Bumper Plugs

It seems like at one point the car had front plates drill into the bumper directly. Now, I typically run front plates on my daily since I drive into NYC where they can get pretty strict about this stuff but I wanted something I can take off if I want. I decided to go with a front tow hook mounted license plate bracket but the car already had 4 holes in the bumper for the plate. 

existing holes

I don't want to fill and respray the bumper yet so I opted to just get a set of bumper plugs of the right color (Brilliant Silver). It requires expanding these holes to about 1/4" then putting the plugs in. I'll admit it's not that great but it looks at least a bit cleaner than 4 random holes.

Bumper plugs installed

Prepping the Mini for transfer

With the addition of the C55 AMG to the fleet as my new daily, I didn't want the Mini to just sit around go bad from not being driven but I also didn't want to sell it so my compromise decision is to let our nephew use it as his first car. Doing some final maintenance before handing it over and removing the JB4 tune so that the power would be more manageable for a teenager.

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 87,186

- 5L Liquimoly 0W-20
- New Mahle oil filter
- New oil drain copper washer
- New rubber oil drain gasket

C55 AMG - Mando

A few years ago I was looking for a C55 AMG as my daily but didn't find one that was well sorted. I restarted looking for a new daily recently and came across one on Bring-A-Trailer that looked very clean and well sorted. I'm a firm believer that if you're buying used, always buy the seller and after some questions, I felt very comfortable being aggressive with the bid and ended up winning it. 

C55 AMG "Mando" - 5/24/2026

I'd never bought a car off an online auction before and was pleasantly surprised how smooth this transaction was because the seller was super easy to deal with. I wired the funds shortly after the auction ended which cleared pretty much the next business day so he overnighted the title and bill of sale to me and I was able to quickly register it. I then few out to Chicago the following weekend with my wife and we took in on a fun 750 mile road trip back to NY. I'm calling the car Mando. 

I already have a bunch of parts that have arrived for it. I'm keeping it mostly stock, just doing a few important maintenance items and some slight improvements including CLK Xenon headlights, a Dynavin headunit so I don't have to get a phone mount and just navigate using Apple Car play and a Wavetrac diff. The car was super fantastic to drive. The V8 has lots of grunt and and sounds amazing and even as a 21 year old car, really drives fairly new. The motor mounts need replacing for sure. I've got a set from the CLK black series that will go in as well as a new transmission mount. 

We'll see what else needs replacing once it goes into the shop. 

Mileage: 77,534

Historical maintenance from previous owner:

11/9/2023 - 67K miles

- windshield washer pump

- Air cabin filter

3/25/2024 - 68K miles

- Engine oil

- Transmission Oil

- Diff fluid

- Coolant

- Brake fluid

- Power Steering fluid

- Vbelts replaced

- Transmission connectors replaced

8/27/2025 - 72.6K miles

- Breather hoses replaced

- Iridium plugs - NGK5344

- Plug wires replaced

- Valve cover gasket replaced

- Crank position sensor replaced

Nasty air cabin filter

I'm usually really good about maintenance but since I don't put a ton of miles on the S2000, I figured the air cabin filter wouldn't be that dirty. Clearly I was wrong.

New cabin filter

Time flies so I think it must've been 5 years now since I last replaced it so noting it here so I don't forget in the future.

Maintenance Updates:

Mileage: 69,675

- New air cabin filter

Oil change for the 944

I realized it’s been a bit longer than usual since my last oil change on the 944. I had meant to do it last year while other work was being done but I must’ve forgotten so no better time than the present. 

Oil change time

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 99,055
- 6 quarts Valvoline 20W-50 VR1
- Porsche/Mahle OC142 oil filter