First off, hello! My name is Noah and I recently bought a 2007 Mini Cooper S dubbed "Clarkson". Before I get into my story, I'll give you my quick bio. I am a Drama and 9th grade Literature teacher at Denbigh High School here in Newport news. I moved to Hampton roads more or less back in 2004 when I started at CNU. I've been a permenant resident since about 2007 though. I am engaged and live with my fiancee and our two roomates. I'm an avid gaming geek, and I also enjoy body modification. I enjoy watching movies, reading comics, playing paintball, and motoring.
As for how I got into minis, that takes us back to about 2002 or so. In grew up in Roanoke, VA and most of my high school days were spent four-wheeling around the area. I had a '90 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer that I ended up putting on 33s and a few other mods (mostly just underplating for the gearbox/diffs). It was the pinnacle of reliability. On more than one occasion, it was the truck that carried someone down from the mountain to the hospital. Nevertheless, for city and highway driving, it was a nightmare. It drank fuel for lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack. It needed realignments nearly weekly at points. The tires were loud. I had torn out the AC and radio and most of the other comfort features. Not to mention, passing inspection was a carefully orchestrated event that involved switching the drive entire drivetrain after the driveshaft with one from a slightly newer...and stocker....cherokee. To say the least, for as fun as it was, it was more trouble than it was worth at times. Around the same time, MINI was getting back into gear over here of course and I saw a few driving around town after a month or two of them being out. Despite being a Jeep fiend, I had a softspot for European cars (That stemmed from driving a mid-70s Porsche 911T to prom). It really wasn't long before I finally got to drive one and suffice to say, it was more or less like falling in love. Compared to my jeep, which lumbered about on all fours like an overweight dog, the mini zipped about like a sheepdog at work or something. The sad thing however was that I had neither the driving record nor the money to drive a mini. It stayed in the back of my mind for years as what I would drive if I could afford it. Each year, the mini got better and I got more and more determined to join the craze. My junior year of college, I bought a used BMW 325i, which was only a temporary distraction.
In December, the BMW saw it's last major drive.
The electrical system began to experience shorts and it's reliability came into question. I made a few visits to different dealerships on the peninsula, looking at both Minis and BMWs. I drove a few of each and while impressed, I wasn't quite satisfied. I initially thought I wanted a clubman for the extra room, but found the drive to feel a little too stiff. Finally, on January 1st, I made a stop by Checkered Flag Mini after paintballing at Fox Brothers. I talked with Brian and the next day I took a look at a 2007 Mini Cooper S. That night I signed my name on the dotted line and drove it home the next day.
And I couldn't be happier!
I've used every opportunity I can concieve of to drive it. It's like a totally new driving experience from anything thus far. Even better is the community though. With the BMW, there is a sort of quintessential BMW owner. I look, behave, and for all intents and purposes, am a world apart from the typical BMW driver. In fact, when I was shopping initially, salesmen kept trying to put me into mostly Mustangs, Camaros, and the occasional Toyota whatever. It was like they were resistent if I even mentioned BMW. However, this is not the case with the Mini. When I drove up to CFMini, I was in my typical jeans, t-shirt, bigass boots, and my hair in a pony tail. Brian found me wandering the models in the back of the lot and immediately we talked cars. The more I looked into it, the less I could discern what exactly a Mini owner was. Plenty of cars have strong communities, but few have such diverse ones. I really look forward to going to events with HRmini and just enjoying my car with everyone else! Thanks :)
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