2019 Mini Cooper S
Discussion
Picked this car up at the beginning of June. My first experience of the 'new' Mini and I'm very impressed. Tremendous fun to drive!
The original owner's idea of a wash appeared to be a j-cloth and a bucket of water. As a result the paint was diabolical, dirt ingrained and plenty of little scratches on every panel. The inside was very much the same, no vacuuming or dusting had every been done in the 3 years of ownership. As a result a lot of time in my first month of ownership has been spent detailing the car to get it back up to a very good standard.
When I purchased her:
My first thoughts were, "she's under-wheeled and there is far too much chrome". So off onto the internet I went in search of solutions and parts:
I found these 17" Cosmos wheels for sale 15 miles from me.
A week later they had been refurbed:
I stockpiled all of the dechrome (black) bits I could; headlight surrounds, taillight surrounds, front and rear Mini badges, front grill and the beltline as well as a red grill centre and 'dynamic' indicators. An entire evening was spent replacing all of the bits on the car, including removing the bumper to pop out the chrome grill surround:
After all that work she now looks like this:
Carbon effect handles:
Carbon effect filler cap:
Before and after:
And for a little fun on the inside, the 'Start/Stop' button has a new cover:
Last week I took her on her first road trip, 5 says camping in Cornwall. She was faultless over all 700 miles.:
Visually she is almost where I want her. There is some lacquer damage on the offside rear quarter, so I'm having the panel resprayed in a couple of week. After that I think the main plans are to just enjoy her!
The original owner's idea of a wash appeared to be a j-cloth and a bucket of water. As a result the paint was diabolical, dirt ingrained and plenty of little scratches on every panel. The inside was very much the same, no vacuuming or dusting had every been done in the 3 years of ownership. As a result a lot of time in my first month of ownership has been spent detailing the car to get it back up to a very good standard.
When I purchased her:
My first thoughts were, "she's under-wheeled and there is far too much chrome". So off onto the internet I went in search of solutions and parts:
I found these 17" Cosmos wheels for sale 15 miles from me.
A week later they had been refurbed:
I stockpiled all of the dechrome (black) bits I could; headlight surrounds, taillight surrounds, front and rear Mini badges, front grill and the beltline as well as a red grill centre and 'dynamic' indicators. An entire evening was spent replacing all of the bits on the car, including removing the bumper to pop out the chrome grill surround:
After all that work she now looks like this:
Carbon effect handles:
Carbon effect filler cap:
Before and after:
And for a little fun on the inside, the 'Start/Stop' button has a new cover:
Last week I took her on her first road trip, 5 says camping in Cornwall. She was faultless over all 700 miles.:
Visually she is almost where I want her. There is some lacquer damage on the offside rear quarter, so I'm having the panel resprayed in a couple of week. After that I think the main plans are to just enjoy her!
oobster said:
Looks great! I've just done similar with my 2019 JCW, tried the beltline 'tape' and it looked rubbish so I bit the bullet and bought the proper piano black beltline kit, was a bit nervous taking the old chrome bits off (in case I broke something) but it was actually fairly easy.
I was quite lucky with the beltline tape and it went on nicely(I'm not all that great at DIY usually). I bet the proper kit does look really nice though. 
Thanks for the kind words, chaps. I'm very happy with how she currently looks.
The only other part I'm hunting for is a boot floor. The original owner didn't spec the Chilli pack, which I believe includes a boot floor. As a result I have the boot with the sunken centre. Can anyone advise of any companies that produce a boot floor to place over the sunken part to give me a completely flat area? I've checked my local scrap yards and they don't currently have any Minis in. All of the floors I've seen online seem to be flexible boot liners rather than solid floors.
oobster said:
Looks great! I've just done similar with my 2019 JCW, tried the beltline 'tape' and it looked rubbish so I bit the bullet and bought the proper piano black beltline kit, was a bit nervous taking the old chrome bits off (in case I broke something) but it was actually fairly easy.
I went straight for the proper kit. It's a bit pricey, but worth it. As you said, it's also fairly easy to install.The only other part I'm hunting for is a boot floor. The original owner didn't spec the Chilli pack, which I believe includes a boot floor. As a result I have the boot with the sunken centre. Can anyone advise of any companies that produce a boot floor to place over the sunken part to give me a completely flat area? I've checked my local scrap yards and they don't currently have any Minis in. All of the floors I've seen online seem to be flexible boot liners rather than solid floors.
Try here for boot floor : https://bootfloors.com/product/boot-floor-for-mini...
Alfa Pete said:
Try here for boot floor : https://bootfloors.com/product/boot-floor-for-mini...
Exactly what I'm after. Ordered, thank you!Alfa Pete said:
Try here for boot floor : https://bootfloors.com/product/boot-floor-for-mini...
Floor arrived last week. Fits perfectly. Thank you for the reccomendation.When cleaning the interior last week I took a toothpick to the gearknob. The dirt I removed from the crevasses had me heaving. Combine that with the fact it was already looking tired and worn, I decided to order a replacement. Naturally, if I was replacing the gear knob I would have to replace the handbrake too.
Did I pay too much for them? Yes.
Do I love them? Absolutely.
I'm looking at replacing all 4 tyres as the front two only have a couple of mm left before they'll no longer be road safe as well as the rear offside having a (very) slow puncture.
Any suggestions on good all round tyres in 205/45/R17 size? Budget isn't too much of a concern due to me not doing many miles!
Any suggestions on good all round tyres in 205/45/R17 size? Budget isn't too much of a concern due to me not doing many miles!
offspring86 said:
I'm looking at replacing all 4 tyres as the front two only have a couple of mm left before they'll no longer be road safe as well as the rear offside having a (very) slow puncture.
Any suggestions on good all round tyres in 205/45/R17 size? Budget isn't too much of a concern due to me not doing many miles!
I put Michelin PS4 on mine, and they were a complete revelation over the Michelin Primacy 3 that it came on from the factory. The PS4 improved the grip no end/eliminated wheelspin a lot too, plus they gave me a lot more confidence under braking as well. Any suggestions on good all round tyres in 205/45/R17 size? Budget isn't too much of a concern due to me not doing many miles!
I have Michelin PS4 on the 370Z too. I'm a big fan of them, and I personally prefer them over the Michelin PSS that I have on the M4.
cerb4.5lee said:
I put Michelin PS4 on mine, and they were a complete revelation over the Michelin Primacy 3 that it came on from the factory. The PS4 improved the grip no end/eliminated wheelspin a lot too, plus they gave me a lot more confidence under braking as well.
I have Michelin PS4 on the 370Z too. I'm a big fan of them, and I personally prefer them over the Michelin PSS that I have on the M4.
Thanks very much, will have a look at them!I have Michelin PS4 on the 370Z too. I'm a big fan of them, and I personally prefer them over the Michelin PSS that I have on the M4.
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