Hi, I bought my first MINI a couple of days ago. An 03, British Racing green MCS with roughly 25k on it. I bought it from Carmax, so, pretty much I'm still learning all the things it has, and can do (for example, just found the controls for the radio on the steering wheel last night, plus the list of items from the forum of things ya'll didn't know about the cooper).

I have questions regarding upkeep because I don't ever want to give this car up (you will get the keys from my cold, dead, hands).

Is it true that you change the oil annually or every 15k? That seems a bit extreme.

I'm going to go from the run-flats that are on the car currently.

When I resize the photos I have of my new baby, I'll post.

 

Congrats on your BRG Mini. Mine will be here next week. Yahoo!!

 

Welcome to NAM and congrats on your new ride! BRG is a great color with a long history of great British racing cars. Check in your local area for MINI clubs and have fun!!

 

Congrats! I'm not giving up my MINI ever either, so I know exactly how you feel. You'll find the MINI community to be full of kind, wonderful people that just love talking about our cars! welcome!

 

I don't say hi to every newbie, but since my wife's name is AVRIL, I thought I should stop and welcome you!

From the sounds of it, you've found a gem. My '03 Chili Red & White MC, which I bought about 6 months ago, came with 84K miles. However, because of the mileage I got a really good deal on the price. The 25K miles on your's is really great, and should give you many more years of enjoyment.

As for your question about oil changes, I've only put about 6K on mine so far, and I haven't changed it yet. I am planning on taking it into the MINI dealer for a general check-up sometime this summer, and will probably get it done then. But from what I've read around here, 10-15K doesn't seem to be a problem. It depends somewhat on how hard you drive it.

Changing the run-flats is probably a good idea. Again, here on NAM I've read that they are probably the main cause of "mushrooming" on the front strut towers. That and probably very rough driving. Plus you'll get a much more comfortable ride I think.

Anyway, welcome and enjoy your MINI!

 

First, thank you for the welcome. I will definitely be checking into local MINI groups. I suspected that MINI owners where generally pretty cool people, if a car says anything about the kind of person you are...

My co-worker who took the pic asked me what size batteries it runs on.



I told him rechargeable D's. I carry spares, just in case.

 

Congratulations.

 

You should name it Eveready!

 

congrats and welcome

 

Great looking Mini. Congrats again. I know your gonna love it.

 

it fits! The car definitely wants to go!

 

Rum Amsoil, go 15k but CHECK the oil level every 3k. My non S seems to loose 1qt every 5-7k, no leaks though. Switched to Amsoil recently and MPG went up by 2 and it seems to really run smooth. That's after changing Mobil 1 every 5-7k.

Change your Manual tranny fluid at each oil change... Former Mini mechanic told me the fix to the problematic tranny failures is to keep the oil clean and fresh as much as possible. If it's an auto, every 5k is what he said. His job at the MD mini dealer was and only was replacing transmissions since 2003.