First off, I just want to say hello to everyone. I see that Mini has a pretty large following in the Bay Area. I currently drive a Saab 9-2x that I am thinking of selling for my sisters 03' Mini Cooper Non S CVT. The car didnt sound very exciting to me at first, but since my sister is selling it for basically free to myself, having no debt afterwards, and driving it for a week now, I think I am ready to go for it!

I have been trying to get used to this forum as well as MIni2.. but my search results bring up so much info I can't take it all in! Is there like a weekly gtg where I could ask some questions and bounce ideas off with you guys/gals?

The main questions I have are concerning reliability trends, upgrade lighting, interior quirks, handling capabilities etc.

I also wondered what service depts are good nearby for the mini. I see that the Concord one is great, but haven't seen any info on the San Jose one, which I am closest too. I want to see if all the recalls are up to date on the car and see if they can fix a NASTY rattle that seems to be coming from the speedy/tach area of the car behind the steering wheel. Anyways, any help from the local crowd is appreciated, thanks!

 

Welcome, NorCal Mini's has a night run in San Francisco this Saturday at 11:30 pm. Come along and meet some nice people who can answer your questions. We are meeting in the parking lot at ocean beach.

Hope to see you there.

 

Ah the infamous dash rattle. There is a plastic retaining pin that rattles against the hole it fits into. I had mine fixed under warranty by MINI of SF. They put a little felt O-ring around the pin. You can do it yourself if you don't mind pulling the dash. Not a terribly difficult job, just take your time.

 

Yeah, mine just got fixed last Friday at Mini of Mountain View. Something just started rattling after one day I drove on N280 that there were road work which made the road very rough and uneven. I brought the car in for first oil service and fixed that rattling. Now, it is fixed, but they broke my e-brake handle, the chrom ring on top is now loose, I am trying to contact them about it, but no reply back yet. :(

 

Welcome raadkins16!

As of this time there is not an authorized MINI service department in San Jose. The closest would be MINI of Mt. View, on the El Camino, next to Anderson BMW.
I haven't had any problems with their service dept. (except for the prices).

I haven't been, but I've heard, that people get together every Thurs. night at a Starbucks on Castro in Mt. View.

 

Awesome, thanks for all the responses. yeah it would definitely be nice to meet up to answer some questions. The car is still under warranty so hopefully I can get the dash rattle fixed. I noticed one that is right behind my hear that is really suttle. This one really doesn't bother me, but now that I told you guys about the dash rattle, my ears have been paying more attention to little noises. I never expected it to be rattle free by any means. I hope to go to Mt. View soon to see if we have some service records on her, I know now it was taken there for work, but there is NOTHING in the manual about service done.

 

Visit the REME site at http://www.redwoodempiremini.com/mbb...tid=10&posts=1 for DIY fixes for rattles for 2002-2004 builds. I would not go to any dealership for rattle fixes. In my case they caused most of them.

I paid an independant mechanic to remove all rattles from my car (primarily the dash) after SF MINI worked on the car twice. I gave them the pdf files accessible from the link above and they were able to remove about 95% of the rattles. If you want to use my mechanic, he will fix your car for about half what he charged me because now he knows how to do it.

The speedo rattle is common and easy to fix... if you occassionally hear a deeper thumping rattle at the same location, it is actually the dash making contact with the windshield. Foam tape between the windshield and dash will remove this rattle although it is not necessarily a pretty fix.

Consider joining us at the San Juan Bautista Autumn Classic.... two great days of runs, dinner, and car show in beautiful downtown San Juan Bautista.