Mini Maintenance
 

Dear All,

I bought a 2009 Mini on July 10th-I just love it! It had 21,233 miles on it and now has 23,000+. According to CarFax it was in warrenty-I didn't think it really would be-and when I called Mini it wasn't, which is ok. Carfax also says it had an oil and filter change, inspection on 12/20/2012 at 21,233 miles.

I am not really a car person nor have I done much mechanical maintenance in my life. BUT money is really tight and I'd like to do any maintenance/repairs I can myself. If the car was still under warrenty I'd take it to a Mini dealer, but since it's not I'm considering doing some stuff myself and some maybe by a good mechanic around where I live-not that I have one yet, I'm looking.

What sorts of things do you think I can do myself? Oil change, etc.? And what would it be better to get the pros to do?

Also do y'all think I should go to the Mini dealer? There's one in Birmingham about 100 miles away and one in Nashville about 150 miles away. Would it be better just to take the car by one of these places just to get a baseline?

And what sorts of things should I be really on the lookout for maintenance wise to avoid repairs where I can?

When I talked to the Nashville Mini guys-who were great by the way-a salesman told me 'these are German cars. They expect you to be precise in your maintenance and if you are you won't have any trouble.'

Any other maintenance/repair tips much appreciated!

Regards,
Elfina

Elfina, welcome to MCF & congrats on the purchase! There are several maintenance items you can do yourself such as oil & filter change, cabin filter, air filter - you may even want to take a stab at brake pad replacement if you feel up to it. Great resources here on MCF for DIY info. We have informational guides as well on basic maintenance topics such as replacing your air filter on your MINI.

Let us know what questions you have and post a picture or two of your MINI!
Mark/Pelican Parts

I bought a new 2013 Mini in 2013...free maintenance until 36000..just hit 30000 and had my last free one....dealer wants to charge me 1800 for maintenance until 100,000 miles. They pointed out that new brakes at 40,000 would be over 500 dollars I do about a thousand miles a month...I am not mechanically inclined but I do have a great relationship with a local mechanic who specializes in German cars..interested in opinions,,