Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Pink Mini Cooper joins the garage

My older daughter loves her Mini Cooper so much, we decided another one would be the perfect car for our younger daughter now that she is driving. It is a great car…responsive, good visibility, great gas mileage, functional storage and seating, and great on safety. The only problem - in our family we tend to like unusual colors, and there wasn't a perfect one available in the new Mini Cooper line-up (my older daughter's 2009 in Oxygen Blue with white wheels is a great color combo, which they no longer make). Well, we found a company in San Carlos, CA called "Vinyl Styles", and they are really good at wrapping cars in vinyl, similar to a clear shield that protects the paint, but in various colors. So, we bought a red/white Mini Cooper and had the new car custom wrapped in 3M Hot Gloss Pink Vinyl.

 It was a masterful job, with extra care taken to wrap the doors and other details so that the car looks like it was painted pink at the factory. The even better news is that the vinyl is removable, has a multi-year warranty, and if we ever want to take it off, the paint underneath will be like new! To top it off, since you can't get a Cooper with white wheels any more, we had the factory 6-spoke wheels powder-coated white. The car was a surprise for our daughter, and when she saw it, it literally took her breath away for several minutes. She still is amazed that she gets to drive the pink car she has been dreaming about since she was a child. As for me, I'm a bit jealous that she now has what is probably the most unusual car in the garage. The before and after shots are below.

It looks good in red, but I have to say, the pink looks terrific and the white wheels are the perfect accessory to complete the toy-car look.






FOLLOW UP: 3.5 years later, we removed the vinyl. Underneath the car's original paint still looks showroom fresh.


Sold the Oxygen Blue 2009 after 8 years, and the car was still perfect!





7 comments:


  1. Wow! I love Mini Coopers! Like your daughter, I have dreamt of having this type of car. Your daughters are very lucky coz their dreams came true. The Cooper really looks awesome, and girls would definitely love it. It would be better if they will put more accessories inside, add pillows and above all, it would really be great if there would be a sound system inside.



    Stelle Courney

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  2. Wow! You did a great job pimping your daughter’s mini-cooper, David. The color pink is such a great choice for the playful and mischievous exterior of this petite car. I bet your daughter loved how the car turned out and that she is going to have a smooth ride with it all the time.

    Clint Moore

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  3. It was very kind of you to buy the same model for your younger daughter. In this case, you can prevent them from getting jealous of each other. The pink colored car wrap is a stunner. Both of your daughters must have been very happy!


    Michelina Douglass

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  4. I felt the same way too when I received my Metallic Blue Mini Cooper! I almost even fainted! It’s a good thing that both your daughters love Mini Coopers. They have a good taste in cars! They can even switch cars whenever they want! Good decision there Dave!

    -Leisa Dreps

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  5. oh i so want to do this to mine too. wish i lived near who did it for you.

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  6. I'm thinking about doing this to my car, and was wondering around how much it cost to wrap the whole car. Was this done at the dealership or at a local shop?

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  7. Anyone know where i can actually buy a pink mini cooper instead of me wrapping one? thanks :)

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