I'm a newbie to this site, however, been reading alot of discussion on issues with the Mini. To start off I purchased a used 2003 MC, automatic with 39000 miles from non-mini dealer 3 weeks ago. The first night we took it home it drove great, except for a ticking noise from the front end whenever it would drive. Took it back to the dealer the next morning and had it checked out and guess what, the transmission was shot. After discussing my options they took the car to a mini dealer for repairs. The tranny had to be replaced and had to wait for new one. Well 3 weeks later and the dealer had no idea when the new tranny was coming in so he suggested to us that they would give us another car on the lot of the same value for our troubles, but we wanted a Mini. They looked around town and found another one with similar features, however, the one they got us was a 2005 MC automatic, convertible with 34000 miles. We had to dish up another $2000 to get into this one. The newer one was much better shape then the first one and my wife loved the rag top. Two days after getting this one the Service Engine Soon light when on! I am afraid to bring it in and find out something's bad is wrong with it. I've read other posts and there could be alot of things that this light might come on. I've checked the gas cap, which the dealer filled up on the lot for us, more then certain must have used regular gas, and the cap was fine. Sould I attempt to maybe change the oil myself and/or the plugs, who knows. The car runs great, except for a little jerking when I am in a low gear coming off a complete stop, otherwised she runs nice. Should I be concern and give up on the Mini? We really love the car and I am kind of concern if we made a wise choice. Thanks to all for your input!!!!

 

congrats on choosing a mINI...

1. IT shoudl still be under MINI original warranty..
2. u did not mention abt bring back to where u bought it from,.

keep us posted

 

No, don't give up on the MINI...Chin up, things aren't always bad with these buggers. I'd suggest you do one of two things:

1.) Take it to a MINI dealer to get it checked out by the people who know it best. It might be that the dealer who sold it didn't know about resetting some of the computer glitches after performing an oil change or service, or tire rotation, etc.

2.) Link up with a local motoring club to find the serious gear-head MINI drivers, and get them to check it out.

Good luck, and keep at it! THese are great cars. Really.

 

For what its worth, I was told that once a CEL is set, it will not go off on its own. You need to scan it and see what triggered it. It could have been as simple as leaving the car running while filling w/ gas or a bad injector (or any of the 962 things that the computer monitors).
Running regular gas will not set a CEL and the service interval should be a different indicator. The CEL only deals with OBDII issues.
You might be able to get a quick scan at a place like PepBoys or AutoZone but they will not reset the light. At least you will know what may need to be fixed, if anything, when you get it in for service.
Best of luck with your new MINI!

Just to add to my post:
I would strongly suggest purchasing an extended warranty. I went with www.warrantydirect.com for mine. While many believe that an EW is a waste, it can be a life saver if you have a major repair such as the CVT and then have to fix it out-of-pocket. Second, I would get that unit right into a MINI service center and have them go over the ENTIRE car including a proper transmission fluid change. If the 30K service had not been done then now is a good time. This is NOT a cheap proposition by any means but if you figure what was saved by buying used instead of new then you should still be ahead of the game. JMHO...