Sunday, April 25, 2010

Long time Since a Post

I have been thinking about posting for a while,but that is all I have gotten round to. As far as MINI E 249 is concerned we have much catching up to do. As of right now ,I have stated that I probably would not renew the lease for another year ,but as times change so do attitudes.Looking at the gas prices in the last few weeks could offer an idea as to why I would consider going another year without it and renew the lease for another year of gas free driving.
On 3/28/10 I experienced a major malfunction of the HV system and had to call roadside even though I made it home. They had 249 taken to the only dealer I have known,Mini of the Hamptons(MOTH) . The dealer is going through a change, of which I am not sure,and cannot as of this time service vehicles.The car was towed to Huntington (Habberstad) for the service,it was eventually sent to New Jersey for a replacement of two battery modules and a new PEU was installed. The folks from both Habberstad and MINI were fantastic ! The car was even dropped off in my driveway after the service was performed. Mind you it took three weeks + for this to transpire ,but since the service was so exemplary from the other dealer and the follow up calls from Mini,my thoughts are that they really care about me. Whatever is going on at the Southampton NY BMW/MINI dealer needs to be fixed or ,just admit the shop is going to close ,it is giving the brand a bad reputation,which will leave a bad taste in many peoples mouths and steer them away from the brand.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Wow ,it has been some time since an update ,but I procrastinate and I will get to that later...LOL
The end of summer brought more miles on #249 and a call came from MOTH and they wanted her in for the 3000 mile service. Seems the flying Docs don't want to arrive for just one car ,so they schedule as many as they can for their service visits. Don Young had a PEU meltdown which prompted them to make some calls to arrange service. Personally ,my service came and went without a hitch ,but they called a few day later to tell me the car would have to be brought in again for a bad battery module (it would be up to a week ,since they would have to send her out). I did request a loaner ,to which I was told they would call in a few days when they got a loaner for me to use. Not for nothing ,but since the 3k service ,the car has been almost perfect,charging and driving have been incredible . Maybe it does have a bad module , but my wife and I went to NJ to the East Coast Meeting last Sunday which was a total of 208.20 miles and I did not detect anything wrong. Now personally ,I don't mind them taking the car to make it better ,but after the call I was a bit hesitant about driving too far. I really want to see how far I can't go ,if you know what I mean. The dealer has not called back yet anyway ,maybe they called me when they really meant to contact someone else?
I would like to get a second charger to have at work available to any Pioneer who would like to use it . Which put in my mind the thought of having a Long Island MINI E meeting . I know there would need to be charging capability in the area . The charger at my house is one ,I would like to contact another pioneer who is in the vicinity ,then ,if I get a public one for work ,would make three chargers in a ten mile area,which would be much better than a single one . My wife and I had a bit of a wait for a charge when we went to Montclair on 11/8/09 . It seems that the biggest road block is the lack infrastructure to charge the cars. But we all know that anyway.
MINI sent their weekly e-mail about the cars and said they will suppl;y us with winter tires free for the winter! Oh,they also said we can get the MINI E stickers for the side of the car ,just like the show vehicles.Count me in!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Had a nice day yesterday,September 13th 2009 . I drove the car in the morning and got the battery temp icon ,no regen , I don't understand ,the battery temp was 79degrees , air temp 64.
Well after getting to work and restarting her it didn't happen again. Christina and I went to lunch before I drove her to work (which never happens),the only thing was that I had to pick her up later.No problem ,plenty of charge. At 8pm I go to get her and the gauge says there is 50% left good for 54miles.As I drive the 15 mile to pick her up the range drops to when I arrive to 32 mile remaining(27% charge). We get in the car to leave and the battery has flat lined,zero charge no miles left to go. Well,we drove home and the car performed as it should and did not leave us on the side of the road even though it said the battery was dead. Anyone experience this phenominon ?

Monday, September 7, 2009

A couple of nice days at the end of Summer (at least for the kids) . Labor Day weekend and I just had to ride the bike. Finally had to put gas in it too, took 4.5 gallons,the most I purchased for my vehicles since getting #249.
I checked on my custom plates at the DMV website . It says that the order has been received ,but they haven't been manufactured yet . One has to wonder ho long that could be.
Hope everyone has a safe and satisfying Labor Day.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009


I searched around on the net and found www.chromelettersandnumbers.com where they sell individual chrome letters for $2.75 each,there are different styles to choose from and of course some cost more than others. Personally ,I got eight letters spelling ELECTRIC and stuck them on the back of #249 . They look good and give just the right amount of notification as to what it is. Total with shipping on the letters ,which came ,in a few days from Las Vegas was $32.00. The individual letters had to be arranged on the desk and I took a piece of tape to hold them in position.
Then took a ruler and measured the space on the car ,pealed the backing off and stuck them on. Took all of two minutes.

Monday, August 31, 2009


The family and I just took a week off and went to Ocean City MD camping for a week. MINI E 249 spent the week unplugged ,but fully charged ,in the garage. Got in her this am and what do you know ? A full charge. Nice to know the charge doesn't fade too fast if the car is sitting for a while.
When Stu came by I took a few pictures with my wife's cell camera and finally loaded them into my computer . It is something to see two MINI Es together but,away from the dealership.