Hello fellow MINI drivers,

I own at 2008 MINI cooper hardtop. It has been good to me far with 46K miles on it. (I love to drive). I have been putting off the fuel injection cleaning due to the price. Is it worth doing the cleaning?
I also have been told at MINI that it would be best to get the extended warranty on the car to 100K, but costs an arm and a leg. No real problems from the MINI, got new tires for it today.

Thoughts?

 

I'd go ahead with the extended warranty. Unless you've got an OCC(oil catch can) or have seafoamed or used some other intake deposit cleaner on your MINI on a regular basis the buildup of carbon deposits from the PCV system will be significant and will need to be removed in the near future. IMO you've been lucky to go that many miles without a problem and if you plan on keeping it either go with the warranty or start the intake treatments yourself. If your a Cooper owner(non-s) then don't worry about an extended warranty unless you have the cash. I've got 120k on my '07 R56 Cooper with mods and a canned tune and have yet to have any mechanical problems.

 

Yes, the regular coopers are the most reliable of the lot.

That said, a couple of days ago I went to the car and noticed coolant under the car. The overflow reservoir was empty as well. Took a shot and drove home, 10 minutes a way. Expansion put a little coolant in the overflow tank.

I live 2 hours from the dealer so I called roadside. They put it on a flatbed and hauled it to the dealer. Turned out it was the water pump. Brought it back the next day.

The ticket said they used a remanufactured water pump. Should I be concerned?

 

I would not be concerned with a re-man water pump. It is covered for the balance of your warranty or 2 years which ever is longer. Lots of warranty parts are re-man.

Sandyway - I would recommend using Chevron Techron in your fuel tank every 5,000 miles or so. It's a very good fuel system cleaner.