Hi everyone,
I've been doing some reasearch here at NAM to help me estimate maintenance cost,l especially for the long term (8-10 years), and am try to pin down a few common maintenance costs. Here's what I've come up with so far.

Oil changes: I plan to change my oil every 5K miles (yes, I know MINI will cover oil changes at 10K, 20K and 30K, but I'd like to play safe and change the oil every 5K miles). It looks like an oil change is around $100.

Tires: It seems good tires can be as much as $800 per set, and I might need a new set of tires every 40,000 miles. I'm not going to race the car or anything like that.

Clutch: Whatever car I get will have manual tranmission. Period. So it appears I might need a new clutch (or not) every 100,000 miles, and it might cost about $2500 (although will probably have to adjust that for inflation, as I probably won't need it for a few years.

Brakes: I'm getting a bit of conflicting information. In one place, it seems a set of brakes pads and rotors is about $900, while in another place, it was about $1200. And it appears that the brakes need to be replaced every 30K miles, right?

So here are my questions:
- Are the cost above about right in the ballpark (preferly on the high side though)? Especially for brakes.

- Are there any other regular maintenance items, like water pump, fuel pump, etc, that may need to be replaced every so often miles? If so, what is their approximate cost, as well as frequency of replacement?

Thanks everyone!!

 

I can't help you...I'm just doing research before buying my Mini myself....

I'd like to add to the questions....Is it important to take the Mini back to the dealership for all oil changes, maintenance, etc.? I ask because there are no Mini dealerships in my state so I'll have to drive about 3 hours to get to a dealer and, since I travel a lot for work, I have to get oil changes, etc. more than the average person.

Thanks for any help!!

 

I got my oil changed at an Indie shop for $60, my new Goodyear non-RF tires ran $500 mounted & balanced (I caught them on sale at Tire Rack), a new clutch runs $1600 if installed at the stealership, I just put on 4 new rotors & pads at an Indie shop & it ran $750, that's all I got for ya

 

My MCS hasn't arrived yet, so no personal experience, but I hope to get 30k on a set of tires from everything I've read. Do some more searching the forums on tire wear if you want to fine tune that part of your research.

Good luck!

 

Based on what I've seen on small items (door locks/window motors), I expect a MINI will be pretty expensive to maintain after warranty. That said, it might well be very much worth maintaining as it is a car one can live with for along time and still enjoy very much.

 

You seem a bit pessimistic on costs, but that's always good.
Oil change is $35 if you do it yourself.
Tires - runflats are pricey, but by the time you need a set, you should be able to get them cheaper. Kuhmo runflat 17"s are $133 at tirerack
Clutch - could last longer, should cost less
Brakes - same as above. I've got 40K on mine, and they should be good for another 15-20K. An indi shop should be able to replace them for
$5-600.
As mentioned, other things will go wrong after warranty - power steering fan and window motor seem to get mentioned.

 

Depends~
Oil change DIY is $30. Not hard and even if you have not done it before is a good way to keep informed about what is happening on your car.
Tires - Get rid of the runflats and get some quality non-runflats at $70 to $100 each. Better tires and lower costs.
Brakes - Like oil, DIY is better. While this is more than some want to do, get to know other MINI owners in your area and I am sure they will help. DIY is about $125 for better ceramic pads, and if needed $400 for rotors.
Clutch - If you are good with a manual it should go over 100K. If not, take it to a local place, not MINI dealer for a much lower costs.

 

Thanks everyone--I know it'd be cheaper if I did some of the maintenance myself, but I'm just trying to get a feeling for the ballpark of what dealers generally charge (assuming they're most expensive), as well as any other stuff that I might need to replace, such as fuel pump, etc,

If there are any other major maintenance items that would need to be replaced during a car's life, please let us know about them, with their general cost and frequency of replacement.

Thanks again everyone!