20 min drive for me. Sometimes depending on staffing you get bumped to another day - the car bidness in Johnson county must be good! There are only two places you can get your plates/title work done in the whole damn county too.....

I'm having to relearn how all the controls work, last time I had an R53 was 20 years ago!

[94touring]

Looks really nice.  Keeping all the other cars or downsizing?

[MiniDave]

One will have to go, probably the green one after the trip to Asheville this summer. She's decided she wants her car back in the garage, and both classics have to be garaged for insurance reasons - so one goes, she gets her parking spot back!

I'll still have the classic hot rod and we'll both keep our respective Audi wagons. As much as I like my MINIs, driving one sure makes me appreciate the Audi!

[MiniDave]

Got a small surprise when I went to make an appointment at the DMV "Current wait time - 10 min"! So I hustled down there and the place was empty, maybe 5 people in the whole place. Usually it's absolutely packed! I asked the lady if it's been like this long and she said the last three months or so......how to tell we're in a recession - or about to be.

10 min and I was in and out and legal to drive.

The car drives really nicely, everything seems to work, but I'm still relearning the controls. There are a few things about the R55 I liked better, it was quieter and smoother on the road and I liked that you could programs a LOT of the features using the turn signal switch button - can't do that on the earlier cars.

I'll do basic maintenance on it, oil and filter, air filter, cabin filter, hood struts, front shock mounts and then my plan is just to drive it.

[cstudep]

Nice, always liked the earlier ones but the roads are so terrible around here any sort of "performance" style car/suspension just ends up beating the car and you to death so never pulled the trigger on one.

[BruceK]

Congratulations! Looks like a great car. This past Sunday I realized I had been neglecting my R53 so I took it out and buzzed it around country roads for about three hours. After not driving it for probably a month I did come to some of the same conclusions that you did. The ride is rough and unsophisticated. There is road noise and wind noise.But who cares? It handles so good and it is so much fun to drive. I absolutely love the supercharger whine, and there is nothing like dropping it down into fourth or third for a quick overtake as the supercharger screams.