MY WEEK IN CARS
Steve Cropley
Paul Collins’ DKW was Cropley’s star of the Classic Motor Show
TUESDAY
Bit of trouble with the Mini. Nothing serious, just inconvenient. Our 65,000-mile, 69-plate Cooper S was about 3000 miles short of its next major service when a warning popped up to announce that its paddle-shift auto needed new fluid and a comprehensive reset. As with all Mini warnings, this one was delivered in a strident tone that made us presume that if not obeyed pronto, oily gearbox shrapnel would scatter itself on the road.
The trouble was our local Mini dealer couldn’t fix it. Not immediately, anyway. A nice service receptionist reckoned they would need to order the new fluid first and then the work would take most of a day. They would still need the car back 3000 miles later (8-10 weeks in the Steering Committee’s busy life) to complete the service. Our only sensible course was to retire the car until the right appointment could be found to do everything at once. By the time it was done, the car was off the road for nine days.