I just purchased an 05 MCS, sports/ premium/cold weather pkgs, 18.5K miles, hyper blue/white roof/chrome mirror caps, gray leather.. Very sweet, and completely stock. I'm a member here and REME club also. I would love to squeeze more performance and trick out the MCS, but the car still has lots to go on the warranty and most of a year on the free maintenance.

I also own an 03 BMW 330ci I bought at BMW SF and have a close buddy who's Svc Mgr at BMW SF and is an "in" there, but I don't want to install the pulleys, suspesion mods, etc. only to find out the warranty is voided.. I also need to know a shop here locally that has experience installing the mods.. Any ideas gang? And who here that did the mods has had their warranty voided by Mini SF? Since I'm in Mill Valley, Mini SF is most handy. Thanks.

 

While I cant answer any of your questions....I can welcome you to the fold! Congrats on the car, it sounds sweet...partial to blue myslef!

 

My dealer is well aware of my many mods and has no problem whatsoever servicing my car or fixing things under warranty. I have done all of the mods myself even. I think it just depends on the operation and how many guys in the back are doing the same things to their cars (quite a few at my place).
TJM

 

jontalk- I live in South bay, San Jose to be exact. Not too far fom you. Congrads on your Mini and I think you will grow to love the car more everyday.

As for mods and a dealer to install them. There is a local shop here in the city of Campbell that is very good in the work that they do. Also, Iwould ask your dealer about mods you are thinking of doing and see what sort of feed back you get and how passive they are in regards to that. When you do find out you will have your options open to you.

The shop that I' talking about is ver professioinal and does everyting better han dealer since they specialize in BMW's and Minis.

Let me know if you care to find out more and I will be glaad to help.

Sharo

 

i go there and they don't have a problem servicing my mini with all the mods i have.

 

Bay Bridge Motors in Oakland would be the closest shop.

 

I have a little story to relate. I bought my new 06 MCC at MINI of SF. I bought aftermarket wheels/tires and already had them ready before the car arrived. I asked my MA about having them put on before I took possession of the car. Silly me, I had hoped that as a new car purchase, they might spend a few minutes to swap out the wheels as a complimentary service. He asked the service department, and they answered that they didn't want to swap wheels without a $400 alignment, or it would "void the warranty". Naturally I just did it myself after I got the car home.

There's your answer. You have somebody who can poke around and find out what their policies are.

 

that would be the best bet if you want to install aftermarket parts for your car, i wouldn't ask the dealer to do that. ask your service manager buddy about the policies over there, to be honest i'm not really sure. but they do not give me any problems while doing the maintence service or fix a couple rattles for me with the mods i have. and yeah their customer service isn't the best, they dented my car while it was in and i'm still waiting for more then 2 months for a loaner car so they can take my car to the shop...

 

Mini of SF may not initially care about your mods - at least not until they need to get reimbursement from the manufacturer.

The dealer will not cancel your warranty. But if a problem arises in which a modified part is noted, I can almost gurantee you that MiniUSA will.

I had a heavily modified MCS and Mini of Concord had no problems servicing it - up until I had an electrical problem related to the engine wiring harness. Mini of Concord tried several times to correct the problem and finally called in the local PUMA rep for advice.

His advice - stop working on the car - the warranty's invalidated.

So a recap - the dealer isn't the issue. The issue arises when the dealer tries to collect from the manufacturer and an aftermarket product is noted.

If you're worried about your warranty - keep it stock.

 

I am in a similar position and I live in SF. I have two years left on factory warranty, but want more power. I have decided to go the Dinan route.

By going Dinan you'll spend a lot more money, but the plus is your warranty is not voided. BMW of SF is also a Dinan authorized dealer. Another big plus is that the Dinan main headquarters and service center is in Mountain View, so if you are having issues you can go down and talk to them in person if you have to.