maintainance of a mini cooper

"sprock" <sprock.null.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2007102714514216807-sprocknull@gmailcom...
> Kinda curious what people's experience are with maintance for your mini
> (cooper or cooper S). How much do you pay for yearly maintance for the car
> ?
>
> I know the first 3 years of a new mini, the dealer takes care of you for
> the most part, but as the years progress, the car is most likely going to
> give you some problems and maintainance from the dealer may not be
> available anymore.
>
> This is assuming you take care of you car and you dont run the living
> daylights out of the car..
>
> In either case, I'm looking into getting a used mini cooper (or S) but I
> want to see what are the typical problems people have with the car and how
> much you usually spend on the car to maintain it. Specically, a car dating
> from 2002 to 2005.
>
> Any insight would be great everyone...


I have a 2004 Mini Cooper that I bought used just over a year ago.
Shortly after I bought the car, there were a couple of things that I
realized were not right. One was that the electronic key did not work on
the driver's side door, which I could not unlock remotely. The other was
that one of the speakers in the passenger side door did not work. The Mini
dealer fixed these without charge, and I have had no further problems.

In addition, I mentioned to the dealer at the same time that the
steering seemed heavier than I would have expected. The dealer replaced the
power steering pump, again without charge. However, the steering still
seemed unduly heavy to me, and that remains a problem. I mentioned it again
to the dealer at the most recent maintenance, but was told that they could
find nothing wrong. I have seen comments to the effect that some people
think BMWs typically have power steering that requires more effort than
other cars, and that may be the explanation here.

Otherwise, I have had no problems with the car.
 >> Stay informed about: maintainance of a mini cooper 

In article <2007102714514216807-sprocknull@gmailcom>,
sprock <sprock.null DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote:

> Kinda curious what people's experience are with maintance for your mini
> (cooper or cooper S). How much do you pay for yearly maintance for the
> car ?
>
> I know the first 3 years of a new mini, the dealer takes care of you
> for the most part, but as the years progress, the car is most likely
> going to give you some problems and maintainance from the dealer may
> not be available anymore.
>
> This is assuming you take care of you car and you dont run the living
> daylights out of the car..
>
> In either case, I'm looking into getting a used mini cooper (or S) but
> I want to see what are the typical problems people have with the car
> and how much you usually spend on the car to maintain it. Specically, a
> car dating from 2002 to 2005.
>
> Any insight would be great everyone...

Take a look at http://www.motoringfile.com where they are currently
doing an item on used MINIs and what to look for and avoid. The article
is called "MotoringFile MINI R50/R53 US Buyers Guide"
 >> Stay informed about: maintainance of a mini cooper