convalescence...and why not to buy an 02-04 MINI

Ah, the glorious cold virus...it's been with us for millenia and for the last 3 or 4 days, it's been with me. For the past couple of days, I haven't been able to talk (and all the people rejoiced...)

* * *

Biggest, bombshell news of the past week is the revelation that the 5-speed British Midlands transmission in the 2002-2004 Minis is a ticking timebomb--after a certain amount of time the gearbox will fail, resulting in a $3-4k repair. The problem seems to be the gearbox was engineered for England, where it's never much below 20 degrees F. In America we routinely see 0 degrees F and below.

Net of it all...Whitney and I are weighing selling the MINI, paying off the Oldsmobile, and getting something cheaper and more reliable.

Ugh.

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