[German_clan]

Pros of the Mini:
1. The Mini is still a blast to drive and is fun in twisties as well as the straights.
2. You feel like a superstar with the exclusivity you get for the amount of money you pay.
3. The 2.0L turbo-petrol is the same engine you get in the 328i (I think). Correct me if i am wrong.
4. Open top motoring is an experience which one should experience at least once in their lifetime.
5. Only one in all of Andaman.

Cons of the Mini:
1. Space for only two adults at the back - seats are only for luggage or kids up to 10 years old.
2. The parts are expensive and hard to get.
3. The roof would definitely need replacement after 2-3 years which would cost a bomb again.
4. Service engineers aren’t familiar with the car as it is sold in very less numbers.
5. Fuel consumption of 5-7 kmpl.

In our family of four our garage had the following cars:

1. Honda City ZX (2007)
2. BMW 530d (F10)
3. Zen (1997)

And 2 bikes - the Yamaha RX100 and KTM Duke 200.

Come 2017, we are notified that my dad is being transferred to Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), which is also his hometown.

Until now, he usually preferred commuting by his beloved RX100 because of the dreadful traffic in Delhi. Now finally, he wanted to upgrade from his 20 year old zen to something fun and exclusive.

One little point about my dad - he doesn’t like big cars and always avoided taking out the Honda and the BMW. He also wanted a convertible, because Port Blair is definitely a place for open top motoring.

The cars considered:

1. Pre-owned BMW Z4 (35 lakhs) mainly because the 530d wasn’t such a big pain in the backside. We were almost convinced to buy this black beauty and called Vijay from Deutsche Moteren Moti Nagar to check the service history of the car. Vijay called us back within 10 mins and told us to steer away from that car as it had had a gearbox replacement two months back. Hence this was dropped.

2. Pre-owned Porsche Boxster. Ruled out because good examples were going around 50 lakhs, which was way out of budget.

Out of the blue, my brother who was in 7th standard, told my dad “Ye Mr. Bean wali gaadi lete hai”, which was a green Mini Cooper and it struck me that having a look at the mini cooper wouldn’t be such a bad idea. So, on a Sunday, we took our BMW and set the navigation to Bird Automotive.

On reaching there we have a green Mini Cooper S convertible with racing stripes and white interior waiting for us. We happily took a short test drive and all of us fell in love with it. The car was so much fun to drive that we all came back to the showroom grinning.

Booking experience

We sat down to discuss the possibility of buying a Mini Cooper. Since this was a Sunday, there were only two people in the showroom and it was already 8:30. The salesman came with 3 sheets of paper in his hand, which had info about the 3 Mini Cooper S convertibles in stock.

1. Blue with white interior ex-showroom - 42 lakhs
2. White with brown interior ex-showroom - 36 lakhs
3. Melting silver with black interior ex-showroom - 38 lakhs

Mini Coopers have a lot of minor loading options, but these were the main points. Attached are the pictures of the cars mentioned above.

[German_clan]

Booking experience(contd)

From the 3 options, the white one was ruled out because it was simply looked bland in front of the other two. The blue one was the best looking of the lot, but had white interiors which would be very hard to maintain. So the obvious choice was the silver one, which checked all the right boxes.

Now, on the negotiation part. My mom being the master negotiator, told us both to keep quiet and started the bargaining like we were buying vegetables. The manager told us he can give a Rs. 1 lakh discount on any of the three cars and quoted Rs. 36 lakhs for the silver one. If we remembered right, the silver one was for Rs. 38 lakhs and Rs. 1 lakh discount meant Rs. 37 lakhs, but by mistake, he quoted Rs. 36 lakhs.
My mom snatched this opportunity and told him to sign the piece of paper with the specs of the silver one with the price he quoted, which he readily did. After this, my mom wrote a cheque of Rs. 5 lakhs for the silver Mini. He realized in 10 mins that he had quoted 1 lakh rupees extra discount and told us the same. At this, my mom replied “Ab toh book ho gayi ”. He called up his senior at Bird Automotive and told him the case. The senior told him to give the Rs. 1 lakh extra discount as corporate discount. The deal was closed at 9:30 pm on a Sunday. We were so happy with the purchase that we barely slept that night. Now came the most difficult part i.e. arranging the funds.

My dad took a top up on his house loan and broke his PF. We decided to take delivery near 10th May as it is my dad's birthday. We took the delivery on 12th May as my college exams were going on and I could only come back on 12th. I took a cab from the airport, directly to the Mini showroom where my parents were going to meet me to take the delivery of the “Chappan Choori”. I will come to how this name came later. For now here are some pictures.

Taking the demo car out for a spin:



Completing the paperwork:



Finally getting the delivery at around 9:30 pm.



Initial Ownership

The “Chappan Choori” came home on the night of 12th May 2017 and we paid around Rs. 36.5 lakhs for the car as the registration and insurance was to be done in Port Blair. The insurance done was zero dep from national insurance for a sum of Rs. 56,000. Also the registration in Port Blair is a mere 6,000 per year and not based on the price of the car as in the case of other states.

Since our apartment only allowed one car to be parked inside, we had to rent a parking for the Mini in the nearby mall “Unity One”. For a bargain of Rs. 2,000 per month, we were more than happy with the parking provided.

Picture outside my apartments:



Picture of the car in the parking of unity one:



The temporary registration was only valid for a period of 30 days after which we got an extension for 15 days. The car barely did 500 km in this time period after which, we shipped it off to Port Blair.

Now coming to why the name “Chappan Choori”. As my dad had friends in the RTO, we were offered a good list of numbers to choose from, one of them being “AN 01 M 0056”. 56 is chappan in Hindi and choori is knife - mainly because the car went like one. Hence the name, “Chappan Choori”.

Pictures outside the insurance office:

1.Front view:



2.Side view:



3.The view everyone has to see.



The place where I usually went for my morning run:



The view so mesmerizing:



The roads so good:



The Mini chilling in the background:



As this is the only car we have in the Andamans, it is used for almost anything and everything from getting groceries to going on fishing trips.

Picture of the Mini when we went fishing:



The sea from the mini point of view:



The shot from the interior:



Interior lights still visible in the bright sun with the roof down:



Some key points of the Cooper after 2 years and 25,000 km:

1. The sheer driving pleasure: The Mini Cooper S comes with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine putting out around 180 bhp. Numbers don’t do justice to the driving dynamics of the car. It floats like a Cadillac and stings like a Bimmer. The engine is basically the same engine that is found in the BMW 328i. Also, the Cooper is the closest thing to a go kart as you can get.

2. “Kitna deti hai”- Not as bad as you would expect. For the initial 1,000 km the FE was around 6-7 kmpl after which, it has improved to around 9-10 kmpl.

3. Overall build quality, fit and finish: The cooper is a CBU (completely built unit) which is manufactured by BMW in Britain and then sent to India. Hence, the quality of most parts is good. The paint quality is top-notch and there are no gaps in any of the panels.

4. Overall NVH levels: There is minimal engine noise, but the exhaust is nice and chirpy and gives a lot of pops and bangs in Sports mode, whenever one upshifts or downshifts. A lot of rattles and squeaks creep inside the cabin as the ride quality is harsh and being a convertible the insulation isn’t as good as a hard top.

5. Ground clearance: At 134 mm, the ground clearance is low and the Cooper will always scrape its belly on speed breakers unless you take extra precautions.

6. Daily usage: The car is driven daily for an average of 30-50 km as it is the only car we have in the Andamans.

7. Wheels and tyres: The car came with 17 inch wheels wrapped with 205/45/17 Hankook RFT tyres, which were useless and replaced with Michelin PS4 ST after around 10,000 km on the odo.

8. Exterior design: In my opinion, this has got to be the most desirable generation of the Cooper as the design is up to today’s standards, while maintaining the classic Mini Cooper roots.

9. Brakes: The mini comes with discs all-round. I am not quite sure about the size of them, but they provide enough braking power at all speeds.

10. Warranty and service package: The car came with a 2 year warranty. We did not opt for the extended warranty or service package as the car was to be kept in Port Blair, which doesn’t even have a BMW showroom.

11. Interior storage and boot space: The Cooper can easily carry 2 small suit cases, which is fine as this is a convertible with 2 rear seats.

12. Infotainment system: This is basically an iDrive unit straight from BMW. Only the lights around the infotainment system are interesting, as they change colour randomly based on what you are fiddling with. The infotainment system shows all the basic things such as what needs servicing and when, the trip details, and music info. It doesn’t have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but has Bluetooth connectivity, which I miss in my 2010 BMW :(.

13. Interior design and quality: The interior design is quite quirky and a comfortable place to be in. The seats are sporty and hold you snugly and comfortably. The buttons on the dash and roof are amazing and definitely taken straight out of a fighter jet. The quality of plastics is equivalent to what you get in a Honda or Maruti, which is quite sad considering the price of the car.

14. Ride quality on streets and highways: The car is firm on its feet and doesn’t skid about and bounce. The ride on highways is quite good as the car is planted even at triple digit speeds. As the mini has stiff suspension, it loses out on comfort; while driving on the streets you can feel every pothole on the surface no matter how small it is.

15. Gearshifts : The gearbox is a previous-gen 7-speed auto. The gearbox is not as fast and compliant as the 8-speed ZF you get in the BMWs. The car does come with paddle shifters which are fun to use, but again, the gearbox is slow.

16. Visibility and side mirrors: The car has great visibility all around, especially with the roof down. The side view mirrors are big and oval, which have very less blind spots.

17. Driving mods: There are 3 driving modes in the Mini, namely Eco, Mid and Sport. Eco mode gives the least driving pleasure as the responses are slowed and delayed in the interest of FE. The Mid mode is a perfect combination of driving pleasure and FE. The car is usually in this mode when you start her up. The Sports mode is a completely different story. The gearbox becomes fast and the car only shits at the red line. Hence, you get the maximum go-kart feel.

18. Air-conditioning: The Mini has dual-zone climate control and the cooling is quite effective even though it is a soft top.

19. Cost of upkeep and maintenance: This is quite high as there are no service centres in Port Blair and parts aren’t readily available. Cost of parts is also quite high.

20. After sales service: A.S.S. is quite horrendous as Kun Exclusive chennai was assigned to look at the Port Blair region. More of this is covered in the next section.

Maintaining a Mini Cooper in the Andamans:

The servicing is what I call “pain in the backside”. When buying the Mini, we were assured by the sales team that for servicing, BMW would send out a technician with all the required equipment. All we had to do was pre-order and ship the required parts, book a round trip flight for the technician, book a hotel for his stay and provide the meals, which we did happily. The 1st servicing was normal oil change, cleaning the filters and some other minimalistic things. The service ended up costing close to Rs. 1 lakh . This was totally absurd as the car had done only 7,000-8,000 km and a normal mechanic could have done the above for around 8,000-10,000.

About 2-3 months after the 1st service, the indicator stalk stopped working which persists till today. Also, the battery died within 1.2 years of ownership. Mind you the car is driven daily. These things should have been covered under warranty as the car came with a two-year warranty.

Following is the dreadful experience with Kun Exclusive (Chennai):

1. We contacted them for the second service at around 15,000 km and conveyed the above 2 problems. This is the response of the service manager at Kun exclusive, "Sir gaadi yaha honi chahiye koi bhi warranty claim ke liye. Aap gaadi yaha bhej do." This we declined and told him to send the service engineer and take a look at the vehicle. My dad wasn’t in Port Blair when the service engineer arrived, but he communicated with him over the phone. He performed the basic service, which any Tom, Dick and Harry could do and went back. Mind you, we had paid for the flight tickets, cab fare, 3-star hotel, food and Rs. 33,000 servicing charges. This came somewhere close to Rs. 1 lakh.

2. The Mini comes with a 70 ah (AGM) Banner battery, which was obviously not available in Port Blair. So we told Kun Exclusive to send the battery via cargo. The price for the 70 ah one was around Rs. 45,000 and pictures were shared over WhatsApp. We made a payment to Kun of about Rs. 51,000 including the freight charges. But guess what, they sent an 85 ah battery, which did not fit in the battery compartment. Typical Kun exclusive behaviour; frustrated with their casual approach and poor service we decided to never contact them again. We removed the battery box and put the bigger battery in place.

3. The service provided by Kun to a customer who already has two BMWs and will probably buy many more, was dreadful to say the least, whereas Bird Automotive and Deutsche Moteren were a pleasure to deal with.

CONCLUSION:

My BMW 530d even after 9 years and 1 lakh km is more reliable than the Mini Cooper, which has only done about 25,000 km in 2.5 years of ownership.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[M A D over CARS]

whoah!! that is a beauty you got there. wish you and your family many happy miles with it.


P.S. DID YOU NOT CONSIDER THE AUDI A3 CONVERTIBLE

[shashi792]

1L for a first service is something that's difficult to digest. If you look in person to whats done to the car during first service, you realize that it hardly takes an hour and usually no-part replacement. Its topping up all oils with filters being changed.

Just for my information, did you guys consider how much would it cost, if you shipped the car to mainland (probably Chennai) for servicing. I know there are weekly ferry services.

[Gannu_1]

Congrats on the Mini! Wish you many happy miles with the car in the Andamans.

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by shashi792

Just for my information, did you guys consider how much would it cost, if you shipped the car to mainland (probably Chennai) for servicing. I know there are weekly ferry services.

I am not quite sure if there are ferry service service from portblair to chennai. While transporting the car from chennai to portblair it costed around 50k in a container.

Bmw usually charges 33k for a basic service the rest of the money went into renting a workshop for half a day, to and fro tickets from chennai to portblair, food, hotel stay for a day and other travel charges.

Originally Posted by M A D over CARS

P.S. DID YOU NOT CONSIDER THE AUDI A3 CONVERTIBLE

We did test drive the Audi A3 convertible. After driving the 530d we were already spoilt by its performance and luxury.
The A3 was quite underpowered hence never made the cut.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I see the Navy's Floating Dock FDN-2 in one of the snaps.
Congrats on the Mini! Wish you many happy miles with the car.

You are right that is the FDN-2 in the snaps. Catching fish around the FDN is quite easy. We were able to pull out 5-6 in a matter of 15 minutes.

Best regards,
German_clan

[kushagra452]

Congratulations! I can't even imagine paying Rs.1 Lakh to get my car serviced! However, I am sure you would have calculated the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) when making the buying decision. Enjoy your ride!

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by German_clan

.

Nice to read your ownership report. Perhaps, you could have posted your requirements here before buying! I have seen many people benefiting from the views one get from fellow members and many times it helps in negotiating prices as well. Mini will definitely be a candy in your place, and works well with your age/ physique. Smart choice

I have few questions

1. How did you transport the Mini to your place?
2. How do you manage service of 530-D? unless its at Delhi and I missed.
3. Is it difficult to take it back to Chennai/ Kolkatta on a ferry/ Road trip? So instead of paying extra for a mechanic, can you spend that money and take the car to chennai?

We contacted them for the second service at around 15k kms and conveyed the above 2 problems.

An Email to BMW India would have helped you. They usually get things by engaging with the dealership.

We made a payment to kunj of about 51k including the freight charges but guess what they sent a 85ah battery which did not fit in the battery compartment.

Battery is covered under warranty. Ask them to replace with the correct type and also refund your money. Mark mail to contact.india@bmw.in
Try to keep everything documented. You should get a new correct battery and a refund. So don't lose it.

My bmw 530d even after 9years and 1lakh kms is more reliable than the Mini Cooper which has only done about 25k kms in 2.5 years of ownership.

I am not sure if the battery on Mini is AGM as some of the recent models have regular ones, do you have a picture of your original battery? What else has gone wrong on the Mini? Will like to hear more.

[gjnnbagal]

His senior at bird automotive must have said:



Later I read this, the 1st servicing was normal oil change, cleaning the filters and some other minimalistic things. The service ended up costing close to 1 lakh rupees! In my mind, I said:



Wishing you trouble free ownership ahead @German_clan

[SPB_drives]

The pictures you have shared above are stunning. You must really be loving driving your Mini, otherwise with such after sales, an owner would quickly want to sell it off.

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I have few questions

1. How did you transport the Mini to your place?
2. How do you manage service of 530-D? unless its at Delhi and I missed.
3. Is it difficult to take it back to Chennai/ Kolkatta on a ferry/ Road trip? So instead of paying extra for a mechanic, can you spend that money and take the car to chennai?
Battry is covered under warranty. Ask them to replace with the correct type and also refund your money. Mark mail to contact.india@bmw.in
Try to keep everything documented. You should get a new correct battery and a refund. So don't lose it.
I am not sure if the battery on Mini is AGM as some of the recent models have regular ones, do you have a picture of your original battery? What else has gone wrong on the Mini? Will like to hear more.

We tried communicating the same to bmw but to claim the warranty we had to take the mini to any of their service centres for which we would have to transport the car there which would have cost more.

The mini comes with a 70ah agm battery



The following are the cars and their respective locations:

1. Laura and the bmw 530d - banglore which are both serviced by pride cars at mysore road.

2. Yeti and honda city - yeti has been acquired quite recently and hasn’t been serviced till now, the honda is serviced at peeraghari honda.

3. The Mini Cooper is in portblair and has been done by kun exclusive till today.

[Sumanyu17]

The service costs nullified the bargain you got while purchasing the car.
Anyway thanks for sharing a very unique ownership experience.

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by Sumanyu17

The service costs nullified the bargain you got while purchasing the car.
Anyway thanks for sharing a very unique ownership experience.

Now that the 2 year warranty is over. The spare parts will be sourced from outside and the car will be taken to a capable mechanic for all the upkeep needs. Which will hopefully bring down the maintenance costs to 20-30k a year including parts.

Originally Posted by SPB_drives

The pictures you have shared above are stunning. You must really be loving driving your Mini, otherwise with such after sales, an owner would quickly want to sell it off.

Would never sell it off, the mini is a pleasure to drive and the classic looks will never get old. Now that the 2 year warranty is over we plan to take it to a reliable mechanic which will bring the service costs down to almost 1/3 of what we were spending before.

[Rustom Mistry]

Congrats on the beauty you've bought. It's always a head-turner. But of course, paying one lac for servicing is too much! My Beemer gets services for around Rs 25000. Anyways, wishing you more and more miles and it’s a sheer joy to own a convertible!