Home Theater is no longer my #1 hobby (1 Viewer)

[Sami Kallio]

My car has always gone ahead of HT so I can certainly relate to how you feel. I have been waiting on some parts to arrive from Japan for a loooong time now and while it has given me more time to watch movies, I am very eager to get that baby back on the road again.

 

[Ron-P]

What'cha driven Sami?

Jay nailed it, the bonnet is the hood, you just not dare call it that on any MINI forums.

 

[Sami Kallio]

R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R. Great car but getting parts is a PITA.

 

[Aaron Schmitt]

If I could fit in one, I'd go for a Mustang GT too. I like that they're bringing back the GT500 and the California Special. Being 6'7" and big makes it hard to find a fun car I can fit in. Of course, there's always the '68s... I just need to find one fastback GT in semi-decent shape for not a lot of money.

A

 

[Christ Reynolds]

being close to buying a car, instead of just going to test drive a mini, i plan to rent one for a day to see how i like it. it's much different than anything i've driven (or most cars), so i figure it's worth the $90 to drive it around and really get a feel for it. anyone else ever do this with a car they planned on buying?

CJ

 

[Ron-P]

Yep, my wife surprised me on my b-day just this past May by renting a MINI Cabrio (the convertable) for 2 days. It was a hoot and sold me on the car, not that I wasn't already. But, I did not want the Cabrio I wanted a hard top, I think they look better, more MINI'ish.

 

[Matt Stone]

I bought a new Mustang a couple months ago (my first "real" car). Non-GT though, just didn't have enough dough. At least the V6 gets better gas mileage. Still, a very, very fun car to drive. I'm still in the "looking for excuses to go drive" phase. I've never been too knowledgable about cars, but I've been casually looking for a '67 or '68 to fix up.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

So, Ron, is Home Theater back up to #1 yet?

 

[Ron-P]

Nope, not yet. But, it's climed up the ranks to tie with the MINI now, there both just too much fun. It's ok to have 2 #1 hobbies, right, equally sucking up my money like a huge black hole.

Recent mods to the MINI.

- Added a pair of boot stripes to match the bonnets
- Added the rear spoiler
- Added the center armrest
- Found some factory bonnet brackets for the driving lights

Here's a pic of the boot stripes and new badge I put on...





But, the HT still gets plenty of attention. My latest addition, a new A/V cabinet built on the outside of the theater. No more gear behind the screen wall. The cabinet is decoupled from the HT wall to dampen vibrations.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

love the new stripes on your mini.

i went into the mini dealership about a month ago (check in hand, ready to place an order). i found a color i LOVED, so i asked a salesman if we could take one out for a spin. he takes my license to make a copy, but when i'm waiting for him to come back, these people walk in and say they have an appointment with the same salesman i was dealing with. he comes back to me, apologizes and says he forgot about the appointment with these people, and asks if i could wait (an hour!) until they are done. i say no, and ask if any of the other 6 guys sitting at their desks can help me, and he says no, and i walk out.

still baffled by the unprofessionalism i witnessed, my friend and i drove to the volkswagen dealership across town. he test drove a GTI, and i've not thought about a mini cooper since funny how close i was to pulling the trigger, and i see a car that i love more than the mini by chance. i still want to drive the mini to be absolutely sure i'm making the right decision, but i'll not be going back to the same mini dealership, that's for sure.

CJ

 

[Ron-P]

You should have just walked over to one of the other salesmen and asked if they could help you, screw the guy the dropped the ball like that.

I'd be sure to test drive one before you buy a GTI. I've not read many positive info on Volkswagons realiblilty, and there no where near as cool looking.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

yeah i suppose i should have talked to another salesman there, but i was in shock over what happened. when i drive a mini, i'll be sure to go to the other dealership. about the GTI, consumer reports named it the best car under 25k.

CJ

 

[Jonathan DA]

Ron-P, welcome (belatedly) to the world of MINI! I have a 2004 MCS and love it.

Car dealerships are weird places. When I was shopping for a car in '04 prior to getting to the MCS, I test drove a number of cars and every dealer was different. The most amusing experience I had was the day I picked out the Cooper. I went the MINI dealer to check them out and they were only allowing people to drive two cars, one MC and one MCS. In fact, every other car on the lot was already sold. The sales manager was the only person not already with a customer, so he takes us out to the MCS and says, "I'll drive us off the lot and out a ways, and then you can drive it back." Seemed kinda weird, but I shrugged and said ok. We get in and he goes thru the all the features and then guns the car out the back of the lot. He says, "So I know you said you're going to test drive a bunch of cars before deciding, but I just wanted to tell you not to try this in any of the other cars you drive." At which point he's going close to 50mph and makes a hard left 90 degree turn onto a side street. The car's wheels don't even squeel and we fly around the corner with nary a hint of body roll. That was pretty much it, I didn't even really need to drive it back after that little display of handling.

However, wanting to make sure I was making the best choice possible, we went to the Acura dealer next. The were not nearly as cool, and made us sit through a stupid presentation and wait over a half hour to drive a TSX. When they finally let us drive a car, I was annoyed enough that I decided I see just how well the TSX could handle in comparison to the MCS. So I take a hard left at a much lower speed and the car's wheels squeel like crazy, lots of body roll, and the salesman is up against the window looking at me like I'm crazy. Poor guy, it was his first week on the job (former English teacher) and he had the unfortunate experience of trying to follow up a MINI test drive.

Of course, that afternoon I went back and ordered an MCS.

Recently, my wife has been looking at cars, so a few days ago we went to Honda to test drive a Civic Si. They wouldn't even let us drive it! I guess they didn't think we were serious. Too bad...tonight we're scheduled to drive a Jetta GLI. I'd prefer the GTI, but she prefers four dours. Too bad they don't make a four door MINI.

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

Just some advice, Ron. Black out your plate number.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

the 2007 GTI comes in either 2 or 4 doors. some customers already have theirs in the US, but a lot of dealerships still have 2006 models left.

CJ