Hi!

I'm Kenneth, and I just got an 08 Convertible this weekend. It's not an "S," I had a choice of the engine upgrade or the soft top payment wise. Since I have a Suzuki DL1000 for high-speed applications, I went for the convertible. As a Floridian I'll be keeping the top down a lot.

My Mini is BRG, with an awesome Sidewalk tan leather interior. It's an amazing car; the handling is at least as good as if not better than the Miatas I have owned in the past. I haven't found the traction limit yet, and may not until I'm past the break in period and can really wail on it.

Question: are y'all ok with waiting 10k miles for the 1st oil chainge? The idea freaks me out; I've always gotten the first oil change done in 600 miles or so to remove the engine debris that is generated when a new engine seats it's bearings, rings, etc. The dealer says synthetic oil cures all, but I don't think I buy it.

 

The deal with the long wait between scheduled changes kind of freaked me out too when I got my Mini. I changed my oil and filter at 5k miles, and changed it again well before the second service was due. Looking at the oil closely each time I drained it... it was pretty darned new looking. I am beginning to think that with modern engine parts machining thechniques that include excellent deburing and incredible tight tolerances, a general improvement of metallurgy and overall quality control, along with the high quality of modern synthetic oils, us old school guys with 1970 ideas of what oil changes should be are extremely outdated. Guys like me have probably been wasting their money on extra oil changes for several years now. Mini offers a fairly decent engine warranty. They probably aren't going take a chance on increasing their warranty repair costs by recommending to change oil too infrequently.