I need car advice!

[Smiling JOe]

One last thing, I bet with most Minis, you could buy one new, drive it in the normal manner, changing the oil every twenty five years, and put 150,000 miles on it without problems. You might have to change two tires during that time. I don't recommend it, but most of those inspections are nothing more than ways to cover their liability, and to take advantage of unknowing people. What are most people going to do? tell their mechanic that they are wrong? No. Most will pony up the big bucks at the dealer and do as they are told.

 

[NoHall]

a couple of points. My experience with tire warranties is that it doesn't replace wear and tire, and doesn't warranty against sidewall punctures. They typically cover defects or will maybe patch a puncture.

Check. I have a little neighborhood tire place right down the road who takes care of that for me. Lot's cheaper than the MINI dealership

Regarding oil changes, the dealer is hosing you. Take that $115 and invest in a community college course on basic auto mechanics.

Check. I know I can get synthetic oil at the Jiffy Lube. It's more than regular oil, but it still won't cost me $115. (I almost wet my pants when they told me that!)

Brakes -- brake pads are relatively cheap, depending on the auto. You should be able to buy a really good set (4) of brake pads for under $150, and change them yourself in less than three hours, which is faster than the wait just to get the car in the garage at most dealers.

My tire guy will change them for under $150 in an hour...

I have no idea how BMW could produce the only coolant for Minis. I'm not telling you it isn't so, but I would almost bet money that they push that crap on you, saying that the warranty will be void if you don't use their products and have all of your service done at their dealerships in a timely manner. Sounds like a bunch of people trying to rob you blind.

I tried buying coolant from the Auto Zone in town, and the guy at the counter confirmed that unless I was just topping it off, I needed the BMW coolant. He has a MINI, too. (MINIs are made by BMW.) He said that he gets his from the dealer. It's more expensive, but not by a whole lot, and I shouldn't really need it unless I have a problem with the cooling system. (I was having problems--I had a leak.) If it leaks in the summer, I can top off with water. I was worried about it freezing in the winter, though.

 

[NoHall]

p.s. Thanks, SJ...you rock...

 

[Bob]

a couple of points. My experience with tire warranties is that it doesn't replace wear and tire, and doesn't warranty against sidewall punctures. They typically cover defects or will maybe patch a puncture.

Regarding oil changes, the dealer is hosing you. Take that $115 and invest in a community college course on basic auto mechanics.

Brakes -- brake pads are relatively cheap, depending on the auto. You should be able to buy a really good set (4) of brake pads for under $150, and change them yourself in less than three hours, which is faster than the wait just to get the car in the garage at most dealers.

I have no idea how BMW could produce the only coolant for Minis. I'm not telling you it isn't so, but I would almost bet money that they push that crap on you, saying that the warranty will be void if you don't use their products and have all of your service done at their dealerships in a timely manner. Sounds like a bunch of people trying to rob you blind.

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/bmw/mini/

a mini is a bmw with bmw reliability......the first owner is usually the happiest....it is a car not meant to last for years.

 

[NoHall]

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/bmw/mini/

a mini is a bmw with bmw reliability......the first owner is usually the happiest....it is a car not meant to last for years.

Interesting site...

I don't know anyone who has bought a used one, so I can't say. Everyone I've known who has one has loved it.

I have a good friend who influenced me to buy mine. He had the S type, and complained about issues that were particular to the S type--they're more expensive to buy, drive, and maintain. He sold it recently because he has 3 kids who are getting too big to take around in the car, and said that he got top dollar for it.

Another friend has one exactly like his, and she still loves it. I have another friend who has a pretty blue one, and she has warned me about problems with the convertible top (I had it checked today, and it is supposedly just fine.)

On the message board you posted, I read about problems with the clutch and odd noises. I've had mine 25 months and have put 47,000 miles on it. (Like I said, I've had to drive back and forth to school--80 miles round trip--a LOT.) No problems with the clutch at all...still nice and tight.

One of my friends noticed after I had it about 6 weeks that it had a funny little noise--kind of like the whirring in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I did some reasearch, and the MINI literature that they gave me said that the original Coopers had a funny noise that they tried to recreate in the new ones. The noise was intentionally put in! I had to laugh. One of the reasons I don't like the new bugs is because they don't have the magical noise of the old engines.

I was looking online to see if I could find some of the literature they gave me with the car, but I don't see it. (Go play on their website: http://www.miniusa.com/) Lots of fun things go into the car, like the cupholders that are NOT for champagne flutes. They have a little picture of a flute with a circle and a slash over it; it's making fun of the high-end beemers with champagne flute holders in the back. I also love that they know that in a convertible it's a PITA to turn the radio up over the wind noise and then turn it back down again when the car stops at a light. The radio adjusts its own volume with the speed. The intermittent wipers also change with car speed.

The fact that it's made by BMW is a double-edged sword, though. They drive like a BMW, but I'm afraid that if something breaks it's gonna cost me like a BMW. So far, though, it has held up like something out of The Italian Job...

 

[NoHall]

You have to try this game! Jump in the convertible

 

[Will B]

The only reason that I can see that they are trying to push Mini specific coolant is because perhaps it has an aluminum block and other close tollerance parts. Honda tries pushing their coolant on me for my Goldwing, but the only requirement is that whatever I use needs to be silicate free. Do a little digging. I bet you'll find something like that...