I was hoping people with similar work done or someone who works at a Mini dealership could help me out.

I need a lot done to my 03 MCS. Firstly it needs an oil change. My dealership charges 85 for that which is ridiculous and I would not be paying that if I didnt have other stuff needing to be done. Im at 48k and everytime I start my car it tells me i am 5,xxx overdue for a mileage inspection. What does this inspection consist of and how much am I looking price-wise? Next, the little corner piece of the roof trim is missing and needing replaced as it looks terrible. I've looked online and I know I have to replace that whole side roof piece, but I have no idea what clips, etc I will need so I may just have the dealership do it. Again, price? My driver's side window will not work intermittently. It stopped working for about 2 weeks, then worked for a few days, and now it hasnt been working for the past 4 days. I hear a clicking when I hit the switch but nothing happens. The window also does not go up or down when I open/close the door. I tried hitting the door panel above the speaker like I read on here but no luck. Bad motor or maybe just a bad/loose connection? Price? Next, the passenger side door lock does not work. Again, I hear clicking, but nothing happens. And lastly, I have the common winter issues of my door handles being inoperable in the snow and freezing weather, and my transmission will not go in or out of gear until the car warms up for a while. Im pretty sure this entails new handles and a new shifter cable? correct me if Im wrong please and can I get an idea of pricing on this as well?

I've only had this car since June of 2010 and only put 7000 miles on it. But, this car is beginning to be a nightmare and am tempted to just rid myself of this temperamental, poor excuse of a vehicle

 

What do you expect when you purchase an entry level luxury car, this ain't not cheap cavalier that takes garbage oil and filter. Alone the oil would cost you $40 or so and the filter is another $20 at the dealership, that's $60, so they basically charged you $25 for an oil change.

Door acutator (I forget how it's spelt) can be found refurbished on ebay for ruffly $100-$200, it's very simple to swap out on your own. You can find DIY for it and also how to remove the door panel.

As for your tranny, you might want to get it flushed and refilled, the gears can get stiff in cold weather (I live in Toronto, Canada) so I know what you are talking about.

There's nothing wrong owning a mini, you need to maintain it and understand that parts do need to be changed now and then.

You can research the forums, you will have a description of what entails in each inspection I, II, III.

 

As for the oil change - have you considered doing it yourself? If you have standard tools, it's not too bad. I wouldn't pay $85 either, but I do all of my own. If you cannot do your own, call around and ask how much a FULL SYNTHETIC oil change will cost elsewhere. I'll bet the price is similar. And who would you rather have do your oil change: A mechanic trained and familiar with the MINI, or the 17 yr old kid at Jiffy-Lube who was working at McDonalds last week frying burgers?

Sounds like you're due for Inspection-II. It will cost a few hundred at the dealer.

I would also consider having the gearbox oil changed to Redline synthetic, which may help - but you probably have worn shifter linkage.

Drivers side window: Next time it stops, hit the door panel with your fist just above the speaker. That might wake it up.

Door lock: It's a somewhat common problem. Most decent mechanics can fix this, but they have to take the door panel off and replace the linkage (or at least put it back together). The job is mostly labor.

Remember that you bought a 7-8 yr old car. Regardless of miles on the odometer, stuff still ages with time. I have the same year car with more than 3x your miles - the key (with ANY car) is keeping up with the maintenance, and not waiting until you have 12 things that need to be fixed at once.